The protests continue, although today it was announced that the long-distance bus to the city of David, suspended for the past few weeks, is being restored. It is said that that initially, the trips will only be from David to the capital city since the fleet of 55 buses is all in the province of Chirica.
It is also said that 9 civil society organisations and movements focused on the fight against corruption have proposed a series of actions and asked to be included in discussions.
HOW IRELAND LANDED IN THE CENTRE OF RUSSIA’S $10 BILLION PLANE HEIST
On 25 July, Deutsche Welle published a video news report, as the Farnborough Air Show was underway, on the global scramble by overseas airliner lessors to recover $10 billion worth of aircraft stuck in Russia.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzhXNeIeZFw
A GUIDE TO THE NEW REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS FOR OVERSEAS OWNERS OF UK PROPERTY
On 25 July, Dixcart published what it claimed to be a comprehensive guide to the new requirements. It sets out to explain what has changed, who one needs to identify, and what information is required to enable one to register. It explains that Companies House will then publish the identity on a public register (although individuals to be able to protect some of their information from public disclosure in limited circumstances) and assign a unique Overseas Entity ID. This Overseas Entity ID will be required by the Land Registry before it registers any dealings with real estate in England & Wales. Registered entities must update their information annually.
See also –
REGISTER OF OVERSEAS ENTITIES (DELIVERY, PROTECTION AND TRUST SERVICES) REGULATIONS 2022
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2022/870/contents/made
THE TOP 5 MOST EXPENSIVE PORTS IN THE WORLD LOCATED IN THE US
On 26 July, Global Trade Magazine said that demurrage and detention charges imposed on the US shippers by container lines continue to be the most expensive in the world and have increased this year even as global average fees have fallen from the record highs of 2021. A new report ranks the most expensive global ports for D&D charges levied by container lines on customers 2 weeks after a cargo arrives at the port or is discharged from the vessel.
https://www.globaltrademag.com/top-5-most-expensive-ports-in-the-world-located-in-the-u-s/
A YEAR HAS PASSED SINCE THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION REFUSED THE UK REJOINING THE LUGANO CONVENTION FOR THE AUTOMATIC MUTUAL RECOGNITION OF JUDGMENTS
On 25 July, an article from Stevens & Bolton LLP explains what this means, and that a simple, pragmatic, commercially sensible system had been replaced by a more complex web of different systems that, while certainly not impossible to navigate, potentially make it harder, slower and more costly to achieve successful outcomes in multijurisdictional disputes with a European angle. In particular, it says, problems arise where parties need to enforce interim orders quickly, such as in the case of fraud. In the absence of any comparable bilateral or multinational arrangements, parties must now (in most cases) fall back on the local law of the European country in which they wish to enforce an order.
https://www.stevens-bolton.com/site/insights/articles/lugano-lacuna-au-revoir-enforcement
FLAWS IN THE PUSH TO SECURE CHIP SUPPLY CHAINS
On 27 July, an article from Nikkei Asia pointed out that it was not enough to secure semiconductor makers, who it says are being showered with subsidies. The problem is that these shortages are not limited to chips, but encompass thousands of components that make up the enormously complex supply ecosystem.
https://www.defenseone.com/ideas/2022/07/pass-chips-act/374964/
UK ISSUES SAFETY GUIDANCE FOR ELECTRIC VEHICLES ON RO-RO FERRIES
On 22 July, Seatrade Maritime News reported that the Maritime and Coastguard Agency has published best practice guidance for the safe carriage and charging of electric vehicles on ro-ro passenger ferries. It points out that, aside from the different firefighting requirements of electric vehicles, they are also 25% heavier on average and have a different centre of gravity which can be used to make better weight and stability calculations.
AUSTRALIA BANS TANKER FOR UNDERPAYING CREW WAGES
On 26 July, Seatrade Maritime News reported that the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) had detained the Liberian-flagged, Singapore-owned vessel after it was inspected in the Port of Gladstone following a complaint on underpayment of seafarers and other welfare issues. The authorities found the ship’s crew of 21 were owed A$123,000 in underpaid wages, food and drinking water were not of appropriate quality, quantity and
nutritional value for seafarers, and that crew had been repeatedly not paid at regular intervals and 2 crew had expired employment agreements. Australia routinely bars vessels for failure to comply with the Maritime Labour Convention and other maritime conventions.
