Month: December 2018

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

31^st December 2018

EXPERTS MULL LAOS’ RISK FROM MONEY LAUNDERING

The Vientiane Times reported that the National Committee for Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) is continuing to assess Laos’ risks from money laundering and terrorist financing, after Laos graduated from the “grey list” of FATF last year, and as it held its second annual meeting.  It reports that the main sectors vulnerable to risk are banking, the stock market, insurance, casinos, real estate, financial institutions and money exchange units.  In 2019 the Committee will prepare Laos’ mutual evaluation report for AML/CFT for 2020-2021 by the Asia-Pacific Group on Money Laundering (the regional FATF-style body), as the World Bank reported recently that Laos is scheduled to undergo an evaluation under international standards for technical compliance and effectiveness of its AML/CFT framework in October 2020.

http://www.vientianetimes.org.la/freeContent/FreeConten_Experts_305.php

SPANISH GUARDIA CIVIL BREAK UP MONEY LAUNDERING GANG AND CLOSE COMPANIES THAT SUPPLIED BOATS

On 30^th December, Euro Weekly reported that the Guardia Civil had closed 2 companies in the nautical sector whose administrator is being held in custody awaiting trial.  The operation began as a result of 2 seizures of 5.5 tonnes of hashish in Malaga and Cadiz, for which 20 people were arrested, with then an investigation into the finances of 2 companies that supplied high-powered boats to the drugs smugglers.

https://www.euroweeklynews.com/2018/12/30/spanish-guardia-civil-break-up-gang-that-laundered-e2-75-million-of-drugs-money/#.XCmv8_Z2t9A

PAKISTAN: 172 INDIVIDUALS ON EXIT CONTROL LIST (ECL) IN MONEY LAUNDERING CASE

Pakistan Today on 31^st December reported that the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) expressed anger at the placement of 172 individuals on the Exit Control List (ECL), as the courts resumed hearing a long-running mega money laundering and fake bank accounts case.  A joint investigation team (JIT) probing the money laundering case had held the Zardari Group, Omni group and Bahria Town responsible.  The names added to the ECL included Pakistan People’s Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto, party’s Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, presidents of a number of local banks, and other former ministers and bureaucrats.  It says that the case was initially registered in 2015 against former Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSE) chairman Hussain Lawai, who is widely believed to be close to former president Zardari.  Besides the ex-president and his sister, real estate tycoon Malik Riaz’s son-in-law Zain Malik and 14 other bankers and businessmen have been named in the case with 29 ‘fake’ bank accounts, while others have been detained for their alleged involvement in facilitating the transactions.

https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2018/12/31/cjp-annoyed-at-placement-of-fake-accounts-suspects-on-ecl/

US DoJ LASHES OUT AT QUI TAM ABUSE

A guest blog post on Drug & Device Law on 31^st December said that the US DoJ recently took the relatively unusual step of seeking the dismissal of 11 pending False Claims Act (FCA) cases that had been filed throughout the country by relators under the qui tam provisions of the FCPA against 38 pharmaceutical manufacturer defendants, and involved data being collected by subterfuge for use in qui tam complaints filed through pseudonymous limited liability companies.  They involved alleged scheme of using false pretences to obtain information to be used as the basis for qui tam FCPA suits.  Qui tam is a writ whereby a private individual who assists a prosecution can receive all or part of any penalty imposed – no longer available (since 1951) in England and Wales, it is available for use in the US in FCPA cases.

https://www.druganddevicelawblog.com/2018/12/the-doj-lashes-out-at-qui-tam-abuse.html

 UKRAINE MAY LOSE 25% OF TRADE TURNOVER WITH RUSSIA BECAUSE OF NEW SANCTIONS

Customs Today on 31^st December reported that Ukraine may lose up to 25% of trade turnover with Russia in 2019 because of Moscow’s new sanctions, the director of energy programs at the Center of World Economy and International Relations at Ukraine’s National Academy of Sciences said.  On December 29^th, Russia banned import of more than 50 types of goods from Ukraine, including wheat, cooking oil, vegetables, fruits, beer, wine, tractors, paper, turbines, furniture and other goods.

