Panama Covid-19 update – there has been a slow reduction in the number of active cases in the last 5 days, although the percentage of positive tests each day remains high – so reasons to be slightly optimistic? Today, “only” 826 cases reported (but remembering they would be from Sunday tests), with just 1 more new fatality. There are 15,328 active cases, with 33 in ICU, 194 in other wards and 19 in hospital-hotel quarantine.
20 JUNE 2022
POSTPONED TWICE, FATF’S INDIA EVALUATION DUE IN MAY NEXT YEAR
On 20 June, the Times of India reported that FATF will undertake the mutual evaluation of India in May next year to examine and rate efforts towards enforcement of laws related to “black money” and terror financing.
TRANSPORTING LITHIUM-ION BATTERIES: KNOW YOUR RISK
On 14 June, Marsh in the UK published an article which examines the risks of transporting Li-ion batteries and provide cargo owners 3 key steps to help manage these risks.
ART DEALER, 43, IS FACING EXTRADITION TO US AFTER BEING ACCUSED OF SUPPLYING FALSE DOCUMENTS
On 20 June, the Daily Mail reported that the dealer is accused of helping fraudster fiancé of a “Made in Chelsea” star con investors out of £68 million in ‘Ponzi-like’ scheme. He is charged with providing false information and documents to help ‘serial swindler’ Inigo Philbrick perpetrate a ‘ponzi-like scheme’ on his clients.
RUSSIA BECOMES CHINA’S TOP OIL SUPPLIER AMID UKRAINE WAR SANCTIONS
On 20 June, the Guardian reported that imports – including supplies pumped via the east Siberia Pacific pipeline and seaborne shipments – soared by 55% from a year earlier to a record level in May, displacing Saudi Arabia as the top supplier, as refiners cashed in on discounted supplies amid sanctions.
ONLINE GAMING COMPANY BASED IN GUERNSEY TO PAY UK REGULATOR £500,000 AFTER ADMITTING BREACHING AML AND SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY REQUIREMENTS
On 20 June, Guernsey Press reported that Jumpman Gaming allows customers to bet real money on virtual games. The Gambling Commission found the company had failed to regulate how much money customers were gambling, allowing some to deposit and lose more than they could afford. The company is regulated by the Alderney Gambling Control Commission.
https://guernseypress.com/news/2022/06/20/gaming-business-agrees-to-pay-regulator-500k/
BRAZIL SENDS No.1 MONEY LAUNDERER TO JAIL FOR 13 YEARS
On 20 June, OCCRP reported that a Brazilian court sent a man who helped a gemstone company launder at least $44 million to prison for 13 years. The case is an offshoot of the famous Operation Lava Jato, or Car Wash, South America’s biggest corruption scandal in history. Dario Messer is known for laundering such huge amounts of money that he was nicknamed “doleiro dos doleiros” – roughly translated “the money-changer of all money-changers”.
https://www.occrp.org/en/daily/16458-brazil-sends-no-1-money-laundered-to-jail-for-13-years
HMRC BEGINS HANDING OUT AML REGULATION FINES TO ART MARKET PLAYERS
On 20 June, The Art Newspaper reported that HMRC is penalising art world “participants” that have failed to register under the new AML legislation.
HONDURAS SENTENCES EX-OFFICIAL TO OVER 10 YEARS FOR BUYING USELESS MOBILE HOSPITALS
On 18 June, OCCRP reported that the former head of a Honduran institution that was tasked with emergency procurement related to the COVID-19 pandemic has been sentenced to nearly 11 years in prison for purchasing useless mobile hospitals at a highly inflated price. 7 mobile hospitals and more than $47 million was involved.
JERSEY TAX SHELTER LEAK EXPOSES WALL STREET TRADING ACTIVITIES OF GHISLAINE MAXWELL’S FAMILY
On 17 June, a report from OCCRP claims that leaked documents show how Kevin and Ian Maxwell, brothers of disgraced heiress Ghislaine, used a Jersey trust to hide their business activities and finances. It alleges that the files suggest a trust that appears to have been working on behalf of Kevin and Ian Maxwell engaged in suspicious trading activities in public companies and secret stock deals, and may have committed securities violations that could have hurt public investors.
https://www.statista.com/chart/18436/total-number-of-refugees-by-origin-country
SPAIN: STAR FOOTBALLER SAMUEL ETO’O 22-MONTH SUSPENDED SENTENCE AFTER PLEADING GUILTY TO £3 MILLION TAX EVASION
On 20 June, the Mirror reported that the former Chelsea striker has received a 22-month suspended prison sentence by Spanish authorities after pleading guilty to tax evasion. He admitted defrauding the Spanish Public Treasury of €3.9 million during his time at Barcelona between 2006 and 2009. He has partially repaid the fee and been ordered to pay a further €1.8 million in fines after pleading guilty.
https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/samuel-etoo-prison-sentence-tax-27285170
COUNCIL OF EUROPE SAYS THAT CORRUPTION IN KAZAKHSTAN IS A SERIOUS PROBLEM
On 20 June, OCCRP reported that although Kazakh authorities have in the past decade launched numerous initiatives to curb it, corruption remains woven into the fabric of high-levels of society, public bodies, institutions and the private sector. This is according to the Council of Europe’s GRECO. Corruption and oligarchic capitalism has plagued the oil and mineral rich Central Asian nation since it gained its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991; and it currently ranks 102nd out of 180 countries in the Transparency International Corruption Perception Index.
https://www.occrp.org/en/daily/16466-council-of-europe-corruption-in-kazakhstan-is-a-serious-problem
MYSTERIOUS GROUP OF COMPANIES TIED TO BANK ROSSIYA UNITES BILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN ASSETS CONNECTED TO VLADIMIR PUTIN
On 20 June, OCCRP and the Guardian carried a report about a group of interconnected companies that hold palaces, resorts, yachts, jets, and bank accounts full of cash. The grouping is said to look most of all like a cooperative, or an association, in which its members can exchange benefits and property. According to the report, it links Putin who cultivates a public image of abstemious patriotism, has been linked to a number of luxurious properties, including a vast palace on the Black Sea, acres of surrounding vineyards, a ski resort, and a villa north of St. Petersburg.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jun/20/russian-emails-vladimir-putin-llcinvest
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