A ninth case of monkeypox has been confirmed, described as a man, 50, a foreign nation and resident in Panama with a history of travel to Europe in the first days of August.
28 AUGUST 2022
THE COSTS OF MILLIONS OF EUROS THE ITALIAN GOVERNMENT ARE PAYING TO KEEP RUSSIAN SUPERYACHT ASSETS FROZEN
On 26 August, Superyacht News from eSysman released a 10-minute video report which looks into the mounting costs of maintaining these and other assets seized by Italy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wcqffnuWx4
FRESH CRISIS ENGULFS LIBYA AND MAY WORSEN ARMS PROLIFERATION IN AFRICA
On 27 August, Sahara Reporters carried an article saying that rival factions battled across Tripoli in the worst fighting there for 2 years as an eyewitness said forces aligned with a parliament-backed administration moved on the city to try to take power. A months-long standoff for power in Libya has pitted the Tripoli-based Government of National Unity (GNU) against a rival administration that is backed by the eastern-based parliament. There are fears that continued violence in Libya could have spiralling effects on neighbouring African countries and could worsen the already precarious arms proliferation situation.
RUSSIAN SUPERYACHTS SEEKING SANCTUARY IN TURKEY
On 28 August, the Daily Mail published an article saying that 11 such superyachts are berthed here – including 4 belonging to Roman Abramovich.
300 LIVING HARVESTER ANTS SMUGGLED FROM EUROPE FOUND BY SHANGHAI CUSTOMS
On 28 August, the Global Times in China reported that Shanghai customs recently intercepted 300 living harvester ants, kept separately in 300 tubes made of epoxy resin, that were being smuggled into China disguised as Lego toys. It is said that some Chinese collectors have kept this species of ants as pets in recent years.
https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202208/1274037.shtml
SAUDI ARABIA: OVERSIGHT AND ANTI-CORRUPTION AUTHORITY (NAZAHA) ARRESTS 76 ACCUSED OF BRIBERY, FORGERY AND MONEY LAUNDERING
On 28 August, the Saudi Gazette reported that the arrests followed inspections and that the accused citizens and residents include employees in 5 ministries – the Ministries of Interior, Health, Justice, Education, Municipal and Rural Affairs and Housing.
THE ‘NEWSPACE’ INDUSTRY: A CHALLENGE FOR MISSILE NON-PROLIFERATION AND EXPORT CONTROLS?
An recorded webinar released by SIPRI on 16 August cautions that, despite advantages it offers, the space industry also contributes to making sensitive space launch technologies commercially available globally and potentially creates new pathways for missile proliferation. The changing nature of the commercial space industry and the challenges and opportunities it poses are important topics for the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), the main multilateral export control regime focused on missiles and other uncrewed delivery systems. In the webinar a distinguished panel of space, missile and export control experts from research, industry and policy to discuss the challenges the NewSpace industry poses to missile non-proliferation and export controls.
US: DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE PROHIBITING THE AWARD OF CONTRACTS TO CONTRACTORS THAT LEVERAGE RESOURCES IN CHINA UNLESS THOSE RESOURCES ARE DISCLOSED
On 26 August, an Alert from Crowell Moring advised on new rules on the “Preaward Disclosure of Employment of Individuals Who Work in the People’s Republic of China” and the “Postaward Disclosure of Employment of Individuals Who Work in the People’s Republic of China”. These will be incorporated into DoD solicitations and contracts with an estimated value over $5 million unless a senior procurement executive waives the disclosure requirements due to national security interests.
HOW RUSSIA PROMOTED THE CLAIM THAT UKRAINE RE-SOLD FRENCH HOWITZERS FOR PROFIT
On 21 July, DFR Lab carried an article on a Russian disinformation project involving a narrative which aimed to convince Western audiences that Ukraine is not to be trusted with sophisticated weapons supplied by the West while casting a shadow on France’s role in providing military aid.
