The Central Bureau of Investigation has sought an extension of Karti Chidambaram&#39;s custody for 14 days.&nbsp;

Chidambaram was produced in the Delhi Patiala Court on Thursday in connection with the hearing in INX Media case.&nbsp;

The CBI said &quot;Interrogation has only taken place for a short time.He did appear for interrogation but remained evasive.Custodial interrogation is completely different&#39;.

The CBI&#39;s demand for a further extension of his custody came after the expiration of the one-day police custody.

The Court has also reserved order on the bail plea of Chidambaram&#39;s Chartered Accountant S Bhaskaran who will remain in jail till March 7.&nbsp;

The CBI has claimed on having&nbsp;documents which prove clear links of Karti Chidambaram and various companies.&nbsp;

The CBI said &quot;We have emails and invoices indicating money was given to Advantage Strategic Consultancy Private Limited (ASCPL) in the time period when INX media received favours&quot;.

The CBI also said that the purpose of the initial custody was defeated when Karti was shifted to Cardiac Care Unit.&nbsp;

The CBI added that Karti&#39;s medical examination was surprising as he was perfectly fine in the morning.&nbsp;

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Whole purpose of y&#39;day custody was defeated when after Karti&#39;s medical examination, doctor got him shifted to Cardiac Care Unit. It was surprising because Karti didn&#39;t complain of anything. He was perfectly fine in morning but gave evasive answers when CBI questioned him: CBI
&mdash; ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/969153975814705152?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 1, 2018</a></blockquote>
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On the other hand, Kart&#39;s counsel Abhishek Manu Sanghvi has negated the demands of CBI saying &quot; There is no ground for custodial interrogation&quot;.

&nbsp;

He said &quot; How can CBI claim non-cooperation when they have not issued summons? All documents are in their possession&quot;.&nbsp;

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Karti&#39;s counsel Abhishek Manu Singhvi in Patiala House Court- There is no ground for custodial interrogation. How can CBI claim non-cooperation when they haven&#39;t issued summons? All documents are in their possession <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/INXMedia?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#INXMedia</a>
&mdash; ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/969154828801888257?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 1, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram&#39;s son Karti Chidambaram was arrested on Wednesday from Chennai Airport, thereafter, he was sent to one-day CBI custody by Delhi&#39;s Patiala House Court.

Karti was arrested in connection with the INX Media money laundering case.

 
&nbsp;

&nbsp;

&nbsp;

&nbsp;

&nbsp;

&nbsp;

The Central Bureau of Investigation has sought an extension of Karti Chidambaram's custody for 14 days. The Court has also reserved order on the bail plea of Chidambaram's Chartered Accountant S Bhaskaran who will remain in jail till March 7

The Central Bureau of Investigation has sought an extension of Karti Chidambaram's custody for 14 days. Chidambaram was produced in the Delhi Patiala Court on Thursday in connection with the hearing in INX Media case. The CBI said "Interrogation has only taken place for a short time.He did appear for interrogation but remained evasive.Custodial interrogation is completely different'. The CBI's demand for a further extension of his custody came after the expiration of the one-day police custody. The Court has also reserved order on the bail plea of Chidambaram's Chartered Accountant S Bhaskaran who will remain in jail till March 7. The CBI has claimed on having documents which prove clear links of Karti Chidambaram and various companies. The CBI said "We have emails and invoices indicating money was given to Advantage Strategic Consultancy Private Limited (ASCPL) in the time period when INX media received favours". The CBI also said that the purpose of the initial custody was defeated when Karti was shifted to Cardiac Care Unit. The CBI added that Karti's medical examination was surprising as he was perfectly fine in the morning. Whole purpose of y'day custody was defeated when after Karti's medical examination, doctor got him shifted to Cardiac Care Unit. It was surprising because Karti didn't complain of anything. He was perfectly fine in morning but gave evasive answers when CBI questioned him: CBI — ANI (@ANI) March 1, 2018 × On the other hand, Kart's counsel Abhishek Manu Sanghvi has negated the demands of CBI saying " There is no ground for custodial interrogation". He said " How can CBI claim non-cooperation when they have not issued summons? All documents are in their possession". Karti's counsel Abhishek Manu Singhvi in Patiala House Court- There is no ground for custodial interrogation. How can CBI claim non-cooperation when they haven't issued summons? All documents are in their possession #INXMedia — ANI (@ANI) March 1, 2018 × Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram's son Karti Chidambaram was arrested on Wednesday from Chennai Airport, thereafter, he was sent to one-day CBI custody by Delhi's Patiala House Court. Karti was arrested in connection with the INX Media money laundering case.

INX Media case: CBI seeks Karti Chidambaram's judicial custody for 14 days

According to a Danish newspaper, a whistleblower had warned Denmark&#39;s biggest bank in 2013 against Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russia&#39;s spy agency using its Estonian bank branch for money laundering.

Denmark&#39;s Berlingske daily said today that the Danske Bank leadership knew &quot;of far more serious conditions than previously stated.&quot;

Danske Bank is reported to have shut down 20 Russian customer accounts in 2013. The move was followed by a whistleblower&#39;s report alleging its Estonian branch to possibly had been involved in illegal activities.

The clients&#39; identities were kept secret at the time. Danske Bank did not comment on the matter.&nbsp;

Denmark's Berlingske daily said today that the Danske Bank leadership knew 'of far more serious conditions than previously stated'

According to a Danish newspaper, a whistleblower had warned Denmark's biggest bank in 2013 against Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russia's spy agency using its Estonian bank branch for money laundering. Denmark's Berlingske daily said today that the Danske Bank leadership knew "of far more serious conditions than previously stated." Danske Bank is reported to have shut down 20 Russian customer accounts in 2013. The move was followed by a whistleblower's report alleging its Estonian branch to possibly had been involved in illegal activities. The clients' identities were kept secret at the time. Danske Bank did not comment on the matter.

Report alleges Putin's family using Estonian bank for money laundering

From 2012-15, the global Financial Action Task Force (FATF) kept Pakistan on Global Terror Financing Watchdog List. Though they dropped Pakistan from the list for a couple of years, they kept threatening them to put their house in order. The action of FATF shows that, at last, the global community has realised the role of Pakistan in terror financing, and is ready to take stern action against it. The country will be at the receiving end of the FATF Plenary and Working Group meeting on 18-23 February 2018 in Paris.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Pakistan, since its very inception, had been relying on non-state elements for spreading unrest in India. During the 1947 annexation of Kashmir, they used paid mercenaries and tribesman, in Operation Gibraltar of 1965 there was the Kashmiri Militia, in 1971, they operated as Razakars in East Pakistan. In the late seventies, Pakistan raised large armies of Mujahedeen&rsquo;s to fight against the Soviet forces, in eighties they started sending terrorists in India and in the 21st century they were supporting Taliban, Al- Qaeda and ISIS, globally.

&nbsp;

So, sadly for Pakistan, be it the military or the political establishment, more often than not, there is an inseparable amalgamation of ultra-radical religious preachers and terror outfits. This support for religious radicalism has made the country a hub terror financing for very long. Then there is virtually any stringent money laundering law in the country.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Several of the money laundering activities are directly connected with terror financing. The government, however, pretends that they are acting against terrorism by launching various military operations but their actions against financing of terror are never prioritised and pursued structurally.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

The fact of the matter is, Pakistan continues to lack the adequate resources required to map, track or stop terror financing of organisations, such as Taliban, Al-Qaeda, ISIS and other similar terror organisations operating worldwide. Hence, these outfits are using this opportunity to make Pakistan a hub for their financial transaction.&nbsp; &nbsp;

&nbsp;

A major source of terror financing in Pakistan comes from proceeds of crime, hawala, illegal remittance, kidnapping for ransom, smuggling, extortion and proceeds of drug sales. The second most significant source is the siphoning off charities given by the Gulf countries to the NGOs.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Since the Ultra-radical religious groups are strong in Pakistan, the government had always avoided taking any action against them. Some immediate actions are taken under the pressure of international community but they are relaxed immediately after the matter is cooled down. Also, since it does not have the resource or legal provisions to do this and terror organisations know this, it becomes much easier for them to play the dirty game.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Ironically, over last so many decades, not only terrorist organisations but the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) had been using these sources of terror finance to fuel terror activities in India. Imagine a situation where the government itself is involved in terror financing, it is impossible that they will act against such elements themselves.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

If we study this financial mechanism, there are various terror financing channels operating between Pakistan and Afghanistan.&nbsp; These work openly in the disguise of charitable organisations and are protected by tribal laws. The primary responsibility of investigating them lies with the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) of Pakistan which is not free from political rivalry and, hence, the onus ultimately comes on the local provincial police to plug these channels. However, the limited capabilities of local police in Pakistan to act against these very powerful and ruthless terror financing bodies have failed to bring an end to the practise.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

We have several examples where even after major terror attacks, Pakistani authorities failed to track the terror financing related to the incident. Recently, on 23rd June 2017, a strong car bomb went off in a busy street in Quetta Pakistan, killing 14 people on the spot. Investigations reveal that cash payment was made for the car, bomb and logistics involved in the blast. Though the FIA conducted investigations to find out the perpetrators of this attack and blamed some terror organisations, no investigation was conducted to examine the source of funding by the concerned terrorist group.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Pakistan has established its first Financial Intelligence Unit (FMU) recently in 2007 but it has not been given adequate attention. As a result, the unit is still in its nascent stage and not able to perform to the expectations of the world. They lack staff, resources and, most importantly, a mandate to freely investigate the financial frauds.

&nbsp;

Not only this, the first Anti- Money Laundering Ordinance of Pakistan was created in September 2007. Prior to it, there was no legal provision to control these kinds of activities. Surprisingly, the scope and range of offences under this act are still too narrow, which gives an easy escape route to any terror organisation or individual.

&nbsp;

As far as role of Pakistan against Money Laundering and terror financing is concerned, they are bound to follow United Nations Security Council Resolution 1267 which prescribes sanctions against Al-Qaeda and Taliban. However, Pakistan government had badly failed to act on the financial front because it has still not ratified the UN convention on the suppression of terrorism financing.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

The main loophole in the Pakistani Anti Money Laundering law is that while there is a wide range of Pakistani acts criminalising terror financing, there is no criminalisation of individual terrorists or terrorist organisations other than the ones proscribed in the UNSCR 1267. Hence, the organisations kept changing their names and continue to run their activities.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

We have the live examples how Lashkar-E-Taiba changed the names to Jamat-Ud-Dawa and then to other organisations and continued to run its huge terror financing budget of over 8 Million US $ to cause unrest in India.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

So what does Pakistan needs to do to curb terror financing?

&nbsp;

The first and foremost thing Pakistan must understand is that there is no good or bad terrorism. Taliban, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, Al-Qaeda and Lashkar-e-Toiba/ Jaish-e-Mohammad are equally rogue groups and it needs to act against all of them with an iron fist.

The second thing required is establishing a concrete mechanism and empowering its FMU to investigate financial frauds and terror financing trails.

&nbsp;

Furthermore, it needs to strengthen its laws to ensure more stringent examination and enforcement of practice. The cross-border transportation of currencies must be brought to a stop. It must also implement UNSCR 1373 to curb terror financing activities of all groups in addition to the ones prescribed in UNSCR 1267.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Lastly, the most important thing is a nationwide and political will in Pakistan to strictly act against radical Islamic organisations and all kinds of terror groups. If the actions are not taken immediately, the day is not far when our neighbour will figure at the top of the list of states which are seen as sponsoring terrorism, and join the league of North Korea, Iran, Sudan and Syria. It will be the worst nightmare for Pakistan as well as for India. Heaven knows as Pakistan&#39;s neighbour, India bears the worst burns of state-sponsored terrorist activities.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

There are various terror financing channels operating between Pakistan and Afghanistan. These work openly in the disguise of charitable organisations and are protected by tribal laws.

