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☆ Wagner boss attacks Russia's defense minister, says his daughter and son-in-law live in luxury while thousands are sent to die in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-25 | by ( Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The head of the Wagner Group singled out the daughter and son-in-law of Russia's defense minister. Yevgeny Prigozhin was criticizing Russia's elite for sheltering their kids from the war in Ukraine. In an interview with Russian political strategist Konstantin Dolgov, Yevgeny Prigozhin called out Russia's elite for not sending their children to fight in Ukraine, The Times of London reported. Prigozhin directly called out the daughter and the son-in-law of Russian defense minister Sergei Shoigu, according to reports. Prigozhin has previously targeted Stolyarov, threatening in February to have his men bring him to train to fight in Ukraine.

☆ Putin could have a 'revolution' on his hands because Russian elites refuse to send their kids to die in the Ukraine war, Wagner boss Prigozhin warns
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-24 | by ( Chris Panella | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Putin could face a "revolution" because of outrage over war in Ukraine, Wagner boss Prigozhin said. The Times reported that Prigozhin compared the current environment to the 1917 Russian Revolution. "I recommend that the elite of the Russian Federation gathers up, bitch, its youth and send them to war." That revolution, he concluded, "might end as in 1917," referencing the Russian Revolution of 1917, when citizens overthrew Tsar Nicholas II and his family. Prigozhin's volatile attitude and criticisms of Putin are increasingly shocking, but the Russian president is still too reliant on Wagner's army to punish Prigozhin.

☆ Belarus PM replaces Lukashenko at ceremony, sparks speculation
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Lukashenko also did not speak at an event in Minsk marking the anniversary for the first time in his long presidency. According to the opposition news outlet Euroradio, Lukashenko was taken to an elite Minsk clinic on Saturday. Russian media rarely publish stories about the health of the leaders of Russia or its allied neighbours. Belarus' foreign minister Sergei Aleinik is expected on Monday to start this three-day visit to Moscow, Russia's foreign ministry said last week. Reporting by Ron Popeski and Lidia Kelly; Writing by Ron Popeski; Editing by Gerry DoyleOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ U.S. attorney general OKs transfer of forfeited funds from Russia oligarch for use in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON, May 10 (Reuters) - U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland has authorized the first transfer of forfeited Russian assets for use in Ukraine, he said on Wednesday. The Justice Department last year charged Russian oligarch Konstantin Malofeyev with violating sanctions imposed on Russia after its invasion of Ukraine, saying he provided financing for Russians promoting separatism in Crimea. In February, Garland said he authorized the transfer of that money for use in Ukraine. "While this represents the United States’ first transfer of forfeited Russian funds for the rebuilding of Ukraine," Garland said, "it will not be the last,” he said in a statement. Reporting By Paul Grant; editing by Jasper Ward and Doina ChiacuOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Moscow's 'special' forces: An inside look at how Russia's famed Spetsnaz really operate
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-30 | by ( Mark Galeotti | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +24 min

Russia's Spetsnaz forces are often depicted as a kind of Russian super troops. Osprey PublishingMost countries' special forces emphasize physical fitness, determination and aggression. Special people, for special tasksMembers of the Russian military's 16th Separate Special Purpose Brigade during an exercise in 2018. Even so, being better than most of the Soviet army's miserable and recalcitrant conscript forces did not make most of them truly special, special forces. The special operations commandMembers of Russian's 22nd Separate Guards Special Purpose Brigade during an exercise in November 2017.

April 20 (Reuters) - Cybersecurity company Group-IB has finalised its exit from Russia, the group said on Thursday, cutting ties with its original market in an effort to spur its global expansion ambitions. Already harbouring global ambitions, Group-IB moved its headquarters to Singapore in 2019. Volkov has sold his 10% stake in the Russian company, Group-IB said in a statement. The stand-alone Russian business has been sold to local management and will be operating under the new brand F.A.C.C.T. Group-IB said Sachkov had sold his 37.5% stake in the Singapore entity to members of top management there.

