Saturday, November 23

Corruption, Bribes, Illicit Finance & Money Laundering

Corruption is a scourge on society, impacting both authoritarian and democratic systems. Unchecked, it gives capitalism a bad name. Corruption infects healthy business dealings and operations and produces winners and losers. It occurs through many means: money laundering, tax evasion, bribes, coercion, and other illicit activity. Corruption makes societies unequal and unfree. Let’s empower individuals and policymakers to demand accountability.

Corruption Comes Into Focus After Special Prosecutor Flees Guatemala
2Aug By Spencer HayesNo Comments
Corruption, Bribes, Illicit Finance & Money Laundering, Types of News: Brief, Types of News: Infographic

Corruption Comes Into Focus After Special Prosecutor Flees Guatemala

August 2, 2021--Corruption has long plagued Guatemala, as well as the broader Central American region. It's one of the root causes of mass migration from the region to the United States. Moreover, it has a corrosive effect on the political and economic systems in Northern Triangle. Occasionally, we come across one incident or event that illustrates the larger problem. That happened this Summer as a special prosecutor fighting corruption in Guatemala fled for his life after getting sacked from his position. Who Is Juan Francisco Sandoval? And Why Does He Matter? Juan Francisco Sandoval worked as a special prosecutor fighting corruption in Guatemala. On July 23, he fled Guatemala for his safety after losing his job. Photo credit: La Hora Juan Francisco Sandoval is a respected Gu...
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8Jul By Steve BerlinNo Comments
Corruption, Bribes, Illicit Finance & Money Laundering, Domestic Politics, Types of News: Brief, United States

Biden Extends Emergency Designation On Transnational Criminal Organizations

July 8, 2021—U.S. President Joe Biden extended a previous national emergency designation regarding the continued threat of transnational criminal organizations to U.S. national security and private interests. The White House’s announcement said transnational criminal organizations "continue to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States." The order allows the U.S. government to block property of organizations involved in criminal activities in two or more countries. Extension of Obama Executive Order The declaration is actually a continuation of executive order 13581 first issued by President Barack Obama in 2011 and continued in 2016. That order named the following organizations: The Brothers' Circle, Camorra...
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EU Presses Hungary To Restore Rule of Law, Human Rights
8Jul By Steve BerlinNo Comments
Corruption, Bribes, Illicit Finance & Money Laundering, Democracy, Domestic Politics, Europe, EU, Eurozone, Types of News: Brief

EU Presses Hungary To Restore Rule of Law, Human Rights

European Parliament debates a Hungarian law blocking broadcasts that include homosexuals. July 8, 2021. Source: European Commission. European Lawmakers Grow Increasingly Discontent Over Dismantling of Democracy in Hungary July 8, 2021--Six months into a new law linking EU funds to a condition requiring members to uphold the rule of law, European lawmakers are primed to use the new power in a case against member-state Hungary. Today, the European Parliament voted in favor of a resolution condemning Hungary for "state-sponsorship" of censorship against homosexuals. The vote of 459 for, 147 against and 58 abstentions came as a new Hungarian law banning depictions of homosexuals in media took effect. Today's resolution condemns "in the strongest possible terms" the Hun...
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Senate Panel Focuses on Crime-Related Migration at US-Mexico Border
13Nov By Patti MohrNo Comments
Corruption, Bribes, Illicit Finance & Money Laundering, Human rights, Migration, Immigration, Borders, Types of News: Brief

Senate Panel Focuses on Crime-Related Migration at US-Mexico Border

October 13, 2019--A Senate committee examining migration at the U.S.-Mexico border on Wednesday focused largely on crimes, such as child exploitation, drug trafficking and human smuggling. With just under a million cases of immigrants entering the U.S. border in the fiscal year 2019, the U.S. justice system of processing and detaining immigrants is overwhelmed, U.S. officials reported. Child Pawns Of primary concern are children who are used as human pawns for individuals seeking to enter the United States illegally. According to Mark Morgan, the acting commissioner of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, human smugglers use children as a "money-making commodity" by selling or renting them to migrants. "We know children are being rented and recycled and presented as fake fa...
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U.S. Gov’t Charges Walmart with Foreign Corruption Violations
20Jun By Patti MohrNo Comments
Corruption, Bribes, Illicit Finance & Money Laundering, Types of News: Brief

U.S. Gov’t Charges Walmart with Foreign Corruption Violations

June 20, 2019--In an indication of the prevalence of bribery in international business, Walmart, the world's largest retailer, has agreed to pay the U.S. government $282 million to settle charges that it failed to instill anti-corruption practices for over a decade. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charged Walmart with with violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). According to the SEC, Walmart did not sufficiently investigate or mitigate corrupt payments its subsidiaries and third-party intermediaries made to foreign governments in Brazil, China, India and Mexico. "Walmart valued international growth and cost-cutting over compliance," said Charles Cain, Chief of the SEC Enforcement Division’s unit on foreign corruption. "The company could have avoided many of t...
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Mexico’s New President Promises to Root Out Corruption, Reverse ‘Neoliberal’ Policies
3Dec By Patti MohrNo Comments
Corruption, Bribes, Illicit Finance & Money Laundering, Globalization, Global Disintegration, Political Systems, Domestic Politics, Types of News: Brief

