Panama Covid-19 update – after several days we saw a further death today, taking the total since March 2020 to 8,179. 200 new cases were reported, but the number of recorded active cases fell by 74 to 2,395. There are 12 patients in ICU that have Covid, and 61 in other wards – like elsewhere, it is unclear how many of these are in hospital because of Covid, or have tested positive when admitted for some other reason.
17 APRIL 2022
WHY IS PANAMA REFUSING TO BLOCK THE CANAL FROM RUSSIA’S SHIPS?
On 17 April, CronicaViva explained why Panama is not barring Russian ships from the Panama Canal.
https://www.cronicaviva.com.pe/por-que-panama-se-niega-a-bloquear-el-canal-a-los-buques-de-rusia/
COLOMBIA: GROUP CHARGED OVER ALLEGED TRADE-BASED MONEY LAUNDERING
On 17 April, Critica reported that it is alleged that the 5 defendants, in 2010 to 2017, accepted money from Panama, China, the US, Venezuela and Turkey into different bank accounts and that this money was backed as merchandise exported to Venezuela.
OLEG DERIPASKA’S SUPERYACHT SAILS ON AS SANCTIONS BITE
On 16 April, The Gazette in Colorado reported that Clio, a $65-million superyacht tied to Oleg Deripaska, the Russian aluminum billionaire, is on the move again after being anchored off the Maldives.
OWNER OF FLORIDA REHAB NETWORK CONVICTED IN $58 MILLION FRAUD
On 16 April, Market Watch reported that she was accused of submitting excessive insurance claims for expensive urine tests and paying kickbacks to patients to sign up for her facilities.
CANADA: ‘BITCOIN WIDOW’ REVEALS HOW SHE FELL VICTIM TO HER OWN HUSBAND’S $215M SCAM AFTER HIS MYSTERIOUS DEATH
On 15 April, The Independent reported on the case of Gerald Cotten, a controversial Canadian cryptocurrency businessman who suddenly died in 2018, leaving behind a trail of missing millions, lawsuits, investigations, and wild conspiracy theories related to his company QuadrigaCX. By the time Quadriga folded, it owed its approximately 76,000 investors $215 million. Founded in 2014, Quadriga was for a time Canada’s largest cryptocurrency exchange platform. The FBI and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police are still said to be investigating the lost crypto.
https://www.independent.co.uk/tech/bitcoin-widow-gerald-cotten-quadriga-b2056019.html
NEW YORK: MAN BEHIND DOZENS OF BITCOIN KIOSKS HAS BEEN INDICTED FOR TAX FRAUD
On 13 April, the Law & Crime website reported that a man accused of running dozens of illegal Bitcoin kiosks that operated in laundromats in New York City and elsewhere has been indicted. The network, which also operated in New Jersey and Miami, is said to have converted more than $5.6 million from cash into Bitcoin by marketing extreme anonymity, making his unlicensed business a magnet for criminals, prosecutors say.
COST OF CHARTERING OIL TANKERS FOR RUSSIAN EXPORTS SOARS
On 14 April, Insurance Marine News reported that it now costs more than $348,000 a day to charter an oil tanker from the port of Primorsk to north-west Europe – the highest since at least 2008.
THE RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR AND GLOBAL FOOD SECURITY
On 15 April, CSIS published an article saying that, 7 weeks into the war, the contours of these consequences are clear: exports from Ukraine have stalled, future harvests are in question, global prices of agriculture commodities have spiked, and most exposed are the countries that rely on agricultural exports from Ukraine and Russia to feed their citizens or fertiliser from Russia and Belarus to produce their own food.
VISUALISING THE DISTRIBUTION OF HOUSEHOLD WEALTH, BY COUNTRY
https://www.visualcapitalist.com/cp/visualizing-the-distribution-of-household-wealth-by-country/
FRANCE: MARINE LE PEN ACCUSED OF EMBEZZLING MORE THAN £500,000 FROM THE EU
On 17 April, the Mail Online reported that, a week before the second round of the French Presidential election, it has been revealed that EU investigators have accused Le Pen, 53, and her own father Jean-Marie Le Pen, 93, of embezzling some €620,000 on behalf of their political party, the far-Right National Rally.
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