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Papua tribe moves to block clearing of its ancestral forest for palm oil
JAKARTA — Indigenous people in Indonesia’s easternmost Papua province are protesting against a company that’s preparing to raze their ancestral forest for a plantation megaproject plagued by allegations of irregularities and wrongdoing. Members of the Auyu tribe are demanding the government freeze the operations of PT Indo Asiana Lestari (IAL), whose 39,190-hectare (96,840-acre) concession forms one chunk of the larger Tanah Merah project that has been fought over by competing groups of investors over the past decade. If developed in full, the Tanah Merah project would result in the clearance ...
Mongabay
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Deregulation law ‘raises corruption risk’ in Indonesia’s forestry sector
JAKARTA — A controversial new law that makes sweeping cuts to environmental regulations may also pave the way for greater corruption in Indonesia’s forestry sector, academics have warned. An analysis of the so-called omnibus law on job creation — passed by parliament in October to cut red tape and make it easy for companies to invest and do business in Indonesia — uncovered 21 areas of potential risk for corruption, according to Hariadi Kartodihardjo, a forestry policy lecturer at the Bogor Institute of Agriculture (IPB). Hariadi looked at drafts of implementing regulations for the law, which ...
Mongabay
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US closes key money-laundering, tax evasion channel
Washington (AFP) - A major avenue for global money laundering and tax evasion has been closed off by a new law requiring disclosure of owners of US shell companies used to hide billions of dollars. The Corporate Transparency Act was included in the US defense appropriations bill passed into law by Congress late Friday, overriding President Donald Trump's veto. The law forces "beneficial owners" behind shell companies to report their identities to the US Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, or FinCEN. While the law still grants them protection from public knowledge -- only the Treas...
AFP
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US sanctions Chinese organized crime figure 'Broken Tooth' Wan
Washington (AFP) - The US Treasury slapped sanctions Wednesday on a notorious Chinese organized crime leader known as "Broken Tooth", alleging he is expanding criminal activities throughout Southeast Asia on the back of a major Beijing infrastructure initiative. Wan Kuok-koi, the head of the powerful 14K triad, or organized crime group, has built operations in Cambodia, Myanmar and Palau since being released from Macau prison eight years ago, the Treasury said. It called Wan a member of the Communist Party of China's Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference who has attached his crimi...
AFP
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Apple security chief allegedly tried to bribe police with iPads
San Francisco (AFP) - Apple's global security director has been charged with bribery for allegedly offering hundreds of iPads to Californian law enforcement officers in exchange for weapons permits for company employees. Chief Security Officer Thomas Moyer promised to give the Santa Clara County sheriff's office 200 iPads, worth about $70,000, in exchange for concealed weapons permits (CCW), the county's district attorney alleged in a statement Monday.The proposed deal was abandoned at the last minute.An undersheriff and a captain, Rick Sung and James Jensen, were also charged for having sough...
AFP
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US drops drug charges against former Mexican defense minister
New York (AFP) - US authorities have dropped drug trafficking and money laundering charges against a former Mexican defense minister who was sent back to face a criminal probe in his home country.Salvador Cienfuegos was accused of conspiring to produce and distribute "thousands of kilograms" of cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine and marijuana in the US over a period of more than a year.The retired general denied the charges -- which date to when he was a key figure in President Enrique Pena Nieto's 2012-2018 administration -- but faced a possible life sentence if convicted.Court authorities in N...
AFP
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Goldman Sachs agrees to largest penalty ever in 1MDB scandal
New York (AFP) - Global financial titan Goldman Sachs agreed to pay $2.9 billion in penalties to settle criminal charges in the 1MDB Malaysian bribery scandal, the largest US fine ever in a corruption case, the Justice Department announced Thursday.Acting US Assistant Attorney General Brian C. Rabbitt said Goldman "accepted responsibility" in the case that involved $1.6 billion in bribes, the largest ever recorded, and massive gains laundered through the US financial system.Goldman Sachs helped raise $6.5 billion for the Malaysian government's sovereign wealth fund. The US Justice Department h...
AFP
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Goldman Sachs to pay US $2.8bn over 1MDB scandal: report
Washington (AFP) - Global financial titan Goldman Sachs is preparing to admit wrongdoing in the massive 1MDB Malaysian bribery scandal and pay the US government $2.8 billion, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.The deal would end the criminal probe into the corruption case involving the Malaysian government's investment fund, the newspaper reported, citing people familiar with the matter.An Asian subsidiary involved in the case is expected to plead guilty this week, allowing Goldman to avoid pleading guilty -- a key development, as such a plea would damage its ability to do business, acco...
AFP
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Major banks moved vast sums of illicit money: ICIJ
Washington (AFP) - Massive sums of allegedly dirty money have flowed for years through some of the world's largest banking institutions, said an international journalism investigation published Sunday, which denounced shortcomings in sector regulations."Profits from deadly drug wars, fortunes embezzled from developing countries, and hard-earned savings stolen in a Ponzi scheme were all allowed to flow into and out of these financial institutions, despite warnings from the banks' own employees," according to the probe from Buzzfeed News and the International Consortium of Investigative Journali...
AFP
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Malaysia drops 1MDB charges against Goldman Sachs
Kuala Lumpur (AFP) - Malaysia has dropped criminal charges against Goldman Sachs over its role in the 1MDB scandal, a lawyer for the bank said Friday. Billions of dollars were looted from sovereign wealth fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad in a fraud that involved former prime minister Najib Razak and his cronies that spanned the globe.The money was used to buy everything from expensive artwork to real estate and a massive luxury superyacht. Goldman's role came under scrutiny over bond issues totalling $6.5 billion it helped arrange for the investment vehicle, with Malaysia claiming large amoun...
AFP