Day: April 18, 2019

On 17^th April, the Evening Standard reported claims that a father and son laundered more than £10 million from the illegal sale of Viagra and slimming pills through charities they set up to tackle Jewish poverty.  Investigators claim £10.2 million of a total income of £18.7 million between 2012 and 2014 can be identified as laundered money – profits from illegally selling Viagra, slimming pills, anti-smoking tablets and other prescription drugs online to customers across Europe.

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/father-and-son-used-charities-to-hide-10m-from-illegal-prescription-drugs-a4120351.html

Local Government Lawyer on 18^th April reported that the Information Commissioner’s Office has issued a reminder to public and private organisations that the GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018 do not stop them from disclosing personal data to assist police forces or other law enforcement authorities.  It says that organisations are hesitant to share people’s personal data with the police and in some cases are refusing to share with anyone, citing data protection as the problem. In cases of serious or violent crime, this can mean that essential information needed to safeguard individuals is not being passed to the relevant law enforcement authorities.

https://www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk/information-law/398-information-law-news/40367-data-protection-law-not-a-barrier-to-sharing-information-to-save-lives-and-stop-crime-ico

The relevant blog post from the ICO is at –

https://ico.org.uk/about-the-ico/news-and-events/blog-data-protection-law-does-not-prevent-information-sharing-to-save-lives-and-stop-crime/?hootPostID=d80e5ced685c13bfa588567da7421e99

OCCRP on 18^th April reported that Alexander Manolev, Bulgaria’s Deputy Minister of Economy resigned following the publication of an investigation that suggested he used a guesthouse built with EU money as his own private vacation home.

https://www.occrp.org/en/27-ccwatch/cc-watch-briefs/9601-bulgarian-deputy-minister-resigns-in-wake-of-investigation

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/read-text-full-mueller-report-n994551

 

The Hill reported on 18^th April that the US has arrested and charged a Guatemalan presidential candidate in connection with a plot to allegedly traffic cocaine and have rival candidates assassinated.  It is alleged that Mario Estrada, along with accomplice Juan Pablo Gonzales, allegedly sought between $10 and $12 million from Mexico’s Sinaloa drug cartel in campaign funds in return for allowing the cartel to move cocaine though Guatemalan airports.  Estrada is a member of the centre-right National Charge Union party and polls far behind other candidates in the nation’s general election, which is set to be held June 16^th.

https://thehill.com/policy/international/americas/439465-guatemalan-presidential-candidate-arrested-over-drug

Capital News in Kenya reported on 18^th April that a team of British specialists and financial investigators based in the High Commission in Kenya and back in the UK are following, tracking down bank accounts and operations of those suspected to have stolen from the Kenyan people.

https://www.capitalfm.co.ke/news/2019/04/uk-helping-track-down-assets-of-kenyan-officials-accused-of-looting/

A news release from the UN on 17^th April reported that 1 entry on its ISIL/Al-Qaida sanctions list has been amended.

https://www.un.org/press/en/2019/sc13784.doc.htm

Customs Today on 18^th April reported a scam where sand mixed with gold was being smuggled out of Sri Lanka.  A special audit report on the matter, first reported in 2018, has been made public.  According to the report, 51 containers with gold mixed sand were smuggled overseas through the Customs.  23 containers were seized in 2017, 19 of them are still in the custody of the Customs.

http://www.customstoday.com.pk/exposed-gold-smuggled-by-mixing-with-sand/

A news release from the US Attorney in Southern Florida reported that the Miami-based gold refinery company, Republic Metals Corporation (RMC) has agreed a non-prosecution agreement after co-operating in an investigation focusing on money laundering and violations of the Bank Secrecy Act in the gold importation and refining industry.  Under the terms of the agreement, RMC agreed to continue co-operating in the ongoing investigation, as well as to make improvements in its AML and compliance programmes.  RMC is the second US gold refinery that has been implicated in investigation into the gold importation and refining industry.  Previously, Elemetal LLC pled guilty to failing to maintain an adequate AML programme.

https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdfl/pr/united-states-government-and-cooperating-us-gold-refinery-enter-agreement-after-money

https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/crime/article229361954.html

On 17^th April, the National Law Review reported that South Africa’s Financial Intelligence Centre FIC periodically releases financial crime typologies and case studies. Recently it published information about typologies in 2 different lines of business: casinos and the gambling industry, and the property sector, including the activities of what it terms a prominent influential person (PIP) investing in property.

https://www.natlawreview.com/article/south-africa-publishes-more-about-money-laundering-vulnerabilities