From 2012-15, the global Financial Action Task Force (FATF) kept Pakistan on Global Terror Financing Watchdog List. Though they dropped Pakistan from the list for a couple of years, they kept threatening them to put their house in order. The action of FATF shows that, at last, the global community has realised the role of Pakistan in terror financing, and is ready to take stern action against it. The country will be at the receiving end of the FATF Plenary and Working Group meeting on 18-23 February 2018 in Paris. Pakistan, since its very inception, had been relying on non-state elements for spreading unrest in India. During the 1947 annexation of Kashmir, they used paid mercenaries and tribesman, in Operation Gibraltar of 1965 there was the Kashmiri Militia, in 1971, they operated as Razakars in East Pakistan. In the late seventies, Pakistan raised large armies of Mujahedeen’s to fight against the Soviet forces, in eighties they started sending terrorists in India and in the 21st century they were supporting Taliban, Al- Qaeda and ISIS, globally. So, sadly for Pakistan, be it the military or the political establishment, more often than not, there is an inseparable amalgamation of ultra-radical religious preachers and terror outfits. This support for religious radicalism has made the country a hub terror financing for very long. Then there is virtually any stringent money laundering law in the country. Several of the money laundering activities are directly connected with terror financing. The government, however, pretends that they are acting against terrorism by launching various military operations but their actions against financing of terror are never prioritised and pursued structurally. The fact of the matter is, Pakistan continues to lack the adequate resources required to map, track or stop terror financing of organisations, such as Taliban, Al-Qaeda, ISIS and other similar terror organisations operating worldwide. Hence, these outfits are using this opportunity to make Pakistan a hub for their financial transaction. A major source of terror financing in Pakistan comes from proceeds of crime, hawala, illegal remittance, kidnapping for ransom, smuggling, extortion and proceeds of drug sales. The second most significant source is the siphoning off charities given by the Gulf countries to the NGOs. Since the Ultra-radical religious groups are strong in Pakistan, the government had always avoided taking any action against them. Some immediate actions are taken under the pressure of international community but they are relaxed immediately after the matter is cooled down. Also, since it does not have the resource or legal provisions to do this and terror organisations know this, it becomes much easier for them to play the dirty game. Ironically, over last so many decades, not only terrorist organisations but the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) had been using these sources of terror finance to fuel terror activities in India. Imagine a situation where the government itself is involved in terror financing, it is impossible that they will act against such elements themselves. If we study this financial mechanism, there are various terror financing channels operating between Pakistan and Afghanistan. These work openly in the disguise of charitable organisations and are protected by tribal laws. The primary responsibility of investigating them lies with the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) of Pakistan which is not free from political rivalry and, hence, the onus ultimately comes on the local provincial police to plug these channels. However, the limited capabilities of local police in Pakistan to act against these very powerful and ruthless terror financing bodies have failed to bring an end to the practise. We have several examples where even after major terror attacks, Pakistani authorities failed to track the terror financing related to the incident. Recently, on 23rd June 2017, a strong car bomb went off in a busy street in Quetta Pakistan, killing 14 people on the spot. Investigations reveal that cash payment was made for the car, bomb and logistics involved in the blast. Though the FIA conducted investigations to find out the perpetrators of this attack and blamed some terror organisations, no investigation was conducted to examine the source of funding by the concerned terrorist group. Pakistan has established its first Financial Intelligence Unit (FMU) recently in 2007 but it has not been given adequate attention. As a result, the unit is still in its nascent stage and not able to perform to the expectations of the world. They lack staff, resources and, most importantly, a mandate to freely investigate the financial frauds. Not only this, the first Anti- Money Laundering Ordinance of Pakistan was created in September 2007. Prior to it, there was no legal provision to control these kinds of activities. Surprisingly, the scope and range of offences under this act are still too narrow, which gives an easy escape route to any terror organisation or individual. As far as role of Pakistan against Money Laundering and terror financing is concerned, they are bound to follow United Nations Security Council Resolution 1267 which prescribes sanctions against Al-Qaeda and Taliban. However, Pakistan government had badly failed to act on the financial front because it has still not ratified the UN convention on the suppression of terrorism financing. The main loophole in the Pakistani Anti Money Laundering law is that while there is a wide range of Pakistani acts criminalising terror financing, there is no criminalisation of individual terrorists or terrorist organisations other than the ones proscribed in the UNSCR 1267. Hence, the organisations kept changing their names and continue to run their activities. We have the live examples how Lashkar-E-Taiba changed the names to Jamat-Ud-Dawa and then to other organisations and continued to run its huge terror financing budget of over 8 Million US $ to cause unrest in India. So what does Pakistan needs to do to curb terror financing? The first and foremost thing Pakistan must understand is that there is no good or bad terrorism. Taliban, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, Al-Qaeda and Lashkar-e-Toiba/ Jaish-e-Mohammad are equally rogue groups and it needs to act against all of them with an iron fist. The second thing required is establishing a concrete mechanism and empowering its FMU to investigate financial frauds and terror financing trails. Furthermore, it needs to strengthen its laws to ensure more stringent examination and enforcement of practice. The cross-border transportation of currencies must be brought to a stop. It must also implement UNSCR 1373 to curb terror financing activities of all groups in addition to the ones prescribed in UNSCR 1267. Lastly, the most important thing is a nationwide and political will in Pakistan to strictly act against radical Islamic organisations and all kinds of terror groups. If the actions are not taken immediately, the day is not far when our neighbour will figure at the top of the list of states which are seen as sponsoring terrorism, and join the league of North Korea, Iran, Sudan and Syria. It will be the worst nightmare for Pakistan as well as for India. Heaven knows as Pakistan's neighbour, India bears the worst burns of state-sponsored terrorist activities. (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

Opinion: This is why Pakistan needs to be put on global terrorist financing watchlist

India on Saturday said that some countries have proposed to put Pakistan in the &quot;grey list&quot; of an international task force mandated to combat terror funding and money laundering.

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is meeting later this month in Paris, where it is expected to deliberate extensively on containing the spread of terrorism by choking the funding channels of terrorist groups.

&quot;There is a proposal by some countries, as a part of the FATF process, to put Pakistan in the grey list. The grey listing happens because the commitment which was given by Pakistan on actions it was supposed to take, that has not happened,&quot; External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said.

He was responding to a question on whether India is going to make any specific case against 26/11 mastermind Hafiz Saeed at the FATF meeting.

Kumar said India has shared its views with the countries and members of the FATF on this matter.

The US has also approached the FATF to put Pakistan on global terrorist-financing watch list, accusing Islamabad of not complying with the UN Security Council resolutions relating to terror groups, including al-Qaeda and its affiliates.

The FATF is an inter-governmental body, which maintains &quot;grey&quot; and &quot;black&quot; lists to identify countries with weak measures to combat money laundering and terror financing. Inclusion in the grey list can lead to sanctions.

Kumar said India believes that the UNSC Resolution 1267 sanctions pertaining to money laundering and terror financing must be implemented in letter and spirit by all nations.

&quot;...And those nationals and nations, who are found wanting in implementing in their obligations and freely allowing the UN-designated terrorists and individuals to operate and raise funds, and have access to assets for the nefarious activities must be held accountable and subjected to appropriate action,&quot; he said.

Responding to a question on reports of Pakistan amending its anti-terror laws to include Hafiz Saeed-linked Jamaat-ud-Dawa on the list of UN proscribed groups, Kumar said it needs to be seen whether Islamabad is willing to &quot;walk the talk&quot;.

He said it is &quot;quite surprising&quot; that it took 10 years for Pakistan to figure out that Saeed, the mastermind of the 2008 Mumbai attacks, is a terrorist.

&quot;In any case, I think, the timing of such declaration of Hafiz Saeed as a terrorist is a very suspect. You will have to see if they are willing to walk the talk and take concrete measures against terrorists and terror outfits which have been operating from the soil of Pakistan,&quot; he said.

Earlier this week, Pakistan launched a crackdown on seminaries and health facilities run by Saeed.

In response to a question on the ceasefire violations by Pakistan, Kumar said India takes counter actions on such violations, wherever it is initiated.

Asked about the government&#39;s plan to bring back industrialists involved in money laundering cases, an apparent reference to diamantaire Nirav Modi fleeing the country amid an alleged multi-million dollar scam, Kumar said: &quot;I dont think today every question has to be linked to what questions which have come up earlier.&quot;

The force is mandated to combat terror funding and money laundering

India on Saturday said that some countries have proposed to put Pakistan in the "grey list" of an international task force mandated to combat terror funding and money laundering. The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is meeting later this month in Paris, where it is expected to deliberate extensively on containing the spread of terrorism by choking the funding channels of terrorist groups. "There is a proposal by some countries, as a part of the FATF process, to put Pakistan in the grey list. The grey listing happens because the commitment which was given by Pakistan on actions it was supposed to take, that has not happened," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said. He was responding to a question on whether India is going to make any specific case against 26/11 mastermind Hafiz Saeed at the FATF meeting. Kumar said India has shared its views with the countries and members of the FATF on this matter. The US has also approached the FATF to put Pakistan on global terrorist-financing watch list, accusing Islamabad of not complying with the UN Security Council resolutions relating to terror groups, including al-Qaeda and its affiliates. The FATF is an inter-governmental body, which maintains "grey" and "black" lists to identify countries with weak measures to combat money laundering and terror financing. Inclusion in the grey list can lead to sanctions. Kumar said India believes that the UNSC Resolution 1267 sanctions pertaining to money laundering and terror financing must be implemented in letter and spirit by all nations. "...And those nationals and nations, who are found wanting in implementing in their obligations and freely allowing the UN-designated terrorists and individuals to operate and raise funds, and have access to assets for the nefarious activities must be held accountable and subjected to appropriate action," he said. Responding to a question on reports of Pakistan amending its anti-terror laws to include Hafiz Saeed-linked Jamaat-ud-Dawa on the list of UN proscribed groups, Kumar said it needs to be seen whether Islamabad is willing to "walk the talk". He said it is "quite surprising" that it took 10 years for Pakistan to figure out that Saeed, the mastermind of the 2008 Mumbai attacks, is a terrorist. "In any case, I think, the timing of such declaration of Hafiz Saeed as a terrorist is a very suspect. You will have to see if they are willing to walk the talk and take concrete measures against terrorists and terror outfits which have been operating from the soil of Pakistan," he said. Earlier this week, Pakistan launched a crackdown on seminaries and health facilities run by Saeed. In response to a question on the ceasefire violations by Pakistan, Kumar said India takes counter actions on such violations, wherever it is initiated. Asked about the government's plan to bring back industrialists involved in money laundering cases, an apparent reference to diamantaire Nirav Modi fleeing the country amid an alleged multi-million dollar scam, Kumar said: "I dont think today every question has to be linked to what questions which have come up earlier."

Some countries proposed to put Pakistan in FATF 'grey list': India

Brazilian politicians, voters and investors will find out on Wednesday whether an appeals court will allow the country&#39;s most popular leader, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, to run for president this year after being found guilty of accepting a bribe.

The former two-term, leftist president was convicted in July of corruption and money laundering for accepting a beachside penthouse apartment from an engineering company vying for government contracts.

If the court&#39;s three judges uphold the conviction, which carries a sentence of nine years and six months, Lula would be ineligible to run for re-election on the October 7 ballot and he could be sent to jail.

That would radically alter the political landscape of Brazil ahead of a campaign in which Lula is the early favourite, with 36 percent of voter preferences according to pollster Datafolha. That is double the percentage of his nearest rival, the far-right congressman and former army captain Jair Bolsonaro.

The case has polarized Brazil, with Lula&#39;s critics calling for him to be put behind bars and his Workers Party supporters claiming the charges were trumped up to stop him from running.

The appeals court, known as the TRF-4, has confirmed 95 percent of the convictions and sentences handed down by crusading anti-corruption judge Sergio Moro, who sentenced Lula.

Brazil&#39;s benchmark Bovespa stock index&nbsp;has risen more than 10 percent in the past month on the prospect of Lula being barred from the election sooner than originally expected.

That would improve the odds of a more centrist, market-friendly candidate winning this year&#39;s race and continuing austerity policies to reduce a budget deficit run up by Lula&#39;s impeached successor, Dilma Rousseff.

Lula, 72, has been touring the country preparing the ground for a presidential bid. CUT, Brazil&#39;s largest labour union federation and an ally of the Workers Party, plans to launch his candidacy in Sao Paulo the day after the ruling, whichever way it goes.

The party&#39;s leader, Senator Gleisi Hoffmann, went as far as to say last week that authorities would have to &quot;kill&quot; people to put Lula in prison, though she later qualified her comment after it created an uproar.

Lula plans to travel to Porto Alegre on Tuesday to rally his supporters, though the court denied his request to address the judges amid criticism he was turning the case into a pulpit for alleging political persecution.

Some 3,000 Lula supporters arrived in the southern city of Porto Alegre on Monday and intend to protest outside the court, which has been cordoned off by police in a four-block radius.

Lula&#39;s opponents plan to celebrate in a park on the affluent side of Porto Alegre on Thursday if his conviction is upheld.

Influential politician

Despite the conviction and four other corruption probes against him, Lula remains Brazil&#39;s most influential politician, loved by Brazilians who benefited from social programs that lifted 30 million people out of poverty during his presidency from 2003 to 2010.

&quot;If Lula is cleared, he will be a strong contender who would certainly reach the second-round runoff,&quot; said Lucas de Arag&atilde;o, a political scientist and partner at consultancy Arko Advice in Brasilia. &quot;But if he is convicted again, the Workers Party will have to get real and find another candidate, because it will be very hard for Lula to get registered to run.&quot;

For now, the party insists there is no plan B and is casting Lula as a political martyr being illegitimately blocked from the race by Brazilian elites who see him as a threat.

&quot;Whatever the ruling is on Wednesday, President (Lula) cannot be barred by the appeals court from registering his candidacy,&quot; his lawyer Cristiano Zanin told foreign news media.

Presidential hopefuls must register with Brazil&#39;s electoral authority, the TSE, by August 15. Lula&#39;s defence team will try to delay a final decision on his conviction as long as possible to place him on the ballot.

If an adverse ruling on Wednesday is not unanimous, Lula will have more options for appeals that could delay the process for as long as seven months, legal experts say.

Even if the TSE bars Lula, there is a chance he could appeal to higher courts on constitutional and other grounds to seek an injunction suspending his ineligibility declared by the TSE, said Henrique Neves, a former judge on the electoral court.

If Lula were to run in the elections but lose his case, his votes would be annulled, Neves said.

