Corruption & crime January 2024 –

Transparency International
The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists
Conference of the States Parties to the UN Convention against Corruption
Brookings Anti-Corruption, Democracy, and Security (ACDS)
Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP)

2 September
Convicted fraudsters launch AI lobbying firm using fake names
Jacob Wohl and Jack Burkman are operating under the pseudonyms Jay Klein and Bill Sanders.
(Politico) A Washington startup pitched as a service to integrate AI into lobbying is covertly run by a pair of well-known, far-right conspiracy theorists and convicted felons who are using pseudonyms in their new business, according to four former employees as well as photo and email evidence.

26 August
Telegram founder arrest part of cybercrime inquiry, say prosecutors
Investigation into Pavel Durov relates to app’s alleged failure to stop spread of child sexual abuse material
A senior official at Ofmin, a French agency set up last year to prevent violence against children, said Durov’s arrest was linked to Telegram’s failure to properly fight crime on the app, including the spread of child sexual abuse material. Ofmin issued the arrest warrant for Durov.
… Specialist cybercrime and fraud detectives are looking into 12 alleged offences linked to organised crime, including complicity in the possession and distribution of images of children of “a pedo-pornographic nature”, drug offences and fraud. It is not clear which, if any, of the alleged offences police are questioning Durov over.
The crazy life and times of Pavel Durov, Russia’s Elon Musk
Is the arrested Telegram CEO a free speech martyr or a shadowy criminal?
A self-professed libertarian, Durov likes to frame himself as the patron of the individual citizen against government snooping. Authorities in France, however, are now probing him for his defense of a far less noble group of people, including pedophiles, drug dealers and gangsters.

19 August
Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone (GTSEZ)
(Bloomberg) A Chinese businessman persuaded officials to establish a special economic zone in a remote part of Laos. The gamblers arrived first. Then came the drug runners and human traffickers.
The GTSEZ operates as a self-governed enclave, and for the better part of a decade investigators have warned that it’s a hub for criminal activity of every description—a legal no-man’s land.
At first, according to the US Department of the Treasury and other agencies that have examined the zone, one of its main businesses was drug trafficking, particularly of methamphetamines. …
More recently, the GTSEZ has diversified into hosting “scam centers,” where teams of operators, many of them victims of human trafficking, persuade online marks to move their savings into fraudulent crypto-trading schemes. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and other agencies have identified the GTSEZ as a nexus of money laundering as well, connecting criminal groups from Taiwan to Myanmar that use crypto, underground casinos and shadow banking to move ill-gotten gains. “It’s a multifunctional criminal enterprise,” says Richard Horsey, a senior adviser to the International Crisis Group who has studied the zone. “The GTSEZ business model is to provide the infrastructure. They create that ecosystem so that criminal businesses can come in, lease the premises they need, hire the armed security they need and get whatever they want.”

25-26 July
How the U.S. Captured One of Mexico’s Biggest Drug Lords
The improbable arrest of Ismael Zambada García, who for decades had evaded the authorities, at a small airport outside El Paso appears to be a tale of subterfuge and betrayal.
(NYT) It sounded like a story ripped from a narco thriller: One of the biggest drug lords in Mexico was lured onto an airplane, flown across the border and presented to American federal agents by the son of his former partner in crime.
As improbable as it may seem, that is exactly what appears to have happened on Thursday evening, when a Beechcraft King Air turboprop landed at a small municipal airport outside El Paso, and off stepped one of the most wanted men in Mexico: Ismael Zambada García, a founder of the notorious Sinaloa drug cartel.
A Fake Trip and a Stunning Betrayal Landed Top Cartel Leaders in U.S. Hands
Ismael Zambada García and Joaquín Guzmán López helped run the Sinaloa Cartel, one of the most dominant criminal groups in Mexico.
(NYT) The arrest in the United States of two top leaders of the Sinaloa drug cartel came after what initial accounts suggest was a dramatic betrayal that saw one of the men, a son of the notorious drug lord known as El Chapo, lure the other under false pretenses onto a plane that delivered them both into the hands of American law enforcement.
One of the operatives taken into custody, Ismael Zambada García, was arguably the most powerful criminal in Mexico, a septuagenarian kingpin who helped to found the Sinaloa cartel with El Chapo decades ago and remained at large even after his partner was extradited to the United States and convicted at a trial in New York City.
The other was one of El Chapo’s own sons, Joaquín Guzmán López, who with his brothers had inherited a large swath of their father’s illicit business moving massive amounts of cocaine and fentanyl into the United States, Europe and elsewhere.

