October 7, 2019 – raytodd.blog

DRONE TECHNOLOGY PROLIFERATION IN SMALL WARS

An article in the Small Wars Journal starts by saying that the recent drone attacks targeting critical components of Saudi Arabia’s energy sector, highlighted by the September fourteenth attacks on Saudi Arabia’s Khurais oilfield and Abqaiq refinery, demonstrate the strategic effect small drones can make in conflict zones. It sets out to examine how technological innovation is contributing to the growing role of drones in small wars and how the application of new technology is sometimes shaped by the operational environment and external actors. It also considers how new changes may soon increase the threat of these unmanned systems. The article distinguishes between the terms drone and UAV meaning unmanned aircraft, whereas an unmanned aerial systems (UAS) is taken to mean something more – a UAS is a complete system to include the drone, pilot, ground control station and any other components involved in flying the aircraft. While concluding that the situation is not entirely without hope, it also says compares the commercial proliferation of small UAV technology as a significant bonus to terrorist and insurgent groups against soft and unprepared targets similar to the jumps in capability afforded when surplus (and state-provided) automatic weapons proliferated during the ’50s and ’60s, and the adaptation of commercial cell phone and wireless communications technology to IED.

https://smallwarsjournal.com/jrnl/art/drone-technology-proliferation-small-wars?mc_cid=90e54c31e2&mc_eid=cb69914e13

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POCA CONFISCATION ORDER ENFORCED – 9 YEARS ADDED TO SENTENCE FOR NON-PAYMENT

A news release from Lincolnshire Police on 7^th October advised that Imtiaz Khoda, who was convicted of money laundering in 2016, has had 9 years 8 months added to his sentence for failing to meet his proceeds of crime obligations. He was sentenced in June 2017 to 4½ years imprisonment and disqualified from acting as a company director for 6 years. A confiscation order was made for £8,761,222.68 in April and he was given 3 months to pay the available amount of £4,024,809.38 or face a term of 10 years imprisonment if he defaulted. However, only £212,217 had been paid towards the order; the court found a wilful refusal by Khoda to engage in the process. The original conviction arose from Operation Tarlac, which had revealed that a criminal group had defrauded £12 million from various public bodies including a number of NHS bodies, councils and housing associations around the UK. The Guernsey government was also targeted, losing £2.6 million. The fraudsters employed forged letters, emails and faxes to masquerade as a legitimate firm and divert payments to themselves.

https://www.lincs.police.uk/news-campaigns/news/2019/op-tarlac-poca-confiscation-order-enforced

REVISING THE EU DUAL-USE EXPORT CONTROL REGULATION

On 7^th October, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute published a briefing saying that the EU Dual-Use Regulation creates a common legal basis for Member States’ controls on the trade in ‘dual-use items’ (i.e. goods, materials and technologies that may be used for both civilian and military purposes) and is a crucial component of global non-proliferation efforts. In 2011, the European Commission launched a review of the regulation and in September 2016 published a proposal for a new version. It says that in October the European Commission, the European Parliament and the European Council will engage in what is termed a ‘trilogue’’ before a new version of the EU Dual-use Regulation is adopted. The briefing from SIPRI aims to provide a better understanding of the positions of the 3 parties (Commission, Parliament and Council) on a selection of key issues –

controls on cyber-surveillance technology;
language on human rights and international humanitarian law
harmonised interpretation of key concepts; and
improved information sharing.

Each section concludes with ideas for how divisions between the parties might be bridged.

However, the article says that the differences between the positions adopted by the parties are significant and indicate that reaching an agreement will be difficult.

https://www.sipri.org/commentary/topical-backgrounder/2019/revising-eu-dual-use-regulation-challenges-and-opportunities-trilogue-process

PREVENTING A DIRTY BOMB: CASE STUDIES ON RISK MITIGATION THROUGH REPLACING CAESIUM-137 IRRADIATORS

On 3^rd October, NTI published an article about a new report from Nuclear Threat Initiative that says the ingredients needed to build a radiological “dirty” bomb can be found in hundreds of facilities around the US, many of them vulnerable to theft. As a result, it says, experts believe the likelihood of a terrorist detonating a dirty bomb is much higher than an improvised nuclear device. Cesium-137 is said to be the mostpotentially dangerous radioactive source – located at thousands of sites in more than 150 countries, many of them poorly secured and vulnerable to theft. The report offers solutions for securing and eliminating radiological sources and shares case studies – in New York, for example, 15 of the city’s 32 cesium-137 irradiators in use as of 2014 have been replaced and seven more are pending. The report aims to serve as a guide and a toolkit for those interested in addressing the risks and understanding the technologies involved.

https://media.nti.org/documents/NTI_Rad_Report_final-website.pdf

See brochure on the topic at –

https://media.nti.org/documents/Preventing_a_Dirty_Bomb_FINAL.pdf

PROSECUTORS SEIZE ASSETS OF AIR MOLDOVA

Emerging Europe on 7^th October reported that the Moldovan Agency for the Recovery of Criminal Assets (ARBI) and the country’s anti-graft prosecutor’s office have seized some €35 million worth of assets belonging to flag carrier Air Moldova following accusations of money laundering linked to a series of fictitious transactions that led to the privatisation of the airline last year. The seized assets include 2 aircraft, various buildings and several road vehicles. Moldova Air was privatised in 2017. Air Moldova operates flights to 33 destinations with 8 aircraft.

https://emerging-europe.com/business/prosecutors-seize-assets-of-air-moldova

HAGUE CONVENTION LETTERS OF REQUEST: WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU ARE ON THE RECEIVING END

An article from Collyer Bristow LLP on 3^rd October says that Hague Convention letters of request are an effective tool used by US litigants to obtain evidence from potential witnesses in the UK in situations where the witnesses are unwilling to give evidence voluntarily. The US and UK are signatories to the Convention on the Taking of Evidence Abroad in Civil or Commercial Matters (the “Hague Convention”). This means that litigants can ask a US court to seek assistance from the High Court of England and Wales by issuing a “letter of request” to obtain evidence from potential witnesses in the UK, and seek a court order to compel the witness to attend for a deposition – and are generally obtained with relative ease. The letter of request will (or should), amongst other things, explain the relevance of the evidence sought and provide details of the subject matter in relation to which the witness will be deposed. The article explains what can be done if such an order is received. For example, a deposition order could be challenged where the requesting party has failed to properly demonstrate why the evidence sought from the witness is relevant for trial, as opposed to being a mere fishing expedition. The article explains that the deposition will be conducted in the same way as taking evidence at an English High Court trial and the parties will be required to have English legal representation in a hearing overseen by a court-appointed Examiner.

https://collyerbristow.com/longer-reads/hague-convention-letters-of-request-what-to-do-when-you-are-on-the-receiving-end/