Financial Investigation workshop by George Hardaker - Friday, 04 September 2015

PRETORIA, South Africa - A five day (31 August to 04 September) "Financial Investigation” workshop was coordinated by UNODC, UK Aid and the US Government for 49 delegates from thirteen Southern African countries. The delegates included, inter alia, police, anti- corruption, asset forfeiture and revenue authority investigators and public prosecutors.

During his opening address, Fitz-Roy Drayton, adviser to ARINSA, reminisced about his law enforcement career where a criminal had stated that he was prepared to serve prison time provided his assets were left alone. Disappointment lay in store for the said criminal and the story serves to highlight the necessity to investigate not only the crime but also the assets for forfeiture.

Bernie Crossey and Eddie Jones were the two workshop facilitators. The second day of the workshop was a milestone for Eddie Jones, marking 40 years' service in HM Customs and Excise, UK. Bernie Crossey is an anti-money laundering, financial and criminal investigations training consultant also with an extensive background in customs and excise.

The two facilitators presented the workshop in a dynamic manner, including numerous interesting case studies and practical exercises. A wide range of topics were covered, including Money Laundering, Financing of Terrorism, Suspicious Transaction Reports, Investigative Techniques and Evidence, Search and Seizure Procedures, Sources of Financial Intelligence, Statement Taking, Financial Interview Techniques and the Role of the Prosecutor, to mention but a few.

Lucy Sutcliffe, Fiscal Crime Liaison Officer, from the British High Commission, Pretoria, was a guest speaker. She gave an over view of her role including encouraging bilateral co-operation in the region towards curbing smuggling.

Kudzai Chinoda, of ARINSA, assisted delegates in registering on the ARINSA website to give them access to a treasure trove of information.

Proceedings were concluded with the two facilitators handing over certificates with the good humour which had been part of the workshop throughout the week.

The rest of the materials can be obtained from website from following the instructions below:

For Pictures  go to MY PLATFORMS - > ARINSA Gallery 2015

For materilas used during the training: MY PLATFORMS - > ARINSA COMMUNITY - >Click the green button

To comment on the recent training Click the comment button on the bottom right hand corner of this article.

Combating Cash Couriers UNODC training by George Hardaker - Friday, 28 August 2015

PRETORIA, South Africa - A four day (24-27 August) "Combating Cash Courier” workshop was coordinated by the UNODC, UK Aid and the US Government for 50 delegates from sixteen Southern African countries. The delegates included, inter alia, anti- corruption investigators, public prosecutors, asset forfeiture investigators and revenue authority (customs and excise) officials.

In his opening address, Fitz-Roy Drayton, adviser to the Asset Recovery Inter-Agency Network Southern Africa (ARINSA), emphasised the need for increased vigilance and effective action against the illicit movement of currency.

The two workshop facilitators, Bernie Crossey and Bob Housley-Jeive, proved to be a well-rehearsed duo. With over 50 years of law enforcement experience between them, they captivated the delegates over the ensuing days whilst imparting their considerable knowledge on a wide range of topics. Bernie Crossey is an anti-money laundering, financial and criminal investigations training consultant. Bob Housley-Jeive is a specialist in intelligence gathering and training. Both have had extensive experience in, inter alia, customs and excise and cross border law enforcement.

Over the four days a wide variety of often interlinking topics were covered. These commenced with an overview of the Cross Border Movements of Currency and Bearer Negotiable Instruments (BNI's). BNI was the first of a myriad acronyms introduced into the parlance of the delegates over the days to follow. Cash Smuggling, Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism, Cash Systems, Recommendation 32 of the FATF, Suspicious Transaction Reports, Sources of Intelligence and Developing Sources, Intelligence Reports, Hawala and Other Similar Service Providers, Cash Handling and Forensics and Practical Interview Techniques are just a sample of the topics covered.

