ARINSA Meets to discuss Asset Management and following the Proceeds of Crime
Pretoria, South Africa. On 20 - 24 January 2019, ARINSA
contact points from all the 16 Member countries converged in Cape Town (South
Africa) for a retreat. The retreat provided an opportunity for private
exchanges among practitioners on topics related to the personal and corporate
branding of ARINSA, the overall functioning of the ARINSA network and asset
management. Topics discussed included branding and ethics, the planning and preparation
phase before the execution of freezing orders the modalities of data collection
and reporting, the sustainability of the network and development of asset
management manuals. Read More ...
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Seven Chinese nationals in Zimbabwe Court over Rhino horn Stash
Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. Seven Chinese nationals appeared in a Zimbabwe court after they were arrested last month with rhino horn pieces worth nearly a million dollars.
They are facing charges of breaching the
country’s wildlife laws.
Zeng Dengui, 35; Peicon Jang, 35; Chen Zhiangfu,
30; Qui Jinchang, 29; Yu Xian, 25; Yong Zhu, 25 and Liu Cheng, 23 were arrested
two days before Christmas after police raided their home following a tip-off.
Police detectives found pieces of rhino horn
stashed in a mattress, plastic bags and in boxes at a house in one of the
town’s suburbs.The seven who are all unemployed, appeared in
the dock wearing khaki prison garb at the court in the resort town of Victoria
Falls. Read More ...
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Mozambique charges ex-miister, 17 others in $2bn fraud case
At least 18 people, including a former finance minister,
have been charged for fraud involving $2bn in loans to state-owned companies
in Mozambique,
the Attorney General's Office (AGO) has said, in a scandal that has ensnared
two major international banks.
"Mozambique AGO is indicting 18 defendants, (ranging)
from public workers and other citizens, on charges of abuse of power, abuse of
trust, swindling and money laundering," it said in a statement on Monday.
The indictment came days after three ex-Credit Suisse bankers
were charged in the United States with fraud over their role in Mozambique's
deal in 2013 to borrow money from international investors to fund projects that
included a state tuna fishery. Read More ...
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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... ______________________________________