http://www.customstoday.com.pk/ukraine-may-lose-25-of-trade-turnover-with-russia-because-of-new-sanctions-expert/

BRAZIL: ISRAELI HEAD OF GLOBAL DRUG SMUGGLING NETWORK ARRESTED

Customs Today on 31^st December reported that Dany Treyger, 32, an Israeli drug dealer who leads a smuggling network was captured in Brazil after trying to escape extradition.  It is said that Treyger intended to establish a base of operations between Paraguay and Bolivia, where women would be recruited to smuggle drugs to Israel, according to the ABC Color news website.

http://www.customstoday.com.pk/brazil-arrests-israeli-head-of-global-drug-smuggling-network/

NEW ZEALAND: 1.5 MILLION SMUGGLED CIGARETTES AND $2 MILLION CASH SEIZED

Customs Today on 31^st December reported that about 1.5 million smuggled cigarettes and more than $2 million cash have been seized in what Customs says is New Zealand’s largest-scale alleged tobacco fraud.  5 garbage bags full of cash were discovered by investigators, alongside 1.5 million cigarettes, when search warrants were executed at multiple Auckland addresses.

http://www.customstoday.com.pk/seized-1-5-million-smuggled-cigarettes-2-million-cash/

THE COMPREHENSIVE AND PROGRESSIVE TRANS-PACIFIC PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT 

On 30^th December, Gowling WLG published an article saying that the Agreement entered into force on December 30^th for 6 countries – Canada, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Australia and Singapore.  The article provides a link to a briefing explaining the Agreement, and comparing it to the former Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).

https://gowlingwlg.com/en/insights-resources/articles/2018/the-cptpp/

FCA TO PUBLISH NEW PLANS FOR WHISTLEBLOWER REGIME

KYC 360 on 31^st December reported that the FCA is to unveil an overhaul of the treatment of whistleblowers in the UK’s financial services sector, according to media reports.  It says that plans, which are expected to be unveiled in the new year, will likely focus on issues such as whistleblower confidentiality and the enhancement of senior oversight of investigations.

https://www.riskscreen.com/kyc360/news/uk-regulator-fca-to-publish-new-plans-for-whistleblower-regime/

PIRATES RULE OFF NIGERIA’S COAST

An article on Hellenic Shipping News on 31^st December said that piracy off Nigerian waters is now a constant threat to international shipping.  It says there has been a sudden increase in private activities of pirates around the Bayelsa axis, entirety due to the absence of the navy; with gun-wielding youths invade fishing trawlers onboard speed boats. Insurance firms have consequently increased the premium on ship coming to Nigeria.  The International Maritime Bureau now regards the territorial waters as one of the most dangerous and has advised all ships accordingly.

https://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/pirates-rule-off-nigerias-coast/

UN FOOD AGENCY DEMANDS ‘IMMEDIATE END’ TO FOOD AID FRAUD IN YEMEN

On 31^st December, IRIN reported that diversion is preventing food aid from reaching people who need it in Yemen, including “many” in the Houthi rebel-controlled capital Sana’a, the World Food Programme said, calling it an “outrage” that aid was being siphoned off with the involvement of local officials.  The UN’s agency said it uncovered the misappropriation in a review during recent months, when it found that “at least one partner organisation” affiliated with the Houthi Ministry of Education in Sana’a was committing fraud.

http://www.irinnews.org/news/2018/12/31/un-food-agency-demands-immediate-end-aid-fraud-yemen

TAIWAN: NEW LAW BACKS CRACKDOWN ON MONEY LAUNDERING IN 2018

Baker McKenzie reported on 31^st December that money laundering has emerged as the third largest category of economic crime in Taiwan in 2018 following a crackdown on the practice driven by a legal revision passed in 2017, the Ministry of the Interior (MOI) said.  A total of 501 money laundering cases involving 1,337 suspects and some US$68 million were dealt with in the first 11 months of 2018, compared to only 51 money laundering cases involving 274 suspects during the same period of 2017.