☆ The Fed warned of a looming credit crunch. Americans say it’s already arrived.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

We just saw a more extreme distribution play out in the stock market, too. Just 20 names drove 90% of the gains in the S&P 500 over the first three months of the year. The Fed has been warning of tightening credit conditions since last month's handful of bank failures, but policymakers spoke as if it were some future event. Remember, a so-called credit crunch means lenders raise the bar for borrowers, and people have to meet stricter parameters to get a loan. "The credit crunch has started," Torsten Slok, chief economist at Apollo Global Management, said in response to the report.

☆ Russia's economy is becoming more 'primitive' and war could push it to the same fate as the Soviet Union, says economist targeted by Moscow
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Economist Konstantin Sonin said the Russian economy has become more primitive since the war began, Russian news outlet Novaya Gazeta reported. The economist, who Moscow placed on its wanted list, said Russia could follow the Soviet Union's path toward "complete economic implosion." "Everything that is happening makes the Russian economy more primitive, more backwards." "Everything that is happening makes the Russian economy more primitive, more backwards," Konstantin said. And I think we are seriously going to follow the Soviet Union's path from the 1970s to the complete economic implosion of the late 1980s."

☆ The Russian economy is much worse than it appears as Moscow's data is a 'collection of lies and distortions,' economist says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( Filip De Mott | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Russia's economic data is full of 'lies and distortions,' economist Alexei Bayer wrote. "Russian economic statistics are a collection of lies and distortions," he wrote in the Jerusalem Post. But those estimates are based on official data from the Russian government, said Bayer, who pointed to consumer inflation numbers. "During the Cold War, the CIA concluded, using Soviet statistics, that the Soviet Union had the world's second-largest economy," he wrote. "When communism collapsed, Russia's economy turned out to be not much larger than Portugal's."

☆ New Russian law would strip acquired citizenship for discrediting Ukraine operation
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

March 15 (Reuters) - Proposed amendments to Russia's citizenship law would allow for the stripping of acquired citizenship for treason and discrediting the military operation in Ukraine, Russian media reported on Wednesday. Soon after sending its army into Ukraine just over a year ago Russia introduced sweeping wartime laws to silence dissenting voices. Russia calls its action in Ukraine a "special military operation," while Ukraine and its allies say that is a euphemism for a full blown aggression to grab land. The amendments on stripping the citizenship of those who have acquired it relate to "treason, discrediting the special military operation," the RIA news agency quoted Konstantin Zatulin, first deputy chairman of the parliamentary committee on Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) affairs. In 2022, based on data from Russia's Ministry of Internal Affairs, more than 691,000 people received Russian citizenship, with nearly half coming from CIS countries.

But an international war crimes prosecution could deepen Moscow's diplomatic isolation and make it difficult for those accused to travel abroad. Russia denies deliberately targeting civilian infrastructure in Ukraine, saying its attacks are all intended to reduce Kyiv's ability to fight. Kyiv says thousands of deported Ukrainian children are being adopted into Russian families, housed in Russian camps and orphanages, given Russian passports and brought up to reject Ukrainian nationality. Asked if the ICC charges against the Russian officials could include genocide, the source said: "It looks that way." U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters aboard Air Force One that Ukraine had not confirmed a call between Xi and Zelenskiy.

☆ Russia, Ukraine battle for Bakhmut as ICC seeks war crime arrest warrants
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Mike Collett-White | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/4] Ukrainian service members fire a howitzer M119 at a front line, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, near the city of Bakhmut, Ukraine March 10, 2023. Russia says taking Bakhmut would open a path to capture all of Donetsk, a central war aim. Near Kreminna, north of Bakhmut, Ukrainian soldiers said on Monday they were repelling intensified attacks. It was unclear which Russian officials the prosecutor might seek warrants against or when they might come, but they could include the crime of genocide, the source said. Russia denies deliberately targeting civilian infrastructure in Ukraine, saying its attacks are all intended to reduce Kyiv's ability to fight.

