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☆ 2 men convicted of human smuggling in Indian family’s death
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-23 | by ( Associated Press | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

They were each convicted on four counts related to human smuggling, including conspiracy to bring migrants into the country illegally. “This trial exposed the unthinkable cruelty of human smuggling and of those criminal organizations that value profit and greed over humanity,” Minnesota U.S. Attorney Andy Luger said. Shand was to pick up 11 Indian migrants on the Minnesota side of the border, prosecutors said. Canadian authorities found the Patel family later that morning, dead from the cold. Rajinder Singh, 51, testified that he made over $400,000 smuggling over 500 people through the same network that included Patel and Shand.

Persons: Ramanlal Patel, Harry, ”, Steve Shand, Attorney Andy Luger, “, ” Luger, Harshkumar Patel, Luger, Jagdish Patel, Vaishaliben, Dharmik, Jan, Patel, Shand, Prosecutors, Rajinder Singh, Singh, El Salvadorans, Jamie Holt, ” Holt, Kevin Paul, ” Paul Organizations: Fergus Falls , Minnesota AP, Indian, Minnesota U.S, Attorney, Minnesota -, Attorney’s, Associated Press, Immigration, Customs, Canadian Press, Bank, U.S ., The U.S . Border Patrol, Pew Research, Homeland Security Investigations Locations: Fergus Falls , Minnesota, Canada, U.S, American, Florida, Minnesota, Minnesota - Canadian, Harshkumar Patel Sherburne, India, Gujarat, “, The U.S, El, Clearwater , Minnesota, North Dakota

☆ 2 convicted in human smuggling case after Indian family froze to death while crossing U.S.-Canada border
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-22 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

They were each convicted on four counts related to human smuggling, including conspiracy to bring migrants into the country illegally. Because of this unimaginable greed, a father, a mother and two children froze to death in sub-zero temperatures on the Minnesota-Canadian border,” Luger added. Shand was to pick up 11 Indian migrants on the Minnesota side of the border, prosecutors said. Canadian authorities found the Patel family later that morning, dead from the cold. Rajinder Singh, 51, testified that he made over $400,000 smuggling over 500 people through the same network that included Patel and Shand.

Persons: FERGUS, Ramanlal Patel, Harry, ”, Steve Shand, Attorney Andy Luger, Harshkumar Patel, ” Luger, Luger, Jagdish Patel, Vaishaliben, Dharmik, Jan, Patel, Shand, Prosecutors, Rajinder Singh, Singh, John Woods, El Salvadorans, Jamie Holt, ” Holt, “, Kevin Paul, ” Paul Organizations: Indian, Minnesota U.S, Attorney, Sherburne County Sheriff’s, “, Minnesota -, Attorney’s, Associated Press, Canadian Press, Bank, U.S ., The U.S . Border Patrol, Pew Research, Homeland Security Investigations Locations: Minn, —, Canada, U.S, American, Florida, Minnesota, Sherburne County, Elk River, Minnesota - Canadian, India, Fergus Falls , Minnesota, Gujarat, “, United States, Emerson , Manitoba, The U.S, El, Clearwater , Minnesota, North Dakota

☆ China lost 36% of its billionaires to years of economic troubles and crackdowns
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-30 | by ( Hannah Abraham | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

According to Hurun's 2024 rich list, China lost 432 billionaires since the high of 1,185 in 2021. Hurun, a private research group that has tracked Chinese billionaires since 1999, said the total peaked in 2021 with 1,185 billionaires, a figure which fell to 753, a decline of 432, or 36% of the total. It comes as some of China's superrich choose to lie low or leave the country, finding covert ways to take their money with them. "The stories of the individuals on the Hurun China Rich List tell the story of the Chinese economy," said Rupert Hoogewerf, Hurun's Chairman and Chief Researcher. AdvertisementThat led, among other things, to regulatory crackdowns on tech platform companies and campaigns against China's rich entrepreneurs.

Persons: —, crackdowns, China's superrich, Zhang Yiming, Bytedance, Yiming, Zhong Shanshan, Rupert Hoogewerf, Robin Zeng, Li, Kerry Brown, Xi, Jack Ma, Alibaba, Brown, Joel Gallo, China shouldn't, it's Organizations: Service, Reuters, King's College London, Ant Group, & Partners, Bloomberg, New York University Shanghai, Communist Locations: China, Taiwan, Greater China

☆ Donations to Hamas-linked charities spike 70% since Oct. 7 attack, Israeli officials say
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-28 | by ( Jason Gewirtz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

"We saw a 70% increase in money given to Hamas-linked charities," said Uzi Shaya, a former high-ranking officer in Mossad, Israel's intelligence service. Charities suspected of funneling money to Hamas often change their names, too, making them all the more difficult to monitor. Israel's National Bureau of Counter Terror Financing maintains a list of charitable organizations that it accuses of directly aiding Hamas' military. Hard lessonsEnsuring that individual Gazans have economic opportunity without simultaneously funding Hamas militants has proven to be a difficult challenge for Israel. Beyond direct funding, Israel also allowed 18,000 Gazans to enter Israel to work, again hoping that a stable economy would pacify Hamas.