23 July
Admiral’s romance with Pentagon official could be central in bribery case
(WaPo) The woman is the only uncharged person who attended a key lunch meeting in July 2021 where, prosecutors allege, the Navy’s former second-highest-ranking officer, Adm. Robert P. Burke, 62, agreed with two executives to award a sole-source contract and help win further Navy business for their company in exchange for a $500,000-a-year job and stock options after he retired.
The Burke prosecution is focused on one transaction, but its emerging details reflect the challenges the Navy has faced in recent years in combating reported command failures and corruption. Burke helped lead its response while serving as chief of naval personnel from 2016 to 2019, and vice chief of naval operations from 2019 to 2020, before retiring in summer 2022 as commander in Europe.
Over that span, the Navy managed the fallout of the worst corruption scandal in its modern history, involving disgraced defense contractor Leonard “Fat Leonard” Francis, which led to 34 prosecutions and 29 guilty pleas, most of them by Navy officers, although several are coming undone because of prosecutors’ misconduct. It met escalating complaints of sexual harassment and sexual assault in the ranks. And it experienced two deadly warship collisions that killed 17 sailors and exposed disastrous leadership, readiness and training breakdowns, two months apart in 2017.

18 July
A double life: The cocaine kingpin who hid as a professional soccer player
(WaPo) Sebastián Marset, it turned out, was among the most important drug traffickers in South America, and one of the key figures behind a surge of cocaine arriving in Western Europe, according to Latin American, U.S. and European investigators.
Instead of hiding from authorities, he had used his fortune to purchase and sponsor soccer teams across Latin America and in Europe. U.S. and South American investigators would learn that he was using those teams to help launder millions in drug proceeds.
Along the way, Marset, now 33, deployed his power and wealth to fulfill a boyhood dream: He inserted himself into the starting lineups.

17 July
Interpol arrests 300 people in a global crackdown on West African crime groups
(ABC news) In a global operation targeting West African organized crime groups across five continents, police arrested 300 people, seized $3 million and blocked 720 bank accounts, Interpol said Tuesday.
Operation Jackal III, which ran from 10 April to 3 July in 21 countries, aimed to fight online financial fraud and the West African syndicates behind it, the agency said in a statement.
“The volume of financial fraud stemming from West Africa is alarming and increasing,” said Isaac Oginni, director of Interpol’s Financial Crime and Anti-Corruption Centre. “This operation’s results underscore the critical need for international law enforcement collaboration to combat these extensive criminal networks.”
One of the targeted groups was Black Axe, one of the most prominent criminal networks in West Africa. Black Axe operates in cyber fraud, human trafficking, drug smuggling, and is responsible for violent crimes both within Africa and globally, the agency added.
Black Axe used money mules to open bank accounts worldwide and is now under investigation in over 40 countries for related money laundering activities, the agency said. The suspects include citizens from Argentina, Colombia, Nigeria and Venezuela.

10 July
Meet Antibot4Navalny: the mysterious researchers exposing Russia’s war on truth
(The World) An anonymous group of researchers known as Antibot4Navalny are striking a blow against Russian disinformation campaigns by finding and identifying them on Twitter, now known as X. And, as Dina Temple-Raston from the “Click Here” podcast reports, publicizing these Kremlin-backed operations has allowed the group to punch way above its weight.

