22 August 2018
UKRAINIAN WOMAN CHARGED WITH ATTEMPTED EXPORT OF MILITARY GOODS
112 UA on 21 August reported that a woman attempted to sale night vision attachments PDS-1, night observation devices NNO-21 and theodolite RT to France in February.
AUSTRALIAN LIVE EXPORT INDUSTRY ‘UNDER CLOUD’ AFTER EMANUEL EXPORTS LICENCE CANCELLATION, FARMERS SAY
ABC News on 21 August reported that the federal Department of Agriculture and Water Resources announced the move, saying it was “in the best interests of the industry and for the protection of Australia’s high standards of animal welfare and health”. Emanuel Exports had its licence suspended earlier this year after an investigation was initiated following the broadcast of footage showing 2,500 sheep either dead or dying on a 2017 voyage to the Middle East.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-08-22/wa-farmers-shocked-at-emanuel-exports-licence-cancel/10151342
GEORGIA CONFIRMS 17 SAILORS MISSING AFTER CONTACT WITH TANKER LOST OFF GABON
Hellenic Shipping News on 19 August reported that all contact with their ship was lost as it was sailing off Libreville. The Panama-flagged chemical tanker MT Pantelena was around 18 nm off Libreville when all contact was lost although it is unclear what happened to the vessel and its crew.
https://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/weekly-security-maritime-report-21-august-2018/
CHINA: AUTHORITIES INTERCEPT OIL-SMUGGLING NETWORK, DETAIN 38 PEOPLE
On 14 August, Hellenic Shipping News reported that customs authorities in east China’s Jiangsu province have intercepted a major network involved in smuggling more than 100,000 tonnes of fuel, and they detained 38 suspects and confiscating more than 2,000 tonnes of smuggled fuel at the site.
https://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/weekly-security-maritime-report-21-august-2018/
ISRAEL POLICE THWART THE SMUGGLING OF DOZENS OF PARROTS AT BEN-GURION INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
The Yeshiva World on 22 August reported that 36 parrots stuffed into 2 suitcases were thwarted on 9 July. Police believe that the birds were smuggled from Belgium to Israel, held inside cages that were placed in suitcases.
ILLEGAL MAJORCA TURTLE FARM SHUT DOWN BY POLICE
BBC on 22 August reported that Europe’s biggest illegal turtle and tortoise farm has been shut down on Majorca, police say. Civil Guard officers say they rescued 1,100 animals from a farm near Llucmajor in the south of the island, many of them endangered.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-45275191
ILLEGAL GUN FACTORY DISCOVERED ON EAST SUSSEX INDUSTRIAL ESTATE
Manx Radio on 22 August carried a Sky News piece saying that a “sophisticated” and “large scale” illegal gun factory has been discovered at a site describing itself as a gearbox repair business on an industrial estate in Hailsham, East Sussex.
RETIRED US NAVY CAPTAIN, 2 PETTY OFFICERS INDICTED IN CONTINUING ‘FAT LEONARD’ CORRUPTION INVESTIGATION
USNI on 20 August reported that a retired captain and former 7th Fleet official pocketed at least $145,000 in exchange for steering Navy ships to ports where a foreign defense contractor managed port husbanding services. 2 retired chief petty officers also were indicted by the federal grand jury for corruption offences.
IRISH COURT OF APPEAL RULES ON DEFAULT INTEREST AND LOAN ENFORCEMENT ISSUES
On 14 August, Maples published a briefing on a series of judgments that deal with important issues arising in loan default scenarios, particularly where the loan has been traded in the secondary market. The implications of these decisions require careful consideration in the context of broader finance and commercial arrangements under Irish law.
COUNTERFEIT VEHICLE PARTS ON THE RISE: WHEN IP INFRINGEMENT BECOMES LIFE-THREATENING
Baldwins in New Zealand on 21 August published a briefing saying that the UK Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO) has issued a stern warning about counterfeit vehicle parts. However, the article says, not only are counterfeit parts on the rise, but they are also becoming more difficult to identify, and can present a serious danger.
https://www.baldwins.com/news/counterfeit-vehicle-parts
https://illicittrade.com/infographics/common-counterfeit-spare-parts
FORMER SWISS BANK EXECUTIVE PLEADS GUILTY TO ROLE IN BILLION-DOLLAR INTERNATIONAL MONEY LAUNDERING SCHEME INVOLVING FUNDS EMBEZZLED FROM VENEZUELAN STATE-OWNED OIL COMPANY
A news release from US DoJ reported that the former managing director and vice chairman of a Swiss bank has pleaded guilty for his role in a billion-dollar international scheme to launder funds embezzled from PDVSA. Matthias Krull, 44, a German national and Panamanian resident, pleaded guilty to 1 count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.
