Category: government corruption

Saturday’s move by North Korea comes ahead of upcoming US-South Korea joint drills in Washington next week.

A trial looking into widespread bribery at the Tokyo Olympic organizing committee began Friday with a former head of a major ad company admitting to the charges. Shinichi Uneo, 69, who formerly headed ADK Holdings, quietly told the Tokyo District Court the allegations were accurate. In Japan, a trial continues even if a suspect admits guilt. Three prosecutors took turns…

According to court documents, Jessie R. Benton, 45, of The Woodlands, schemed with another political advisor to funnel political contributions to a 2016 presidential campaign from a Russian national seeking to meet and take a picture with the presidential candidate. Benton arranged for the Russian national – whose nationality Benton concealed from the campaign and the candidate – to attend a campaign fundraising event and to take a picture with the candidate.

As such attendance and engagement required a contribution, Benton caused the Russian national to wire $100,000 to Benton’s political consulting firm to make an illegal foreign contribution to the campaign. To disguise the scheme, Benton created a fake invoice, which falsely identified the funds as payment for consulting services. Benton acted as a straw donor and contributed $25,000 of the Russian national’s money to the campaign, falsely identified himself as the contributor, and pocketed the remaining $75,000. Because Benton falsely claimed to have given the contribution himself, the relevant campaign entities unwittingly filed reports with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) that inaccurately reported Benton – instead of the Russian national – as the source of the funds.

In November 2022, Benton was convicted at trial of conspiring to solicit and cause an illegal campaign contribution by a foreign national, effecting a conduit contribution, and causing false records to be filed with the FEC.

An indictment was unsealed today in the District of Connecticut charging a Connecticut man and a foreign national with conspiracy, multiple counts of violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), and money laundering in connection with an alleged scheme to pay bribes to Brazilian officials to win contracts with Brazil’s state-owned and state-controlled energy company, Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras (Petrobras).  

For journalistic integrity, we note that podcaster Shawn Ryan has commented on this article: This is typical media today. How can people not see how biased this article is? The Canadian SOF unit was the only one offered a statement, neither Dallas nor myself was contacted in any way, shape or form. @ShawnRyanShow https://t.co/L1mfeppZ8y — Shawn Ryan (@ShawnRyan762) February 16, 2023 The Canadian…

Shortly before being elected leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) in late 2014, Nicola Sturgeon embarked on a rock star-style tour of Scotland, appearing in front of packed audiences around the country, usually illuminated on stage by a row of blazing lights. On Wednesday morning, in the more sedate Georgian surroundings of Bute House, the Scottish first minister’s official…

  There have been unconfirmed reports today of a fire that broke out in Moscow near the Scientific Research Institute of Precision Instruments, a manufacturer “various radio engineering equipment and software-hardware complexes that meet the highest requirements of the Russian aerospace industry,” according to their web site. Videos were posted to TikTok, Twitter and Reddit. Twitter video can be found…

As has been reported by the Vancouver Sun and other Canadian news sources, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has made a disappointing offer for provincial health care funding to provinces, and in order to get the money, provinces will have to “agree to work with the government on data sharing.” What is it? The Canada Health Transfer (CHT): CHT payments…

London, United Kingdom – The Metropolitan Police Force’s Commissioner, Sir Mark Rowley, is certainly banking on the expectation that it can. Many would say it’s an almost insurmountable task. But the alternative is unthinkable. The force is the first port of call for law enforcement and prevention of crime in the United Kingdom’s capital – with unique responsibilities and challenges. But…

Republicans in the United States House of Representatives have continued their investigation into the family of Democratic President Joe Biden, making their first official requests for documents related to his son’s and brother’s foreign business pursuits. “If President Biden is compromised by deals with foreign adversaries and they are impacting his decision making, this is a threat to national security,”…

An anonymous source tells the Associated Press that Pence has been subpoenaed in ongoing investigations into Donald Trump. Former United States Vice President Mike Pence has been subpoenaed by the special counsel overseeing investigations into efforts by then-President Donald Trump and his allies to overturn the results of the 2020 election, according to a person with direct knowledge of the…

More than 27 months since it was greenlighted by Congress, the panel established to investigate the inner workings of the U.S. Olympic structure has yet to conduct a formal interview because of bureaucratic red tape and slow action from the same lawmakers who had expressed a pressing need for better oversight. Two Olympics — the Summer Games in Tokyo and…

An NGO boss who was among four suspects held in pre-trial detention as part of a Belgian probe into alleged bribery in the European Parliament linked to Morocco and Qatar has been released. Niccolo Figa-Talamanca, an Italian who led the “No Peace Without Justice” NGO before being stripped of his position after his arrest in December, was ordered freed on…

A former Arkansas State Senator was sentenced today to 46 months in prison in the Eastern District of Arkansas for accepting multiple bribes and tax fraud in connection with a multi-district investigation spanning the Eastern and Western Districts of Arkansas and the Western District of Missouri. According to court documents, from 2010 through 2017, Hutchinson stole and misappropriated thousands of dollars in state campaign contributions for his own personal use and then filed false federal income tax returns from 2011 to 2014 to conceal his conduct. In addition, Hutchinson was hired as outside counsel by Dr. Benjamin Burris, an orthodontist who owned and operated orthodontic clinics throughout the state of Arkansas. In exchange for payments and legal work, Hutchinson pushed legislation beneficial to Burris. Hutchinson was provided legal work to conceal the corrupt nature of his arrangement. Hutchinson stole over $10,000 in state campaign funds for his own personal use and also falsified his 2011 tax returns, including failing to report $20,000-per-month-payments he received from one law firm and other sources of income he knowingly and intentionally concealed from his taxes.