KAZAKHSTAN: FORMER PRESIDENT’S NEPHEW ACCUSED OF EMBEZZLING FROM STATE
On 26 August, OCCRP reported that Kazakhstan’s anti-corruption body had concluded its investigation into the nephew of former president Nursultan Nazarbayev and has determined that there is enough evidence to pursue charges of embezzlement from the state. Kairat Satybaldyuly is the latest of the ex-President’s relatives to be investigated for acts of corruption, and is linked to an embezzlement scandal that has caused the disappearance of millions of dollars from state transport and communication companies.
https://www.occrp.org/en/daily/16701-kazakhstan-nazarbayev-s-nephew-accused-of-embezzling-from-state
US: 2 INDIVIDUALS CONVICTED OF CONSPIRACY AND FRAUD IN CATTLE PONZI SCHEME
On 26 August, a news release from US DoJ advised that a federal jury had convicted a woman and man of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering relating to a scheme that fraudulently raised money from investors across the country. They ran a Ponzi scheme from late 2017 until early 2019 by fraudulently representing to victim-investors that their investments were backed by short-term investments in cattle. They also used false and fraudulent pretences to solicit money from victim-investors for the conspirators’ Colorado-based marijuana business.
https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/two-individuals-convicted-conspiracy-and-fraud-cattle-ponzi-scheme
AUSTRALIA: PROSECUTOR CLAIMS LAWYER BEN AULICH WAS HOPING TO REAP MILLIONS FROM ALLEGED MONEY LAUNDERING PLAN
On 26 August, ABC News reported that prosecutors have told a court that Canberra lawyer Ben Aulich and accountant Michael Papandrea hoped to reap more than $1 million a year from an alleged money laundering plan. They had allegedly hatched a plan with an undercover police officer to buy a supermarket to launder money obtained through the sale of illegal cigarettes.
DOMINICAN DRUG LORD EXTRADITED TO THE US TO FACE DRUG TRAFFICKING CHARGES
A news release from US DoJ on 25 August advised that Dominican authorities extradited Julio De Los Santos-Bautista, aka “Julito Kilo”, to the US to face drug trafficking charges filed in the District of Puerto Rico. He is said to be the leader of a transnational criminal organisation based in the Dominican Republic which received multi-ton shipments of cocaine from South America through the Dominican Republic and then transported these to Puerto Rico and the continental US.
NSO PHONE SURVEILLANCE RIVAL OPERATING IN EU
On 28 August, EU Business said that a report from Lighthouse Reports claimed that an Italian surveillance company is tracking people all over the world on a grand scale on behalf of its clients, and that its powerful spyware was recently found in Kazakhstan and Romania. The report says that Tykelab has been using dozens of phone networks, often on remote Pacific islands, to send tens of thousands of secret “tracking packets” around the world, targeting people in countries including Libya, Nicaragua, Malaysia, Costa Rica, Iraq, Mali, Greece and Portugal – as well as in Italy itself.
https://www.lighthousereports.nl/investigation/revealing-europes-nso/
https://elements.wlonk.com/ElementsTable.htm
WIRE FRAUD: THE MOST POWERFUL LAW IN CRYPTO RIGHT NOW
On 23 August, US law firm Akin Gump reported on an article published by Reuters and authored by its white-collar defence partner. It looks at how the DoJ is using the wire fraud statute “to bring innovative cases in the cryptocurrency space that do not depend on how a digital asset is classified”, and how it has used the statute to prosecute the first 2 “rug pulls” (“take the money and run” schemes) involving NFT and to prosecute 2 digital asset insider trading cases. The article examines the history of the wire fraud statute, the DoJ use of the statute in 2022 to date, and what to expect going forward.
https://www.akingump.com/en/news-insights/wire-fraud-the-most-powerful-law-in-crypto-right-now.html
BRISBANE AIRPORT WINNING WAR ON WASPS THAT NEST IN AIRCRAFT SENSORS AND POSE FLIGHT DANGER
On 23 August, American Shipper reported on success containing a wasp population that poses a danger to aircraft operations by nesting in flight instruments critical for safe flight. Brisbane International Airport for years has cautioned airlines to be vigilant for keyhole wasps that fill the opening to a critical sensor with mud.
https://www.freightwaves.com/news/brisbane-airport-winning-war-on-wasps
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