Those detained have been charged with ‘illegal banking activity’, and face up to seven years in prison and a fine of up to 1 million roubles (roughly $32,000).The Interior Ministry in Moscow says fake corporate accounts worth 1.5 billion roubles were established. Client money was funneled through phony payment orders for ‘business consulting’ and was transferred to bank accounts at OPM Bank, which collected a 5 percent commission on the transactions.The illegal activity yielded high profits for the alleged money launderers, an amount the police have not yet calculated or released.The ministry alleges the suspects had engaged in illicit cash management practices, translation services, and transits, all under the name of non-existent companies, bypassing registration with regulatory bodies. According to the police, the false corporate accounts were opened between May and September 2012.Interfax first reported 26 banks were raided on Wednesday, and searches were carried out at OPM Bank and Banke24.ru, but at the time, no suspects had been detained or identified.The first 13 searches began in April 2013. The arrest of the first batch of suspects was reported by Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper. … Read More
500 Europeans fight against Assad in Syria – EU anti-terror chief
“Not all of them are radical when they leave, but most likely many of them will be radicalized there, will be trained,” Gilles de Kerchove said. “And as we have seen this might lead to a serious threat when they get back.”Intelligence agencies are now concerned that some of those currently in Syria could join Islamists groups linked to al-Qaeda and when they return to Europe may launch terrorist attacks.In March, the Netherlands raised its terror threat level to “substantial”, citing an increase in the number of Islamist militants travelling to Syria, as well as the radicalization of Dutch youth.”Close to a hundred individuals have recently left the Netherlands for various countries in Africa and the Middle East, especially Syria,” National Coordinator for Security and Counterterrorism (NCTV) said in a statement in mid-March.Security bodies have increased efforts to track how people are being recruited, especially in Britain and Belgium, according to BBC.In mid-April, Belgian police raided 48 homes across the country and detained six men, suspected to be members of an Islamist group named Sharia4Belgium, which “is part of a broad international jihadist movement.”"We have indications that Sharia4Belgium was sending people to Syria to join terrorist groups there,” Reuters quoted a spokesperson for Belgium’s federal prosecutor as saying.A Salafist group opposed to Assad, it was also suspected of recruiting fighters for Syria’s long-lasting civil war against ruling regime. ”The recruitment occurred, for example, by youths being spoken to on the street and then invited to private meeting places in Antwerp,” Prosecutor Eric Van der Sypt said at a press-conference earlier in April.Van der Sypt said prosecutors were aware of 33 people with links to the group who were either in or on their way to Syria.In early April the International Centre of for the Study of Radicalization (ICRS) estimated that up to “600 European Muslim have gone to Syria since early 2011,” when the conflict started.The study by ICRS also said Britain accounts for the biggest number of arrivals with up to 134 people joining the cause.The study revealed that up to 5,500 foreign fighters have traveled to Syria since the beginning of the uprising, with some 11 per cent of them originate from Europe.”Based on the conflict totals, we estimate that 70 to 441 Europeans are still currently present in Syria,” ICSR report states. “This suggests that most of the Europeans who have travelled to Syria are still on the battlefield.” … Read More
Tax agency demands frozen body burial
Sweden’s Tax Agency has demanded that two dead bodies stored frozen for over a decade while awaiting the development of an controversial environmentally-friendly burial method, should be buried without further delay. … Read More
How conservatives invented “voter fraud” to attack civil rights
Just when it seemed that the democratic process had reached its apotheosis with the election of America’s first black president, a political earthquake occurred in 2010 that threatened all that had been accomplished since 1965. Two years after Obama’s election, the midterm elections saw a conservative backlash that swept Republicans back into office in droves. As the media focused on the Republican takeover of the House of Representatives and increases in the Senate, more important developments were occurring closer to home. Republicans now controlled both legislative bodies in 26 states, and 23 won the trifecta, controlling the governorships as well as both statehouses. What happened next was so swift that it caught most observers off guard — and began surreptitiously to reverse the last half-century of voting rights reforms.Continue Reading… … Read More
Moving Toward Off Grid Living
Many people dream of being totally self-sufficient and going off the grid. A life free of the monthly bill payments seems out of reach for most people, but is it really? … Read More
Covered at Reason 24/7: Somali Intelligence Chief Reportedly Fired Over Extrajudicial Killings
It’s never too early to introduce
palace intrigue to a nascent government. Somalia’s president has
been in office just a little more than six months, and he’s already
reportedly sacked his intelligence chief.
From Garowe Online:
Somalia’s intelligence chief Ahmed Moallim Fiqi has
been sacked by President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud who appointed an
interim intelligence chief, Garowe Online reports.
Mr. Fiqi claimed at a media conference in Mogadishu on Monday that
he has resigned as national intelligence boss, but sources say he
held the press conference after receiving information that
President Hassan appointed an interim intelligence chief.
Also on Monday, President Hassan told Radio Mogadishu that he
appointed an interim intelligence chief after Mr. Fiqi “resigned”
from his post.
Sources in Mogadishu tell Garowe Online that Mr. Fiqi has been
accused of “extrajudicial killings” in Mogadishu, after a number of
dead bodies were discovered. Some of the dead bodies were young men
apprehended by security services days prior to their deaths, the
sources added.
Mr. Fiqi has also been accused of involvement in the killing of an
intelligence official in Mogadishu’s Yaaqshiid
district.
If you like extrajudicial killings so much–ah, forget it.
Follow these stories and more at ;Reason 24/7 ;and don’t forget you
can e-mail stories to us at 24_7@reason.com and tweet us
at ;@reason247. … Read More
Kevlar Won’t Be Enough – European Politicians and Financiers Better Watch Their Backs
The Russian mafia is well known for their brutality, and you can be assured that should the EU move forward with this move, bodies will soon be hitting the floor all over Europe (and perhaps in the U.S. as well). … Read More