Persons: John Macdougall, Uzi Shaya, Shaya, Din, Akin, Hawala, Israel, Karim Jaafar, Israel haven't, Binance, —, Al, Adel Hana, Fadel Senna Organizations: Hamas, West Bank, AFP, Getty, Israeli Defense and Foreign Ministry, CNBC, Foreign Ministry, Islamic, Bureau of, Qatari Red Crescent, Gaza, Qatar Emiri Air Force, International Airport, Palestinian, Treasury Department Locations: Ramallah, Israel, Gaza, Islamic Jihad, Lebanon, Iran, Hawala, North Sinai, Egypt, U.S, Gaza City, Adel Hana An Israeli, Sderot

☆ Hamas Needed a New Way to Get Money From Iran. It Turned to Crypto.
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-12 | by ( Angus Berwick | Ian Talley | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

In mid-2019, Israel’s military used a precision strike on a narrow street to kill a Hamas commander whom it called Iran’s money man in Gaza. The commander ran an off-the-books system of remittances in which trusted agents shuttled physical cash and goods across borders to settle customers’ balances. This so-called hawala network, as it is known in the Middle East, funneled tens of millions of dollars in financing from Iran to Hamas’s military wing.

Locations: Gaza, Iran

☆ Blockchain Helps the Good Guys Track the Bad Guys
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-23 | by ( ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

Cryptocurrency makes up a small portion of thatBlockchain, the technology underpinning cryptocurrency, provides a public and transparent ledger of all transactions. Law enforcement is well trained to track, trace and apprehend illicit actors abusing this technology, and it has a strong record of doing so. While new technologies are often exploited by bad actors, they often serve as more valuable tools for law enforcement than for criminals. The blockchain makes concealing illicit funds through cryptocurrencies ineffective. The record must reflect that cryptocurrency isn’t the currency of choice for criminals.

Persons: Nikos Pekiaridis, Cryptocurrency Organizations: Zuma, “, Holdings, Crypto Locations: Jihad

☆ Turkey Wants Syrian Refugees to Go Home - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-12 | by ( Joshua Levkowitz | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

ANTAKYA, Turkey — It was the Syrians who were responsible for the earthquakes. That’s what a Turkish man told Seyfeddin Selim, a refugee from Homs, Syria, who used to sell groceries in Antakya, the capital of Hatay province in southern Turkey. When the earthquakes hit in February, Mr. Selim’s shop was cleared out by looters before he could get there. Turkey is host to the largest number of refugees of any country in the world — and currently about 3.6 million Syrian refugees. For the first few years after the Syrian conflict began in 2011, Turkey’s open-door policy was a source of national pride, and Turkey was lauded for its emergency care.

Persons: Seyfeddin Selim, Selim’s, Selim didn’t, Turkey’s Organizations: Mr Locations: ANTAKYA, Turkey, Turkish, Homs, Syria, Antakya, Hatay

☆ UAE central bank issues AML/CTF guidance for dealing with virtual assets
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

DUBAI, May 31 (Reuters) - The UAE Central Bank has issued new anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing guidance for financial institutions when dealing with virtual assets, such as cryptocurrencies and non-fungible tokens, it said on Wednesday. The new guidance discusses the risks arising from dealing with virtual assets and virtual asset service providers, including on due diligence for licensed financial institutions when dealing with these customers and counterparties, the statement said. The guidance, which will come into effect within a month, applies to banks, finance companies, exchange houses, payment service providers, registered hawala providers and insurance companies, agents and brokers. The bank said the guidance takes Financial Action Task Force (FATF) standards into account. The FATF in March 2022 included the UAE on a list of jurisdictions subject to increased monitoring, known as its "grey" list.

Persons: FATF, Clauda Tanios, Lisa Barrington, Sharon Singleton Organizations: UAE Central Bank, Thomson Locations: DUBAI, UAE

☆ Indian agency attaches Joyalukkas chairman's assets worth $37 mln
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BENGALURU, Feb 24 (Reuters) - India's financial crime agency said on Friday it conducted searches and attached assets worth 3.06 billion rupees ($36.98 million) belonging to the chairman of jeweller Joyalukkas in a case related to alleged violation of foreign exchange laws. The Enforcement Directorate alleged a huge amount of cash was transferred to Dubai from India through so-called 'hawala' channels and then invested in Joy Alukkas Jewellery LLC, Dubai, which is fully owned by Alukkas Varghese Joy. The chairman could not be reached, while Joyalukkas did not immediately respond to a Reuters' request for comment. The agency said in a statement that it searched five premises of the jewellery group on Feb. 22, during which it found evidence of "active involvement" of Varghese Joy in those transactions. ($1 = 82.7500 Indian rupees)Reporting by Nandan Mandayam in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-PhillipsOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ In bankrupt Lebanon, locals mine bitcoin and buy groceries with tether, as $1 is now worth 15 cents
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-05 | by ( Mackenzie Sigalos | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +32 min

Others arrange clandestine meetings via Telegram to swap the stablecoin tether for U.S. dollars in order to buy groceries. In Jan., police raided a small crypto mining farm in the hydro-powered town of Jezzine, seizing and dismantling mining rigs in the process. But mining crypto tokens to earn a living is not for everybody. Younes tells CNBC that he initially moved 15% of his money into bitcoin, and he kept the remaining balance in cash. Lebanon has six bitcoin ATMs — one in Aamchit and five in Beirut, according to metrics offered by coinatmradar.com.

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