PEP ALERT ... EX-MINISTER FOUND GUILTY OF FRAUD

Russia’s former nuclear energy minister Yevgeny Adamov (UID 51) has been found guilty of fraud and abuse of office by a Moscow court. The judge stated that Adamov’s criminal activities had resulted in “… seriously harming the interests of the (Russian) state." Adamov’s tenure as nuclear energy minister ran from 1998 until 2001. He was arrested in May 2005 in Switzerland on a US warrant, on suspicion of misappropriating US$9 million of US funds destined for Russia’s nuclear safety projects. He was extradited to Russia in 2006. Adamov has also been accused of leading an organised crime group and embezzlement of millions of dollars from state coffers. Adamov denies these allegations. Charges are still pending in the United States. To see who else is involved in the case check out the linked associates on Adamov’s profile.

The former French Polynesian President and now opposition leader Gaston Flosse (UID 12197) has been summoned by judges investigating the alleged misuse of government funds. It has been reported that following a 2006 audit by the French government, approximately US$3 million appears to have been misappropriated during Flosse’s presidency (1991-2004). Flosse, the leader of the Tahoeraa Huiraatira party, has also been accused of fraud over the purchase and subsequent sale of the Anuanuraro atoll. Flosse denies all accusations of wrong doing. Flosse has been in the World-Check database for more than seven years.

GOVERNMENT SIEZES CARTEL’S AIRCRAFT

This month the Mexican government swooped on an airfield in Culiacan in the Sinaloa state and seized more than 100 aircraft. Authorities believe that the aircraft have been used in money laundering operations for the notorious Sinaloa Cartel (UID 466172). The cartel leader Joaquin Guzman (UID 18723) is a convicted drug trafficker and is currently a fugitive, with a substantial reward on his head. Take a look at the "From a Different Angle" article which reveals the names of the Mexican companies whose hangars contained the seized aircraft plus other interesting details. Check out our unique Display Graph application on Guzman’s profile which will reveal not only his primary associates but also the secondary and tertiary network.

KIDNEY TRANSPLANT RACKET UNCOVERED

Early in February authorities in Nepal arrested Amit Kumar (UID 791092) on an Interpol red notice. Kumar is accused of heading up a kidney transplant racket in New Delhi. So far Kumar has been charged with cheating, illegal confinement, causing grievous hurt, criminal conspiracy and criminal intimidation as well as violations of the Transplantation of Human Organs Act 1994. Reports suggest that Kumar also supplied foreign patients and may have opened accounts offshore. Authorities are making further enquiries, and have arrested family members. Kumar may face additional charges of money laundering World-Check’s dedicated team of research analysts are monitoring the news for further developments and will update the relevant profiles as more information becomes available.

MORTGAGE FRAUDSTER JAILED

In February Leslie Rector (UID 414537) who a year earlier had been convicted of conspiracy, loan fraud, mail and wire fraud, and money laundering, was sentenced to seven years in jail. Rector was reportedly the right-hand-man of Phillip Hill (UID 326791) who was sentenced to 28 years in jail in September 2007. Reports state that between 2000 and 2003 Rector assisted Hill to perpetrate the $112 million mortgage fraud. They sold more than 250 condominiums in complexes around Atlanta to straw purchasers in a scheme which is called ‘a mortgage flip’. In addition to the jail term Rector was also required to pay restitution of $40.2 million.

Last week a section of the US Embassy in Belgrade was attacked and burned by Serbian nationals unhappy with America's support for the unilateral declaration of independence of the breakaway Serbian province of Kosovo. Inasmuch as the last time a US Embassy was invaded in this matter, it was Iran in 1979, one should expect an American reaction in the financial sector, especially since it was reported that Serbian police let the destruction occur. Since our task at World-Check includes risk assessment of emerging threats, it is in order to consider the potential consequences of the attack as it may affect international financial institutions. …read more

Mullah Mansoor Dadullah (UID 734719) was reported wounded and captured by Pakistan forces in the town of Kili Gwal Ilamilzai on the Pakistan/Afghanistan border. Dadullah is a top member of the Taliban militia in Afghanistan, and the brother of deceased former military commander Mullah Dadullah Akhund (UID 38429) who was killed in May last year.

This month Imad Mughniyah (UID 39424) deputy leader of Hizballah (UID 1365) was reported killed by a car bomb in Damascus, Syria. He is alleged to have been involved in a number of terrorist attacks during the 1980s, as well as high-jacking and kidnapping. He was linked to the 1996 bombing of the Khobar Towers military residence in Saudi Arabia which killed 17 Americans. Mughniyah who is reported to have had his appearance surgically altered, appears on numerous watch lists and reports link him to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps – Qods Force (UID 539020). World-Check has an extensive profile on Mughniyah, who has been included in the database since 2001, check it out.

The Court of Appeal in London quashed the conviction of five British men who were jailed last year for alleged links to terrorism. The judge ruled that possessing Islamist videos and downloading jihadi propaganda did not mean that they were terrorists. The five Mohammed Raja (UID 422818), Awaab Iqbal (UID 422817), Usman Malik (UID 422819), Aitzaz Zafar (UID 422820), and Akbar Butt (UID 497455) were told that “terrorism laws had been interpreted too widely and used for a purpose for which they were not intended, the court insisted that evidence also had to show the suspects intended to use the material for terrorist acts.”

In February the alleged financial leader of Hizb-ul Mujanideen (UID 160899) Farooq Ahmed Dar aka Haneef Khan (UID 800416) and his aide Javid Ahmad Malik (UID 800415) were killed in a gun battle with Indian authorities. The encounter took place in Indian controlled Kashmir in a village close to Srinagar. Hizb-ul-Mujanedeen is believed to have been behind the numerous bombings and attacks in the conflict ridden region.

In February the Secretary General of the Civilizational Alternative (CA) (UID 806635) party Mustafa Muta'sim (UID 806624)was arrested and the government ordered that the party be disbanded. Reports suggest that the 'CA' has links to Al-Qaida. Allegedly the government has also gone some way to dismantling a terror network which purportedly raised funds through robberies and thefts in Europe and had plans to assassinate prominent individuals within Morocco.

Visit our Media section on the World-Check portal to see the latest news about us. On February 21, UK newspaper The Times ran an article about how World-Check identified 4,000 company directors listed as terrorists and fraudsters and other high risk categories on the Companies House Register. You can read The Times' articles and the follow up articles here. World-Check issued a press release which can be accessed here.

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