It is through practical and informative workshops of this nature that law enforcement in the region will be better equipped to more effectively deal with money launderers, cash smugglers and their like.

To cap off the training Mr Fitz-roy Drayton handed out certificates of attendance to all participants.

NB. 1) The materials used in the training can be obtained from My Platforms - >ARINSA Community -> Click the green button - > look for CASH COURIER 24 - 27 August 2015

2) The rest of the photos can be obtained from My Platforms -> ARINSA Gallery 2015

 
The elephant tusks found in a shipment disguised as wood in Da Nang on August 21, 2015. Photo: Nguyen Tu

Police and customs officers in Da Nang on Friday seized more than two metric tons of elephant tusks inside a timber container from Nigeria.
Officers said the tusks were hidden in many bags buried deep under more than a thousand wood logs.
The shipment arrived at Tien Sa Port in the central city on August 11.
Vietnam has banned ivory trade since the 1990s, and yet it has been fueled by the rising affluence in recent years and the demand for using ivories for decoration.
Officers said the tusks can sell for around VND100 billion (US$4.44 million) on the black market.
The invoice named a local business as the receiver of the shipment.
The company was earlier named as the recipient of a Mozambique shipment which was seized by Da Nang customs on August 13 for containing nearly 750 kilograms of elephant tusks and rhino horns.
Both products are strictly banned from commercial use worldwide to protect the endangered animals.
The company has denied responsibility.

Following an accusation that Government Officers at Capital Hill were making illegal entries into the Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS) with intent to defraud Malawi Government, on 12th September 2013  the Anti- Corruption Bureau launched an investigation which has established that Mr. Fumbani Mhango, (Manager, Monitoring & Analysis) at the Financial Intelligence Unit abused his office by leaking sensitive financial intelligence information to some suspects and facilitating some of the transactions.

In a statement made available to the Maravi Post, the Anti-Corruption Bureau says it has today 7th August, 2015, arrested Mr. Fumbani Mhango. He is likely to be charged with the following offences:
 
•   One count of misuse of office contrary to Section 25B (1) of the Corrupt Practices Act
•   One count of aiding and abetting contrary to  Section 35 of the Corrupt Practices Act
•   One count of improperly disclosing information contrary to Section 25C (1) (a) (b) of the Corrupt Practices Act;
•   One count of money laundering contrary to Section 35(1) (d) of the Money Laundering, Proceeds of Serious Crimes and Terrorist Financing Act and tax related charges.
 
According to the statement, he will be taken to Court after the Bureau has recorded statements from him.

Story obtained from: http://www.maravipost.com/national/malawi-news/law-and-order/9445-malawi-acb-has-arrested-fumbani-mhango-of-fiu-in-lilongwe.html

Convicted businessman and chief cashgate defendant Oswald Lutepo will be sentenced and start serving jail while application for confiscation and pecuniary penalty orders has been postponed.

Lutepo speaks with his lawyer Oswald Mtu** at High Court in Zomba

Lutepo, who was convicted on his own plea of guilty on charges of conspiracy to defraud government and money laundering of K4.2 billion ($9.3 million) between April and September 2013, had asked for sentencing to wait for State's application for postponement on confiscation and pecuniary orders.

But High Court Judge Redson Kapindu in Zomba resgistry on Monday said sentencing should proceed and adjourned the case to Friday August 7 2015 for post conviction process hearing.

The judge ruled that sentencing and confiscation order could be treated differently.

Ruled the judge: "I order that the sentencing process can continue while the application [for confiscation order by the State] is postponed for a period of 60 calendar days or to such an earlier day as the State may apply.”

Both Defence and State lawyers said they were happy with the ruling.

The businessperson-cum-politician risks losing assets of his companies, among them, International Procurement Services, O and G Construction Limited, Woget Cotton Ginning which is undergoing bankruptcy proceedings and Naming'omba Tea Estates.

