Shocking report details massive illegal turtle trade
network
In a posh hotel room in Kuala Lumpur, a
35-year-old man wearing a dark button-down shirt smiled. He had two suitcases
crammed with 55 live turtles, and he was hoping to make a sale.
He watched as his customer, a man wearing shorts and sneakers, carefully
examined the reptiles crawling across the hotel rug.
Bakrudin Ali Ahamed Habeeb, had posted on Facebook some seven months earlier
that he had reptiles to sell, triggering a flurry of text messages and price
negotiations. Now, Habeeb just needed to prove that his animals were in good
health so he could pass them off into the exotic pet trade.
It was May 2017, and he was anticipating a big payday.
When his visitor left the room, ostensibly to
get a colleague, Habeeb didn’t even look up. But minutes later, agents from Malaysia’s department of wildlife and parks
flooded his room. The would-be buyer, as it turned out, was an undercover agent
with the Wildlife Justice... Read More..
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Indian-origin woman Shamila Batohi appointed head of South Africa's prosecuting authority.
Pretoria, South Africa. Prominent Indian-origin lawyer Shamila Batohi has been appointed to head
South Africa’s prosecuting authority, the first woman to head the agency facing
criticism for its handling of the investigations against former president Jacob
Zuma over corruption charges.
Batohi will start her new role as the National Director of Public
Prosecutions (NDPP) in February 2019.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the appointment of Batohi,
during a nationally-televised address at the government headquarters, the Union
Buildings, on Tuesday.
During his maiden address, Ramaphosa gave the commitment that government
would urgently attend to the leadership crisis at the NPA to ensure the
institution is and able to perform its mandate without any outside
interference.
Eleven months later, the prosecuting body now has a new head. Read More ...
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UNODC
Supports Launch of Asset Recovery Inter-Agency Network in West and Central Asia
targeting illicit wealth in the Region
To enhance asset recovery in West and Central
Asia by sharing experiences on domestic and international legislation as well
as policy and procedures, UNODC and the General Prosecutors Office of
Kazakhstan hosted the launch meeting of the regional Asset Recovery
Inter-Agency Network West and Central Asia (ARIN-WCA) from 22 to 23 November in
Astana, Kazakhstan.
Participants included law enforcement, prosecution authorities and
Attorney Generals' Offices currently involved in asset tracing, freezing and
seizure, as well as asset management and confiscation from Afghanistan, Iran,
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
Kazakhstan holds the inaugural Presidency of
ARIN-WCA and hosted the network's launch event. In her opening remarks, Saule
Ziyakhanova from the Ministry of Interior of Kazakhstan stressed the need for
agencies to work jointly both domestically between asset recovery practitioners
within Ministries of Justice and Interior and also internationally with..
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14000 Government Officials caught doing business with the state.
An investigation by National Treasury has revealed that as many as 14,000
government officials are listed as directors of companies who have contracts
with the state, Bloomberg
reports, in direct contravention of government regulations.
Treasury also reportedly found the names of 12,000 dead people in its
registry of companies, painting a grim picture of how government tenders are
fraudulently rigged, to be handed to ‘preferred’ people.
According to Treasury’s procurement office, companies are set up with fake
documents and the names of dead people, who then tender for contracts at high
and inflated prices – making it seem as if the legitimate companies are
offering the same services for much cheaper.
“It looks like there is competition, yet it’s the same guy,” the Treasury
unit’s head, Schalk Human told Bloomberg. Read More ...
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Money Lending Firm Directors Arrested in K28m Scandal
Lusaka, ZAMBIA. The Drug Enforcement Commission through its Anti-Money Laundering Investigations
Unit in Lusaka has arrested and jointly charged three (03) Directors of
Heritage Coin Resources Limited for money laundering offences involving over
K28, 000,000.00 contrary to the laws of Zambia.
Hilda Agnes Raubenheimer, 35, a Business woman of Salama Park, Orient Rio
Zekko, 29, a Secretary of Plot No. 1468/20/01 Ibex Hill and Tapiwa Chirwa, 40,
a Managing Director of House No. 1245 Avondale, Zimbabwe has been arrested and
jointly charged for providing banking business, financial business or financial
services without a license, conducting or participating in a money circulation
scheme, obtaining money by false pretences and money laundering contrary to the
laws of Zambia. Read More ...
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6 years imprisonment and a fine of Ariary 100 million for tortoise traffickers
Madagascar. It's a
victory for Nature, the radiated tortoises and the Malagasy judicial
system! The three traffickers of tortoises arrested in April 2018 with
10,072 Radiated tortoises were tried in the Criminal Court in Tulear in
October 25, 2018.
The
verdict is in: 6 years of firm imprisonment for each of the three
traffickers and Ariary 100 million of fine, as well as Ariary 30 million
to cover damages and the cost the Ministry of the Environment, Ecology
and Forests. It is the most severe penalty ever recorded in Madagascar
against tortoise’s traffickers.
The
WWF, the Durrell
Wildlife Conservation Trust and the Turtle Survival
Alliance congratulate the Ministry of Justice, especially the Toliara
Court of First Instance, for the courage and determination it has shown
throughout the investigation and trial of this case. This judgment marks
a crucial step in the fight against the trafficking of natural
resources.
Read More... ______________________________________
Interpol arrests 27 suspects in crackdown on crime across East Africa
KAMPALA – Uganda Police Force has netted 27 suspects in an operation
code-named usalama that is done in conjunction with countries in the
region.
The operation that was carried out between 27th September to 2nd October
2018 saw countries that fall under the umbrella of the Eastern African Police
Chiefs Organization [EAPCCO] And Southern Africa Police Chiefs Cooperation
Organization [SARPCCO] conducting it at the same time.
“This operation targeted transnational border crimes which include, theft of
motor vehicles, human trafficking, wildlife and environmental crimes, stolen
documents, vandalism, narcotic drugs, illicit trade of small and light weapons
and terrorism” Director INTERPOL and International Relations, Dr.Fred Yiga said
this in a press conference on Friday at INTERPOL offices in Kampala. Read More ...
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Panama Papers reveal offshore payments by Madagascar's seafood king
Jose Eduardo dos Santos’ son, Jose Filomeno, is only the most high-profile
prisoner at the facility in Luanda, as Angola’s new president wages an
anti-graft war that’s thrown the former ruling elite into disarray.
The crackdown is the latest in a series of bold steps by President Joao
Lourenco, who was elected last year and speaks of a “duty and obligation” to crush
corruption to save Angola’s ailing economy. Arrests have extended to the Dos
Santos family and its allies, who’re accused of amassing fortunes through their
grip on the nation’s oil, diamonds and other resources. Read More ...
Driven
by sophisticated transnational criminal networks and local gangs, the
illegal abalone trade has been fueled by deeply entrenched
socio-economic disparities in the Western Cape, bitterly contested
fishing quotas, drugs, and gang violence. Read More ...
