Panama Covid-19 update – as the effects of the apparent third wave continued to be felt, a total lockdown is imposed for Sundays only in the one district, Aquadulce, with 10 pm curfews extended to further areas. At the same time a total Monday-Sunday lockdown – a cordon sanitaire and total quarantine for the indigenous community of Armila in the Guna Yala region.
Meanwhile, another 583 new cases are reported, with 6 new fatalities (plus 1 previous one added to the total); with now 10,491 active cases, of whom 84 (unchanged) are in ICU and 482 in other wards.
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20 JUNE 2021
AUSTRIA DETAINS TURKISH SUSPECT IN MONEY LAUNDERING CASE
On 20 June, Daily Sabah in Turkey reported that Sezgin Baran Korkmaz, CEO of SBK Holding, accused of money laundering by Turkish authorities and wanted by the US, was detained in Austria. Korkmaz had left Turkey on 5 December, and is subject to an Interpol ‘red notice’. Korkmaz’s companies were allegedly involved in laundering $132 million. He is said to have been was in partnership with Jacob Kingston and his brother Isaiah, the executives of a Salt Lake City biodiesel company. The brothers have pleaded guilty in the US over the tax credit scheme involving the Washakie Renewable Energy company, creating fake production records to get renewable-fuel tax credits.
CRYPTO BILLIONS MOVED THROUGH MALTA AMID ‘LAX OVERSIGHT’
On 20 June, the Times of Malta carried an article saying that some €60 billion in cryptocurrency and other virtual assets moved through Malta after it first announced itself as the ‘blockchain island’, when controls were still considered lax. The country’s initial push for crypto business was flagged as “problematic” by global experts reviewing Malta’s AML regime.
https://timesofmalta.com/articles/view/crypto-billions-moved-through-malta-amid-lax-oversight.880637
INDONESIAN FUGITIVE ON INTERPOL RED NOTICE LIST REPATRIATED FROM SINGAPORE
On 20 June, Channel News Asia reported that Adelin Lis has been wanted in Indonesia since 2008 over corruption and illegal logging. It is said that in 2006, Adelin and his bodyguards resisted arrest at the Indonesian Embassy in Beijing and beat up embassy staff before fleeing. He was later arrested again with the help of Chinese police. He escaped in 2008 and remained on the run until he was caught in Singapore in 2018. He is said to have had a fake passport with the name Hendro Leonardi.
HOW RUSSIAN BANKS ANTICIPATED AND DEALT WITH GLOBAL FINANCIAL SANCTIONS
On 20 June, an analysis from Vox at the Centre for Economic Policy Research published in Eurasia Review says that financial sanctions against Russia’s state-owned and controlled banks were imposed between 2014 and 2019, but allowing banks that would potentially be targeted in the future to adjust their international and domestic exposures. The article explores the informational effects of financial sanctions, showing that compared to similar private banks, ‘not yet sanctioned’ financial institutions immediately reduced their foreign assets while, rather unexpectedly, expanding their foreign liabilities. It points out there were nearly 40 banks that were indirectly controlled by the government but were left uncovered by the sanctions, and that It is clear that the already sanctioned banks, if necessary, could transfer a part of their prohibited international operations to their unsanctioned subsidiaries, thus dampening the overall effects of sanctions.
DUTCH FAKE PRO FOOTBALLER ARRESTED FOR FRAUD IN COLOMBIA
On 20 June, NL Times reported that Dutch fake pro football player, Bernio Jordan Enzo V. had been arrested in Colombia for skipping bills in expensive hotels, apartments, boats and restaurants worth more than €5,500. He is an amateur football player who posed as a professional soccer player in Transnistria and held contracts for a short time in South Africa and Chile, although he left the clubs without ever having played in a match. He had already been found guilty of fraud in Denmark in 2019 after posing as a professional football player.
https://nltimes.nl/2021/06/20/notorious-dutch-fake-pro-footballer-arrested-fraud-colombia
RUSSIA’S NATIONAL GOODS TRACEABILITY SYSTEM CREATES NEW LEVEL OF MEASURES TO COUNTER ILLEGAL GOODS TRAFFICKING
On 18 June, an article from CMS Law says that, on 1 July, Russia is introducing a national system of traceability of goods. Previously, the traceability system was experimental and voluntary. Taxpayers will be required to report transactions with traceable goods to tax authorities. The system is designed as a system of counteractions against the illegal import and circulation of goods and a centralised database of the Federal Tax Service (FTS) will enable it to monitor operations with traceable goods from the moment of their entry into Russian territory. Tracking is based on a special goods traceability registration number, which is assigned to a consignment of goods as soon as it is imported into Russia and declared. The article lists the types of goods covered. It is expected to considerably reduce the share of illegal goods circulation within Russia.