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was convicted in July of corruption and money laundering

Brazilian politicians, voters and investors will find out on Wednesday whether an appeals court will allow the country's most popular leader, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, to run for president this year after being found guilty of accepting a bribe. The former two-term, leftist president was convicted in July of corruption and money laundering for accepting a beachside penthouse apartment from an engineering company vying for government contracts. If the court's three judges uphold the conviction, which carries a sentence of nine years and six months, Lula would be ineligible to run for re-election on the October 7 ballot and he could be sent to jail. That would radically alter the political landscape of Brazil ahead of a campaign in which Lula is the early favourite, with 36 percent of voter preferences according to pollster Datafolha. That is double the percentage of his nearest rival, the far-right congressman and former army captain Jair Bolsonaro. The case has polarized Brazil, with Lula's critics calling for him to be put behind bars and his Workers Party supporters claiming the charges were trumped up to stop him from running. The appeals court, known as the TRF-4, has confirmed 95 percent of the convictions and sentences handed down by crusading anti-corruption judge Sergio Moro, who sentenced Lula. Brazil's benchmark Bovespa stock index has risen more than 10 percent in the past month on the prospect of Lula being barred from the election sooner than originally expected. That would improve the odds of a more centrist, market-friendly candidate winning this year's race and continuing austerity policies to reduce a budget deficit run up by Lula's impeached successor, Dilma Rousseff. Lula, 72, has been touring the country preparing the ground for a presidential bid. CUT, Brazil's largest labour union federation and an ally of the Workers Party, plans to launch his candidacy in Sao Paulo the day after the ruling, whichever way it goes. The party's leader, Senator Gleisi Hoffmann, went as far as to say last week that authorities would have to "kill" people to put Lula in prison, though she later qualified her comment after it created an uproar. Lula plans to travel to Porto Alegre on Tuesday to rally his supporters, though the court denied his request to address the judges amid criticism he was turning the case into a pulpit for alleging political persecution. Some 3,000 Lula supporters arrived in the southern city of Porto Alegre on Monday and intend to protest outside the court, which has been cordoned off by police in a four-block radius. Lula's opponents plan to celebrate in a park on the affluent side of Porto Alegre on Thursday if his conviction is upheld. Influential politician Despite the conviction and four other corruption probes against him, Lula remains Brazil's most influential politician, loved by Brazilians who benefited from social programs that lifted 30 million people out of poverty during his presidency from 2003 to 2010. "If Lula is cleared, he will be a strong contender who would certainly reach the second-round runoff," said Lucas de Aragão, a political scientist and partner at consultancy Arko Advice in Brasilia. "But if he is convicted again, the Workers Party will have to get real and find another candidate, because it will be very hard for Lula to get registered to run." For now, the party insists there is no plan B and is casting Lula as a political martyr being illegitimately blocked from the race by Brazilian elites who see him as a threat. "Whatever the ruling is on Wednesday, President (Lula) cannot be barred by the appeals court from registering his candidacy," his lawyer Cristiano Zanin told foreign news media. Presidential hopefuls must register with Brazil's electoral authority, the TSE, by August 15. Lula's defence team will try to delay a final decision on his conviction as long as possible to place him on the ballot. If an adverse ruling on Wednesday is not unanimous, Lula will have more options for appeals that could delay the process for as long as seven months, legal experts say. Even if the TSE bars Lula, there is a chance he could appeal to higher courts on constitutional and other grounds to seek an injunction suspending his ineligibility declared by the TSE, said Henrique Neves, a former judge on the electoral court. If Lula were to run in the elections but lose his case, his votes would be annulled, Neves said.

Brazil holds breath for court ruling on Lula's future

Former Bangladesh prime minister Khaleda Zia, sentenced to <a href="http://www.wionews.com/south-asia/ex-bangladesh-pm-khaleda-zia-sentenced-to-5-years-in-graft-case-32203">five years imprisonment </a>in a graft case, spent her night as a lone inmate of a renovated facility of the old Dhaka&#39;s abandoned central jail, where an official said, she was &quot;physically and psychologically alright&quot;.

Today, authorities allowed Zia&#39;s younger businessman brother and four other relatives to meet the&nbsp;leader.

The 72-year-old three-time former prime minister was sentenced yesterday by the Dhaka&#39;s Special Court in connection with the embezzlement of 21 million taka (about USD 250,000) in foreign donations meant for the Zia

The chief of the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) was sent to a renovated facility of the old Dhaka&#39;s abandoned central prison.

&quot;She is physically and psychologically alright,&quot; a prison official told a private TV channel preferring anonymity.

But a senior BNP leader said, &quot;She is in isolation&quot;, and alleged that her conviction was &quot;part of a government blueprint to establish one-party rule&quot;.

She plans to appeal against her conviction, lawyers said, and will mostly likely be freed on bail pending that process.

&quot;She was given a shorter term considering her health and social status,&quot; Judge Mohammad Akhteruzzaman saide as he passed sentence in a packed courtroom.

Meanwhile, hundreds of BNP leaders and activists today staged protests in the capital and other major cities in protest at the verdict.

They also had a scuffle with police but no incident of major violence was reported.&nbsp;Police fired rubber bullets at demonstrators in the northeastern city of Sylhet. At least four people have been injured in the clashes.

Bangladesh&#39;s main opposition party, the BNP, has named the &#39;fugitive&#39; and convicted eldest son of <a href="http://www.wionews.com/south-asia/khaleda-zias-fugitive-son-is-now-bnps-acting-chief-32334">Khaleda Zia </a>as its acting chief, a day after the former prime minister was sentenced to five years rigorous imprisonment in a graft case.

&nbsp;

Former Bangladesh Prime Minister and opposition leader Khaleda Zia was jailed for five years for corruption on Thursday as thousands of supporters took to the streets of the capital to protest her innocence

Former Bangladesh prime minister Khaleda Zia, sentenced to five years imprisonment in a graft case, spent her night as a lone inmate of a renovated facility of the old Dhaka's abandoned central jail, where an official said, she was "physically and psychologically alright". Today, authorities allowed Zia's younger businessman brother and four other relatives to meet the leader. The 72-year-old three-time former prime minister was sentenced yesterday by the Dhaka's Special Court in connection with the embezzlement of 21 million taka (about USD 250,000) in foreign donations meant for the Zia The chief of the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) was sent to a renovated facility of the old Dhaka's abandoned central prison. "She is physically and psychologically alright," a prison official told a private TV channel preferring anonymity. But a senior BNP leader said, "She is in isolation", and alleged that her conviction was "part of a government blueprint to establish one-party rule". She plans to appeal against her conviction, lawyers said, and will mostly likely be freed on bail pending that process. "She was given a shorter term considering her health and social status," Judge Mohammad Akhteruzzaman saide as he passed sentence in a packed courtroom. Meanwhile, hundreds of BNP leaders and activists today staged protests in the capital and other major cities in protest at the verdict. They also had a scuffle with police but no incident of major violence was reported. Police fired rubber bullets at demonstrators in the northeastern city of Sylhet. At least four people have been injured in the clashes. Bangladesh's main opposition party, the BNP, has named the 'fugitive' and convicted eldest son of Khaleda Zia as its acting chief, a day after the former prime minister was sentenced to five years rigorous imprisonment in a graft case.

Khaleda Zia is 'physically, psychologically alright, is under isolation', says official

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has summoned Trinamool Congress MP KD Singh in connection with its money laundering probe into an alleged ponzi scam case pegged at over&nbsp;Rs.&nbsp;1,900 crore. 
 
According to official sources, Singh, the TMC&#39;s Rajya Sabha member, has been summoned in New Delhi today by the investigating officer (IO) of the case. 
 
The Member of Parliament (MP) has been summoned under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and the IO is expected to record his statement, they said. 
 
A phone call and an SMS sent by PTI to the TMC MP went unanswered. 
 
The ED&#39;s probe against&nbsp;Singh and his firm Alchemist Infra Realty Limited dates back to September 2016 when it filed a criminal case under the PMLA taking cognisance of a charge sheet filed against the company, its directors and others by market regulator SEBI. 
 
It is alleged that the company launched an illegal &#39;collective investment scheme&#39;, also called a ponzi or chit fund scheme, and mobilised funds of about&nbsp;Rs.&nbsp;1,916 crore from the public in the years preceding 2015. 
 
The firm allegedly launched the scheme &quot;without the approval&quot; of the SEBI and led to cheating of gullible investors. 
 
In 2015, the firm had informed the SEBI that it had refunded&nbsp;Rs.&nbsp;1,077 crore after the market regulator&#39;s investigation and had sought more time to restore the rest of the amount, which was turned down by the SEBI. 
 
Subsequently, a charge sheet was filed by it before the Patiala House court here in 2016.

The ED has questioned a number of officials and people linked to the realty firm and it now wants to question the MP as it is alleged that he was the &quot;main person&quot; behind these operations. 
 
The central probe agency has also written to banks, the Registrar of Companies and the income tax department to obtain more information about the financial transactions of the company and those associated with it, sources said.

According to official sources, Singh, the TMC's Rajya Sabha member, has been summoned in New Delhi today by the investigating officer (IO) of the case.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has summoned Trinamool Congress MP KD Singh in connection with its money laundering probe into an alleged ponzi scam case pegged at over Rs. 1,900 crore. According to official sources, Singh, the TMC's Rajya Sabha member, has been summoned in New Delhi today by the investigating officer (IO) of the case. The Member of Parliament (MP) has been summoned under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and the IO is expected to record his statement, they said. A phone call and an SMS sent by PTI to the TMC MP went unanswered. The ED's probe against Singh and his firm Alchemist Infra Realty Limited dates back to September 2016 when it filed a criminal case under the PMLA taking cognisance of a charge sheet filed against the company, its directors and others by market regulator SEBI. It is alleged that the company launched an illegal 'collective investment scheme', also called a ponzi or chit fund scheme, and mobilised funds of about Rs. 1,916 crore from the public in the years preceding 2015. The firm allegedly launched the scheme "without the approval" of the SEBI and led to cheating of gullible investors. In 2015, the firm had informed the SEBI that it had refunded Rs. 1,077 crore after the market regulator's investigation and had sought more time to restore the rest of the amount, which was turned down by the SEBI. Subsequently, a charge sheet was filed by it before the Patiala House court here in 2016. The ED has questioned a number of officials and people linked to the realty firm and it now wants to question the MP as it is alleged that he was the "main person" behind these operations. The central probe agency has also written to banks, the Registrar of Companies and the income tax department to obtain more information about the financial transactions of the company and those associated with it, sources said.

ED summons Trinamool Congress lawmaker in Rs 1,900 crore ponzi scam probe

The Westminster magistrates&#39; court in London on Thursday decided to extend liquor baron Vijay Mallya&#39;s bail till April 2 in association with his extradition case.&nbsp;

The bail raised concerns over the reliability of evidence provided by India. Judge Emma Arbuthnot has extended Mallya&#39;s &pound;650,000 bail.&nbsp;

Mallya was accompanied by his wife Pinky Lalwani and his son Siddharth Mallya.&nbsp;

Questions were raised over Mallya&#39;s&nbsp;admissibility, reliability and evidentiary value of documents submitted by India, in particular, the statements submitted by a wide array of witnesses such as banking officials.

&quot;Many of the documents that the Indian government relies on are unsubstantiated assertions which have been proven to be unreliable or false while others are hearsay or narrative accounts or statements made ex-post facto&quot;, Mallya&#39;s defence counsel Clare Montgomery&nbsp;said.

It was also brought to notice that there were no supporting documents in relation to the IDBI Bank case, which is the main axis on which the extradition trial hinges.

&quot;Some of these statements not only had the same words by the same typos. For example, there are similar anomalies in witness statements made by different individuals weeks apart&quot;, Montgomery said, prompting laughter in the court, much to the discomfiture of representatives of the Indian government.

&quot;Much evidence suggests that officers, in this case, have not behaved in a reliable manner. For instance, they have completely failed to reveal to the court the background of how the lending was approved by various banks, have submitted misleading statements, pro-forma statements and statements that were false&quot;, Montgomery said.

She also pointed to a number of Indian law commission reports that have &quot;unanimously&quot; agreed that investigators often &quot;project&quot; their biases on to witnesses.&nbsp;

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), arguing on behalf of the Indian government, has been asked to revert to the court by January 22.&nbsp;

Also read:<a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/indian-jails-over-crowded-with-poor-hygiene-mallyas-defence-26778">&nbsp;Indian jails overcrowded with poor hygiene: Mallya&#39;s defence lawyer</a>

The Delhi court on January 4 had declared beleaguered businessman Vijay Mallya a proclaimed offender for evading summons in a FERA violation case.

Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Deepak Shehrawat passed the order after noting that Mallya <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/vijay-mallya-declared-proclaimed-offender-by-delhi-court-28547" target="_blank">failed to appear</a> before it despite repeated summons.

Mallya, who is undergoing an extradition trial over Rs 9,000-crore fraud and money laundering charges, will face a parallel litigation brought by 13 Indian banks to <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/more-trouble-for-mallya-hearing-of-litigation-seeking-to-freeze-usd-15-billion-of-his-assets-next-year-26725" target="_blank">freeze nearly $1.5 billion of his assets</a>.