☆ Here's what's inside the nearly $125,000 gift bag given to Brendan Fraser, Steven Spielberg and other Oscar nominees
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Nicolas Vega | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

But on top of critical acclaim and higher earning potential, there's another benefit to getting an Oscar nod: the gift bag. "There's nothing like a first time nominee's enthusiasm about getting this gift bag," Fary says. Because of the large quantity of products that is being gifted, Distinctive Assets delivers everything packed into two suitcases. What's included in this year's 'Everybody Wins' gift bag? Director Steven Spielberg has received numerous "Everybody Wins" gift bags for past Academy Award nominations.

A DB spokesperson told Reuters that under current IT security legislation it did not have to run network components by Germany's cybersecurity office, the BSI, unlike public telecoms network operators. A BSI spokesperson said it was not aware of any law that determined the DB IT systems as "critical components". A Huawei spokesperson said the firm would never harm any nation or individual. The December contract with Deutsche Telekom Business Solutions, a subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom, is for Huawei tech like switches and routers. A government source said it had detected some operators had already built in Huawei critical components without waiting for a BSI green light and could be required to replace those.

☆ Instant View: Silvergate's planned liquidation fuels another crypto rout
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

MARKET REACTION:Shares of crypto-related companies fell on Thursday, as the bank's collapse sparked a crisis of confidence in the industry. Silvergate shares were down 26% while peer Signature Bank (SBNY.O) and former Silvergate partner Coinbase Global Inc (COIN.O) fell 8% each. I think this could have significant implications for crypto regulations in the U.S. and banks' ability to deal with digital asset platforms and cryptocurrency brokerages." "One of the largest of these banks was Silvergate, which positioned itself as a crypto-friendly institution. Indeed, this pressure is making it increasingly challenging for crypto businesses and traders to operate within the United States."

☆ Paul Manafort, former Trump campaign chair, to pay $3.1 million in Justice Department settlement
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( Laura Italiano | Mattathias Schwartz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Paul Manafort has quietly, and expensively, settled a 2022 DOJ lawsuit alleging he hid assets from the IRS. Manafort, who once chaired Trump's 2016 presidential campaign, must pay the feds $3.1 million. The settlement was revealed in a court filing in Florida, Manafort's current state of residence. The settlement, filed in US District Court in Florida, followed months of settlement discussions. The settlement is the latest chapter in a notorious, unapologetic life that included a controversial Trump pardon and an admission — to Insider in 2022 — that he had passed Trump campaign data to a suspected Russian asset, Konstantin Kilimnik.

☆ Since David Solomon became Goldman Sachs CEO, more than 80 partners have left. See the running list here.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Carter Johnson | Dakin Campbell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

David Solomon has been Goldman Sachs' CEO for more than four years since succeeding Lloyd Blankfein. There's been a lot of talk about the morale at Goldman Sachs. In reality, Solomon said, there were fewer "partner transitions at Goldman Sachs" in 2022 than any year "going back to 2014." "At the moment, year-to-date, our turnover is at a 5-year low, not just for partners, in the whole firm," Solomon added. Here is a running list of Goldman's partners that have retired from the firm — or moved on to roles at other companies — since Solomon became CEO.

☆ Why a U.S. national electric grid would be great for the climate — and is nearly impossible
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Catherine Clifford | In Catclifford | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +15 min

But the energy grid in the U.S. has developed over decades as a patchwork of thousands of individual utilities serving their own local regions. The Department of Energy is in the process of conducting a National Transmission Planning Study,to look into all of this. "Many mid-U.S. states have excellent wind resources, and the southwest U.S. has excellent solar resources, but the population is insufficient to use them," McCalley told CNBC. Finally, improved energy sharing would also lead to a more reliable energy grid for consumers. At the kickoff for its next round of transmission planning, MISO had a three hour planning meeting with 377 people in the meeting.

☆ Why America's outdated energy grid is a climate problem
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Catherine Clifford | In Catclifford | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

'A double whammy': Age and locationWind resources in the United States, according to the the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, a national laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy. National Renewable Energy Laboratory, a national laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy. That's especially true for tapping into the highest quality of wind energy, explained Princeton professor Jesse Jenkins, a macro-scale energy systems engineer. Solar resources in the United States, according to the the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, a national laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy. National Renewable Energy Laboratory, a national laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy.

