Tag: Region Asias
Political Consultant Jessie R. Benton (Texas) Sentenced for Scheme: Illegal Foreign Campaign Contribution
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.
Former JTF2 sniper Dallas Alexander: Canadian military investigates “unauthorized release of JTF2 sniper video” aired by podcaster Shawn Ryan
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 military has demanded a U.S. podcaster remove parts of an interview with a former JTF2 commando as well as classified…
Russia surrounds Bakhmut as Ukraine sends in troops
Ukraine faced its toughest week so far this year on the eastern front, where its defenders lost more ground to Russian forces but committed enormous resources to holding Bakhmut, a coal-mining town that has acquired emblematic importance to both sides. Russian troops have been launching probing attacks on a wide front in Donetsk, half of which they now occupy. But their main effort has been to take Bakhmut, whose eastern outskirts they hold. “[We are] storming house by house, square metre by square metre. Hard…
Norwegian Intelligence Service: Russia deploys ships carrying tactical nuclear weaponry in the Baltic
Russia began deploying ships with tactical nuclear weaponry in the Baltic Sea for the first time in the past 30 years, the Norwegian Intelligence Service reported Tuesday in its annual report. The document was published on the same day Moscow denied an alleged plan to destabilize neighboring Moldova, which closed its airspace in response, at a time when experts, including the report’s authors, fear a possible escalation of the war in Ukraine. In the 72-page document, the Norwegian Intelligence Service…
Unconfirmed reports of a fire in Moscow near Scientific Research Institute of Precision Instruments
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 using #RussiaFire. fire near the Precision Equipment Research Institute in Moscow. This enterprise is part of Roskosmos. I don’t…
Russian forces bombard Ukraine’s Bakhmut in major new offensive
The eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut endured heavy artillery fire on Monday as the NATO chief backed reports from local officials that a major new Russian offensive had begun, days before the first anniversary of Moscow’s invasion. Ukrainian defenders, who have already held out for months, were braced for new ground attacks, Ukrainian military officials said. Positions in Bakhmut have been fortified and only people with a military role were being allowed in, a deputy battalion commander said. Any civilians…
Congressional Scrutiny of ‘Big Tech’ Builds on Bipartisan China Focus
About this time last year, we offered some insight on Economic Espionage and Theft of Trade Secrets, which included a primer on economic espionage, case examples, and avoidance strategies. We observed that “[w]hile the Office of the Director of National Intelligence has identified China, Russia, and Iran as the three states most capable of committing.
US House Republicans request documents in Biden family probe
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,” James Comer, chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, said in a statement on Thursday. Accusing the Biden…
Cerespo Co and Fuji Creative Corp: 4 more arrested over Tokyo Olympics bid rigging
Prosecutors arrested a former operations executive at the Tokyo Olympics organizing committee and three others on Wednesday over bid-rigging allegations, as yet another corruption scandal surfaces in the wake of the global sports event. Tokyo prosecutors arrested the former executive, Yasuo Mori, on suspicion he played a leading role in rigging bids for contracts related to games test events in violation of the anti-monopoly law. They also arrested Koji Hemmi, a former executive at Japanese ad giant Dentsu Inc, and…
Da Jiang Innovations: World’s largest drone maker is unfazed — even if it’s blacklisted by the U.S.
The world’s biggest drone maker DJI found itself embroiled in the Russia-Ukraine conflict last year. In March, three weeks after Russia’s invasion began, a Ukrainian minister called out DJI on Twitter for being complicit in the war. DJI is just one of many tech companies that has found its products used on the battlefield. The Russian military allegedly used its drones on the battlefield. It includes the Mavic 3 drone, and Aeroscope, a drone-detection platform that enables users to identify…
Associate of Sanctioned Oligarch Indicted for Sanctions Evasion and Money Laundering
A federal court in New York unsealed an indictment today charging a citizen of the Russian Federation and legal permanent resident of the United States, with participating in a scheme to make over $4 million in U.S. dollar payments to maintain four real properties in the United States that were owned by Viktor Vekselberg, a sanctioned oligarch, as well as to attempt to sell two of those properties.
Niccolo Figa-Talamanca: Suspect in EU Parliament corruption probe released
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 Friday, prosecutors said. The newspaper L’Echo reported that Mr Figa-Talamanca’s release was granted after police questioned another NGO chief, former…
Putin draws parallels between World War II and Ukraine conflict
Russian President Vladimir Putin leveraged a World War II commemoration on Thursday to whip up support for his army’s intervention in Ukraine, comparing the fighting to Nazi Germany’s invasion and hinting Moscow could use nuclear weapons. Putin has used World War II to promote his political agenda in recent years while the Kremlin has sought to give cult status to Moscow’s victory in what Russians call the Great Patriotic War. Arriving in the southern city of Volgograd for commemorations to…
Kadokawa Group: Tokyo Olympic bribery scandal
A Japanese company embroiled in the 2020 Tokyo Olympic corruption scandal said Thursday it would strengthen oversight to prevent further wrongdoing. Kadokawa “seriously betrayed public trust,” company president Takeshi Natsuno said. He bowed deeply with two other executives to show remorse in a news conference. Tsuguhiko Kadokawa, the son of the founder, was arrested in September on suspicion of bribing Haruyuki Takahashi, a member of the Tokyo Olympic organizing committee, with 69 million yen. Kadokawa Group was chosen as an…
NZ, Australia want ‘urgent’ answers over Saudi sponsorship of Women’s World Cup
Co-hosts New Zealand and Australia said Thursday they “urgently” want answers from FIFA over reports Saudi Arabia’s tourist board will sponsor the 2023 Women’s World Cup. Visit Saudi is reportedly poised to be named among the sponsors of the 32-team soccer tournament to be held in New Zealand and Australia from July 20. The sponsorship deal looks set to go ahead despite the Gulf kingdom’s poor record on women’s rights. Officials from Football Australia and New Zealand Football said they…
World ‘dangerously unprepared’ for next crisis: Red Cross
All countries remain “dangerously unprepared” for the next pandemic, the Red Cross warned on Monday, saying future health crises could also collide with increasingly likely climate-related disasters. Despite three “brutal” years of the COVID-19 pandemic, strong preparedness systems are “severely lacking”, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) said. The world’s largest humanitarian network said building trust, equity and local action networks were vital to get ready for the next crisis. “All countries remain dangerously unprepared…
