PEP ... RUSSIAN OLIGARCH TRIED IN ABSENTIA

Former Duma deputy, Executive Secretary of the Security Council of Russia and now self imposed exile Boris Berezovsky (UID 8641) is currently being tried in absentia in Moscow, on embezzlement and money laundering charges. These charges are specifically related to more than US$8 million he allegedly embezzled from Russia’s national airline Aeroflot. In July this year Brazilian authorities reportedly issued a warrant for Berezosky’s arrest on suspicion of his involvement in money laundering and creating a criminal group. To get the whole story take a look at the information sources on his profile and check out the time-line in the information field.

This month Francisco Rafael Arellano Felix (UID 166015) a member of the Tijuana Cartel (UID 232092) was jailed for six years. Arellano Felix pleaded guilty in June to just one count of conspiring to distribute cocaine and possession with intent to distribute the drug. This charge related to a felony committed in 1980, when Arellano Felix on a $150,000 bail bond absconded to his native Mexico. Back home, he however, spent more than 10 years in jail on weapons charges. In 2006 once his sentence was served he was extradited to the US.

SPAMMERS BEHIND BARS

Jeffrey A Kilbride (UID 342962) and James Schaffer (UID 342973) from Arizona have been jailed for over five years each after a successful conviction for violating federal anti spamming laws. The pair allegedly sent millions of e-mail messages which advertised pornographic websites. Kilbride and Schaffer worked on commission which was based on the number of people who clicked through to the sites from the links sent in the emails. They reportedly grossed more than US$2million in commissions. In addition to their jail sentences the pair were required to forfeit US$1.3 million.

GRENADA AUTHORITIES NAB MONEY LAUNDERERS

Grenadian police believe they may have arrested members of an international money laundering syndicate. Earlier this month authorities took in to custody Guyanese Rosine Conway (UID 729831 ) and Nigerian national Ann Mary Yusuf (UID 729832 ) after it was discovered that during September the pair had used fraudulent credit cards to withdraw in excess of US$100,000. Authorities also conducted a search of their accommodation and found a further EC$55,000 in cash. Keep up to date with developments in the case by using the unique profile specific search engine News-Check.

SCICILIAN MOB BOSS TO REMAIN IN USA

This month Italian authorities once again tried and failed to extradite Rosario Gambino (UID 32080) from the US to face charges in Sicily. Gambino has been in an immigration detention centre since he got out of federal jail last year, after having served a 22 year sentence for narcotics trafficking. Rosario and his brothers John and Giuseppe ran a money laundering and mob syndicate which was at one time controlled by the late John J Gotti. Why not check out his family and 'mob’ connections by looking at the Display Graph feature on his profile.

All the articles covering the dismissal of the corruption charges pending against General Augusto Pinochet's family and close associates in Chile have ignored one important aspect of the case; that it was corrupt bankers in the United States who enabled the late dictator to set up accounts in fictional names, and to use companies formed in offshore financial centres. No American banker has ever been charged for aiding and abetting Pinochet and his associates in hiding the reported $25m, and many of those bankers remain in the industry today. How were those bankers able to acquire those offshore companies? They did it by lying to the lawyers they hired to form those corporations. …read more

This month jurors in the trial of former leaders of the Muslim charity the Holy Land Foundation (UID 47714) failed to reach consensus. One of the suspects Mohammed El-Mezain (UID 242469 ) was found not guilty on 31 of the 32 charges levelled against him. The presiding judge announced a mistrial and prosecutors are reported to now be preparing for a retrial.

BELGIUM PUTS RECRUITERS ON TRIAL

Bilal Soughir (UID 392196) is alleged to be the ringleader of a group who recruited female suicide bomber Murial Deqauque. He and five others are on trial in Brussels on charges of being members of a terrorist group. Ms Deqauque was to have carried out a suicide attack against US troops in Iraq, however the explosives strapped to her body detonated prematurely and she was the only fatality. To see who Soughir is linked to and their nationalities check out his profile.

In October, Afghanistan government forces arrested Mohammed Khan (UID 737057) aka Nasrat in Gerdez. A spokesman for the Afghanistan security forces revealed that Khan had been responsible for organizing several terrorist activities in Paktia and the neighbouring provinces.

This month an Ontario court denied bail to Steven Chand (UID 456044) who is accused of belonging to a terror cell. Members of the cell are alleged to have plotted to bomb various targets in southern Ontario, Canada. Shand is also know as Abdul Shakur.World-Check uses a number of identifying criteria to sort the true positive results from the false positive hits, including, known aliases and alternate name spellings, all designed to assist the compliance professional to work more effectively.

This month Lotfi Lagha (UID 466474) was found guilty by a Tunis court on terrorism charges. Lagha was a former inmate in the US prison center in Guantanamo Bay. He was extradited to Tunisia in June this year in order to face charges in his native country. Lagha, was sentenced to three years behind bars after being found guilty of 'association with a criminal group with the aim of harming or causing damage within Tunisia'.

A heads up for our South American readers Kenneth Rijock financial crime consultant for World-Check and Roberto Rajmilevich will be in Buenos Aires on 8 November, for more details click here.

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