Category: Crime
How A ‘Deviant’ Philosopher Built Palantir, A CIA-Funded Data-Mining Juggernaut (Forbes 2013)
Since rumors began to spread that a startup called Palantir helped to kill Osama bin Laden, Alex Karp hasn’t had much time to himself. On one sun-baked July morning in Silicon Valley Palantir’s lean 45-year-old chief executive, with a top-heavy mop of frazzled hair, hikes the grassy hills around Stanford University’s massive satellite antennae known as the Dish, a favorite meditative pastime. But his solitude is disturbed somewhat by “Mike,” an ex-Marine–silent, 6 foot 1, 270 pounds of mostly pectoral…
Jackson, Mississippi, Officials Aren’t the First to Stay in Office Amid Corruption Charges
Hinds County District Attorney Jody E. Owens II walked briskly toward a crowd of TV cameras and reporters on the steps of the federal courthouse in Jackson last week to denounce what he called a “horrible example of a flawed FBI investigation” and an “assassination attempt on my character.” Owens, the top elected law enforcement official for Mississippi’s largest county that encompasses its capital city, pleaded not guilty to multiple federal felony charges stemming from an alleged FBI bribery sting….
California voters reject measure that would have banned forced prison labor
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California voters have rejected a measure on the November ballot that would have amended the state constitution to ban forced prison labor. The constitution already prohibits so-called involuntary servitude, but an exception allows it to be used as a punishment for crime. That exemption became a target of criminal justice advocates concerned that prisoners are often paid less than $1 an hour for labor such as fighting fires, cleaning cells and doing landscaping work at cemeteries….
ICC confirms probe into alleged sexual misconduct by war crimes prosecutor Karim Khan
AMSTERDAM – The International Criminal Court’s governing body will launch an external probe into its chief prosecutor Karim Khan over alleged sexual misconduct, it said in a statement on Monday, confirming a previous report by Reuters. “An external investigation is … being pursued in order to ensure a fully independent, impartial and fair process”, the statement said, also calling upon all parties to cooperate fully. Khan said in a statement that he would stay on in his key function of…
China’s Huawei Technologies seeks dismissal of US criminal charges
NEW YORK – Huawei Technologies asked a US judge to dismiss much of a federal indictment accusing the Chinese telecommunications company of trying to steal technology secrets from US rivals and misleading banks about its business in Iran. In a Friday night filing in federal court in Brooklyn, Huawei said there was no proof of a conspiracy, calling the charge part of the Department of Justice’s “ill-founded” China Initiative to prosecute people and companies with ties to China. Huawei said…
Reuters Exclusive-ICC ruling body to conduct investigation into alleged misconduct by war crimes prosecutor – sources
(Reuters) – The International Criminal Court’s governing body will launch an external investigation into its chief prosecutor Karim Khan over alleged sexual misconduct, two sources familiar with the matter said on Friday. Khan is called on in an internal document circulated to member states to temporarily step down from his role at the world’s permanent war crimes court, based in The Hague, while an inquiry is ongoing. The undated and unsigned document, seen by Reuters, was circulated to member states…
S’pore-based Malaysian military contractor ‘Fat Leonard’ who bribed US Navy officers given 15 years’ jail
LOS ANGELES – Leonard Francis, the Malaysian military contractor known as “Fat Leonard”, was sentenced to 15 years in prison on Nov 5 for his role in the US Navy’s worst-ever corruption scandal. Francis, 60, was also ordered to pay US$20 million (S$26.3 million) in restitution to the US Navy by a federal judge in San Diego and to forfeit US$35 million in ill-gotten gains, said the US Attorney’s office for the Southern District of California in a statement. Francis,…
Zelensky signs decree to liquidate medical examination commissions amid corruption scandal
President Volodymyr Zelensky on Oct. 22 issued a decree to liquidate medical examination commissions for determining the severity of disabilities by Dec. 31. The decree was released after a meeting of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC), which on Oct. 22 discussed violations at medical examination commissions and the fraudulent acquisition of disability status by officials through corruption schemes. Obtaining disability status through medical examination commissions allows evading military service and receiving a higher pension, among other social benefits. According to the decree, working…
