30 July 2008
CIA Outlines Pakistan Links with Militants
New York Times article. Apparently CIA Deputy Director has been to Pakistan to present senior officials with evidence of ISI members' links with the Haqqani network, which in turn links to al Qaeda.
Drug Swoops have little impact
Report from UK Drug Policy Commission [an independent group] looks at impact of drug policy and problems of impact measurement.
26 July 2008
Report compiled on money=laundering in soccer
Courtesy of Monty: a link to a Canadian paper article on a Colombian report on money-laundering in soccer. Ah, globalisation! Let see how it all links up to other countries. After all, no-one just turns up and buys a football club with the alleged proceeds of corruption, do they?
Mexico Plan adds Police to take on Drug Cartels
Military role to be reduced. Federal police doubled in size. Drive against police corruption. Washington Post piece. May have to scroll down quite a way, because someone has messed up the html on the advert on the page.
Border controls to be tightened. No word on the armed warfare that has been going on between gangs and against the military. All a little odd.
Border controls to be tightened. No word on the armed warfare that has been going on between gangs and against the military. All a little odd.
Serial bombs hit India's IT hub
Seven small bombs set off in a coordinated attack. There have been other incidents, according to the BBC. Sounds home-grown. Another group to identify and maybe examine its overseas connections.
Yushchenko says Former Ally Responsible for his Poisoning
Yushchenko blames Zhvania, a former ally. No evidence given, according to Moscow Times. Odd little story, which may have implications for other poisoning accusations...or may not. The politics of it all shift and slide.
24 July 2008
Opium and Afghanistan: Reassessing US Counter-Narcotics Strategy
ABSTRACT
Cultivation and production of opium in Afghanistan have skyrocketed since the
Taliban were toppled in 2001 such that Afghanistan now supplies 92 percent of the
world’s illicit opium. The expanding opium trade is threatening to destabilize the
Afghan government and turn the conflict-ridden country back into a safe haven for
drug traffickers and terrorists. This paper examines the nature of the opium problem
in Afghanistan and analyzes the allied strategy to counter this growing crisis. In
analyzing the current counternarcotics strategy, it points out pitfalls including the
counterproductive aspects of opium eradication. Finally, changes to the strategy are
proposed, which include increasing troop levels and eliminating national restrictions,
substantially increasing financial aid, deemphasizing opium eradication, focusing on
long-term alternative livelihoods, aggressively pursuing drug kingpins and corrupt
government officials, and exploring the possibility of Afghanistan’s entry to the licit opium market
Cultivation and production of opium in Afghanistan have skyrocketed since the
Taliban were toppled in 2001 such that Afghanistan now supplies 92 percent of the
world’s illicit opium. The expanding opium trade is threatening to destabilize the
Afghan government and turn the conflict-ridden country back into a safe haven for
drug traffickers and terrorists. This paper examines the nature of the opium problem
in Afghanistan and analyzes the allied strategy to counter this growing crisis. In
analyzing the current counternarcotics strategy, it points out pitfalls including the
counterproductive aspects of opium eradication. Finally, changes to the strategy are
proposed, which include increasing troop levels and eliminating national restrictions,
substantially increasing financial aid, deemphasizing opium eradication, focusing on
long-term alternative livelihoods, aggressively pursuing drug kingpins and corrupt
government officials, and exploring the possibility of Afghanistan’s entry to the licit opium market
Mafia attempt to buy Lazio foiled by Italian police
Actually the Camorra, allegedly through Giorgio Chinaglia. Lord Steven's report soon to have results in the UK, too. [Well, maybe!] This account from the Telegraph.
E-Gold pleads Guilty to Money-Laundering
Nice piece from Security Focus with links to previous article. E-Gold agrees to regulation by the US and vows to continue in business.
Man arrested in connection with collapse of Cayman-domiciled investment funds
Slightly longer piee below:
Man arrested in failed hedge funds
Published on Monday, July 21, 2008
By Trent Jacobs
trent@caymannetnews.com
The Royal Cayman Islands Police Service (RCIPS) have arrested an unidentified 47-year-old man in connection with last month’s collapse of several Cayman-domiciled investment funds.
Detectives from the Financial Crimes Unit (FCU) arrested the man on suspicion of theft, false accounting and uttering false documents after their investigations into the collapse of four hedge funds listed under the umbrella name “Grand Island”.
In June the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (CIMA) confirmed that the “Grand Island” funds were put into voluntary liquidation by the funds’ shareholders. Three of the four funds involved were registered with CIMA in 2006 and one other was an unregulated fund.
Police say that the funds were believed to have been worth millions of dollars, though it is still unclear how much money was lost and how many people are affected by its collapse.
