Promoting herself as a ‘self-made’ billionaire, Isabel dos Santos (IDS) is now a target of the Angolan government since the damaging Luanda Leaks were released by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ). The leaks show that IDS, using her ties to the government to place herself in directorial positions of the country’s most profitable […]
Isabel dos Santos: Lessons Learned? Read More »
When news broke out that President Trump had signed off on the assassination of General Qassem Soleimani, followed by Iran’s retaliation, the prospect of a ‘second Iraq War’ or more concerningly a World War III almost became a harsh reality. However, the “unintentional” downing of the Ukraine International Airlines jet has seemed to quieten the
An Iranian Spring on the horizon? Read More »
As geopolitics and the rise of business-is-war raises tensions and concerns, the business world has hit upon what seems to be a solution: taking support, often at board level, from security services and government bodies, to provide a measure of comfort and reassurance as to their actions. However, while the organisation names may offer cachet,
Why intelligence should never be politicized Read More »
The digital era is kind to the armchair detective – with a world of information available at the touch of a button, and technology offering numerous improvements to the accessing, analysing and application of the same, it has never been easier to trace a footprint (or indeed an actual person) and get chapter-and-verse about practically
It’s A Hard NOC Life Read More »
A few years ago, the German and Russian secret services invested in typewriters, to ensure that their communications could not be intercepted by foreign powers and to enable them to continue their work in the event of a cyber compromise. Currently, the travel money provider Travelex must be wishing it invested in typewriters – or
Travelex hack: the road to nowhere… Read More »
Recently, the Australian bank Westpac was accused of facilitating the single biggest case of money laundering in the country’s history. Allegedly, $7.5bn of transactions – including those lined to child trafficking and exploitation – was waved through without appropriate due diligence, and in some cases breached anti-terrorist financing restrictions. Although this amount is an outlier
It has been two years since investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia was killed by a car bomb after exposing the ties of Malta’s rich and powerful to offshore companies in Panama. Her expose had significant impact at the time, acting as catalyst for a general election, but her tragic death did not have the same
If you are a university professor widely regarded for his work on money laundering, corruption and organised crime, and you are arrested on charges of money laundering and corruption, then congratulations, you are Professor Bruce Bagley. This unfortunate academic, operating at the very top of his field, has been accused of conspiracy to commit money
Of Mice and Conmen Read More »
In a political environment light on policy and heavy on rhetoric and tribalism, a refreshing back marker in the Democratic primaries is making waves. Andrew Yang’s futuristic policies, that may seem at times gimmicky or fanciful, focus on the future direction of the world economy, the role of Artificial Intelligence in that economy and most
A President for the Future Read More »
While protests in Hong Kong and Catalonia dominate the Western news cycles, Latin America is seeing a surge in violence and activism on a par with either. Chilean anger towards an elite perceived as thieves has finally reached tipping point, while Ecuador saw the largest strikes and riots in its history – to say nothing
What chance a Latin American Spring? Read More »