Money laundering attracts a maximum sentence of 10 years imprisonment and K2 million ($4 444) fine while conspiracy to defraud government attracts an imprisonment sentence of three years, according to Section 323 of the Penal Code.

Convicted Lutepo is the seventh person to be convicted on Cashgate related charges since trials began in February 2014, but the highest sentence imposed for money laundering has so far been seven years the Lilongwe Magistrate's Court imposed on civil servant Victor Sithole.

Lutepo has led a flamboyant lifestyle on the back of the despicable cashgate crimes which have caused so much misery up and down the country.

Article taken from Malawi Nyasa Times - Malawi breaking news in Malawi - http://www.nyasatimes.com
URL to article: http://www.nyasatimes.com/2015/08/03/judge-rules-lutepo-to-start-jail-term-while-waiting-for-confiscation-orders-malawi-cashgate/

Elephant tusks with estimated market value of £265,000 were being transported from Tanzania to China via Switzerland. The confiscated tusks. The suitcases also contained 21 lion fangs and 35 claws.
Customs officials at Zurich airport have seized 262kg (578lb) of ivory that three Chinese men had dispatched from Tanzania, contraband that may have come from up to 50 elephants.
The ivory was found during a security check on 6 July and packed in eight suitcases, Switzerland's customs authority said on Tuesday. It put the estimated value on the illegal market at about 400,000 Swiss francs (£265,000).
The elephant tusks had been sawn into 172 pieces to fit into the luggage, which was being transported from Tanzania's capital, Dar es Salaam, to Beijing via Zurich. The head of the customs operation at the airport, Heinz Widmer, said officials estimated that the pieces came from 40 to 50 elephants.
Demand from China's rising middle class has been fuelling elephant poaching in Africa and illegal trade in ivory, which is turned into jewellery and other decorative items.
The Chinese men were temporarily detained in Zurich and questioned, Widmer said. They could face large fines for violating customs and animal protection rules.

Corruption and Financial Crime Focus of INTERPOL training in Botswana

GABORONE, Botswana - Heads of anti-corruption agencies, senior investigators and prosecutors came to Botswana to examine the latest tools and investigation techniques for the recovery of proceeds of corruption.

Coordinated by INTERPOL's Anti-Corruption and Financial Crimes Unit in partnership with the African Development Bank and the Commonwealth Africa Anti-Corruption Centre, the 12^th Global Programme on Anti-Corruption, Financial Crimes and Asset recovery brought together some 22 participants from 15 countries in Africa, where corruption has been known to occur in international business transactions.

The three-day (4-6 August) workshop covered a variety of topics including corruption and money laundering, asset tracing and recovery, international cooperation in asset confiscation, emerging trends in electronic money and mobile payments, and the management of seized and recovered assets.

In his opening address, the Permanent Secretary to the President of Botswana, Carter Morupisi said: "With the increasing globalization of markets, services, goods and people, accompanied by the internationalization of illegal activities, including financial crimes, the international dimension of corruption has gained prominence and significance.”

Speakers from INTERPOL, World Bank (StAR), United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the Basel Institute on Governance, as well as national anti-corruption and prosecution agencies, shared their expertise with the participants.

Florence Freda Dennis, Division Manager, Integrity and Anti-Corruption Department of the African Development bank, highlighted the need for the African law enforcement officials to 'build a collaborative network to learn and share information on effective strategies to fight corruption which will ensure that there is no safe haven for the perpetrators of such crimes on the continent'

