Corruption – KCS Group Asia Ltd

Hybrid Warfare – the coordinated efforts of Russia and China against the West

Articles / Business Risk, China, Corruption, disinformation, Due Diligence, European Union, Geopolitics, Global Threats, hybrid warfare, Russia, security risks, United Kingdom, USA / 01/2025

Russia and China are conducting hybrid warfare campaigns against Western nations, leveraging a blend of conventional military assets and non-military tactics, including cyberattacks, disinformation, economic pressure, and exploitation of political and legal systems. These efforts aim to destabilise and weaken adversaries from within. Russia has been intensifying its sabotage campaigns across the EU, reflecting a [...]

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Breaking point in the Northern Triangle – Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador

Articles / Corruption, Due Diligence, El Salvador, Geopolitics, Global trade, Guatemala, Honduras, Immigration, international business, political instability, USA / 11/2024

Central America’s Northern Triangle consisting of Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador (with a total of 9.2 million people) is grappling with relentless political upheaval and unrest. This not only impinges on domestic conditions but also seriously impacts international migration figures and foreign policy. The region's strategic importance, due to its proximity to major trade routes

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Disinformation in Moldova: attempts to destabilise and disrupt Europe

Articles / Corruption, Elections, European Union, Fake News, Geopolitics, Ilan Shor, Moldova, propaganda, Russia / 09/2024

Moldova is enduring a disinformation and propaganda campaign from Russia, which is attempting to destabilise and disrupt societies across Europe. While in the past Russia has used economic pressure, concocted protests, cyber-attacks and energy blackmail to target Moldova, it has increasingly turned towards disinformation and propaganda as the weapons of choice. Russian-backed efforts are ramping

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The Bulgarian 2024 Elections

Articles / Bulgaria, Corruption, Due Diligence, Election, European Union, Geopolitics, NATO, Russia, United States of America / 06/2024

The next Bulgarian elections, scheduled for 9 June 2024, will be a turning point in the country’s democracy. The results of these elections will affect not only domestic policy but also international relations, with emphasis on the European Union (EU) and NATO. Backstage there are, however, rising geopolitical tensions and shifts, such as the two-year

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‘The Arabian Phoenix’ – Saudi Arabia’s resurgence in global trade

Articles / Corruption, Due Diligence, Economy, Foreign investment, Middle East, oil and gas, Saudi Arabia / 10/2023

A new era is dawning in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). Historically, KSA’s riches have derived from abundant oil reserves, making it one of the globe’s leading exporters in this energy sector. The revenue generated from this exceptional wealth has shaped the country’s economy and infrastructure. However, dependence on and exposure to a single

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Evgeny Prigozhin

Articles / Africa, Corruption, Due Diligence, mercenary, Putin, Russia:Ukraine conflict, Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin / 06/2023

Evgeny Prigozhin is an ex-con who has served time in a Russian prison. He is also a thug and a bully who has plied his trade (leading the mercenary group, Wagner) across Africa for some years. Wagner, led by Prigozhin, has made millions by killing and destroying anything that stands in its way, for whatever

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Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp – businessmen or terrorists?

Articles / China, Corruption, criminality, Due Diligence, Iran, IRGC, Oil, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Terrorism / 05/2023

It appears that Iran is entering into business negotiations in the Near Abroad and is looking to benefit from the new detente with Russia and China. Members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp (IRGC) are already in negotiations in Uzbekistan where a million barrels of oil a day (from a daily production of 1.46 million

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Georgia – the second front of the U.S./Russia economic proxy war?

Articles / Corruption, counter-terrorism, DueDiligence, Georgia, money-laundering, Putin, Russia, TBC Bank, USA / 04/2023

Revelations of corruption, money laundering and embezzlement from within the banking industry in Georgia does not, in and of itself, cause much surprise: that investigations by the Georgian Prosecutor's Office (coming to a head in 2019 ) resulting in charges of money laundering against several senior directors - Mamuka Khazaradze, the founder, his deputy Badri

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Divide and conquer: The Kremlin’s gambit

Articles / Corruption, Due Diligence, Kremlin, Oligarchs, Putin, Russia, Sanctions, Sergei Shoigu, Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Yuri Kovalchuk / 03/2023

Petrov’s Defence, known popularly as the Russian Game, is a chess opening based around symmetry: the second player matching the moves of the first through pawn, knight and so on, in a game that has a reputation for leading to protracted, difficult draws unless a player can seize upon a momentary advantage that may come

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The magic black money tree

Articles / black money, Corruption, Due Diligence, money-laundering, Russia, Sanctions / 02/2023

While walking through the edge of Utah’s Fishlake Forest, it is possible to cross over 100 acres and simultaneously pass forty thousand trees, and just one. This is because the colony of Pando Aspen trunks (‘I spread’) share a single underground root system, with each apparently individual tree simply being part of a larger, hidden,

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