Day: September 29, 2018

29^th September 2018

AUSTRALIAN PM OUTLINES TIGHTER EXPORT CONTROL DUE TO CONTAMINATED FRUIT SCARE

Fresh Plaza reported on 28^th September that Australia announces new controls as Singapore’s largest supermarket chain had put a halt on all strawberry purchases – with tighter export controls as the crisis, which has seen pins and needles inserted into fruit across Australia, spread further overseas.  This has seen the recent introduction of X-rays and shrink wrapping on exports.  The article says that a needle has now turned up in a punnet of Australian strawberries in New Zealand, prompting authorities there to employ extra screening measures.

http://www.freshplaza.com/article/9027293/australian-pm-outlines-tighter-export-control-due-to-contaminated-fruit-scare

HOW DIRTY MONEY DISAPPEARS INTO THE BLACK HOLE OF CRYPTOCURRENCY

BC Focus on 28^th September reported that the Wall Street Journal had reported that cryptocurrency exchanges around the world have been used by criminals to launder money to the tune of $88 million over the past 2 years.  The report, entitled “How Dirty Money Disappears Into the Black Hole of Cryptocurrency,” surveyed over 2,500 wallets that were flagged by domestic and international courts the world over.   One of the largest receivers of the funds through the laundering process, it said, was ShapeShift AG, which accounted for over $9 million or more than 10% of the entire sum.

https://bcfocus.com/news/wsj-report-criticizes-shapeshift-of-not-containing-money-laundering/24208/

https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-dirty-money-disappears-into-the-black-hole-of-cryptocurrency-1538149743

https://zycrypto.com/shapeshift-accused-of-aiding-criminals-to-carry-out-successful-money-laundering-operations/

WHAT IS THE CONNECTION BETWEEN HUMAN TRAFFICKING AND MONEY LAUNDERING?

Nyman Gibson Miralis has published an article following the July publication from FATF on this issue.  It concisely summarises the main features of the forms of trafficking – for prostitution, forced or slave labour and removal of human organs.

https://ngm.com.au/money-laundering-human-trafficking/

EX-SENEGAL OFFICIAL TO TESTIFY AGAINST FORMER HONG KONG MINISTER PATRICK HO IN US BRIBERY CASE

The South China Morning Post on 29^th September that ‘substantial evidence’ is said to be delivered by co-defendant-turned-witness in US$2.9 million bribery case.  Cheikh Gadio would be a witness and no longer a co-defendant following a court ruling in New York that all charges against the former foreign minister of Senegal and US resident be dropped.  Ho, Hong Kong’s home affairs minister from 2002 to 2007, has been behind bars in the US since last November.  He is charged on 8 counts: 3 for money laundering and 5 for violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. He is accused of offering US$2.9 million worth of bribes to government officials to advance oil and development rights in Uganda and Chad for CEFC China Energy, a Shanghai-based company.

https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/2166313/ex-senegal-official-testify-against-former-hong-kong

SYDNEY COUPLE LAUNDERED FRAUD PROCEEDS OF $300,000 IN CRYPTOCURRENCY

ZyCrypto on 29^th September reported that according to the police who arrested the couple and seized computers, laptops, storage devices, mobile phones, and documents, more than $300,000 were converted to cryptocurrency and sent to several offshore e-wallets.

https://zycrypto.com/sydney-couple-launder-fraud-proceeds-of-300000-in-cryptocurrency/

RUSSIA’S ‘BLOCKADE’ OF SEA OF AZOV PORTS ANGERS UKRAINE

Customs Today on 28^th September reported that Russia’s annexation of the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine in 2014 means ships to/from Ukraine’s port of Mariupol on the Sea of Azov must now pass through a narrow strait bordered by Russian-controlled territory on both sides.  Ukraine and the West accuse Russia of deliberately blocking ships from entering the sea.  Ukraine criticises what it sees as a deliberate move by Moscow to block the Kerch Strait, the only shipping route into the Azov Sea, where Ukraine’s commercial ports of Mariupol and Berdyansk are crucial gateways for its metallurgy industry exports, and Mariupol is located just 20 km west of the frontline with Russian-backed separatists.  The news site says that problems started upon Russia’s completion this spring of a 12-mile bridge over the Kerch Strait connecting its southern mainland to Crimea.  The bridge’s 35-metre arches are too low for some ships to pass under and there are also restrictions on length.

http://www.customstoday.com.pk/russias-blockade-of-sea-of-azov-ports-angers-ukraine/