https://www.seatrade-maritime.com/regulation/australia-bans-tanker-underpaying-crew-wages
US: AUDITORS ARE DEMANDING THAT THEIR CLIENTS PROMISE THAT THEY HAVE NO SIGNIFICANT CONNECTIONS TO RUSSIANS OR RUSSIAN COMPANIES
On 27 July, the Wall Street Journal reported that, in an effort to avoid violating sanctions, auditors are demanding that their clients promise that they have no significant connections to Russians or Russian companies. It says that sanctions experts and some corporate board members say auditors are going beyond what is necessary and could be placing legal liability on their clients.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/auditors-press-clients-on-russia-connections-11658879879
US: THE FIRST AMENDMENT, AND THE ENFORCEMENT OF FOREIGN JUDGMENTS
On 21 July, the Transnational Litigation Blog published a post explaining that a court in the US is not required to enforce a foreign money judgment when that judgment is “repugnant to the public policy of . . . the United States”, under the First Amendment, and that Congress codified the position on foreign libel judgments in a 2010 Act. It goes on to say that libel judgments are not the only area, however, in which the First Amendment may affect a court’s willingness to enforce a foreign money judgment, considering a French copyright judgment held to be contrary to US public policy because French law does not contain a “fair use” exception. Although overruled on appeal, with the case involving several years of litigation, the post says that the court’s analysis suggests that—on the right set of facts—the First Amendment roots of the doctrine could support a successful public policy defence to a claim.
https://tlblog.org/fair-use-the-first-amendment-and-the-enforcement-of-foreign-judgments
UPDATE OF THE EU BEST PRACTICES FOR THE EFFECTIVE IMPLEMENTATION OF RESTRICTIVE MEASURES
On 27 June, the EU published this updated guidance which includes recent case law, such as that indicating that a third country can qualify as a ‘legal person’ directly affected by EU sanctions and can bring an action for annulment even though the EU has no reciprocal right before the courts of such states. It also refines the use of the term ‘exemption’, in relation to actions that are not prohibited by sanctions regulations, and ‘derogation’, in relation to actions that are prohibited by regulations unless authorised by a national competent authority.
KRAKEN CRYPTOCURRENCY EXCHANGE REPORTEDLY UNDER INVESTIGATION IN US FOR SUSPECTED SANCTIONS VIOLATIONS
On 26 July, various media reported that Kraken, a cryptocurrency exchange nominally based in San Francisco, was allegedly under federal investigation for allowing users from Iran and other countries under trade sanctions to trade cryptocurrencies on its platform.
BRITON JAILED IN IRAQ FOR SMUGGLING ANTIQUITIES TO BE FREED
On 26 July, the Guardian reported that a retired British geologist is to be released from an Iraqi prison after his 15-year jail sentence for smuggling antiquities was quashed. He had collected 12 stones and shards of broken pottery as souvenirs while visiting a site as part of an organised geology and archaeology tour.
XLV PLENARY AND MEETING OF GAFILAT WORKING GROUPS BEGINS IN QUITO
On 25 July, various Paraguayan media reported the start of the meetings in Ecuador, as the Plenary, which lasts until 29 July, is to consider the final evaluation of Paraguay.
INDIA: SUPREME COURT VERDICT ON PLEAS CHALLENGING MONEY LAUNDERING ACT
On 27 July, NDTV reported that the Supreme Court is to rule on the constitutionality of the wide range of powers available to the Enforcement Directorate for search, arrest, seizure, investigation and attachment of proceeds of offense under the Act.This follows the submission of nearly 250 petitions. The law has been criticised on many aspects, including the stricter bail conditions, non-reporting of grounds of arrest, and the broad definition of money laundering and the proceeds of crime.
In its 28 July edition, The Telegraph Online reported that the Supreme Court had upheld the constitutionality of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, relating to the Enforcement Directorate’s overarching powers, including those for “search, seizure, summoning and arrest”, and the stringent bail conditions.