http://www.riskandcompliancehub.com/taiwan-new-law-backs-crackdown-on-money-laundering-in-2018/

ATTACK IN NORTH CHAD GOLD-MINING REGION

Janes.com on 31^st December reported that at least 30 gold miners were killed and 200 wounded in Chad’s northern Tibesti region by Arab fighters who crossed into the territory from southern Libya.

https://www.janes.com/article/85446/attack-in-northern-chadian-gold-mining-region-highlights-government-s-inability-to-restore-peace-posing-deterrent-to-commercial-exploitation

 

On 31^st December, Baker McKenzie reported that Manuel Chang, 63, a former finance minister of Mozambique, who approved secret loans that plunged the country into a crisis, has been arrested in South Africa while in transit to Dubai and is awaiting extradition to the US, police said.

http://www.riskandcompliancehub.com/south-african-officials-arrest-ex-finance-minister-of-mozambique-for-extradition-to-u-s/

Radio New Zealand on 31^st December reported that Father Brown Beu, the former premier of the Solomon Islands province of Temotu has been arrested on corruption charges.  The former provincial secretary, Samuel Kafukesa, was also arrested.  The charges relate to the granting of logging rights and the transfer of profits between 2015 and 2017.

https://www.radionz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/379288/former-solomon-islands-premier-arrested-on-corruption-charges

Pakistan Today on 31^st December reported that the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) expressed anger at the placement of 172 individuals on the Exit Control List (ECL), as the courts resumed hearing a long-running mega money laundering and fake bank accounts case.  A joint investigation team probing the money laundering case had held the Zardari Group, Omni group and Bahria Town responsible.  The names added to the ECL included Pakistan People’s Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto, party’s Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, presidents of a number of local banks, and other former ministers and bureaucrats.  It says that the case was initially registered in 2015 against former Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSE) chairman Hussain Lawai, who is widely believed to be close to former president Zardari.  Besides the ex-president and his sister, real estate tycoon Malik Riaz’s son-in-law Zain Malik and 14 other bankers and businessmen have been named in the case with 29 ‘fake’ bank accounts, while others have been detained for their alleged involvement in facilitating the transactions.

https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2018/12/31/cjp-annoyed-at-placement-of-fake-accounts-suspects-on-ecl/

30^th December 2018

THOUSANDS OF TURKISH PISTOLS SEIZED IN ETHIOPIA

New Business Ethiopia on 29^th December reported that the seizure of illegal Turkish pistols in Ethiopia has been common over the past few months.  So far, it says, several thousands of made in Turkey pistols have been discovered by the police being smuggled into Addis Ababa.  In the latest incident, 108 were found on a minibus in the city.

https://newbusinessethiopia.com/ethiopia-caught-nigerian-smuggling-141000-cash/

US WITHDRAWS CORRUPTION CHARGE AGAINST FORMER BARBADOS MINISTER

On 28^th December, Caribbean 360 reported that the US DoJ has withdrawn one of the charges under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act that was brought against Donville Innis.  This is in light of a recent US court decision that a non-resident foreign national cannot be held criminally liable for aiding or abetting, or conspiring to violate, the FCPA, unless the Government can show he acted as an agent of a domestic concern, or while physically present in the US.

http://www.caribbean360.com/news/barbados_news/new-twist-in-us-money-laundering-case-against-former-barbados-government-minister

 

The South China Morning Post on 30^th December reported that travellers and shippers are now required to declare any cash sum of more than HK$120,000 (US$15,600), and one sent in currency worth HK$3 billion (US$390,000) by air.  It reported that the amount declared is even larger than Hong Kong government spending for the current financial year and is equivalent to half of the city’s fiscal reserves, and that 96% of the total had been sent by financial institutions.  Amongst the details provided, it said that 8,126 individual travellers declared a total of HK$89.8 billion (US$11.6 billion), and that one visitor working in financial services declared HK$230 million and arrived by sea accompanied by hired guards – the cash being stored in waterproof bags and from another Asian country.