However, it is widely speculated that the losses are up to $70 million dollars and the main commodity being traded was oil. Because of the nature of the three registered funds investors had to contribute at the very least US$100,000.
Since the funds were based in Cayman, it is believed that some of the investors may be local residents. Speaking on condition of anonymity, a financial insider with knowledge of the troubled funds said, “This fraud is solely Cayman-based and may have a profound effect on Cayman’s reputation as a financial centre. Every other hedge fund fraud has taken place outside of Cayman.”
Cayman Net News has learned that Close Brothers (Cayman) Ltd was the funds’ administrator and prominent local businessman Naul Bodden was a director of at least one of the funds.
After it became apparent that there were serious irregularities in the funds’ trading activities, David Walker and Nick Freeland of PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) were appointed by shareholders to be in charge of liquidating the fund. In a statement to the press PwC said that they are currently working to recover an undisclosed amount of money from a Canadian bank.
“We confirm that on 11 July PwC Corporate Finance & Recovery (Cayman) Ltd, a company wholly owned by PricewaterhouseCoopers Cayman Islands, was appointed as receiver over various accounts held at ScotiaMcLeod in Canada. รข€¯The purpose of the receivership appointment is to facilitate the repatriation of monies currently held in accounts at ScotiaMcLeod back to the Cayman Islands and for these monies to be held in custody by the receiver, until such time the various parties who may have an interest in the monies can determine the proper allocation of the monies.”
PwC also said in their statement that they have applied to the Grand Court to put the liquidation process under court supervision and expect the application to be heard by next week.
While the police continue their investigation, CIMA has said that they are conducting their own investigation into the matter and will work closely with both the courts and the liquidators to resolve the situation and recover lost funds.
Police said that the man in question is currently on bail pending further investigations. The RCIPS is asking anyone with information or knowledge to come forward by contacting Detective Sergeant Claire Jackson on 949-8797.
Man arrested in failed hedge funds
Published on Monday, July 21, 2008
By Trent Jacobs
trent@caymannetnews.com
The Royal Cayman Islands Police Service (RCIPS) have arrested an unidentified 47-year-old man in connection with last month’s collapse of several Cayman-domiciled investment funds.
Detectives from the Financial Crimes Unit (FCU) arrested the man on suspicion of theft, false accounting and uttering false documents after their investigations into the collapse of four hedge funds listed under the umbrella name “Grand Island”.
In June the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (CIMA) confirmed that the “Grand Island” funds were put into voluntary liquidation by the funds’ shareholders. Three of the four funds involved were registered with CIMA in 2006 and one other was an unregulated fund.
Police say that the funds were believed to have been worth millions of dollars, though it is still unclear how much money was lost and how many people are affected by its collapse.
However, it is widely speculated that the losses are up to $70 million dollars and the main commodity being traded was oil. Because of the nature of the three registered funds investors had to contribute at the very least US$100,000.
Since the funds were based in Cayman, it is believed that some of the investors may be local residents. Speaking on condition of anonymity, a financial insider with knowledge of the troubled funds said, “This fraud is solely Cayman-based and may have a profound effect on Cayman’s reputation as a financial centre. Every other hedge fund fraud has taken place outside of Cayman.”
Cayman Net News has learned that Close Brothers (Cayman) Ltd was the funds’ administrator and prominent local businessman Naul Bodden was a director of at least one of the funds.
After it became apparent that there were serious irregularities in the funds’ trading activities, David Walker and Nick Freeland of PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) were appointed by shareholders to be in charge of liquidating the fund. In a statement to the press PwC said that they are currently working to recover an undisclosed amount of money from a Canadian bank.
“We confirm that on 11 July PwC Corporate Finance & Recovery (Cayman) Ltd, a company wholly owned by PricewaterhouseCoopers Cayman Islands, was appointed as receiver over various accounts held at ScotiaMcLeod in Canada. รข€¯The purpose of the receivership appointment is to facilitate the repatriation of monies currently held in accounts at ScotiaMcLeod back to the Cayman Islands and for these monies to be held in custody by the receiver, until such time the various parties who may have an interest in the monies can determine the proper allocation of the monies.”
PwC also said in their statement that they have applied to the Grand Court to put the liquidation process under court supervision and expect the application to be heard by next week.
While the police continue their investigation, CIMA has said that they are conducting their own investigation into the matter and will work closely with both the courts and the liquidators to resolve the situation and recover lost funds.
Police said that the man in question is currently on bail pending further investigations. The RCIPS is asking anyone with information or knowledge to come forward by contacting Detective Sergeant Claire Jackson on 949-8797.
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