(With inputs from ANI)

The bail raised concerns over the reliability of evidence provided by India. Judge Emma Arbuthnot has extended Mallya's £650,000 bail

The Westminster magistrates' court in London on Thursday decided to extend liquor baron Vijay Mallya's bail till April 2 in association with his extradition case. The bail raised concerns over the reliability of evidence provided by India. Judge Emma Arbuthnot has extended Mallya's £650,000 bail. Mallya was accompanied by his wife Pinky Lalwani and his son Siddharth Mallya. Questions were raised over Mallya's admissibility, reliability and evidentiary value of documents submitted by India, in particular, the statements submitted by a wide array of witnesses such as banking officials. "Many of the documents that the Indian government relies on are unsubstantiated assertions which have been proven to be unreliable or false while others are hearsay or narrative accounts or statements made ex-post facto", Mallya's defence counsel Clare Montgomery said. It was also brought to notice that there were no supporting documents in relation to the IDBI Bank case, which is the main axis on which the extradition trial hinges. "Some of these statements not only had the same words by the same typos. For example, there are similar anomalies in witness statements made by different individuals weeks apart", Montgomery said, prompting laughter in the court, much to the discomfiture of representatives of the Indian government. "Much evidence suggests that officers, in this case, have not behaved in a reliable manner. For instance, they have completely failed to reveal to the court the background of how the lending was approved by various banks, have submitted misleading statements, pro-forma statements and statements that were false", Montgomery said. She also pointed to a number of Indian law commission reports that have "unanimously" agreed that investigators often "project" their biases on to witnesses. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), arguing on behalf of the Indian government, has been asked to revert to the court by January 22. Also read: Indian jails overcrowded with poor hygiene: Mallya's defence lawyer The Delhi court on January 4 had declared beleaguered businessman Vijay Mallya a proclaimed offender for evading summons in a FERA violation case. Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Deepak Shehrawat passed the order after noting that Mallya failed to appear before it despite repeated summons. Mallya, who is undergoing an extradition trial over Rs 9,000-crore fraud and money laundering charges, will face a parallel litigation brought by 13 Indian banks to freeze nearly $1.5 billion of his assets. (With inputs from ANI)

Vijay Mallya's bail extended till April 2, concerns raised over reliability of evidence

A Russian accused of laundering $4 billion using Bitcoin digital currency has been ordered to be extradited to the United States by Greece&#39;s Supreme Court.

Alexander Vinnik owned an exchange for cyber currency and was accused of money laundering using cryptocurrency.&nbsp;

Vinnik was first indicted in July by an American court for charges involving money laundering, identity theft and facilitating drug trafficking.

He has been held in a Greek jail since his arrest on July 25 in the northern Greek tourist resort of Halkidiki.&nbsp;

Vinnik was also charged with receiving funds from the infamous hack of Mt. Gox -- an earlier digital currency exchange that eventually failed, in part due to losses attributable to hacking.

Although Vinnik denies the accusations, he has said he would accept extradition to his home country. Russia has also filed a demand to extradite Vinnik so he can stand trial on separate fraud charges while two Greek courts separately approved both extradition requests in October.

In Russia, Vinnik is wanted on separate fraud charges totalling 9,500 euros.

The final say on Vinnik&#39;s extradition now rests with Greece&#39;s justice minister.&nbsp;

Alexander Vinnik&#39;s BTC-e was founded in 2011 and became one of the world&#39;s largest and most widely used digital currency exchanges.

In addition, BTC-e &quot;was noted for its role in numerous ransomware and other cyber-criminal activity&quot;. It allegedly received more than $4 billion (3.4 billion euros) worth of Bitcoin over the course of its operation, AFP reported.&nbsp;

BTC-e was slapped with a whopping $110 million fine for &quot;willfully violating&quot; US anti-money laundering laws.

Vinnik has been ordered to pay $12 million by the US Treasury Department.

(With inputs from AFP)&nbsp;

Vinnik was first indicted in July by an American court for charges involving money laundering

A Russian accused of laundering $4 billion using Bitcoin digital currency has been ordered to be extradited to the United States by Greece's Supreme Court. Alexander Vinnik owned an exchange for cyber currency and was accused of money laundering using cryptocurrency. Vinnik was first indicted in July by an American court for charges involving money laundering, identity theft and facilitating drug trafficking. He has been held in a Greek jail since his arrest on July 25 in the northern Greek tourist resort of Halkidiki. Vinnik was also charged with receiving funds from the infamous hack of Mt. Gox -- an earlier digital currency exchange that eventually failed, in part due to losses attributable to hacking. Although Vinnik denies the accusations, he has said he would accept extradition to his home country. Russia has also filed a demand to extradite Vinnik so he can stand trial on separate fraud charges while two Greek courts separately approved both extradition requests in October. In Russia, Vinnik is wanted on separate fraud charges totalling 9,500 euros. The final say on Vinnik's extradition now rests with Greece's justice minister. Alexander Vinnik's BTC-e was founded in 2011 and became one of the world's largest and most widely used digital currency exchanges. In addition, BTC-e "was noted for its role in numerous ransomware and other cyber-criminal activity". It allegedly received more than $4 billion (3.4 billion euros) worth of Bitcoin over the course of its operation, AFP reported. BTC-e was slapped with a whopping $110 million fine for "willfully violating" US anti-money laundering laws. Vinnik has been ordered to pay $12 million by the US Treasury Department. (With inputs from AFP)

Greece SC orders extradition of Russian accused of laundering $4 billion using Bitcoin

Robert Vadra today dismissed<a href="http://www.wionews.com/videos/watch-mallya-extradition-hearing-confirmed-for-8-days-from-dec-4-6832"> Vijay Mallya&#39;s comment after the ex-boss</a> of Kingfisher Airlines said he was a &quot;political victim&quot;&nbsp;just like Congress chief Sonia Gandhi&#39;s son-in-law&nbsp;and Himachal Pradesh chief minister Virbhadra Singh.&nbsp;

Vadra said that he &quot;was a political victim&quot;, but never misused his&nbsp;position.

&quot;Yet again, I came across in the news, where somebody or the other is using my name as crutches, for their personal benefits... This time, none other than Vijay Mallya citing my reference&nbsp;in the UK courts. I would like to remind Mallya, yes I am a political victim, but I never misused my position and have full faith in my country&#39;s judicial system...I never ran away with anyone&#39;s money from the country like him,&quot; Vadra said.

Vadra stated that Mallya should think of coming back to India and face&nbsp;all the legal charges against him.&nbsp;

&quot;My piece of advice to him is please return to India and face all pending legal matters and to clear his dues to the people owed, and last but not the least, please avoid using my name, I do not wish to be associated with you in any matter,&quot; Vadra said.

Vadra has been under the scanner for alleged land deals made in Haryana when the Congress was in power for 10 years.

According to reports, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) said that rather than talking about the case, Mallya&nbsp;tried to distract the officials by stating unsubstantiated reports by the media.&nbsp;

Mallya, who fled to the UK in March 2016, is wanted in India for financial irregularities involving a total amount of Rs 9,000 crore as well as money laundering.

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false"><img alt="" draggable="false" src="http://s.wionews.com/photos/mallya-20171003115921.jpg" />
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Mallaya has been staying in the UK for over a year now. (Zee News Network)
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The businessman appeared before the UK court on Monday where his trial was confirmed for eight days beginning from December 4.

The ED and the CBI have given the necessary documents to the court for his plea against deportation to show that Mallya allegedly duped banks using forged documentation.

In his defense, Mallya said all the money was used for lawful business activities.

Mallya has also claimed that he was subject to 'inhuman jail conditions' and said that members of Congress party are targeting Vadra and Singh for political discord.?

Robert Vadra today dismissed Vijay Mallya's comment after the ex-boss of Kingfisher Airlines said he was a "political victim" just like Congress chief Sonia Gandhi's son-in-law and Himachal Pradesh chief minister Virbhadra Singh. Vadra said that he "was a political victim", but never misused his position. "Yet again, I came across in the news, where somebody or the other is using my name as crutches, for their personal benefits... This time, none other than Vijay Mallya citing my reference in the UK courts. I would like to remind Mallya, yes I am a political victim, but I never misused my position and have full faith in my country's judicial system...I never ran away with anyone's money from the country like him," Vadra said. Vadra stated that Mallya should think of coming back to India and face all the legal charges against him. "My piece of advice to him is please return to India and face all pending legal matters and to clear his dues to the people owed, and last but not the least, please avoid using my name, I do not wish to be associated with you in any matter," Vadra said. Vadra has been under the scanner for alleged land deals made in Haryana when the Congress was in power for 10 years. According to reports, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) said that rather than talking about the case, Mallya tried to distract the officials by stating unsubstantiated reports by the media. Mallya, who fled to the UK in March 2016, is wanted in India for financial irregularities involving a total amount of Rs 9,000 crore as well as money laundering. Mallaya has been staying in the UK for over a year now. (Zee News Network) × The businessman appeared before the UK court on Monday where his trial was confirmed for eight days beginning from December 4. The ED and the CBI have given the necessary documents to the court for his plea against deportation to show that Mallya allegedly duped banks using forged documentation. In his defense, Mallya said all the money was used for lawful business activities.

Mr Mallya, I am a political victim, but never misused my position: Robert Vadra

Former Orissa High Court judge I M Quddusi and five others have been accused of money laundering by the Enforcement Directorate be for carrying court proceedings in order to permit admission rights to a medical college in Lucknow.&nbsp;

Quddusi and five others were arrested on September 20 by the agency after conducting a thorough search.

Reports say that the findings revealed that Quddudsi and his associates had requested for Rs. 3 crore from the medical college - Prasad Institute of Medical Sciences, to get a favorable judicial order.

The five others arrested were B P Yadav and Palash Yadav, promoters of the medical college; alleged middleman Biswanath Agrawal; alleged hawala operator Ram Dev Saraswat; and Bhawana Pandey, Quddusi&rsquo;s alleged associate.

According to reports, the officials have said that it was their &#39;going rate&#39; and have also taken money from other people in order for them to get results in their favor.&nbsp;

The CBI and ED have found 80 phone interfaces where the ex-judge is heard speaking about the case.&nbsp;

The CBI has also recovered Rs. 1.86 crore cash and documents from Quddusi which are being investigated and looking into statements recorded by all the witness, reports stated.&nbsp;

According to reports, all the accused are out on bail. The CBI had reportedly questioned Quddusi twice after the bail and said that he allegedly got &#39;one installment of the gratification from the accused BP Yadav.&#39;

Conducting further custody of Quddusi and Yadav, the CBI has claimed that &#39;further interrogation would be required to understand how the gratification was paid, by whom and the means of transaction.&#39;

Quddusi&rsquo;s lawyer Vijay Aggarwal did not comment on any updates and accusations made against the ex-judge.

The CBI FIR alleged that two promoters of the medical college were prohibited from admitting students for two years, had approached Quddusi, who allegedly promised relief in exchange for bribes to influential people.

Reports say that the findings revealed that Quddudsi and his associates had requested for Rs. 3 crore from the medical college.

Former Orissa High Court judge I M Quddusi and five others have been accused of money laundering by the Enforcement Directorate be for carrying court proceedings in order to permit admission rights to a medical college in Lucknow. Quddusi and five others were arrested on September 20 by the agency after conducting a thorough search. Reports say that the findings revealed that Quddudsi and his associates had requested for Rs. 3 crore from the medical college - Prasad Institute of Medical Sciences, to get a favorable judicial order. The five others arrested were B P Yadav and Palash Yadav, promoters of the medical college; alleged middleman Biswanath Agrawal; alleged hawala operator Ram Dev Saraswat; and Bhawana Pandey, Quddusi’s alleged associate. According to reports, the officials have said that it was their 'going rate' and have also taken money from other people in order for them to get results in their favor. The CBI and ED have found 80 phone interfaces where the ex-judge is heard speaking about the case. The CBI has also recovered Rs. 1.86 crore cash and documents from Quddusi which are being investigated and looking into statements recorded by all the witness, reports stated. According to reports, all the accused are out on bail. The CBI had reportedly questioned Quddusi twice after the bail and said that he allegedly got 'one installment of the gratification from the accused BP Yadav.' Conducting further custody of Quddusi and Yadav, the CBI has claimed that 'further interrogation would be required to understand how the gratification was paid, by whom and the means of transaction.' Quddusi’s lawyer Vijay Aggarwal did not comment on any updates and accusations made against the ex-judge. The CBI FIR alleged that two promoters of the medical college were prohibited from admitting students for two years, had approached Quddusi, who allegedly promised relief in exchange for bribes to influential people.

Former Orissa High Court judge accused of money laundering by the Enforcement Directorate

Bangladesh&#39;s first Hindu Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha, facing graft and money laundering allegations, has resigned a month after he went on leave abroad amid a row with the government over a crucial Supreme Court judgement, a senior official said today.

Sinha assumed office on January 17, 2015 as the country&#39;s 21st Chief Justice. He is scheduled to retire on January 31 next.

&quot;His&nbsp;resignation letter has reached Bangabhaban (presidential palace),&quot; President&#39;s press secretary Joynal Abedin said&nbsp;without elaborating, but legal experts said this confirmation meant that Sinha has quit his office.

Officials familiar with the development said, Sinha submitted his resignation letter to Bangladesh Embassy in Singapore on the last day of his month-long leave yesterday, where he had gone for medical checkups.

On October 13, he had left Dhaka for Australia on a private tour amid reports that the government was upset with him over his decision to scrap parliament&#39;s authority in impeaching Supreme Court (SC) judges.

Before his departure, Sinha had said that he was &#39;embarrassed&#39;&nbsp;over the controversy surrounding his July ruling.

&quot;I am the guardian of the judiciary, in the interest of the judiciary, I am leaving temporarily so that its image does not get hurt. I will return,&quot; he briefly told newsmen before leaving Dhaka.

Row with the government and the higher judiciary started in July this year when the apex court declared as void the 16th constitutional amendment, scrapping Parliament&#39;s authority in impeaching SC judges.

The dispute grew in the subsequent weeks as many ministers attacked Sinha for slamming the government for reactions over the verdict, and cited Pakistan&#39;s example where Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was stripped of the premiership following an apex court ruling.

Before leaving home, Sinha said he &#39;firmly believes&#39;&nbsp;that his stance over the verdict was misinterpreted to the government, upsetting Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina but expected her to realise soon the fact.