https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/2180019/hk600-billion-cash-disclosed-hong-kongs-borders-new

The Directive sets out 5 key anti-avoidance measures, and 3 of the agreed measures come into force on 1^st January.  The new rules will ensure that all Member States implement coordinated measures against tax avoidance, to boost their collective defences against aggressive tax planning.  It also sets out a common approach to tackling external threats of tax avoidance and to help prevent companies from shifting untaxed profits out of the EU –

• Controlled Foreign Company (CFC) rule: To deter profit shifting to no or low tax countries;
• Interest Limitation: To discourage companies from creating artificial debt arrangements designed to minimise taxes; and
• General Anti-Abuse Rule: To counter-act aggressive tax planning when other rules do not apply.

Further rules governing hybrid mismatches to prevent companies from exploiting mismatches in the tax laws of 2 different EU countries in order to avoid taxation, as well as measures to ensure that gains on assets such as intellectual property moved from a Member State’s territory become taxable in that country (exit taxation rules) will come into force as of 1^st January 2020.

http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_MEMO-18-6855_en.htm

http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-18-6853_en.htm

28^th December 2018

SOMALIA ‘CRUCIBLE OF INNOVATION’ GUIDES MARITIME STRATEGIES

In its end-of-year round-up, Homeland Security Today highlighted an article from 2^nd March which said that a study of maritime security issues that arose from the battle against Somali pirates revealed a pattern of best practices countries can take in the face of “a new wave of violence against shipping” along with wider crime and safety issues on the high seas.  It reported a new toolkit based on research in the West Indian Ocean from Lesotho up to Pakistan from December 2016 on.

https://www.hstoday.us/subject-matter-areas/maritime-security/piracy-perk-somalia-crucible-innovation-guides-maritime-strategies/

The best practice toolkit itself is available at –

http://www.safeseas.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Mastering-Maritime-Security-final.pdf

29^th December 2018

3 POLES, A RUSSIAN SAILOR, A MYSTERY WEST AFRICAN … AND BURIED $130,000

The New Zealand Herald on 29^th December carried an article telling a story about drug smuggling involving a Polish father and son working for a mystery West African man, a Russian sailor-cum-cocaine smuggler and $130,000 buried in Auckland.  It says that phone taps and covert surveillance tracked hundreds of thousands of dollars and a scheme to flood New Zealand with cocaine and ecstasy, in a plot stretching from across New Zealand, Germany, eastern Europe, Ecuador and Venezuela.

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12079303

CHARGES STAYED IN ANOTHER MAJOR BRITISH COLUMBIA INTERNATIONAL CRIME CASE

On 28^th December, the Vancouver Sun reported that charges have been quietly stayed in another major case allegedly linked to the international drug trade.  In October 2017, RCMP said 2 Vancouver residents had been charged with importing cocaine and trafficking fentanyl after a large drug shipment sent through the Port of Vancouver was seized.  RCMP seized 132 kg of cocaine smuggled inside a container arriving from Brazil, as well as 40,000 fentanyl pills found during a subsequent search of an apartment.

https://vancouversun.com/news/crime/charges-stayed-in-another-major-b-c-case

MONEY LAUNDERING IN GABON THRIVES

Africa News on 26^th December reported that the Action Group against Money Laundering in Central Africa denounced the extent of corruption and money laundering activities in the real estate sector in Gabon.

http://www.africanews.com/2018/12/26/money-laundering-in-gabon-thrives-business-africa/

16 VIETNAMESE NATIONALS NABBED IN ALLEGED TELECOM FRAUD IN TAIWAN

Focus Taiwan on 29^th December reported that 16 Vietnamese nationals were arrested along with 3 Taiwanese in central Taiwan on suspicion of telecommunications fraud that targeted people in Vietnam.  It says that 14 of the Vietnamese suspects are runaway immigrant workers and 2 are fake tourists who strayed from their tour groups.  Authorities said the ring had swindled some $490,700 from 200 victims over the past 3 months.

