PEP ... FORMER BRAZILIAN MAYOR UNDER INVESTIGATION

Celso Pitta (UID 189430) was dismissed as Mayor of Sao Paulo in 2000, this month he has been accused by Brazilian authorities of passive corruption, crimes against the financial system, money laundering, organized crime and gang formation. Earlier in his political career Pitta had regularly been investigated for and indeed convicted on corruption charges, but had not been forced to resign his political office due to lengthy appeals against these convictions. Since 2000, authorities have gathered information regarding alleged involvement in the Banestado case, illegal financial transactions, money laundering and tax evasion. In January 2005 Pitta was arrested for obstruction of justice. In May 2006 he was accused of placing over US$60 million in offshore tax havens. Pitta has recently denied having bank accounts abroad. Use our Graphic Display to reveal his associates and family members including his former spouse Nicea (UID 196159) and print out the result for your record of due diligence.

SWISS BANKER GETS TWO YEARS

Urs Betschart (UID 45178) was the former deputy financial director of the Locarno branch of the Banca dello Stato in Canton Ticino Bellinzona. In October 2001 Betschart and the former Vice President of the bank Tuto Rossi (UID 45174) were arrested on allegations of fraud involving aggravated false administration. It was alleged that they had conducted unauthorized trading in derivatives amounting to €4,3milion dating back to 1998 through to 2000. Last November they was officially charged with false administration and in September 2006 the trial opened. A short time later it was revealed that €7,7million of a total €21,5million had been embezzled from public funds into 9 private bank accounts. This month Betschart and Rossi both of whom have been in the World-Check database for 5 years were sentenced to 2 years behind bars.

SECURITIES FRAUDSTER JAILED AND FINED

In October 2006 the former CEO of Newport Pacific Financial Group SA, Michael Ritter (UID 169165) was jailed for 10 years. In addition he was ordered to forfeit $471,000 after being convicted of securities fraud, mail and wire fraud, obstruction of justice and money laundering. Ritter who once held the position as Counsel for the Alberta Legislature was three years ago indicted on charges relating to an alleged $250m pyramid scheme. Last year the US sought to extradite him from Canada. Ritter in the meantime legally changed his name to D’Orleans in Belize, applied for a passport in that name which resulted in him receiving a 6-month prison sentence for obtaining a passport in another name. Did you know that World-Check’s highly structured profiles contain aliases, alternate name spelling and many other fields of identification specific information as well as risk specific data to assist our clients to eliminate ‘false positive’ matches?

The pending federal criminal case against an American businessman charged with Foreign Corrupt Practices Act violations in connection with a $78m bribery case contains a singular red flag that every compliance officer must take seriously: the offshore company owned by a foundation. …read more

In the October 16th iBRIEF we informed you of Dhiren Barot’s (UID 245042) court case and that he had pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit murder. The British Al-Qaeda terrorist was this month sentenced to a minimum of forty years behind bars, meaning that he will not be eligible for parole until he is 74 years old. Remember others associated with the terror campaign are due in court early next year. World-Check's team of dedicated researchers constantly update and add new profiles. Last month over 20,000 profiles were updated and more than 16,500 new ones created.

This month an Italian court has sentenced Rabei Osman Sayed Ahmed (UID 109311) referred to as ‘Mohammed the Egyptian’ to 10 years in jail. His co-accused Yahia Ragheh (UID 411217) received a five-year term; both were convicted of subversive association aimed at international terrorism. It was further reported that Ragheh who stayed with Ahmed was being groomed to become a suicide bomber.

A number of individuals allegedly belonging to the Revolutionary Government of Free Viet Nam (UID 354910) - listed by the USA as a terrorist organization last September - appeared in the HCM City court this month. Nguyen Huu Chanh (UID 432660) the leader and founder of Revolutionary Government of Free Viet Nam, has in concert with other individuals been accused of the 2001 bombing of Vietnam embassies in Thailand and the Philippines. Chanh and a further seven co-accused appeared in court in November were last year supposedly involved in interfering with the transmissions of various radio stations in the country, and calling for an uprising to overthrow the present government.

Inaki de Jauna Chaos (UID 19353) an alleged ETA member was imprisoned in 1987 for 18 years. In August this year he went on hunger strike claiming he had served his sentence. However, this month Spanish authorities sentenced Jauna Chaos to a further 12 years and 6 months for committing terrorist threats. The accusations centre around two articles published in the Basque daily newspaper Gara. An earlier and additional charge of being a member of an armed gang was dropped. Reports state that after sentencing this month he has resumed his hunger strike.

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