SOUTH AFRICA APPLIES FOR EXTRADITION OF GUPTA BROTHERS FROM UAE
On 26 July, Gulf Business reported that South Africa had submitted a request for extradition from the UAE of the Gupta brothers, who are wanted for allegedly masterminding the looting of billions of dollars from state entities.
https://gulfbusiness.com/south-africa-applies-for-extradition-of-gupta-brothers-from-uae/
PSG STAR NEYMAR FACES FRAUD CASE TRIAL OVER MOVE FROM SANTOS TO BARCELONA
On 27 July, Yahoo News reported that Neymar and the former Barcelona presidents Sandro Rosell and Josep Maria Bartomeu are to face trial for alleged corruption and fraud related to Neymar’s transfer from Santos in Brazil to Barcelona in 2013. According to Spanish media, the trial is the result of a complaint filed 7 years ago by a Brazilian company which owned 40% of Neymar’s “federative rights” while he was at Santos.
https://uk.news.yahoo.com/psg-star-neymar-faces-fraud-121948418.html
EUROPEAN COURT REJECTS SANCTIONS APPEAL FROM RUSSIAN BROADCASTER RT
A news release from the Court of Justice of the EU on 27 July advised that the General Court had dismissed RT France’s application for annulment of acts of the EU Council, adopted following the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, temporarily prohibiting that organisation from broadcasting content.
https://curia.europa.eu/jcms/upload/docs/application/pdf/2022-07/cp220132en.pdf
https://www.euractiv.com/section/media/news/eu-court-confirms-ban-on-russia-today/
LEBANON: EU EXTENDS FRAMEWORK FOR TARGETED SANCTIONS
A news release from the EU on 27 July advised that the EU had extended, for 1 year, until 31 July 2023, the framework for targeted restrictive measures to address the situation in Lebanon; and which provides for the possibility of imposing sanctions against persons and entities who are responsible for undermining democracy or the rule of law in Lebanon.
NEARLY 100 PEOPLE ARRESTED IN HUNGARY OVER INVOICE FRAUD
On 27 July, a news release from Europol advised of the results of their latest crackdown against fraudsters, carried out with the support of Europol’s European Financial and Economic Crime Centre. It says that Operation Wine Cellar and Operation were carried out in November of last year, the details of which can only be released now due to operational reasons. They involved an organised crime group responsible for defrauding 94 legal entities of an estimated €2.8 million, companies that were mostly state- and municipality-owned.
AUSTRALIA: TACKLING MODERN SLAVERY
MacQuarrie University in Sydney reports that Macquarie Business School academics have been examining how companies can rid this scourge from their supply chains, saying that a 2018 report claimed that around 15,000 workers in 2018 were employed in slave conditions in Australia. Hospitality, retail, and agriculture were identified as examples of high-risk local industries.
https://lighthouse.mq.edu.au/article/july-2022/tackling-modern-slavery-in-the-australian-workplace
BRAZIL ARRESTS AIRPORT GANG THAT HID COCAINE IN AIRLINERS BULK CARGO
On 25 July, OCCRP reported that Brazilian Federal Police say that they dismantled a criminal group that bribed airport employees to ship cocaine to Europe on commercial flights from the largest airport in Latin America, São Paulo-Guarulhos International Airport, to Lisbon, Frankfurt or Amsterdam. Authorities seized nearly 900 kg of cocaine at these 4 places. The authorities named the operation “Bulk” because criminals concealed drugs in the bulk cargo compartment, which is at the rear of the plane.
MADAGASCAR AUTHORITIES HAVE SUSPENDED 4 ILLEGAL GOLD MINING OPERATIONS THAT WERE RUN BY CHINESE NATIONALS
On 25 July, OCCRP reported that police arrested individuals guarding the mines and confiscated a number of heavy machines, including dredgers, excavators and loaders, but that the organisers of the mining operations managed to flee the site. In an effort to curb gold smuggling, the government in 2015 established the National Gold Agency (ANOR), which aims to formalise the gold mining industry, which is conducted predominantly on the artisanal and small-scale basis, and is estimated to employ between 750,000 and 2 million people.
https://www.occrp.org/en/daily/16601-madagascar-four-illegal-gold-mines-suspended
HOW THE CAPTAGON PILL TRADE IMPACTS BORDER COMMUNITIES IN LEBANON AND SYRIA
On 25 July, an article from Chatham House says that the growing Captagon trade in Syria and Lebanon has been given much attention in recent months, involving the Syrian Arab Army and other smaller armed groups in Syria, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and networks of smugglers in both countries – and smuggling Captagon to Gulf countries, especially Saudi Arabia, and even to Europe. It argues that what is required is an understanding of the impact of the Captagon trade specifically, and drug smuggling more generally, on local communities, especially those residing in border regions between Lebanon and Syria.