A day after his departure, the Supreme Court issued a statement saying that other judges of the apex court had decided not to sit in the bench with Sinha over allegations of &#39;grave&#39;&nbsp;graft and moral lapses, brought to their notice by President Abdul Hamid.

&quot;This written statement&nbsp; is misleading,&quot; a Supreme Court statement said, adding that President Hamid on September 30, invited all the five apex court judges to Bangabhaban, barring the chief justice, and handed over to them &#39;evidences of 11 specific allegations&#39;&nbsp;against Sinha.

It said the allegations included some grave charges like money laundering, financial irregularities, corruption and moral lapses.

In unitary Bangladesh, the Supreme Court has two wings, the High Court Division and the apex Appellate Division.

According to the SC statement, all the five apex court judges held a meeting on the next day and subsequently met Sinha and sought his explanation about the allegations but &#39;didn&#39;t get any acceptable explanation or reply&#39;.

&quot;So all of them&nbsp;clearly conveyed to him that until the disposal of those charges it will not be possible for them to share the bench with him to deliver justice,&quot; the statement said.

Former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia-led main opposition outside parliament, BNP had put their weight behind Sinha while its standing Committee Member and former law minister Moudud Ahmed blamed the government for &quot;forcing&quot; him to quit.

&quot;Sinha&#39;s resignation day will be marked as a black chapter,&quot; he said accusing the government of &#39;smashing independence&#39;&nbsp;in the judiciary.

The President had appointed senior most judge of the apex court Abdul Wahhab Miah as the acting chief justice.&nbsp;

According to Bangladesh Constitution, if the chief justice&#39;s office becomes vacant, the next senior most judge of the Appellate Division will perform his duties.

Sinha belonged to ethnic minority Tripura community and since his appointment in 2015 he chaired the apex court in upholding death penalties of several leading perpetrators of 1971 war crimes.

Bangladesh's first Hindu Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha has been facing graft and money laundering allegations

Bangladesh's first Hindu Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha, facing graft and money laundering allegations, has resigned a month after he went on leave abroad amid a row with the government over a crucial Supreme Court judgement, a senior official said today. Sinha assumed office on January 17, 2015 as the country's 21st Chief Justice. He is scheduled to retire on January 31 next. "His resignation letter has reached Bangabhaban (presidential palace)," President's press secretary Joynal Abedin said without elaborating, but legal experts said this confirmation meant that Sinha has quit his office. Officials familiar with the development said, Sinha submitted his resignation letter to Bangladesh Embassy in Singapore on the last day of his month-long leave yesterday, where he had gone for medical checkups. On October 13, he had left Dhaka for Australia on a private tour amid reports that the government was upset with him over his decision to scrap parliament's authority in impeaching Supreme Court (SC) judges. Before his departure, Sinha had said that he was 'embarrassed' over the controversy surrounding his July ruling. "I am the guardian of the judiciary, in the interest of the judiciary, I am leaving temporarily so that its image does not get hurt. I will return," he briefly told newsmen before leaving Dhaka. Row with the government and the higher judiciary started in July this year when the apex court declared as void the 16th constitutional amendment, scrapping Parliament's authority in impeaching SC judges. The dispute grew in the subsequent weeks as many ministers attacked Sinha for slamming the government for reactions over the verdict, and cited Pakistan's example where Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was stripped of the premiership following an apex court ruling. Before leaving home, Sinha said he 'firmly believes' that his stance over the verdict was misinterpreted to the government, upsetting Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina but expected her to realise soon the fact. A day after his departure, the Supreme Court issued a statement saying that other judges of the apex court had decided not to sit in the bench with Sinha over allegations of 'grave' graft and moral lapses, brought to their notice by President Abdul Hamid. "This written statement is misleading," a Supreme Court statement said, adding that President Hamid on September 30, invited all the five apex court judges to Bangabhaban, barring the chief justice, and handed over to them 'evidences of 11 specific allegations' against Sinha. It said the allegations included some grave charges like money laundering, financial irregularities, corruption and moral lapses. In unitary Bangladesh, the Supreme Court has two wings, the High Court Division and the apex Appellate Division. According to the SC statement, all the five apex court judges held a meeting on the next day and subsequently met Sinha and sought his explanation about the allegations but 'didn't get any acceptable explanation or reply'. "So all of them clearly conveyed to him that until the disposal of those charges it will not be possible for them to share the bench with him to deliver justice," the statement said. Former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia-led main opposition outside parliament, BNP had put their weight behind Sinha while its standing Committee Member and former law minister Moudud Ahmed blamed the government for "forcing" him to quit. "Sinha's resignation day will be marked as a black chapter," he said accusing the government of 'smashing independence' in the judiciary. The President had appointed senior most judge of the apex court Abdul Wahhab Miah as the acting chief justice. According to Bangladesh Constitution, if the chief justice's office becomes vacant, the next senior most judge of the Appellate Division will perform his duties. Sinha belonged to ethnic minority Tripura community and since his appointment in 2015 he chaired the apex court in upholding death penalties of several leading perpetrators of 1971 war crimes.

Bangladesh chief justice resigns amid controversy

Muttahida Qaumi Movement founder Altaf Hussain has been charged with terror funding and money laundering, after Pakistani&#39;s Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) submitted an interim charge-sheet before the administrative judge of the Anti-Terrorism Courts (ATCs).

Hussain and others were booked by FIA&#39;s State Bank Circle earlier this month on the complaint of UK based businessman Sarfaraz Merchant.

The FIA had named MQM&#39;s Senator Babar Ghauri, Karachi Deputy Mayor Arshad Vohra, Khawaja Rehan and Senator Ahmed Ali as co-accused.

Investigating officer (IO) Mohammad Ali Abro named the MQM founder as absconder interim investigation report filed on Tuesday.&nbsp;

However, the charge-sheet does not mention the residential addresses of the absconding accused.

The co-accused have not been named in the charge-sheet, nor shown as exonerated of charges.

The administrative judge of the ATCs sent the case to ATC-II for formal trial.

The FIA said the co-accused sent money to the MQM founder through the Khidmat-e-Khalq Foundation (KKF), the party&#39;s charity wing and KKF was used as a source of illegal money transfer to Hussain. 
&nbsp;

Pakistani's Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) submitted an interim charge-sheet before the administrative judge of the Anti-Terrorism Courts (ATCs).

Muttahida Qaumi Movement founder Altaf Hussain has been charged with terror funding and money laundering, after Pakistani's Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) submitted an interim charge-sheet before the administrative judge of the Anti-Terrorism Courts (ATCs). Hussain and others were booked by FIA's State Bank Circle earlier this month on the complaint of UK based businessman Sarfaraz Merchant. The FIA had named MQM's Senator Babar Ghauri, Karachi Deputy Mayor Arshad Vohra, Khawaja Rehan and Senator Ahmed Ali as co-accused. Investigating officer (IO) Mohammad Ali Abro named the MQM founder as absconder interim investigation report filed on Tuesday. However, the charge-sheet does not mention the residential addresses of the absconding accused. The co-accused have not been named in the charge-sheet, nor shown as exonerated of charges. The administrative judge of the ATCs sent the case to ATC-II for formal trial. The FIA said the co-accused sent money to the MQM founder through the Khidmat-e-Khalq Foundation (KKF), the party's charity wing and KKF was used as a source of illegal money transfer to Hussain.

MQM founder Altaf Hussain charged with terror funding, money laundering

Pakistan&#39;s Karachi based Habib Bank on Monday shut down its US operations after the New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) accused the bank of &nbsp;&ldquo;grave&rdquo; compliance failures relating to anti-money laundering rules and sanctions.

Pakistan&#39;s largest Bank is facing upto $630 million fine by DFS but in a letter to Pakistan Stock Exchange on Monday, the bank said: &quot;The DFS is still not appreciating or recognising the significant progress that HBL had made at its branch.&quot;&nbsp;

The Bank felt the penalty was &quot;unjustified, capricious and unreasonable&quot;.

Xinhua news agency reported the Bank has decided not only to contest the fine in court but close its operations in New York with the DFS allowing it to submit a withdrawal operation.

The fine and the latest controversy is a big blow to the Bank which aimed to expand its US operations after spreading its branches in over 25 countries around the world.

The Bank founded in 1941 is Pakistan&#39;s first commercial bank. The bank was nationalised in the 70s and privatised in 2003 after the Aga Khan Fund acquired a controlling stake. Habib Bank expanded its operations in the UK in the 60s and opened branches in Mauritius, &nbsp;UAE&nbsp;and Zurich in the same period.

&quot;State Bank of Pakistan reiterates its determination to protect the interests of depositors and to protect the health and safety of the country&#39;s banking system,&quot; Habib Bank said in a statement.

The DFS said in a filing that its investigation had found that HBL held a US clearing account with Saudi&#39;s largest private bank Al Rajhi, which has been linked in the media and by the US Senate to al Qaida, AFP reported.

The regulator also found instances of &quot;wire-stripping&quot;, where a bank deliberately strips out information related to a payment, such as an originator or beneficiary, that may raise suspicions, AFP report added.

New York has imposed strict anti-money laundering regulations since 2015, and the DFS has pursued an aggressive enforcement strategy against foreign banks for anti-money laundering control lapses, these include Agricultural Bank of China, Mega International Commercial Bank of Taiwan and National Bank of Pakistan.

The Bank has made it to the Forbes Global 2000 list a number of times.

Xinhua news agency reported the Bank has decided not only to contest the fine in court but close its operations in New York with the DFS allowing it to submit a withdrawal operation.

Pakistan's Karachi based Habib Bank on Monday shut down its US operations after the New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) accused the bank of “grave” compliance failures relating to anti-money laundering rules and sanctions. Pakistan's largest Bank is facing upto $630 million fine by DFS but in a letter to Pakistan Stock Exchange on Monday, the bank said: "The DFS is still not appreciating or recognising the significant progress that HBL had made at its branch." The Bank felt the penalty was "unjustified, capricious and unreasonable". Xinhua news agency reported the Bank has decided not only to contest the fine in court but close its operations in New York with the DFS allowing it to submit a withdrawal operation. The fine and the latest controversy is a big blow to the Bank which aimed to expand its US operations after spreading its branches in over 25 countries around the world. The Bank founded in 1941 is Pakistan's first commercial bank. The bank was nationalised in the 70s and privatised in 2003 after the Aga Khan Fund acquired a controlling stake. Habib Bank expanded its operations in the UK in the 60s and opened branches in Mauritius, UAE and Zurich in the same period. "State Bank of Pakistan reiterates its determination to protect the interests of depositors and to protect the health and safety of the country's banking system," Habib Bank said in a statement. The DFS said in a filing that its investigation had found that HBL held a US clearing account with Saudi's largest private bank Al Rajhi, which has been linked in the media and by the US Senate to al Qaida, AFP reported. The regulator also found instances of "wire-stripping", where a bank deliberately strips out information related to a payment, such as an originator or beneficiary, that may raise suspicions, AFP report added. New York has imposed strict anti-money laundering regulations since 2015, and the DFS has pursued an aggressive enforcement strategy against foreign banks for anti-money laundering control lapses, these include Agricultural Bank of China, Mega International Commercial Bank of Taiwan and National Bank of Pakistan. The Bank has made it to the Forbes Global 2000 list a number of times.

Pakistan's Habib Bank under US scanner in money laundering case, faces $630 million fine

The CBI went to Delhi Health Minister Satyendra Jain&#39;s residence on Monday to quiz his wife in connection with the alleged money laundering case.&nbsp;

The Aam Aadmi Party hit back by accusing&nbsp;the federal government of &quot;vendetta politics&quot;.&nbsp;

&quot;Central government of BJP is misusing CBI for its vendetta politics. After Deputy CM Manish Sisodia, BJP&#39;s CBI raids on Minister,&quot; the party said in a tweet.

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&quot;Vendetta Politics Continues&quot; 
After CM Arvind Kejriwal and Dy CM Manish Sisodia, BJP&#39;s CBI raids Minister <a href="https://twitter.com/SatyendarJain">@SatyendarJain</a>. <a href="https://t.co/8Q8sT5srQn">pic.twitter.com/8Q8sT5srQn</a>
&mdash; AAP (@AamAadmiParty) <a href="https://twitter.com/AamAadmiParty/status/876690752406921216">June 19, 2017</a></blockquote>
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CBI had registered a preliminary enquiry&nbsp;against Jain in April. The Delhi minister is alleged to be involved in money laundering to the tune of Rs 4.63 crore while he was a public servant in 2015-16.&nbsp;

Jain has dismissed any wrongdoing after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) attached properties linked to him in the matter last month.

A preliminary enquiry is the first step by the CBI to gather information about allegations. If the agency is convinced that there exists prima facie material in the matter, it may register a regular case against the accused.

Allegations against Jain also include purported money laundering to the tune of Rs 11.78 crore during between 2010 and 2012.&nbsp;

AAP has accused Narendra Modi's federal government of 'vendetta politics'

The CBI went to Delhi Health Minister Satyendra Jain's residence on Monday to quiz his wife in connection with the alleged money laundering case. The Aam Aadmi Party hit back by accusing the federal government of "vendetta politics". "Central government of BJP is misusing CBI for its vendetta politics. After Deputy CM Manish Sisodia, BJP's CBI raids on Minister," the party said in a tweet. "Vendetta Politics Continues" After CM Arvind Kejriwal and Dy CM Manish Sisodia, BJP's CBI raids Minister @SatyendarJain. pic.twitter.com/8Q8sT5srQn — AAP (@AamAadmiParty) June 19, 2017 × CBI had registered a preliminary enquiry against Jain in April. The Delhi minister is alleged to be involved in money laundering to the tune of Rs 4.63 crore while he was a public servant in 2015-16. Jain has dismissed any wrongdoing after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) attached properties linked to him in the matter last month. A preliminary enquiry is the first step by the CBI to gather information about allegations. If the agency is convinced that there exists prima facie material in the matter, it may register a regular case against the accused. Allegations against Jain also include purported money laundering to the tune of Rs 11.78 crore during between 2010 and 2012.

