The invasion of Ukraine has been not so much a wake-up call as a repeated alarm – first Georgia in 2008, then Crimea in 2014, now Ukraine in 2022. On the third time, the world has realised that it can no longer press the snooze button on Russia’s aggression. But to suggest that this is […]
Wagner’s spin cycle Read More »
If irony needs physical form made flesh, there can be few better examples than last month’s findings of an official Commission report that the British Virgin Islands was suffering from poor governance and widespread corruption, having to be brought forward because the Islands’ Premier, Andrew Fahie, was arrested in the USA and stripped of his
Virgin on the ridiculous Read More »
Royals and espionage have gone together ever since Sun Tzu’s identification to his royal masters in the 4th century BC, of the three different types of intelligence agents he deemed necessary for subsequent military success. In the centuries since, we have seen Julius Caesar’s creation of a spy network to keep track of all the
A right Royal case of espionage Read More »
The phrase “The Great Game” has become something of a lazy cliché when referencing anything to do with Central Asia. Regrettably, therefore, it has never been more apt than today. Much as it was during the days of empire, it is once again a hotbed of political and geopolitical struggle. Where aristocrats, warlords, tribesmen and
Central Asia – A House Built on Sand Read More »
‘Facts are sacred’, was the famous maxim of Guardian owner and editor, CP Scott, in the early 1900s. Quite what he would have made of the media of today, where ‘fake news’ runs rampant across social media and disinformation is not only endorsed but enacted by individuals, corporates, and governments alike, we can only imagine.
Disinformation overload Read More »
‘Bronze President’ is not just another nickname for Donald Trump. It is a Chinese state-sponsored hacking group that has historically operated in the South Asian region, working across Hong Kong, Vietnam, and Burma (Myanmar), to gather sensitive information of interest to Beijing in its own backyard. But there are signs that the group’s targets are
Mustang Panda, Hidden Dragon Read More »
Due Diligence and the Legal Sector: A Changing Environment By KCS Group Europe & Squire Patton Boggs The nature, role and importance of due diligence has fluctuated over time. Around 500 years ago, when the phrase first entered common use, it was defined only as “requisite effort” in a business transaction, which is very
Due Diligence and the Legal Sector: A Changing Environment Read More »
If we were to create an ‘alphabet soup’ of the business world, it would start pretty conventionally: CEO, CISO, CFO. Going deeper, we might find rarer ingredients: FTSE, ISO, CRM. But the most vital elements are sometimes left in the tin: DD, KYC and AML. Without them, the meal can turn sour, so why are
The company we keep Read More »