Raytheon Company to Pay Over $950M in Connection with Defective Pricing, Foreign Bribery, and Export Control Schemes
Raytheon Company (Raytheon) — a subsidiary of Arlington, Virginia-based defense contractor RTX (formerly known as Raytheon Technologies Corporation) — will pay over $950 million to resolve the Justice Department’s investigations into: (i) a major government fraud scheme involving defective pricing on certain government contracts and (ii) violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and the Arms Export Control Act (AECA) and its implementing regulations, the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR). Raytheon will enter into a three-year deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) in…
India says ‘No Coincidence’ that Canada’s Accusations come as Trudeau set to testify at Chinese Interference Inquiry
New Delhi says Canada’s accusations against Indian diplomats and their expulsion is a politically driven move to show action amid criticism Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has turned a blind eye to foreign interference. The Indian Ministry of External Affairs says the move is strategically timed to coincide with Trudeau’s appearance at the Foreign Interference Commission, which has been mainly focused on China’s meddling in Canada. “Under criticism for turning a blind eye to foreign interference in Canadian politics, his Government…
TD Bank Fined for Crypto Ties with UK and Colombia
According to a report from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) on Oct. 10th, TD Bank’s U.S. wing agreed to pay over $3 billion in penalties. The fine was for failing to properly monitor money laundering activities. The bank has also accepted limits on its future growth in the U.S. FinCEN found that TD Bank facilitated over $1 billion in transfers linked to two crypto exchanges — one based in the United Kingdom and the other in Colombia. TD Bank…
Massive U.S. fine against TD Bank highlights relatively modest penalties in Canada
TORONTO — The more than US$3-billion settlement TD Bank Group has reached with U.S. regulators for its failures to oversee money laundering risks has underlined what some say are relatively weak enforcement options in Canada. Denis Meunier, president of DMeunier Consulting Inc. and a former deputy director of Fintrac, said fines in Canada have to increase significantly to provide adequate deterrence and not become just a cost of doing business. He says the federal government should add substantial fines for…
TD Bank hit with US$3bn fine, pleads guilty to criminal charges
Canada-based financial institution TD Bank has announced its agreement to pay over USD 3 billion, pleading guilty to criminal charges related to money laundering in the US. As detailed by regulators, the fine follows TD Bank’s failure to appropriately monitor money laundering by drug cartels and other criminals, allowing them to transfer hundreds of millions of dollars in unlawful funds. In addition, the bank did not enforce sufficient defences against money laundering for nearly 10 years. It did not efficiently…
6th execution in 11 days in the US
For the sixth time in eleven days, a death sentence was carried out in the United States today. In Texas, Garcia Glenn White, 61 years-old, was executed by lethal injection for stabbing two 16 year-old girls and their mother to death in 1989. The country last week reached 1,600 executions since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976, despite decades-long trend of declining support for capital punishment. Citing witnesses, American media reported that White had planned to smoke crack that…
Bankman-Fried’s ex-girlfriend Caroline Ellison to be sentenced over crypto fraud
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Former cryptocurrency executive Caroline Ellison is set to be sentenced on Tuesday for her role in her imprisoned former boyfriend Sam Bankman-Fried’s theft of about $8 billion in customer funds from the now-bankrupt FTX exchange he founded. Ellison has pleaded guilty to seven felony counts of fraud and conspiracy, and testified as a prosecution witness in the trial of Bankman-Fried, who was convicted of fraud and other charges last year and is serving a 25-year prison…
Malaysian police rescue 187 more children as sex abuse probe of Islamic group deepens
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Malaysian police said Monday they have rescued 187 more children and raided locations nationwide linked to an Islamic business group that is being investigated for alleged sexual assault of children. National police chief Razarudin Husain said the children and young people, including 59 under age 5, were rescued from welfare homes linked to Global Ikhwan Services and Business, or GISB Holdings. They included a boy who was seen being caned and another child who was…