7th April 2019
THE US ‘WAR ON DRUGS’ REALLY DID MAKE THINGS WORSE, NEW RESEARCH FINDS
On 6th April, Science Alert published an article saying that after 5 decades of intense and expensive policing, the US so-called ‘war on drugs’ has only created a bigger problem, a new study has found. The research is based on a unique geographic model, called NarcoLogic, that was designed to figure out how cocaine smuggling networks have adapted to US drug interception over the years. The study suggests that drug traffickers are actively adapting and adjusting their routes, exploiting new locations to get around US drug control. This essentially means that the very presence of law enforcement has only made drug trafficking more widespread and harder to eradicate. It is said that wholesale cocaine prices in the US have actually dropped significantly since 1980, deaths from cocaine overdose are rising, and counterdrug forces intercept cocaine shipments at a low rate.
The study itself is at –
https://www.pnas.org/content/early/2019/03/26/1812459116
JAPAN AND UK REPORT NEW EVIDENCE OF NORTH KOREAN SANCTIONS-BUSTING AT SEA
NK News on 7th April reported that the British and Japanese governments have published evidence that North Korea’s use of illicit ship-to-ship transfers continues, in press releases warning that its activities constituted a violation of international sanctions. HMS Montrose was reported to have spotted the DPRK-flagged Saebyol “alongside a ship of unknown nationality” on March 2nd, and that it was assessed that the ships were carrying out a ship-to-ship transfer. The transfer was said to have taken around 390 km offshore of Shanghai. The Saebyol (aka Chong Rim 2) was designated by the UN in 2016.
3 ARRESTED FOR HELPING DUTCH COMPANY LAUNDER MONEY FOR AN INDIAN COMPANY
The Indian Express on 7th April reported that Dutch investigators have alleged that an estimated $1.1 billion in profits earned by a Dutch pipeline company, through over-invoicing services and works were “creamed off” to a Singapore-based company linked to a privately-owned Indian company.
EX-CONGRESSMAN CHARLES TAYLOR DENIES BEING ‘OFFICER OR DIRECTOR’ OF STRUCK OFF RUSSIAN BANK
The Citizen Times on 6th April reported that AP had reported on April 5th that the Commercial Bank of Ivanovo (CBI) had been stripped of its licence in Russia after allegedly breaking AML rules. Charles Taylor, the ex-congressman from Western North Carolina, has distanced himself from the bank or any leadership role in its operation.
RUSSIA: ANTI-CORRUPTION INVESTIGATIONS INTO TRANSAERO AIRLINES BANKRUPTCY
Air101 on 7th April reported that the Foundation for Anticorruption Investigations has launched an investigation into the bankruptcy of OJSC Transaero Airlines. This was the first private company approved for commercial flights in 1990, grew to become the second-largest airline of Russia. It ceased operations in 2015 due to financial insolvency and was declared bankrupt in 2017. In the latest development, VTB bank filed a lawsuit against the main owners – Olga Pleshakova, her spouse Alexander Pleshakov and his mother Tatiana Anodina, with the total amount of the suit exceeding $3.85 billion.
https://www.air101.co.uk/2019/04/anti-corruption-investigations-into.html
G20 TO ESTABLISH CRYPTO AML AND COUNTER-TERRORISM FINANCING REGULATIONS IN JUNE
The Coin Telegraph on 7th April reported that the G20 member countries will meet to discuss international cryptocurrency AML regulation in June in Japan. The event will be focused on establishing a framework to combat crypto-enabled money laundering and terrorism financing.
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