CBI questions AAP minister Satyendra Jain's wife over money laundering allegations

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday filed a money laundering case against four principals in connection with the Bihar topper scam.

After Bihar Arts topper, Ganesh Kumar failed to show any of his academic prowess raising speculation of yet another topper scam in the state, the Bihar School Exam Board Chairman Anand Kishore on Thursday gave a clean chit to the former while saying that no one can raise question on his merit.

Where around 65 per cent of the students failed the Bihar board, Ganesh Kumar topped from the Arts stream. He secured 65 out of 70 marks in the Practical examinations of Music and 18 out of 30 in the theory. He has secured 92 marks out of 100 in Hindi.

However, a meeting with him gives a different picture. Ganesh even failed to answer basic questions related to the subjects in which he secured the highest mark.&nbsp;When he was asked to play some instruments and sing a song, he seemed unable to play anything in tune.

Last year, scam in the&nbsp;Bihar&nbsp;Board was revealed after topper Ruby Rai, who secured 444&nbsp;marks out of 500 in the arts stream, was not even able to answer some of the basic questions related to her subjects in which she passed in.&nbsp;

(ANI)

After Bihar Arts topper, Ganesh Kumar failed to show any of his academic prowess, speculation arose leading the ED to file a money laundering case against four principals as yet another Bihar topper scam unfolds

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday filed a money laundering case against four principals in connection with the Bihar topper scam. After Bihar Arts topper, Ganesh Kumar failed to show any of his academic prowess raising speculation of yet another topper scam in the state, the Bihar School Exam Board Chairman Anand Kishore on Thursday gave a clean chit to the former while saying that no one can raise question on his merit. Where around 65 per cent of the students failed the Bihar board, Ganesh Kumar topped from the Arts stream. He secured 65 out of 70 marks in the Practical examinations of Music and 18 out of 30 in the theory. He has secured 92 marks out of 100 in Hindi. However, a meeting with him gives a different picture. Ganesh even failed to answer basic questions related to the subjects in which he secured the highest mark. When he was asked to play some instruments and sing a song, he seemed unable to play anything in tune. Last year, scam in the Bihar Board was revealed after topper Ruby Rai, who secured 444 marks out of 500 in the arts stream, was not even able to answer some of the basic questions related to her subjects in which she passed in. (ANI)

Bihar topper scam: Money laundering case filed against 4 principals

A special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court will on Wednesday continue to hear the Enforcement Directorate`s arguments over issuance of non-bailable warrant against founder of Islamic Research Foundation (IRF) Zakir Naik.

Tightening the noose on Naik, the Enforcement Directorate ( ED) on Monday yesterday approached the court over the same.

The move comes in the wake of Naik failing to appear before the agency despite being issued four summons.

The Enforcement Directorate had last month provisionally attached properties of Naik-led IRF worth Rs. 18.37 crore under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, in the form of mutual fund, real estate properties and bank balances.

Earlier in November last year, the Enforcement Directorate had registered money laundering case against the IRF on the basis of FIR registered by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).

It was alleged that Naik and his associates are indulging in unlawful activities. It was also alleged that Naik promotes enmity and hatred between different religious groups in India through his provocative utterances.

During the PMLA investigation, Naik avoided all four summons issued to him.

The IRF, headed by Naik, moved a petition last year seeking directions against the ban imposed on it by the Central Government.

(ANI)

It was alleged that Naik and his associates indulge in unlawful activities and promote enmity & hatred between different religions in India

A special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court will on Wednesday continue to hear the Enforcement Directorate`s arguments over issuance of non-bailable warrant against founder of Islamic Research Foundation (IRF) Zakir Naik. Tightening the noose on Naik, the Enforcement Directorate ( ED) on Monday yesterday approached the court over the same. The move comes in the wake of Naik failing to appear before the agency despite being issued four summons. The Enforcement Directorate had last month provisionally attached properties of Naik-led IRF worth Rs. 18.37 crore under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, in the form of mutual fund, real estate properties and bank balances. Earlier in November last year, the Enforcement Directorate had registered money laundering case against the IRF on the basis of FIR registered by the National Investigation Agency (NIA). It was alleged that Naik and his associates are indulging in unlawful activities. It was also alleged that Naik promotes enmity and hatred between different religious groups in India through his provocative utterances. During the PMLA investigation, Naik avoided all four summons issued to him. The IRF, headed by Naik, moved a petition last year seeking directions against the ban imposed on it by the Central Government. (ANI)

Court to hear Enforcement Directorate's arguments on Zakir Naik

For a man who&nbsp;brags about his wealth&nbsp;Donald Trump has gone to great lengths to keep his financial&nbsp;status an absolute secret. Every presidential candidate for the last 40 years has published their tax returns. Trump has refused, over and over, and he and his team have repeatedly&nbsp;<a href="http://www.vox.com/2017/1/22/14351062/kellyanne-conway-trump-tax-returns">lied </a>about the reason for doing so (<a href="https://www.rawstory.com/2016/08/watch-eric-trump-flail-wildly-as-he-tries-to-explain-why-his-dad-wont-release-tax-returns/" target="_blank">his son Erik said, essentially, releasing his tax returns was inadvisable because it would&nbsp;subject them&nbsp;to public scrutiny</a>).

Donald Trump asked&nbsp;a foreign government to hack into an American politicians private emails&nbsp;on live TV&nbsp;before&nbsp;millions of people during the presidential debate, but publish one page of his&nbsp;tax return&nbsp;he threatens to sue.&nbsp;When nearly forced to prove his wealth, Trump has repeatedly declined.

While Trump did publish a&nbsp;financial disclosure form, required by law,<a href="http://thepoliticus.com/content/bombshell-trump-lied-his-financial-disclosures-has-massive-debt"> he made an immense lie</a>: The document reveals that companies he owns are $300&nbsp;million in debt, but actually a&nbsp;New York Times investigation&nbsp;determined that in reality this figure is more than twice as large, at $650 million. He is beholden&nbsp;to a wide range of financial backers, including ones he has criticised publicly.&nbsp;

Who funds Donald Trump, and what does this mean?

&nbsp;

A brief look at his Deutsche Bank history

To understand Trump, follow the money. This is inherently difficult, because Trump goes to enormous&nbsp;lengths to keep his money secret&nbsp;despite projecting&nbsp;the image of a&nbsp;self-made billionaire&nbsp;enriched&nbsp;by savvy&nbsp;deal-making.&nbsp;Really, his father was a New York real estate tycoon, handy when starting out, and for more than a&nbsp;decade Donald received money for&nbsp;putting his name on stuff <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/steveolenski/2015/11/24/donald-trumps-real-secret-to-riches-create-a-brand-and-license-it/#3fef3d0e26e7">other people produce</a>.

But what we do know about&nbsp;his finance&nbsp;tells us important something, and puts into sharp relief the importance of what we do not know.

American banks stopped lending money to Donald Trump in the late 1980s and early &#39;90s, around the time he declared $900 million in losses as <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/12/nyregion/donald-trump-atlantic-city.html" target="_blank">Trump casino-related businesses kept&nbsp;going bankrupt.</a> American banks considered him a major liability.

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<h5>On December 23, a few weeks before Trump was to enter the White House,&nbsp;Deutsche Bank settled,&nbsp;managing&nbsp;to cut&nbsp;the threatened $14 billion penalty roughly in half to&nbsp;$7.2 billion. Just yesterday, Deutsche Bank was fined another $690 million for its role in a &ldquo;mirror trade&quot;&nbsp;scam that laundered&nbsp;$10 billion, illegally moving the money outside of Russia.</h5>
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<div class="share-blockquote"><a class="twitter popup" href="http://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=On December 23, a few weeks before Trump was to enter the White House,?Deutsche Bank settled,?managing?to cut?the threatened $14 billion penalty roughly in half to?$7.2 billion. 


Just yesterday, Deutsche Bank was fined another $690 million for its role in a ?mirror trade?scam that laundered?$10 billion, illegally moving the money outside of Russia." target="_blank">&nbsp;</a></div>
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He was funded by Russian oligarchs, billionaires nearly overnight after seising for their own private wealth&nbsp;the state assets of the newly-collapsed former Soviet Union.&nbsp;The German Deutsche Bank also stepped in.

Last March,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/when-donald-trump-needs-a-loan-he-chooses-deutsche-bank-1458379806">The Wall Street Journal</a> reported that, just since 1998, Deutsche Bank has &ldquo;led or participated in loans of at least $2.5 billion to companies affiliated with Trump,&rdquo; not including one billion in loan commitments to Trump-related businesses.

Trump&nbsp;got into a large fight with Deutsche Bank when the US housing bubble burst in 2009.&nbsp;Trump tried to avoid paying back a&nbsp;$334&nbsp;million loan, saying the subprime mortgage crash constituted a &ldquo;force majeure&rdquo;, an unforeseeable catastrophe, like an act of god. He even attacked the bank,&nbsp;saying their lending practices played a role in the collapse--he sued them&nbsp;for $3 billion in damages. The bank sued him back, saying he issued&nbsp;a personal guarantee that he&#39;d pay $40 million in case his company couldn&#39;t pay them back. They were forced to negotiate.&nbsp;They settled, but the bank was soured on Donald Trump. &quot;He was a persona non grata after that,&quot; said a banker who worked on the deal, the Wall Street Journal reports.

This matters, because right now&nbsp;Donald Trump still owes the private arm of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-12-22/deutsche-bank-s-reworking-a-big-trump-loan-as-inauguration-nears" target="_blank">Deutsche Bank roughly $300 million.</a>&nbsp;And Deutsche Bank has had major problems lately.

From a November 9 Wall Street Journal post: &quot;Right now Deutsche Bank is facing a host of tricky issues in the US, including the threatened $14 billion penalty over mortgage-bond investigations that would seriously damage the bank&#39;s capital base. There is also a probe related to equity trades for wealthy clients in Russia, a country Mr Trump appears friendly towards. The bank [Deutsche Bank]&nbsp;declined to comment.&quot;

On December 23, a few weeks before Trump&nbsp;entered the White House,&nbsp;Deutsche Bank settled,&nbsp;managing&nbsp;to cut&nbsp;the threatened $14 billion penalty roughly in half to&nbsp;$7.2 billion.

Just <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/deutsche-bank-fined-about-630-million-over-alleged-10-billion-russia-money-laundering-scam-11930">yesterday</a>, Deutsche Bank was fined another $690 million for its role in a &ldquo;mirror trade&quot;&nbsp;scam that laundered&nbsp;$10 billion, illegally moving this&nbsp;money outside of Russia.

&nbsp;

Early, still releveant cause for&nbsp;fear

Regarding the settlement, perhaps the outgoing Obama administration wanted to get what they could while they could,&nbsp;fearing that a Trump administration would be more amenable to forgive Deutsche Bank, for something else in return.

Given that we know Trump was funded for years by<a href="http://www.dailykos.com/story/2017/1/9/1618540/-Was-Donald-Trump-bailed-out-of-bankruptcy-by-Russia-crime-bosses">&nbsp;Putin-approved oligarchs</a>, that his bank of choice is also connected in a major way to Russian money laundering stands out.&nbsp;

It&#39;s speculation, but the lack of concrete facts here is&nbsp;Trump&#39;s fault: &nbsp;The onus is on him&nbsp;to clear this up, which he could overnight.&nbsp;But given both his&nbsp;scandalous refusal to publish finance&nbsp;records his predecessors&nbsp;considered par for the course,&nbsp;and&nbsp;his absolute refusal to divest from his private business empire while serving in public office, nobody should expect sudden&nbsp;transparency.

The former CEO of oil giant ExxonMobil&nbsp;Rex Tillerson, just confirmed as&nbsp;US Secretary of State, worried observers because he opposed sanctions against Russia after Russia annexed Crimea, sanctions that were stopping his company from making at least<a href="https://www.rt.com/business/363131-exxon-lost-billion-russia-sanctions/" target="_blank"> one billion dollars</a>.&nbsp;

Experts believed&nbsp;Trump remaining in charge of a <a href="https://www.wired.com/2017/01/kim-albrecht-trump-data-viz/?mbid=social_twitter#slide-3" target="_blank">vast international business empire </a>put him in&nbsp;gross violation of the &quot;emoluments clause&quot; in the US constitution the very second he took office, and Russia&#39;s&nbsp;actions since have only validated fears.

&nbsp;

Recent reasons&nbsp;to worry: Trump and Igor Sechin CEO of&nbsp;Rosneft, Russia&#39;s state oil company

The notorious unverified dossier (adjudged serious enough that US intelligence briefed both then-President Obama and Trump&nbsp;on it)&nbsp;alleging&nbsp;Russia had recorded enough material on Trump to &quot;compromise&quot;, or blackmail, him also contained perhaps <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/carter-page-trump-russia-igor-sechin-dossier-2017-1">an even more important allegation</a>:&nbsp;Igor Sechin, CEO of Rosneft, Russia&#39;s state oil company, offered Trump-ally Carter Page a 19 per cent stake in the $130-billion&nbsp;company in exchange for lifting US sanctions against Russia.