The South African Asset Forfeiture Unit (AFU) hosts asset recovery lawyers from ARINSA countries three times a year on what is called the Prosecutor Placement Programme. It is a 4 week programme, the first two weeks of which are largely spent in an intensive training workshop in Pretoria at the NPA's head office. The recently concluded session that was conducted in Pretoria included representatives from Namibia, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Uganda as well as Burundi, the latter being the first time that this country participated in the programme. The NPA's new National Director of Public Prosecutions, Adv Shaun Abrahams, Mr Willie Hofmeyr who is the Head of the AFU as well as Adv Dianne Willman who is the National Training and Development Specialist in the AFU are featured in the front row. Topics covered in the workshop included conviction and non-conviction based forfeiture, asset management, execution of orders and legal drafting. A lighter non-legal topic on personal branding was also included in the workshop. This helps sensitise participants to the need to be alert to the image / brand that is being developed by them in this new field especially the construction of a brand that exhibits sound organisational values like integrity and service delivery. This is an invisible but crucial aspect to constructing a sound re**tion and developing influence in a new field. The field of asset recovery is a complex mix of legal expertise, personal commitment and strategic considerations.  A powerful, robust and all encompassing approach is therefore required to fight crime and make a difference. Participants will return to their countries at the end of August after they have completed 2 weeks at AFU offices around the country.

Bid to freeze ivory smuggling suspects' bank accounts

By Joackim Bwana Monday, August 3rd 2015

Ivory smugglers Suspects from left Abdulrahman Mahmoud Sheikh, Sheikh Mahmoud Abdulrahman, Mahmoud Abdulrahman Sheikh, Lucy Muthoni Kahoto, Musa Jacob Lithare and Samwel Mboto Mundia at the Mombasa court in Mombasa County on Tuesday 23rd June 2015 where the six denied Exporting 511 pieces of 3127kgs of Ivory Trophies worth 576 Million to Thailand, and dealing with the trophies without a license from the KWS. [Photo/Kelvin Karani/STANDARD]

The Government wants the High Court in Mombasa to order a freeze on bank accounts and seizure of properties of seven suspects charged with trafficking ivory worth Sh576 million to Thailand.
Last week on Friday, State prosecutor Jami Yenina filed an application before High Court judge Martin Muya, seeking interim orders to freeze 13 bank accounts and seize nine motor vehicles and a piece of land owned by Abdurahman Mahmoud Sheikh, Sheikh Mahmoud Abdurahman, Mahmoud Abdurahman Sheikh, Musa Jacob Lithare, Samuel Mbota Mundie, Jefwa Nicholas Mwari, Samuel Bakari Jefwa, Potential Quality Supplies Limited and Funzi Island Company Ltd.
"The respondents have been interviewed by police and failed to provide information on the origin of the monies used to purchase the properties, the source of the huge amount of monies and transactions in their bank accounts," said Yenina.
The prosecutor sort to serve the order to the Attorney General's Office, companies' registry, National Transport and Safety Authority, Ministry of Lands, Standard Chartered Bank, Kenya Commercial Bank, I&M Bank, Co-operative Bank, Barclays Bank and NIC Bank. Yenina also requested the court to provide a 14 day notice for the respondents and anyone affected to respond to the application.
The seven respondents are charged together with Lucy Kahoto, Salim Juma Khamisi, Abbasi Issa Rashid and Kenneth Mwangi Njuguna for being part of a cartel that trafficked 511 pieces of elephant tusks weighing 3,127 kilogrammes to Thailand on diverse dates between March 15 and April 26, 2015 in Mombasa, jointly with others still at large.
The prosecutor said investigations had revealed that the monies in bank accounts, the parcel of land at Makupa block 13/340 M1 and nine motor vehicles were derived from proceeds of ivory trade.
However, defence lawyer Gikandi Ngaibuni said the court should issue restriction orders only on the said land and motor vehicles and let them remain in the same state they were in.
The judge extended the interim orders until August 20, when he will deliver a ruling.

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See Also: Poaching depleting revenue

There are a number of countries on several continents where genocide has taken place over the years and those who fueled it and sponsored it, gained extraordinary material and monetary wealth mostly pillaging the natural resources of these countries and taking the proceeds overseas. I think this should be the next frontier in addressing proceeds of crimes and money laundering.

http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/14823-profiting-from-genocide-the-world-banks-bloody-history-in-guatemala