http://focustaiwan.tw/news/asoc/201812290005.aspx

AUSTRALIA: FORMER EDUCATION MINISTER HAS $700,000 SUPER ACCOUNT FROZEN BY PROSECUTORS

The Sydney Morning Herald on 29^th December reported that prosecutors have frozen $703,000 held in a superannuation account belonging to former education department boss Nino Napoli, who is facing trial next year for allegedly conspiring to steal millions of dollars from the public school system 2007-2014.  His brother Robert Napoli, sister-in-law Dominica Napoli and cousin Carlo Squillacioti have also been charged with dealing with the proceeds of crime.

https://www.smh.com.au/national/victoria/nino-napoli-has-700-000-super-account-frozen-by-prosecutors-20181229-p50or5.html

SEYCHELLES ENACTS BEPS LEGISLATION

Tax News on 28^th December reported that Seychelles has enacted numerous legislative amendments that are intended to enable Seychelles to comply with the OECD’s base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) minimum standards.  Seychelles is to be peer-reviewed on its compliance with the BEPS minimum standards and other standards and, in 2020, it will be reviewed on its implementation of recommendations on improving dispute resolution mechanisms.

https://www.tax-news.com/news/Seychelles_Enacts_BEPS_Legislation____96989.html

AUSTRALIAN BORDER FORCE CHARGES 3 MEN IN RELATION TO BULK ILLICIT CIGARETTES SEIZURE

Customs Today on 28^th December reported that 3 men have been charged in relation to an alleged importation of 9.5 million illicit cigarettes into Western Australia in October.  The illicit tobacco market in Australia is worth about $600 million a year in evaded revenue.

http://www.customstoday.com.pk/australian-border-force-charge-three-men-in-relation-to-bulk-illicit-cigarettes-seizure/

US, REVERSING COURSE ON CLUSTER MUNITIONS, AND TESTING NEW ONES IN ISRAEL

On 28^th December, Pass Blue described “cluster munitions” as a term generally used to describe a weapon launched, dropped or fired from the ground, air or sea that disperses or releases sub-munitions, or bomblets.  It reports that the Trump administration has decided to reverse a policy instituted in 2008 by President George W. Bush (and carried out by President Obama) to end the use of cluster munitions with a failure rate of more than 1% (“duds”), and in 2016, US companies stopped producing cluster munitions.   One risk from their use is that they can leave unexploded ordnance that can detonate years if not decades after their release.  The weapon has been banned by more than 100 countries through the Convention on Cluster Munitions – but the US has not signed nor ratified the treaty – signed by 107 nations, it entered into force in 2010.  The article says that the US is testing the new cluster munition, the M999, in Israel, and made by an Israeli company, IMI Systems.

https://www.passblue.com/2018/12/28/the-us-reversing-course-on-cluster-munitions-is-testing-new-ones-in-israel/

For more information on the Convention see –

http://www.clusterconvention.org/

EU: NEW RULES ON REINFORCED SCHENGEN INFORMATION SYSTEM (SIS) ENTER INTO FORCE

On 28^th December, a news release from the EU advised that new rules to strengthen the Schengen Information System (SIS) had come into force.  The upgraded database will help border agencies to better monitor who is crossing the EU’s borders; support police and law enforcement in capturing dangerous criminals and terrorists; and offer greater protection for missing children and vulnerable adults, in line with the new data protection rules.  Under the new rules new functions to be introduced over the next 3 years include the following –

• national authorities are obliged to create a SIS alert for all cases related to terrorist offences – in line with data protection under the GDPR;
• will allow SIS alerts to be issued for unknown persons who are wanted in connection with a crime;
• authorities will be able to issue preventive alerts on persons who are in need of protection, in addition to existing alerts on missing persons; and
• it will be compulsory to insert into SIS any entry bans issued to third-country nationals preventing them from entering the Schengen area.

http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-18-6921_en.htm

COMPLEX WEB OF INTERNATIONAL BANKS, SHELL COMPANIES, HELPS NORTH KOREA GAIN ACCESS TO FUNDS

On 29^th December, CNBC published a report linking to a Wall Street Journal article that reveals some claimed details of the means used by North Korea saying, for example, that little currency used to fund government activities sits in North Korean banks, but instead moves around global financial firms and corporations.  North Korea uses proxies with hidden government ties across the globe to facilitate moving those payments, according to the report.

