Day: June 25, 2020

On 25 June, a release on Mondo Visione advised that the SEC has announced that Novartis AG, a global pharmaceutical and healthcare company headquartered in Switzerland, has agreed to pay over $112 million to settle charges that it violated the books and records and internal accounting controls provisions of the FCPA.  The allegations relate to improper payments or to provide benefits to public and private healthcare providers in South Korea, Vietnam, and Greece in exchange for prescribing or using Novartis or Alcon products.

https://mondovisione.com/media-and-resources/news/sec-charges-novartis-ag-with-fcpa-violations/

https://mondovisione.com/media-and-resources/news/us-department-of-justice-novartis-hellas-saci-and-alcon-pte-ltd-agree-to-pa/

 

 

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On 25 June, BNN Bloomberg reported that the Mauritian Prime Minister has fired his deputy, Ivan Collendavelloo, over alleged corruption in a local power-generation project. He also removed him from his post as minister of public utilities. He is the leader of Muvman Liberater, a minority partner in Mauritius’s ruling alliance.

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/mauritian-prime-minister-fires-deputy-over-corruption-report-1.1456261

 

 

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Gulf News on 25 June reported that a gang of 12 fraudsters allegedly involved in a cyber scam has been arrested in Dubai, according to Dubai Police.  Those arrested include well-known Instagram personalities Raymond Abbas (Hushpuppi) and Olalekan Jacob Ponle aka Woodbery. The operation revealed a hidden online fraud network that was committing crimes outside the UAE, including money-laundering, cyber fraud, hacking, criminal impersonating, scamming individuals, banking fraud and identity theft.

https://gulfnews.com/uae/watch-dubai-police-arrest-hushpuppi-11-others-in-dh16-billion-money-laundering-cyber-scam-1.72246774

 

 

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On 25 June, the FT and others reported that SEB is the latest Scandinavian bank to be fined by regulators in a scandal that has hurt northern Europe’s image.  The bank, controlled by the Wallenberg family of industrialists, has been fined $107 million for not identifying the risk of potential money laundering in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Estonian regulators have also fined it €1 million. The bank is said to have acted too little and too late.

https://www.ft.com/content/3d69838a-9bc2-415d-b293-2cde75d68c10

https://mondovisione.com/media-and-resources/news/finansinspektionen-seb-receives-an-administrative-fine-for-deficiencies-in-its/

 

 

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On 24 June, Radio Farda reported that near the country’s largest deposit of bauxite, sits an aluminium production complex that the government has publicly hailed as a key part of its efforts to boost output of the metal, but is also apparently home to a secret facility set up by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps and has been producing aluminium powder for use in its missile programme. It says that Iran’s production of aluminium powder for use in missiles, which hasn’t previously been reported, was developed amid international sanctions. Producing its own aluminium powder for use in missile propellants would give Iran greater control of the supply chain and quality. It is said that the Jajarm facility is run by Iran Alumina Company, which is a subsidiary of state-owned mines and metal holding company Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organisation (IMIDRO). Aluminium powder is used in products ranging from paints and electronics to solar panels and fireworks but, due to its explosive qualities, aluminium powder is also a key ingredient in solid-fuel propellants used to launch rockets and missiles. In 2010, the UK added IAC to a list of Iranian entities it believed could use goods purchased for military purposes or for WMD.

https://en.radiofarda.com/a/inside-iran-s-secret-project-to-produce-aluminium-powder-for-missiles/30688332.html

 

 

 

 

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On 25 June, the Strategic Trade Research Institute (STRI) and the Center for International and Security Studies at Maryland (CISSM) published this report (and held a live webinar) in which the authors set out to identify policy options that go beyond export controls and encompass a coordinated, comprehensive, and technical approach to garnering the many benefits of artificial intelligence while mitigating its security risks. The report says that lessons learned from strategic trade approaches to AI can be replicated, in certain situations, to other emerging technologies.

Executive summary –

https://strategictraderesearch.org/emerging-technologies-ai-and-strategic-trade-controls/

Report –

https://strategictraderesearch.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Artificial-Intelligence-and-Strategic-Trade-Controls.pdf

 

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On 25 June, KYC 360 reported an article in The Times saying that 5 eminent Parisian antiques specialists have been arrested on suspicion of selling looted Middle Eastern artefacts worth tens of millions of euros, and are suspected of masking the origin of the items before selling them to clients, including some of the world’s leading museums.  They are said to be being questioned by officers from the Central Office for the Fight against the Trafficking of Cultural Goods and the Central Office for the Fight Against Major Financial Crime.

https://www.riskscreen.com/kyc360/news/paris-art-experts-arrested-over-looted-antiquities/

 

 

 

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On 22 June, an article from Mayer Brown says that the European Commission had issued an Opinion that shed light on the scope of application of sanctions asset freeze measures and provides welcome clarifications on the application of asset freeze measures to non-sanctioned entities controlled by sanctioned persons. It also confirms that the concept of “economic resources” can cover services and labour.

https://www.mayerbrown.com/en/perspectives-events/publications/2020/06/asset-freeze-measures-fully-extend-to-controlled-entities-and-cover-services-and-labor-says-the-european-commission

 

 

 

 

 

 

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On 25 June, OFAC advised the addition of 8 new entities – in Dubai, Hong Kong and Germany, as well as Germany.  It also notified amendment of many existing entries. Those targeted are said to be involved in the Iranian metals sector, foreign subsidiaries and sales agents.

https://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/sanctions/OFAC-Enforcement/Pages/20200625.aspx

https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sm1044

 

 

 

 

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On 25 June, the EU Sanctions Blog reported that the list includes state-owned and NYSE-listed companies involved in nuclear, aviation and telecoms activities. The President is authorised to impose sanctions on companies included on the Pentagon’s list.

https://www.europeansanctions.com/2020/06/pentagon-issues-list-of-20-chinese-entities-with-military-links/

The list is at –

http://prod-upp-image-read.ft.com/466e4a3a-b651-11ea-b5d9-84704a744f61

 

 

 

 

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