EX-BRAZIL SOCCER BOSS JAILED FOR 4 YEARS
SBS News on 22 August reported that Jose Maria Marin, a former president of Brazil’s soccer federation, has been jailed for 4 years in the US after the FIFA corruption probe.
https://www.sbs.com.au/news/ex-brazil-soccer-boss-jailed-for-4-years?src=ilaw
2 CHINESE NATIONALS CHARGED IN US WITH OPERATING GLOBAL OPIOID AND DRUG MANUFACTURING CONSPIRACY
On 22 August, the DoJ reported an indictment which charges 2 Chinese citizens with operating a conspiracy that manufactured and shipped deadly fentanyl analogues and 250 other drugs to at least 25 countries and 37 US states – Fujing Zheng, aka Gordon Jin, 35, and his father Guanghua Zheng, 62, both of whom reside in Shanghai.
CHINA CONTINUES CRACKDOWN ON ICO-RELATED ILLEGAL FUNDRAISING AS IT BANS CRYPTOCURRENCY NEWS SITES
Global News on 22 August reported that the ban followed a recent crackdown on some blockchain and cryptocurrency news media outlets. Platforms such as jinse.com, bishijie.com and huobi.cn, which cover blockchain and digital currency news and provide industry data, were shut down on the WeChat platform.
http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1116632.shtml?src=ilaw
CHEMICAL WEAPONS AND SYRIA – IN BRIEF
On 22 August, the House of Commons Library published a briefing paper on the UK response to allegations of chemical weapons usage in Syria. It draws upon previous Commons Library briefing papers, links to which are provided.
https://researchbriefings.parliament.uk/ResearchBriefing/Summary/CBP-8283
LENDING TO JERSEY ENTITIES
A briefing from Ogier on 21 August is intended to highlight the issues that may be relevant when lending to a Jersey entity, including how security is created under Jersey law, issues relating to corporate benefit and the primary insolvency regimes relevant to Jersey entities.
https://www.thelawyer.com/knowledge-bank/white-paper/credit-arrangements-for-jersey-entities/
THE BASICS: DIRECTORS’ STATUTORY DUTIES
A briefing from law firm Gowling WLG on 21 August says that directors managing their company must do so in accordance with the company’s articles of association and ensure that the company complies with its numerous statutory obligations. But there are also certain general statutory duties, the aim of which is to protect shareholders, which directors are personally subject to in managing the affairs of the company, and with which they must also comply.
https://gowlingwlg.com/en/insights-resources/articles/2018/the-basics-directors-statutory-duties
UK: SURVEY FINDS INCREASE IN UNTAXED TOBACCO PURCHASES
TJI on 20 August reported that a survey of the behaviours of over 12,000 adult smokers in the UK, which was commissioned by the Tobacco Manufacturers’ Association (TMA), has found that over 76% of adult UK smokers are regularly dodging taxes by purchasing untaxed tobacco from the black market, abroad or duty free, TMA reported in a press release.
http://www.tobaccojournal.com/Survey_finds_an_increase_in_untaxed_tobacco_purchases.54910.0.html
MALTA PROBE INTO VENEZUELA MONEY LAUNDERING SCAM ONGOING ‘FOR 2 YEARS’
Baker McKenzie reported on 22 August that Maltese police officers have been working with US federal agents for nearly 2 years in an international investigation into an alleged Venezuelan money laundering racket, Times of Malta has learnt.
SOUTHWARK PROSECUTION SEES FIRST CUSTODIAL SENTENCE OVER IMPORT AND SALE OF SKIN WHITENING PRODUCTS
Local Government Lawyer on 22 August reported that a prosecution brought by Southwark Council has led to what is thought to be the first custodial sentence for the illegal sale of dangerous skin whitening products. The court heard how the defendant had been stopped by the UK Border Force on 31 March 2017; he was returning from France with 1,431 infringing cosmetics, these were seized by Kent Trading Standards.
THOUSANDS OF ORGANISED CRIME WEAPONS IN MEXICO COME FROM USA
On 22 August, Prensa Latina carried an article which said that more than 200,000 weapons are entering the country every year through the northern border, most of which reach the hands of the organised crime, it was reported. Mexican authorities seized in 2017 about 37,421 small and light weapons, coming from countries of all regions.
FRAUDULENT MISREPRESENTATION NEEDS ONLY TO BE A FACTOR, AND NOT THE SOLE FACTOR, IN A PARTY’S DECISION TO ENTER INTO AN AGREEMENT
On 22 August, an article from Eversheds Sutherland reported that a recent Commercial Court judgment reaffirmed an earlier decision that in terms of misrepresentation cases, the representation needs only to be a factor, and not the sole factor, in a party’s decision to enter into an agreement.
DOUBLE JEOPARDY IN CROSS-BORDER CORPORATE CRIME CASES
On 22 August, Eversheds Sutherland published an article about the work of the Double Jeopardy Subcommittee of the International Bar Association to get governments to take the double jeopardy defence in cross-border corporate crime cases seriously, so that conviction for the same offence on one state can/should be taken into account when facing the same charges in another country.
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