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/12/29/north-korea-skirts-sanctions-through-web-of-banks-companies-wsj.html

CZECH POLICE CHARGE 5 PEOPLE WITH €50 MILLION EU SUBSIDY FRAUD

Radio Praha on 29^th December reported that police have charged 5 people with EU subsidy fraud in connection with an EU grant of €50 million for the construction of a 5-star hotel and wellness centre near Hluboká Castle in south Bohemia.

https://www.radio.cz/en/section/news/police-charge-five-people-with-eu-subsidy-fraud

INDIA: RACING CANCELLED AS POLICE SWOOP ON BOOKMAKERS IN ANTI-CORRUPTION OPERATION

The Racing Post on 29^th December reported that racing was cancelled at Mahalaxmi racecourse in Mumbai after police swooped on 18 bookmakers operating at the track following claims of fraud and tax evasion.  They seized c. £160,000 and arrested the layers for allegedly failing to record all bets taken, in the process hiding their true turnover and thus avoiding paying a licensing fee or tax to the government.

https://www.racingpost.com/news/international/racing-cancelled-as-police-swoop-on-bookmakers-in-anti-corruption-operation/359248

UK: TAX PROBE EXTENDS TO RUGBY FOOTBALL

On 29^th December, The Rugby paper reported that, having clawed back over £300 million from the football industry since 2015/16, HMRC has turned its attention to rugby as part of a crackdown on improper payments to players.  It claims that 48 clubs at National One and Two level are being investigated, with scrutiny set to be expanded into the Premiership and Championship.

https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/domestic-club-rugby-union/31757/national-league-tax-probe-to-be-expanded-into-premiership/

THAILAND LEGALISES MEDICAL CANNABIS

On 28^th December, Jurist reported that the Thailand National Legislative Assembly had passed amendments to the Bill permitting the production, import, export, possession and use of cannabis and kratom for medical purposes – only organisations and people approved by the public health minister will be licensed for production, import, export, sale and possession of cannabis and kratom.  Kratom is a tropical tree native to SE Asia, with leaves that contain compounds that can have psychotropic effects.

https://www.jurist.org/news/2018/12/thailand-legalizes-medical-cannabis-and-kratom/

MEDVEDEV ANNOUNCES RUSSIAN BAN ON UKRAINIAN GOODS

Rferl on 29^th December reported a ban on Ukrainian goods, including agricultural and industrial products, days after adding Ukrainian firms and individuals to Russia’s sanctions list.

https://www.rferl.org/a/medvedev-announces-russian-ban-on-ukrainian-goods/29682961.html

EU STEPS UP WTO ACTION AGAINST CHINA OVER TECHNOLOGY TRANSFERS

On 28^th December, EU Business reported that the EU is stepping up its challenge in the WTO to practices that force European companies to give up sensitive technology and know-how as a precondition for doing business in China, building on a case first launched in June and “in the light of additional findings concerning the incompatibility of the Chinese measures on the approval of investments and the protection of foreign companies’ intellectual property rights with the agreed multilateral rules”.

https://www.eubusiness.com/news-eu/wto-china-tech.20jd

DELIVERY OF CARGO WITHOUT PRODUCTION OF THE ORIGINAL BILL OF LADING

On 29^th December, Hellenic Shipping News published a warning from the TT Club warning to shipping not to succumb to any commercial pressure to release goods without the appropriate documents.  Under no circumstances, it says, accept faxed or photocopied bills of lading or guarantees and only act upon receipt of original documents.  It warns that, as the original bills represent surety for the purchase price, if the carrier hands the goods over to an unauthorised party who does not hold the original, he is effectively denying the legitimate holder the security the original bills represent, by virtue of preventing that entity from themselves surrendering the bill and collecting the goods from the carrier.