Mexico’s New President Promises to Root Out Corruption, Reverse ‘Neoliberal’ Policies

Dec. 3, 2018--Mexico swore in Andres Manuel López Obrador as its new president on Saturday, bringing in a new era of governance and a dramatic shift in direction for Latin America's second largest economy. Mr. López Obrador, known by his populist name "AMLO," ran on a campaign to root out corruption and cronyism and eliminate government privilege. He also promised to empower the people, especially in poor and indigenous regions, both economically and through direct representation, such as referendums. It was perhaps that message or simply a wariness against the corrupt status quo that brings López Obrador to power. He won office last July in a landslide victory. He secured with 53 percent of the vote -- 30 percentage points above the closest rival. While The Economist magazine sug...
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As Gov’t Begins Reuniting Families, Congress Sets Immigration Reforms Aside
23Jun By Patti MohrNo Comments
Corruption, Bribes, Illicit Finance & Money Laundering, Migration, Immigration, Borders, Types of News: Brief, United States

As Gov’t Begins Reuniting Families, Congress Sets Immigration Reforms Aside

June 23, 2018-As the U.S. government began reuniting migrant children with their parents, who are being held for illegally crossing the U.S. border, the prospects for immigration reform in Congress appeared dead. The massive migration from Central America to the United States and the U.S. government's inability to handle it have created a crisis with both human and economic costs. The issues involved relate to bureaucratic incompetence, human smuggling, transnational crime, and a broken political system. Many Children And Parents Remain Apart Under pressure mounting pressure from an outrages public, the U.S. government started reuniting parents held under prosecution with their children. According to CBS News, the government returned 500 of the 2,300 children held in detention centers wi...
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U.S. Grand Jury Indicts Two in Counterintelligence Investigations
30Oct By Patti MohrNo Comments
Corruption, Bribes, Illicit Finance & Money Laundering, United States

U.S. Grand Jury Indicts Two in Counterintelligence Investigations

October 30, 2017--Six months into a counterintelligence investigation into Russian involvement in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, Special Counsel Robert Mueller has filed a criminal indictment against Paul J. Manafort, Jr., and Richard W. Gates, former campaign manager and deputy campaign manager to the Donald Trump presidential campaign from June to August 2016. The 31-page indictment speaks to the shadowy inner workings of Washington and the interplay between the political and for-profit lobbying worlds. The charges involve hiding and laundering "tens of millions of dollars" through foreign nominee companies and offshore bank accounts across the globe, including Cyprus, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and the Seychelles. According to the indictment, more than $75 million flowed ...
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Peaceful transfer of power in America
9Nov By Patti MohrNo Comments
Corruption, Bribes, Illicit Finance & Money Laundering, Democracy, Domestic Politics, United States

Peaceful transfer of power in America

America's 18-month presidential election has come to a close, with Hillary Clinton conceding defeat to Donald Trump. It was an election that at times felt like a reality-TV show gone wrong, with one candidate fending off multiple investigations and the other communicating one outlandish comment after another. It was a low period for America. With 61 percent of Americans reporting an "unfavorable" opinion of Donald Trump and 52 percent reporting an "unfavorable" opinion of Hillary Clinton, Trump and Clinton set records for the worst and second-worst liked U.S. presidential candidates in Gallup-polling history. Issues took a backseat, but they were, nonetheless, there: Deficiencies with the Affordable Care Act, Obama's signature healthcare law, that were never fixed and that ca...
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North Korean Dealings with Hong Kong-Business Keep Regime Alive
25Jun By Patti MohrNo Comments
Communism, Dictatorship, Corruption, Bribes, Illicit Finance & Money Laundering, Sanctions

North Korean Dealings with Hong Kong-Business Keep Regime Alive

Despite extensive sanctions against North Korea by the United Nations, European Union and United States in response to its nuclear testing, the world's most isolated country is not as isolated economically as one might suspect.According to a groundbreaking investigation by the Financial Times, North Korea relies on an obscure web of connections to finance foreign and domestic projects and bring in the foreign currency it needs to survive.The main group, Office 39 based in North Korea, conducts "illicit economic activities" to produce income for the leadership, according to the Financial Times. North Korea is also known to export weapons, drugs and indentured servants.It has dealings with a multi-million dollar private company based in Hong Kong, referred to as the Queensway Group. The pri...
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