5 July
Brazil’s Bolsonaro formally accused of money laundering for diamonds from Saudi Arabia
(The World/LA Times) The indictment of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro for money laundering and criminal association in connection with undeclared diamonds from Saudi Arabia marked the far-right leader’s second formal accusation, with more potentially in store. The indictment on Thursday by Federal Police, confirmed by two officials with knowledge of the case, followed another formal accusation in March against Bolsonaro for allegedly falsifying his COVID-19 vaccination certificate. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. Once Brazil’s Supreme Court receives the police report with the latest indictment, the country’s prosecutor-general, Paulo Gonet, will analyze it and decide whether to shelve it, ask for additional police investigation or file charges and force Bolsonaro to stand trial.

21 June
The 21st IACC Vilnius Declaration | Confronting Global Threats: Standing Up for Integrity
The urgency of our mission has never been greater: we must rise together, strong and united, to defend all those who stand against corruption and for integrity. Amid these profound challenges our unity, purpose, and determination continue to encourage countless people to join our fight to maintain the moral compass of our society, and to devise new strategies to combat those who are corrupt.
Inspired by this year’s conference theme, Confronting Global Threats: Standing Up for Integrity, we therefore pledge

20 June
Malaysia-Singapore Border Could See Spread of Financial Scams in Southeast Asia
(IACC) On June 12, Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong visited Malaysia and highlighted how the new Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone (SEZ) could unlock massive economic benefits for both nations.
However, details of the specific economic sectors set to operate there have yet to be revealed. And one troubling legal action has cast suspicion as to how the SEZ could be used for shady practices.
In April, Bloomberg reported that Malaysian authorities were allegedly in talks with business tycoons to open a casino in Forest City, another vast business development close to Singapore. The report stated that the current Malaysian monarch, Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar of Johor, was a main backer of this casino plan.
Retaliation was swift. Bloomberg reporters were swiftly put under investigation for sedition, criminal defamation, and misusing internet access to cause online harm.
A full agreement on the SEZ is expected to be signed in September 2024. SEZs in nearby countries, such as Cambodia, Myanmar, and Laos, are often hubs for these crimes.
Despite no cases of corruption having been found related to the new SEZ, more clarity is needed as to what purpose the SEZ will serve and how it will benefit Malaysia, according to Pushpan Murugiah, CEO of Malaysia’s Centre to Combat Corruption and Cronyism.

14 June
21st International Anti-Corruption Conference (IACC) opens in Vilnius
(Transparency International) During the four-day conference, leaders from over 160 countries, including heads of state, business leaders, major international financial institutions, civil society organisations, and journalists, will discuss how corruption fuels global challenges such as the climate crisis, the decline of democracy and security, and the impact of corruption on global financial stability.

31 May
Navy’s former second-highest-ranking officer arrested, charged with bribery
Retired four-star Adm. Robert P. Burke, former vice chief of naval operations, is accused of awarding a single-source contract in exchange for a future $500,000-a-year job.
(WaPo) The Navy’s former second-highest-ranking officer and commander of naval forces for Europe and Africa was arrested Friday on federal bribery charges for allegedly awarding a sole-source contract to a company in 2021 in exchange for a $500,000-a-year job and stock options, the Justice Department announced.
… Only one U.S. Navy admiral has ever been found guilty of committing a federal crime while on active duty; Rear Adm. Robert Gilbeau was sentenced to 18 months in prison in 2017 for lying to federal agents about his part in the worst corruption scandal in Navy history, involving disgraced defense contractor Leonard “Fat Leonard” Francis.
[7 September 2023
4 convictions thrown out in ‘Fat Leonard’ case after prosecutor misconduct
The four former Navy officers were convicted in June 2022 of accepting bribes from international defense contractor Leonard Francis]
The Justice Department’s handling of the Francis investigation has gotten a black eye, however, after defense attorneys alleged that prosecutors relied on flawed evidence and withheld information favorable to the defense.
… [Burke’s attorney Tim] Parlatore said there was no factual connection between Burke’s case and the Leonard investigation, but he raised an eyebrow at the back-to-back moves involving high-profile Navy scandals, saying, “The timing is odd, to indict a high-ranking admiral after the complete implosion of all the Fat Leonard-related connections due to DOJ’s misconduct.”
2 April
Singapore convicts first suspect in $2.2 billion money laundering case, media reports
(Reuters) – A Singapore court on Tuesday convicted the first defendant in its biggest-ever money laundering case, local media reported, in one of the city-state’s highest-profile crime probes over which more than $2.2 billion of assets has been seized or frozen.
Defendant Su Wenqiang, a Cambodian national, admitted to 11 charges of money laundering and taking proceeds from illegal remote gambling, Channel News Asia reported.