☆ The claim by a discredited journalist that the US secretly blew up the Nord Stream pipeline is proving a gift to Putin
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Once-celebrated journalist Seymour Hersh made unproven claims the US blew up the Nord Stream pipelines. In Russia, Hersh's story was immediately greeted with a sense of vindication. Biden had said he opposed opening the Nord Stream 2 pipeline and saying the US could "bring an end to" it if Russia invaded Ukraine. The invasion did take place, and officials in Germany — where the pipeline was due to pump its gas — axed the project before Nord Stream 2 moved any gas. Nord Stream 1 kept pumping until the explosion.

☆ Russia's Sberbank to launch DeFi platform in coming months - Interfax
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Feb 3 (Reuters) - Russia's largest lender Sberbank (SBER.MM) plans to launch a decentralised finance (DeFi) platform within the next few months, the Interfax news agency reported. Sberbank says it wants to make the Russian decentralised finance system the best in the world, and is currently beta testing its own platform. Traditional financial institutions are looking at how to get into the space and integrate DeFi technology with their existing regulated operations. Sberbank will launch open testing in March of its platform and aims to start commercial operations by the end of April, the Interfax news agency quoted Konstantin Klimenko, head of products at Sberbank's blockchain laboratory, as saying. Sberbank's DeFi platform will be based on the Ethereum blockchain, the second-largest crypto currency by market capitalisation after bitcoin, Klimenko said on Friday.

☆ Russian army officer defects, describes widespread torture including threats to castrate a Ukrainian and send his wife the video
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A Russian former senior lieutenant has defected and admitted the army tortures Ukrainians. Konstantin Yefremov told the BBC of horrific abuses, including threats of rape and castration. He is the most senior officer to publicly denounce his former army's abuses, per the BBC. On Wednesday, Ukraine's Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin alleged that his office had uncovered evidence of 65,000 Russian war crimes in newly liberated parts of Ukraine, as CNBC reported. His lawyer told Insider's Joshua Zitser that he feared for his life as he scrambled over the Russian border to Norway.

☆ Japan tightens Russia sanctions after deadly missile strikes in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

TOKYO, Jan 27 (Reuters) - Japan tightened sanctions against Russia on Friday following its latest wave of missile attacks in Ukraine, adding goods to an export ban list and freezing the assets of Russian officials and entities. The decision comes after Russia launched missile attacks in Ukraine killing at least 11 people on Thursday following a pledge by Germany and the United States to supply tanks that could help Ukraine counter any new Russian offensive. Among the new sanctions, Japan will prohibit shipments of items to 49 organizations in Russia from Feb. 3 that could be used to enhance its military capability. Those will include products ranging from water cannons, gas exploration equipment and semiconductor equipment to vaccines, X-ray inspection equipment, explosives and robots, the ministry said. Reporting by Kantaro Komiya and Tim Kelly Editing by Chang-Ran Kim, Robert BirselOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ How 'Cryptoqueen' Ruja Ignatova ended up as the only woman on the FBI's most-wanted list
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-22 | by ( Faith Karimi | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

Ruja Ignatova is one of the FBI's 10 most-wanted fugitives -- the only woman currently on that list. FBIShe is now one of the FBI’s 10 most-wanted fugitives, alongside accused gang leaders and murderers, and is the only woman currently on that list. The bureau declined to provide additional details to CNN beyond court documents from the US Department of Justice, which did not list an attorney for Ignatova. “The cryptocurrency OneCoin was established for the sole purpose of defrauding investors,” IRS Special Agent John R. Tafur said in a statement. Less than two weeks later, on October 25, 2017, she boarded a commercial flight from Sofia, Bulgaria, to Athens, Greece, court documents said.

☆ 3 active-duty Marines who work in intelligence arrested over alleged participation in the January 6 riot
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Konstantin Toropin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Three Marines were arrested Wednesday in relation to the US Capitol riot on January 6, 2021. All three Marines work in jobs connected to the intelligence community. All three Marines, who were arrested more than two years after the attack, work in jobs connected to the intelligence community. Records provided by the Marine Corps show that among his awards was a Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, an unusual and prestigious medal for a junior Marine. However, the men are not the only members of the intelligence community to be arrested for their alleged part in the siege.

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