Page was an early Trump adviser, who &quot;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/carter-page-trump-russia-igor-sechin-dossier-2017-1">took a leave of absence</a>&quot; after his trip to Russia came to light. The Trump campaign denied it ever worked with him, Business Insider reports.

Regarding Russian sanctions, Trump said: If you get along and if Russia is really helping us, why would anybody have sanctions if somebody&#39;s doing some really great things?&quot;

Just l<a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-russia-rosneft-privatisation-insight-idUSKBN1582OH">ast week, in &quot;one of its largest privatisations since the 1990s&quot;,&nbsp;Russia sold a 19.5&nbsp;per cent&nbsp;stake in Rosneft, and&nbsp;because of the&nbsp;highly&nbsp;opaque structure of the deal&nbsp;nobody knows who bought it</a>. Some commentators have&nbsp;noticed that the&nbsp;19.5 per cent&nbsp;sale looks like the 19 per cent alluded to in the unverified dossier, plus a brokerage fee.&nbsp;

A&nbsp;few days ago, the Kremlin escalated its attack on Ukraine with apparent confidence&nbsp;that the US president would not object.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Independence?

When Trump-appointed regulators deal&nbsp;with Deutsche Bank, will they&nbsp;advance&nbsp;the interests of the United States or the Trump Organization? Ditto for Trump and Russia.&nbsp;

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Must-read <a href="https://twitter.com/washingtonpost">@washingtonpost</a>: &quot;Trump is sworn in, rockets fall on <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Ukraine?src=hash">#Ukraine</a>&quot; <a href="https://t.co/GT8UeDoey0">https://t.co/GT8UeDoey0</a>
&mdash; John McCain (@SenJohnMcCain) <a href="https://twitter.com/SenJohnMcCain/status/826787097407344640">February 1, 2017</a></blockquote>
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Donald Trump&nbsp;campaigned on being an indepedently wealthy candidate unbeholden to&nbsp;interests. But he is keeping very large and important secrets. Just as he once was considered by&nbsp;Deutsche Bank, if he were to disclose what is really going on, many current&nbsp;supporters would likely change their mind&nbsp;and also consider Trump&nbsp;a&nbsp;&quot;persona non grata&quot;.&nbsp;&nbsp;

(WION)

Trump has received funding from Russia, which is now amping up war in Ukraine, and Deutsche Bank, guilty lately of major financial crimes

For a man who brags about his wealth Donald Trump has gone to great lengths to keep his financial status an absolute secret. Every presidential candidate for the last 40 years has published their tax returns. Trump has refused, over and over, and he and his team have repeatedly lied about the reason for doing so (his son Erik said, essentially, releasing his tax returns was inadvisable because it would subject them to public scrutiny). Donald Trump asked a foreign government to hack into an American politicians private emails on live TV before millions of people during the presidential debate, but publish one page of his tax return he threatens to sue. When nearly forced to prove his wealth, Trump has repeatedly declined. While Trump did publish a financial disclosure form, required by law, he made an immense lie: The document reveals that companies he owns are $300 million in debt, but actually a New York Times investigation determined that in reality this figure is more than twice as large, at $650 million. He is beholden to a wide range of financial backers, including ones he has criticised publicly. Who funds Donald Trump, and what does this mean? A brief look at his Deutsche Bank history To understand Trump, follow the money. This is inherently difficult, because Trump goes to enormous lengths to keep his money secret despite projecting the image of a self-made billionaire enriched by savvy deal-making. Really, his father was a New York real estate tycoon, handy when starting out, and for more than a decade Donald received money for putting his name on stuff other people produce. But what we do know about his finance tells us important something, and puts into sharp relief the importance of what we do not know. American banks stopped lending money to Donald Trump in the late 1980s and early '90s, around the time he declared $900 million in losses as Trump casino-related businesses kept going bankrupt. American banks considered him a major liability. On December 23, a few weeks before Trump was to enter the White House, Deutsche Bank settled, managing to cut the threatened $14 billion penalty roughly in half to $7.2 billion. Just yesterday, Deutsche Bank was fined another $690 million for its role in a “mirror trade" scam that laundered $10 billion, illegally moving the money outside of Russia. × He was funded by Russian oligarchs, billionaires nearly overnight after seising for their own private wealth the state assets of the newly-collapsed former Soviet Union. The German Deutsche Bank also stepped in. Last March, The Wall Street Journal reported that, just since 1998, Deutsche Bank has “led or participated in loans of at least $2.5 billion to companies affiliated with Trump,” not including one billion in loan commitments to Trump-related businesses. Trump got into a large fight with Deutsche Bank when the US housing bubble burst in 2009. Trump tried to avoid paying back a $334 million loan, saying the subprime mortgage crash constituted a “force majeure”, an unforeseeable catastrophe, like an act of god. He even attacked the bank, saying their lending practices played a role in the collapse--he sued them for $3 billion in damages. The bank sued him back, saying he issued a personal guarantee that he'd pay $40 million in case his company couldn't pay them back. They were forced to negotiate. They settled, but the bank was soured on Donald Trump. "He was a persona non grata after that," said a banker who worked on the deal, the Wall Street Journal reports. This matters, because right now Donald Trump still owes the private arm of Deutsche Bank roughly $300 million. And Deutsche Bank has had major problems lately. From a November 9 Wall Street Journal post: "Right now Deutsche Bank is facing a host of tricky issues in the US, including the threatened $14 billion penalty over mortgage-bond investigations that would seriously damage the bank's capital base. There is also a probe related to equity trades for wealthy clients in Russia, a country Mr Trump appears friendly towards. The bank [Deutsche Bank] declined to comment." On December 23, a few weeks before Trump entered the White House, Deutsche Bank settled, managing to cut the threatened $14 billion penalty roughly in half to $7.2 billion. Just yesterday, Deutsche Bank was fined another $690 million for its role in a “mirror trade" scam that laundered $10 billion, illegally moving this money outside of Russia. Early, still releveant cause for fear Regarding the settlement, perhaps the outgoing Obama administration wanted to get what they could while they could, fearing that a Trump administration would be more amenable to forgive Deutsche Bank, for something else in return. Given that we know Trump was funded for years by Putin-approved oligarchs, that his bank of choice is also connected in a major way to Russian money laundering stands out. It's speculation, but the lack of concrete facts here is Trump's fault: The onus is on him to clear this up, which he could overnight. But given both his scandalous refusal to publish finance records his predecessors considered par for the course, and his absolute refusal to divest from his private business empire while serving in public office, nobody should expect sudden transparency. The former CEO of oil giant ExxonMobil Rex Tillerson, just confirmed as US Secretary of State, worried observers because he opposed sanctions against Russia after Russia annexed Crimea, sanctions that were stopping his company from making at least one billion dollars. Experts believed Trump remaining in charge of a vast international business empire put him in gross violation of the "emoluments clause" in the US constitution the very second he took office, and Russia's actions since have only validated fears. Recent reasons to worry: Trump and Igor Sechin CEO of Rosneft, Russia's state oil company The notorious unverified dossier (adjudged serious enough that US intelligence briefed both then-President Obama and Trump on it) alleging Russia had recorded enough material on Trump to "compromise", or blackmail, him also contained perhaps an even more important allegation: Igor Sechin, CEO of Rosneft, Russia's state oil company, offered Trump-ally Carter Page a 19 per cent stake in the $130-billion company in exchange for lifting US sanctions against Russia. Page was an early Trump adviser, who "took a leave of absence" after his trip to Russia came to light. The Trump campaign denied it ever worked with him, Business Insider reports. Regarding Russian sanctions, Trump said: If you get along and if Russia is really helping us, why would anybody have sanctions if somebody's doing some really great things?" Just last week, in "one of its largest privatisations since the 1990s", Russia sold a 19.5 per cent stake in Rosneft, and because of the highly opaque structure of the deal nobody knows who bought it. Some commentators have noticed that the 19.5 per cent sale looks like the 19 per cent alluded to in the unverified dossier, plus a brokerage fee. A few days ago, the Kremlin escalated its attack on Ukraine with apparent confidence that the US president would not object. Independence? When Trump-appointed regulators deal with Deutsche Bank, will they advance the interests of the United States or the Trump Organization? Ditto for Trump and Russia. Must-read @washingtonpost: "Trump is sworn in, rockets fall on #Ukraine" https://t.co/GT8UeDoey0 — John McCain (@SenJohnMcCain) February 1, 2017 × Donald Trump campaigned on being an indepedently wealthy candidate unbeholden to interests. But he is keeping very large and important secrets. Just as he once was considered by Deutsche Bank, if he were to disclose what is really going on, many current supporters would likely change their mind and also consider Trump a "persona non grata". (WION)

Analysis: Trump, Russia and Deutsche Bank?Links that raise many, many questions

After India&#39;s Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has now registered a money laundering case to probe the alleged payment of USD 5.7 million kickbacks in the 2008 Embraer aircraft deal.

Officials said the agency has filed a criminal complaint under provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) based on a CBI FIR filed in this case last month.

They said the agency will now begin issuing summons to the accused.

The CBI had booked NRI arms dealer Vipin Khanna and two companies - Brazil-based Embraer and Singapore-based Interdev Pte Ltd--over alleged payment of commission in the aircraft deal with Embraer worth USD 210 million.

It is alleged that the kickbacks were allegedly routed from Embraer subsidiaries to Khanna through Interdev in three installments of USD 1.92 million each in 2009.

Sources had also said that it is alleged that the commission in the deal was routed through Austria and Switzerland.

A Brazilian newspaper had recently alleged that the aviation company had taken the services of middlemen to clinch deals in Saudi Arabia and India following which Defence Ministry had ordered an inquiry into the matter.

Involvement of middlemen in defence deals is strictly barred under the Indian law.

CBI had registered a preliminary enquiry in the case on September 16, 2016 at the request of DRDO to probe allegations regarding employment of an agent for facilitating the contract for Airborne Early Warning and Control System (AWACS) project for procurement of three fully modified EMB-145 Aircraft.

Embraer has been under investigation by the US Justice Department since 2010 when a contract with the Dominican Republic raised US suspicions, the report in Brazilian newspaper said.

Since then, the investigation has widened to examine its business dealings with eight more countries.

After the CBI Preliminary Enquiry (PE) was registered, Embraer had issued a statement saying: &quot;Since 2011, Embraer has publicly reported that it has been conducting an extensive internal investigation and cooperating with the authorities on investigations regarding alleged violations of the FCPA.

&quot;The company voluntarily expanded the scope of the investigation, systematically reporting the progress of the case to the market.

&quot;The company is not party of the legal proceedings in Brazil. Therefore, it does not have access to the information contained therein,&quot; it had said.

(PTI)

The ED seeks a probe in the alleged payment of USD 5.7 million kickbacks in the 2008 Embraer aircraft deal

After India's Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has now registered a money laundering case to probe the alleged payment of USD 5.7 million kickbacks in the 2008 Embraer aircraft deal. Officials said the agency has filed a criminal complaint under provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) based on a CBI FIR filed in this case last month. They said the agency will now begin issuing summons to the accused. The CBI had booked NRI arms dealer Vipin Khanna and two companies - Brazil-based Embraer and Singapore-based Interdev Pte Ltd--over alleged payment of commission in the aircraft deal with Embraer worth USD 210 million. It is alleged that the kickbacks were allegedly routed from Embraer subsidiaries to Khanna through Interdev in three installments of USD 1.92 million each in 2009. Sources had also said that it is alleged that the commission in the deal was routed through Austria and Switzerland. A Brazilian newspaper had recently alleged that the aviation company had taken the services of middlemen to clinch deals in Saudi Arabia and India following which Defence Ministry had ordered an inquiry into the matter. Involvement of middlemen in defence deals is strictly barred under the Indian law. CBI had registered a preliminary enquiry in the case on September 16, 2016 at the request of DRDO to probe allegations regarding employment of an agent for facilitating the contract for Airborne Early Warning and Control System (AWACS) project for procurement of three fully modified EMB-145 Aircraft. Embraer has been under investigation by the US Justice Department since 2010 when a contract with the Dominican Republic raised US suspicions, the report in Brazilian newspaper said. Since then, the investigation has widened to examine its business dealings with eight more countries. After the CBI Preliminary Enquiry (PE) was registered, Embraer had issued a statement saying: "Since 2011, Embraer has publicly reported that it has been conducting an extensive internal investigation and cooperating with the authorities on investigations regarding alleged violations of the FCPA. "The company voluntarily expanded the scope of the investigation, systematically reporting the progress of the case to the market. "The company is not party of the legal proceedings in Brazil. Therefore, it does not have access to the information contained therein," it had said. (PTI)

Embraer deal: India's enforcement directorate registers money laundering case

The United Breweries Ltd management said Vijay Mallya would continue as UBL chairman. 
 
The management sought legal opinion from Chug Yogendra Pal, a former chief justice of India. 
As per law, Vijay Mallya can continue as chairman, he said.&nbsp; 
 
The Press Trust of India quoted him saying, as of now, the Enforcement Directorate &quot;had not attached&quot; any properties and shares of UBL and Mallya, which does not disqualify him from the post of chairman. 
 
The Kingfisher mogul has a money laundering case against him and his associates. The ED issued its second attachment order for Mallya&#39;s assests worth Rupees 6,630 crore on September 5 and seized his farmhouse worth Rupees 25 crore, flats in Bengaluru worth Rupees 565 crore and fixed deposits of Rupees 10 crore. 
 