https://www.cms-lawnow.com/ealerts/2021/06/russias-national-goods-traceability-system
EVIDENCE FOR HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMITTEE ON ECONOMIC CRIME
On 14 June, the House of Commons published the oral evidence given to the Treasury Committee by Mark Steward, Director of Enforcement, FCA, also representing the Office for Professional Body Anti-Money Laundering; Chris Hemsley, Managing Director, Payment Systems Regulator; Simon York, Director of the Fraud Investigation Service, HMRC; and Martin Swain, Director for Strategy and Policy, Companies House.
https://committees.parliament.uk/oralevidence/2349/pdf/
NEW YORK CITY DOCTOR GETS NEARLY 5 YEARS IN PRISON AFTER TAKING BRIBES TO PRESCRIBE FENTANYL
On 17 June, NBC 4 New York reported that the doctor prescribed a powerful fentanyl opioid in exchange for almost $200,000 in bribes from the drug’s manufacturer, and received other gifts in the form of holiday parties and strip club visits funded by the manufacturer. He prescribed Subsys, a powerful fentanyl opioid, in exchange for almost $200,000 in bribes from the drug’s manufacturer, Insys Therapeutics.
PETROFAC: OIL COMPANY LED BY TORY DONOR INVESTIGATED OVER ALLEGED BRIBES IN 9 COUNTRIES
On 20 June, The Observer carried an article about a multinational oil company which was led by a major Conservative donor has been under investigation for 4 years for allegedly paying million-pound bribes to secure contracts in 9 countries. It is headed by Ayman Asfari, who with his wife has donated almost £800,000 to the Conservative Party in their personal capacity. Contracts and bids being scrutinised include those in contracts in the Middle East, Africa and Asia, including Kuwait and Algeria, Iran, Syria, Bahrain, and Kazakhstan. The SFO has secured a guilty plea from a senior former executive, David Lufkin, who admitted working with Petrofac employees to offer or pay bribes totalling $80 million to win contracts worth a total of $7.5bn in Saudi Arabia, Iraq and the UAE.
MANCHESTER: POLICE ARREST MAN SUSPECTED OF SENDING 26,000 ‘PHISHING’ TEXT MESSAGES IN A SINGLE DAY
On 20 June, Cheshire Live reported that Greater Manchester Police officers swooped in on a city centre hotel room after staff reported suspicious activity, and a man with a large amount of cables in a bag. They arrested a 21-year-old man from Manchester was after police found a laptop and other devices inside the room at Ibis hotel in Charles Street. Analysis showed more than 44,000 mobile phone contacts were stored on the devices found in the room and 26,000 texts purporting be from the courier firm Hermes were sent out in 24 hours, all asking the recipient for bank details because of a missed delivery.
https://www.cheshire-live.co.uk/news/local-news/police-raid-hotel-room-arrest-20860404
PODCAST: THE RISING THREAT FROM RIGHT-WING DOMESTIC TERROR GROUPS
On 17 June, a 20-minute podcast from ACAMS Financial Crimes Matters consists of a discussion with Dr. Hans-Jakob Schindler, senior director of the Counter Extremism Project, about the rising threat from right-wing domestic terror groups. He describes some of the interlinked extremist groups that are raising funds with merchandise and festival ticket sales as well as criminal actions with an eye to enabling financial institutions to identify funds associated with these extremists.
https://soundcloud.com/financialcrimematters/right-wing-extremism
FATF BLACKLISTS AND GREYLISTS
Comply Advantage has produced a short article explaining the OECD/FATF “Black List” (aka High-Risk Jurisdictions subject to a Call for Action) and the “Grey List” (Jurisdictions under Increased Monitoring).
https://complyadvantage.com/knowledgebase/fatf-blacklists-greylists/
Any modest contributions for my time and ongoing expenses are welcomed! I have a page, where contributions start as low as $3, at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/KoIvM842y
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