https://www.chathamhouse.org/2022/07/how-captagon-trade-impacts-border-communities-lebanon-and-syria
RUSSIA ADDS 39 AUSTRALIANS TO TRAVEL BANS LIST
On 21 July, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs added 39 Australians from law enforcement agencies, the Australian Border Force and Australia’s defence sector contractors to its national stop list.
https://mid.ru/en/foreign_policy/news/1823204/
PODCAST: THE ZONDO COMMISSION IN SOUTH AFRICA
In the latest TRACE podcast, Paul Holden of Shadow World Investigations discusses the South African Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Allegations of State Capture (the Zondo Commission). He describes the extensive corruption and money laundering enabled by banks and international corporations and makes a prediction about whether the Gupta brothers, recently arrested in Dubai, will be extradited to South Africa.
https://www.traceinternational.org/resources-podcast
FIRST RUSSIAN TRAIN REACHES KALININGRAD AFTER LITHUANIAN BAN
On 26 July, EurActiv reported that a train carried cement from Russia to its Kaliningrad exclave on 26 July, in the first such trip since the EU said Lithuania must allow Russian goods across its territory.
TURKEY PREPARES TO DRILL FOR GAS OFF CYPRUS EARLY NEXT MONTH
On 26 July, EurActiv reported that the EU came close to sanctioning Ankara in 2020 for pushing into what Cyprus sees as its territorial waters in search of fresh natural gas reserves.
THE UK HIGH COURT HAS SIDED WITH THE DUBAI ISLAMIC BANK IN THE LATEST EPISODE OF A LONG-RUNNING TRADE FINANCE FRAUD SAGA
On 27 July, Global Trade Review reported that the ruling is against a British man who had been seeking an immediate release from prison. Charles Ridley, and 5 alleged co-conspirators, were imprisoned in Dubai in 2011 for their part in a $500 million fraud scheme involving CCH Europe, a German-based company he helped incorporate. Ridley and 3 others were later handed further prison sentences by a Dubai court in 2018, for an additional 20 years and an obligation for repayment of an amount equivalent to $430 million. Ridley’s lawyers argued in the latest UK court appeal that this sentence should be cut short as it was based on an “impermissible request” that breached an earlier agreement made in 2007 that had set out a repayment plan for the embezzled money and included a clause relied on by Ridley’s lawyers in their arguments in the UK High Court. However, the judge agreed with the interpretation on matters put forward by the Dubai Islamic Bank.
https://www.gtreview.com/news/mena/uk-high-court-wades-into-dubai-trade-finance-fraud-case/
IRELAND: HIGH COURT GRANTS FREEZING ORDERS AGAINST PARTIES LINKED TO ALLEGED PONZI SCHEME
On 27 July, Breaking News reported that a company – Irish Gold and Silver Bullion Ltd (IGSB) – that claimed to sell investors gold and silver bullion was operated as “a Ponzi scheme,” and defrauded its customers, the High Court has heard. The liquidator brought High Court proceedings against the company’s director and sole shareholder.
THE 6 BIGGEST CYBERATTACKS IN HISTORY
On 27 July, Techmonitor published an article saying that cyberattacks are an ever-present risk to both businesses and their customers. It lists the most damaging cyberattacks currently known.
https://techmonitor.ai/technology/the-six-biggest-cyberattacks-in-history
SPANISH POLICE LAUNCH MAJOR PROBE INTO IRISH ‘ASPHALT’ SCAMMERS AFTER THEY RAKE IN OVER €2 MILLION
On 27 July, Sunday World in Ireland reported that police in Spain have launched a major investigation into an Irish group of ‘Asphalt’ scammers, who are believed to have made more than €2 million in one year. The scam came to the attention of police in 2019 when a man lodged a complaint after he was scammed by the group. The scam involved a member of the gang visiting a business posing as a representative from a construction company before offering to asphalt an area outside the building for well below market price. After labourers from the fake company showed up at the premises and carry out the contracted work, the customer would then discover the work to be of extremely poor quality.
SHIP’S CAPTAIN GETS JAIL SENTENCE IN INDONESIA FOR SMUGGLING HAZARDOUS WASTE
On 27 July, Insurance Marine News reported that a court in Indonesia has sentenced the captain of Singapore-flagged cargo ship Cramoil Equity to 7-years’ jail for entering Indonesian waters with barrels of hazardous liquid waste. Indonesia’s ministry of the environment is working with the Indonesian embassy in Singapore to try to track down the cargo’s origin.
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