21 March
Indian opposition leader Arvind Kejriwal arrested over corruption claims
Kejriwal is a key leader in an opposition alliance challenging Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s BJP in elections next month.

19 March
Advancing Summit for Democracy commitments: Progress and paths forward
The third Summit for Democracy (S4D3) kicked off this week in Seoul, South Korea amid global declines in democracy and the resurgence of authoritarian tendencies.
Implementing the commitments made at the S4D3 and other multilateral events is key to fully deliver concrete and sustainable democratic and anti-corruption reforms at the local, national, and global levels.
Going forward, the S4D process would benefit from greater involvement of civil society and other stakeholders in the design, monitoring, and implementation of commitments and increased reporting of results.
(Brookings) An overview of S4D commitment progress
In December 2021, more than 50 governments—including 43 member countries of OGP—pledged nearly 900 commitments at the first Summit for Democracy (S4D1). Over 100 of these commitments were related to anti-corruption reforms in areas like beneficial ownership transparency, political integrity, and bolstering anti-corruption stakeholders, including civil society.
So far, while there has been undoubted progress, we still need to see more evidence of implementation of many of these commitments. While a few participating countries stepped up and submitted self-assessments of their commitment implementation by the start of the second Summit for Democracy in March 2023, many commitments lack follow-up or accountability.

6 March
Anti-corruption progress at the Summit for Democracy is essential to safeguarding democracy
Norman Eisen, Jonathan Katz, Eric Urby, Kai Smith, Mansi Patel, and Robin J. Lewis
Democracy is on the line globally in 2024. Autocrats and malign actors are wielding corruption strategically, closing civic space, curtailing freedoms, targeting political opposition and independent media, and pedaling dangerous disinformation to relentlessly advance illiberalism. The recent murder of political opposition leader and anti-corruption activist Alexei Navalny by Putin’s Russia is a stark reminder of these threats. On top of these challenges, we see emerging threats posed by generative artificial intelligence (AI) and its impact on elections from Slovakia to Taiwan to recently in Pakistan and Indonesia.
The third Summit for Democracy (S4D3) in March must turn the tide on autocratic inroads by leveraging anti-corruption tools to strengthen resilience and take measurable steps to prevent democratic backsliding.

18 February
A 2021 film by Navalny titled ‘Putin’s Palace’ has resurfaced after his death. Here’s what it said about the $1.3B compound
The documentary by Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who reportedly died Friday, exposed a lavish $1.3-billion Black Sea palace that Navalny alleged was built for Putin.

16 February
Alexey Navalny: An archenemy Putin wouldn’t name and Kremlin couldn’t scare
The lawyer and securities expert…rose to fame in the late 2000s by exposing the graft of top officials, including Putin.
“Putin is the man who steals Russia’s future. I am taking part in this election to fight him,” Navalny said in 2017 when announcing his decision to run for president.
“Under [Russia’s first democratically elected president, Boris] Yeltsin, corruption was problematic. Under Putin, it became systemic,” he wrote in 2012.