ARGENTINA ARRESTS MEMBERS OF INTERNATIONAL DRUG-TRAFFICKING SOCCER HOOLIGAN NETWORK

Insight Crime on 28^th September reported on an international drug trafficking organisation made up of soccer hooligans from Argentina and Colombia adds to the mounting evidence of the involvement of these groups in organised crime and highlights growing criminal ties between the 2 countries.  The website reports that Argentine authorities arrested 15 people suspected of belonging to a network of criminalised soccer hooligan groups known as “barras bravas” that imported drugs from Colombia.  One of the group’s leaders is said to also a leader of a fan club for the Atlético Nacional soccer team in Medellín, Colombia.

https://www.insightcrime.org/news/brief/argentina-arrests-members-international-drug-trafficking-soccer-hooligan-network/

 

On 28^th September, a news release from the UN advised that the STATE ENTERPRISE FOR AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY had been removed from the sanctions lists on the recommendation of the relevant sanctions committee.

https://www.un.org/press/en/2018/sc13526.doc.htm

Thanks to Kenneth Rijock and his blog at http://rijock.blogspot.com/ one can access an 87-page white paper dated 19^th September, by Bruun & Hjejle, a leading Danish law firm, entitled Report on the Non-Resident Portfolio at Danske Bank’s Estonian Branch.  The report summarises characteristics of the terminated Non-Resident Portfolio at Danske Bank’s Estonian branch as well as other facts relating to it, including main events both at branch and Group level.

https://danskebank.com/-/media/danske-bank-com/file-cloud/2018/9/report-on-the-non-resident-portfolio-at-danske-banks-estonian-branch-.-la=en.pdf

On 28^th September, Thomson Reuters Financial & Risk published an article referring to a recent report published jointly by Thomson Reuters (which provides the World-Check tools) and leading American think tank The Atlantic Council: Big Data, A Twenty-First century Arms Race.  It argues that the data revolution, “big data”, is creating a new toolkit for banks, law enforcement agencies and regulators to combat financial crime, yet the ability to identify illicit money flows and reveal hidden relationships could be impeded by conflicting privacy laws (such as GDPR and the EU “right to be forgotten”) and inconsistent financial regulation across the globe (despite the efforts of FATF).

https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/is-big-data-being-handcuffed-in-the-31079/

The report is available at –

https://risk.thomsonreuters.com/en/resources/special-report/atlantic-council-report-big-data.html

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On 29^th September, Politico reported on the case of a small store in New Zealand called “A Little Bit of Britain”.  108 boxes of Weetabix will be destroyed by New Zealand customs after it seized and impounded the shipment last year.  Local company, Sanitarium, has its own product, Weet-Bix.  Sanitarium took its case to the High Court but although a judge found there is no chance of customers being confused because Weetabix is only available at a speciality shops selling British products, the shipment will still be destroyed.  The Guardian has the full story.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/sep/25/weetabix-wars-british-shop-in-new-zealand-wins-fight-against-cereal-giant

A post on Arms Control Wonk on 28^th September reminds one that the Glocom company and its North Korean connections came to light after a consignment of its battlefield radios was interdicted on its way to Eritrea in 2016 and the company’s network became the subject of investigations.  Rather than disappearing there has been a seemingly successful effort by Glocom to diversify its approaches to accessing the global defence market.  It says that Glocom has unveiled a new version of its website, complete with a set of social media accounts on platforms from Twitter to Youtube and Instagram.  It director, Pyon Won Gun, is subject to EU sanctions.  It seems that, according to the post, despite reporting and flagging the content of both Glocom’s Youtube and Twitter accounts, neither have been removed.  The post refers to Wall Street Journal reports that Fabulous System SDN BHD in Malaysia currently has Glocom products for sale on their website – and details the products involved, being portable and tactical radios.  The post says that Advanced Technology Facility (ATF) in Indonesia had at least 5 products listed on their website under the “EDSAT” brand which bear striking resemblance to Glocom’s in terms of appearance and product specifications.  It appears to the poster that not only is Glocom continuing to operate, and seemingly flourish, but it is also using third party sites to sell its goods.

https://www.armscontrolwonk.com/archive/1205992/not-your-usual-game-of-whack-a-mole/

See a former Glocom advert on the Wayback Machine at –

http://web.archive.org/web/20180730175452/https:/glocom-corp.com/2018/

See also the 2017 reuters article on Glocom at –

https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-northkorea-malaysia-arms-insight-idUKKBN1650YG

And a previous update on Glocom at –

https://www.armscontrolwonk.com/archive/1203749/glocom-is-at-it-again/