https://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/delivery-of-cargo-without-production-of-the-original-bill-of-lading/

ASIA’S IRAN CRUDE IMPORTS HIT MORE THAN 5-YEAR LOW AS SANCTIONS BITE

Hellenic Shipping News reported on 29^th December that imports of Iranian crude oil by major buyers in Asia hit their lowest in more than 5 years in November as US sanctions on Iran’s oil exports took effect, government and ship-tracking data showed.  China, India, Japan and South Korea imports last month were down 12.7% from the same month a year earlier.  However, it notes that Asia’s Iranian oil imports are set to rise from December after the US granted 8 countries waivers from sanctions against Iran’s oil exports for 180 days.

https://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/asias-iran-crude-imports-hit-more-than-5-yr-low-in-nov-as-sanctions-bite/

https://www.compoundchem.com/2018/12/29/2018yir/

 

Website news site, The Shift, on 28^th December carried an article says that Malta is the country with the highest number of references (per capita) in Italian anti-mafia police reports on the mob’s activities abroad, according to a report mapping the presence of the Italian mafia in other countries.  The report is from Transcrime, the Joint research centre of the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, the Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna and the Università degli Studi di Perugia.  It says that while Spain, Germany and the Netherlands rank highest in terms of the number of mentions in the reports analysed, Malta, Luxembourg and the Netherlands rank higher if the number of references is weighted by the local population.  The report also states that Malta is a destination for Italian mafia criminals on the run, and highlights the fact that Malta’s strategic position in the middle of the Mediterranean makes the country a potential hub for organised crime involved in a variety of illicit trafficking routes.  The report says that the business sector with the most evidence of infiltration of organised crime – is the gambling/gaming industry, in all its subsectors: casinos, bingo games, video lottery (VLT) and slot machine stalls, and online gaming websites.  It also details the oil smuggling scandal involving Maltese, the mafia and Libyan militias.

https://theshiftnews.com/2018/12/28/report-maps-presence-of-italian-mafia-in-foreign-countries-malta-tops-list/

The report is available at –

http://www.transcrime.it/en/pubblicazioni/more-modelling-and-mapping-the-risk-of-serious-and-organised-crime-infiltration-in-legitimate-businesses-across-european-territories-and-sectors/

Bernews on 28^th December reported that Bermuda is one of 21 nations and territories included on a list of low-tax jurisdictions released by the Netherlands Government in what they said was an aim to “implement new measures to combat tax avoidance,” with the European nation listing jurisdictions that “either have no corporation tax or have a corporation tax rate that is lower than 9%”.  4 other British Overseas Territories and all 3 UK Crown Dependencies (Jersey, Guernsey, Isle of Man) are listed, along with the 5 jurisdictions currently blacklisted by the EU, plus the Bahamas, Bahrain, Belize, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Vanuatu and UAE.  Additional measures to be implemented for those on the list are said to be –

• additional measure on controlled foreign companies (CFC) which will come into effect on 1^st January, aiming to prevent companies avoiding tax by moving mobile assets to low-tax jurisdictions;
• a conditional withholding tax on interest and royalties from 1^st January 2021 on companies registered in the jurisdictions which will pay 20.5% tax from 2021 on interest and royalties received from the Netherlands, to prevent funds being channelled to tax havens through the Netherlands; and
• the Tax and Customs Administration will no longer issue rulings on transactions with companies headquartered in jurisdictions on the list.

A public consultation was held from 25^th September to 22^nd October, which resulted in no changes being made to the list.

http://bernews.com/2018/12/bermuda-on-dutch-low-tax-jurisdictions-list/

The official news release is at –

https://www.government.nl/latest/news/2018/12/28/netherlands-publishes-own-list-of-low-tax-jurisdictions-in-fight-against-tax-avoidance

The Dutch Government also issued a factsheet on its tax policy agenda on tackling tax avoidance and evasion –

http://cloudfront.bernews.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Factsheet-tax-evasion-and-tax-avoidance.pdf