Day: October 6, 2018

6^th October 2018

PAKISTAN ARRESTS OPPOSITION LEADER, NAWAZ SHARIF’S BROTHER FOR ALLEGED GRAFT

OCCRP on 5^th October reported that Pakistani authorities had arrested Shehbaz Sharif, 67, opposition leader and younger brother of ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif in connection with alleged corruption in a social housing scheme, the country’s anti-graft agency said.  Nawaz Sharif was ousted from his post last year by the Supreme Court after Panama Papers leaks revealed he and his family owned several apartments in London.

https://www.occrp.org/en/27-ccwatch/cc-watch-briefs/8702-pakistan-arrests-nawaz-sharif-s-brother-for-alleged-graft

US: DOJ INVESTIGATING SOME PART OF MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL FOR POSSIBLE FCPA VIOLATIONS RELATED TO RECRUITMENT OF INTERNATIONAL PLAYERS

On 5^th October, Buckley Sandler reported that the DoJ is seemingly investigating some part of MLB for possible FCPA violations related to recruitment of international players, particularly related to immigration issues for players from Latin America.

https://buckleysandler.com/blog/2018-10-05/doj-reportedly-investigating-major-league-baseball-potential-fcpa-violations

TURKEY: US CONGRESS REPORT AND ECONOMIC SANCTIONS

On 31^st August, the US Congressional Research Service published a report about US-Turkey relations.  It says that bilateral ties have reached historic lows in the summer of 2018.  The major flashpoint, it says, has been a Turkish criminal case against American pastor Andrew Brunson.  It says that US sanctions on Turkey related to the Brunson case and responses by Turkey and international markets appear to have seriously aggravated an already precipitous drop in the value of Turkey’s currency.  Amongst other things it refers to the question of the Kurds and the larger Syria situation, Turkey’s relationship with Russia and its other foreign policy positions, its importance as a regional energy hub, and the effects of the currency decline, US sanctions and the “crisis” in US-Turkey relations.

https://fas.org/sgp/crs/mideast/R41368.pdf

See also, for a Turkish viewpoint –

https://www.yenisafak.com/en/columns/leventyilmaz/the-us-congress-report-and-economic-sanctions-2046670

SEC CHARGES VIRGINIA REAL ESTATE DEVELOPER WITH FRAUD IN PROJECT TIED TO COMMUTER RAIL STATION

On 5^th October, Monod Visione published a release from the SEC saying that the SEC had charged a Virginia real estate developer with skimming investor funds that were intended for use in purchasing an office building near the site of a planned commuter rail station on the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority’s Silver Line.   The complaint also alleges commingling and misappropriation of investments in various real estate and other projects.  It says that over at least a 4-year period, Todd Elliott Hitt used 2 of his companies – Kiddar Capital LLC and Kiddar Group Holdings, Inc. – to raise more than $20 million from investors.

http://www.mondovisione.com/media-and-resources/news/sec-charges-real-estate-developer-with-fraud-in-project-tied-to-new-commuter-rai/

 

On 5^th October, Mondo Visione published a release from the London Metal Exchange (LME) saying that the LME had published a position paper consulting on new proposed requirements for listed brands regarding the responsible sourcing of metals, which align with the principles set out by the OECD “Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas”.

In summary, LME is proposing that –

• a requirement that all brands undertake an OECD “red-flag” assessment to determine “higher” or “lower” focus classification (except for “automatic higher-focus metals” which include cobalt and tin); and
• a special transitional provision for cobalt to enable LME to take action against brands where the market already demonstrates responsible sourcing concerns.

LME says it will require all relevant producers to assess their risk factors in respect of responsible sourcing – and, where appropriate, to provide evidence of their adherence to the OECD Guidance (or equivalent).  It says that LME will work together with producers to assist them in assessing and identifying the “red flags” (as prescribed in the OECD Guidance).  Metals will be classified as either “higher-focus” or “lower-focus”.  Higher-focus brands – which will automatically include all cobalt and tin brands due to their higher risk of being affected by responsible sourcing concerns – will be required to adopt a standard that is aligned with the OECD Guidance and must demonstrate via an external “alignment assessment” and audit process the respective compliance of the standard to the guidance and of the brand to the standard.  Aluminium, both aluminium alloys, copper, lead, molybdenum, nickel and zinc), brands will be classified subject to the results of the red flag self-assessment.  If any red flags are triggered in the self-assessment process, brands will be classified as higher-focus and will be expected to comply with the corresponding obligations.  Lower-focus brands will not be required to undertake formal standards or brands compliance by the LME.  The LME says that for cobalt and tin, chosen standards must be identified by the 4^th quarter of 2019 and full compliance with standards will be required by the end of 2020.  For all other higher-focus brands, standards must be identified by the 4^th quarter of 2020 with compliance by the end of 2021. Non-compliant brands will be eligible for delisting once the relevant deadlines have been passed.  However, because of concerns over cobalt, it may be subject to action at an earlier date.

http://www.mondovisione.com/media-and-resources/news/lme-proposes-requirements-for-the-responsible-sourcing-of-metal-in-listed-brands/

The position paper is at –

https://www.lme.com/-/media/Files/New-initiatives/Responsible-Sourcing/Responsible-Sourcing-LME-position-paper.pdf?la=en-GB

https://www.lme.com/Trading/New-initiatives/Responsible-resourcing

The OECD due diligence guidance, which provides a framework for detailed due diligence as a basis for responsible supply chain management of minerals, including tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold, as well as all other mineral resources, is available at –

http://www.oecd.org/corporate/mne/mining.htm

http://mneguidelines.oecd.org/Brochure_OECD-Responsible-Mineral-Supply-Chains.pdf

A very useful source of news and information, since 1995 in paper form, then CD and then online from 2001, its Risk Report, an open source database used for strategic trade control that profiles thousands of entities linked to proliferation worldwide.  The database content includes not only profiles of entities linked to proliferation and analysis about programmes of concern by the Wisconsin Project, but also descriptions of dual-use commodities, strategic trade control regulations, multilateral control lists, and government warning lists and blacklists – and it is said to be the only comprehensive, curated database focused exclusively on proliferation that is used as a tool to manage strategic trade.  It also provides useful primers on nuclear weapons, chemical weapons and long-range missiles.

https://www.wisconsinproject.org/