The Enforcement Directorate took over the investigation into the default of loan taken from nationalised banks, including the State Bank of India. 
 
The total attachment has gone up to Rupees 8,041 crore as the attached assets worth Rupees 1,411 crore was included. 
 
A provisional attachment order, issued under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, said it was confiscating shares of USL, United Breweries Ltd and McDowell Holding Company, jointly owned by Mallya and UBHL. 
 
The agency said the assets were &quot;proceeds generated out of criminal activity&quot; of the alleged default of bank loans as it claimed he had &quot;criminally conspired&quot; with Kingfisher Airlines and United Breweries Holdings to obtain funds from the banks. 
 
Of this total amount, the principal Rupees 4,930.34 crore still remains unpaid. 
 
(WION with inputs from PTI) 
 
 
&nbsp;

Since the Enforcement Directorate 'had not attached' any properties and shares of UBL and Mallya, it does not disqualify him

The United Breweries Ltd management said Vijay Mallya would continue as UBL chairman. The management sought legal opinion from Chug Yogendra Pal, a former chief justice of India. As per law, Vijay Mallya can continue as chairman, he said. The Press Trust of India quoted him saying, as of now, the Enforcement Directorate "had not attached" any properties and shares of UBL and Mallya, which does not disqualify him from the post of chairman. The Kingfisher mogul has a money laundering case against him and his associates. The ED issued its second attachment order for Mallya's assests worth Rupees 6,630 crore on September 5 and seized his farmhouse worth Rupees 25 crore, flats in Bengaluru worth Rupees 565 crore and fixed deposits of Rupees 10 crore. The Enforcement Directorate took over the investigation into the default of loan taken from nationalised banks, including the State Bank of India. The total attachment has gone up to Rupees 8,041 crore as the attached assets worth Rupees 1,411 crore was included. A provisional attachment order, issued under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, said it was confiscating shares of USL, United Breweries Ltd and McDowell Holding Company, jointly owned by Mallya and UBHL. The agency said the assets were "proceeds generated out of criminal activity" of the alleged default of bank loans as it claimed he had "criminally conspired" with Kingfisher Airlines and United Breweries Holdings to obtain funds from the banks. Of this total amount, the principal Rupees 4,930.34 crore still remains unpaid. (WION with inputs from PTI)

Vijay Mallya to continue as United Breweries Ltd chairman

Brazilian police said yesterday they had uncovered emails between detained International Olympic Committee (IOC) member Patrick Hickey and the British owner of a ticketing company they said masterminded a scheme selling Olympic tickets illegally. 
 
Police told a news conference in Rio de Janeiro that they were also investigating bank documents for evidence of money laundering linked to the illegal ticketing ring. 
 
Hickey, the former top European official at the IOC, was arrested in Brazil last week on charges that he took part in illegal ticket sales for the Rio Games, which ended on Sunday. Among the communications police said they found between Hickey and executives of THG Sports, an international sports hospitality company, were emails with Marcus Evans, the British businessman whose namesake company controls THG. 
 
In the emails, they said, Hickey and Evans discussed tickets that are at the heart of the investigation into the alleged scheme, which police said the ring planned to sell at inflated prices and earn as much as $3.09 million in profit. 
 
&quot;They had numerous contacts,&quot; said Aloysio Falc?o, one of the police investigators in charge of the case. 
 
At a news conference, police showed printouts of some of the emails, including one in which Hickey consults Evans about tickets and tells him &quot;you can use them all.&quot; 
 
Reuters could not independently verify the authenticity of the emails or reach Evans by telephone or email for comment yesterday. 
 
Lawyers for Hickey in Brazil and Ireland did not return emails or phone messages. 
 
In addition to Hickey, at least three other members of the Olympic Council of Ireland (OCI) are suspected of involvement in the illegal sales, police said: executive director Stephen Martin, secretary-general Dermot Henihan and treasurer Kevin Kilty. The men&#39;s passports were seized by police on Sunday and they remain in Brazil for questioning. 
 
A Brazilian judge also ordered the seizure of the passports of stand-in OCI president Willie O&#39;Brien, vice-president John Delaney, and an OCI personal assistant, Linda O&#39;Reilly. Those three people, however, have already left Brazil. A court in Rio de Janeiro said earlier on yesterday that no date has been set for a hearing for Hickey, who stood aside as head of the OCI and from all his other Olympic roles during the investigation. 
 
Hickey, a 71-year-old Irishman, is in a maximum-security Rio prison following a police raid last week at his hotel on suspicion he participated the illegal sales plot. Police say the scam in which they allege Hickey was involved was run through Ireland&#39;s official Games ticket reseller, Dublin-based PRO10 Sports Management. 
 
PRO10, Brazilian police said, was set up as a substitute for THG, effectively rerouting tickets originally intended for the OCI, and not meant for sale, to the other company. 
 
Although not an authorised seller of tickets for the Games, THG would then sell those it received from PRO10 through hospitality packages based around Olympic tourism, police say. 
 
PRO10 &quot;served to facilitate tickets for THG, so it could tout those tickets, disguised through hospitality services,&quot; said Ricardo Barbosa, another of the police inspectors. A director of THG Sports, Kevin Mallon, was arrested this month in Brazil and is now sharing a cell with Hickey in the Bangu 10 prison. 
 
PRO10 and THG have denied wrongdoing. 
 
Police say they seized more than 1,000 tickets from THG Sports in two separate raids in Rio. A judge has ordered the arrest of four more THG executives on accusations of fraudulent ticket sales at the Olympics. 
 
THG has said the seized tickets were being held legally on behalf of PRO10. 
 
(Reuters)

In the emails, Hickey and British businessman Marcus Evans discussed selling of tickets at inflated prices to earn $3.09 million in profit

Brazilian police said yesterday they had uncovered emails between detained International Olympic Committee (IOC) member Patrick Hickey and the British owner of a ticketing company they said masterminded a scheme selling Olympic tickets illegally. Police told a news conference in Rio de Janeiro that they were also investigating bank documents for evidence of money laundering linked to the illegal ticketing ring. Hickey, the former top European official at the IOC, was arrested in Brazil last week on charges that he took part in illegal ticket sales for the Rio Games, which ended on Sunday. Among the communications police said they found between Hickey and executives of THG Sports, an international sports hospitality company, were emails with Marcus Evans, the British businessman whose namesake company controls THG. In the emails, they said, Hickey and Evans discussed tickets that are at the heart of the investigation into the alleged scheme, which police said the ring planned to sell at inflated prices and earn as much as $3.09 million in profit. "They had numerous contacts," said Aloysio Falc?o, one of the police investigators in charge of the case. At a news conference, police showed printouts of some of the emails, including one in which Hickey consults Evans about tickets and tells him "you can use them all." Reuters could not independently verify the authenticity of the emails or reach Evans by telephone or email for comment yesterday. Lawyers for Hickey in Brazil and Ireland did not return emails or phone messages. In addition to Hickey, at least three other members of the Olympic Council of Ireland (OCI) are suspected of involvement in the illegal sales, police said: executive director Stephen Martin, secretary-general Dermot Henihan and treasurer Kevin Kilty. The men's passports were seized by police on Sunday and they remain in Brazil for questioning. A Brazilian judge also ordered the seizure of the passports of stand-in OCI president Willie O'Brien, vice-president John Delaney, and an OCI personal assistant, Linda O'Reilly. Those three people, however, have already left Brazil. A court in Rio de Janeiro said earlier on yesterday that no date has been set for a hearing for Hickey, who stood aside as head of the OCI and from all his other Olympic roles during the investigation. Hickey, a 71-year-old Irishman, is in a maximum-security Rio prison following a police raid last week at his hotel on suspicion he participated the illegal sales plot. Police say the scam in which they allege Hickey was involved was run through Ireland's official Games ticket reseller, Dublin-based PRO10 Sports Management. PRO10, Brazilian police said, was set up as a substitute for THG, effectively rerouting tickets originally intended for the OCI, and not meant for sale, to the other company. Although not an authorised seller of tickets for the Games, THG would then sell those it received from PRO10 through hospitality packages based around Olympic tourism, police say. PRO10 "served to facilitate tickets for THG, so it could tout those tickets, disguised through hospitality services," said Ricardo Barbosa, another of the police inspectors. A director of THG Sports, Kevin Mallon, was arrested this month in Brazil and is now sharing a cell with Hickey in the Bangu 10 prison. PRO10 and THG have denied wrongdoing. Police say they seized more than 1,000 tickets from THG Sports in two separate raids in Rio. A judge has ordered the arrest of four more THG executives on accusations of fraudulent ticket sales at the Olympics. THG has said the seized tickets were being held legally on behalf of PRO10. (Reuters)

Brazil police say IOC's Hickey discussed illegal ticket sales

German football legend Franz Beckenbauer will be probed by Swiss prosecutors for alleged corruption during the bidding process to host the 2006 World Cup.&nbsp; 
 
The World Cup winner is suspected of money laundering and breach of trust, according to German news website Spiegel Online.&nbsp; 
 
But the&nbsp;Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland (OAG) did not confirm whether they would investigate him for suspected money laundering.&nbsp; 
 
An OAG spokeswoman said more details will be divulged later in the day.&nbsp; 
 
Beckenbauer has maintained his innocence, although he admitted in 2015 that he made a mistake during the bidding process. But he said he didn&#39;t buy votes to help Germany host the 2006 World Cup. 
 
The 70-year-old was heading the organising committee responsible for Germany hosting the 2006 World Cup. 
 
In October 2016,&nbsp;Spiegel Online had alleged that German Football Association (DFB) had created a slush fund of 6.7 million Euros to buy votes during the bidding process. 
 
He is only one of two people in history to lift football World Cup as a player and a manager.&nbsp; 
 
(WION with inputs from agencies)

A German news website had recently accused the football legend of money laundering during the country's bid to host the 2006 edition

German football legend Franz Beckenbauer will be probed by Swiss prosecutors for alleged corruption during the bidding process to host the 2006 World Cup. The World Cup winner is suspected of money laundering and breach of trust, according to German news website Spiegel Online. But the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland (OAG) did not confirm whether they would investigate him for suspected money laundering. An OAG spokeswoman said more details will be divulged later in the day. Beckenbauer has maintained his innocence, although he admitted in 2015 that he made a mistake during the bidding process. But he said he didn't buy votes to help Germany host the 2006 World Cup. The 70-year-old was heading the organising committee responsible for Germany hosting the 2006 World Cup. In October 2016, Spiegel Online had alleged that German Football Association (DFB) had created a slush fund of 6.7 million Euros to buy votes during the bidding process. He is only one of two people in history to lift football World Cup as a player and a manager. (WION with inputs from agencies)

Beckenbauer to be probed for 2006 World Cup bid 'graft'

Paraguayan authorities got a surprise when they raided a Brazilian drug lord&#39;s jail cell and found a three-room luxury suite complete with library, kitchen, conference room and plasma TV. 
 
Jarvis Chimenes Pavao, considered one of South America&#39;s most dangerous drug traffickers,had been serving an eight-year sentence for money laundering at the Tacumbu prison in the Paraguayan capital, Asuncion. 
 
But little did anyone on the outside know what kind of lifestyle that really meant - until a powerful bomb was discovered inside the prison. Chimenes Pavao, who was due for release next year but facing extradition back to Brazil on drug charges, had allegedly planned to use the plastic explosives to blow a hole in the prison walls and escape. 
 
But his plan backfired when police poured into the prison to investigate and discovered his pimped out cell. The &quot;VIP cell,&quot; as it was known to prisoners, had three rooms with en suite bathroom, a kitchen and conference room, air conditioning, stylishly tiled walls, plush furniture and a library complete with a DVD collection to watch on the big-screen plasma TV, AFP reporters saw during a visit. 
 
The DVDs included the full collection of &quot;Pablo Escobar,&quot; a TV series on the feared Colombian kingpin who was killed in 1993, a hero of Chimenes Pavao&#39;s. 
 
Friends in high places 
 
The raid, which took place Tuesday night, has already shaken up the Paraguayan penal system. 
 
Chimenes Pavao&#39;s lawyer, Laura Acasuso, told reporters the corruption that enabled her client to turn his cell into a luxury suite reached all the way to the top. 
 
&quot;Six or seven justice ministers and six or seven prison directors&quot; took bribes from Chimenes Pavao, she said. Justice minister Carla Bacigalupo was sacked almost as soon as the scandal broke. 
 
Her replacement, Ever Martinez, vowed a crackdown. &quot;We&#39;re going to demolish Chimenes Pavao&#39;s cell and take measures against the prison directors who allowed this inmate to enjoy these privileges,&quot; he said. 
 
Chimenes Pavao has now been transferred to a cell in a police special operations unit. Among the 3,500 inmates at Tacumbu -- double its capacity -- many already say they miss him. 
 
&quot;I don&#39;t know what&#39;s going to become of us without him,&quot; said a fellow prisoner, who spoke on condition of anonymity. He said Chimenes Pavao was a generous benefactor who paid for a football pitch and chapel at the prison, as well as employing bodyguards among the inmates. 
 
&quot;He was the most loved man in this prison,&quot; said another inmate, Antonio Gonzalez. 
 
Like at many prisons across Latin America, most inmates at Tacumbu eat only irregularly and sleep on cardboard boxes or directly on the floor. Riots are common. 
 
&quot;It&#39;s miserable,&quot; said Josieux, another prisoner from Brazil. &quot;Two inmates died of hunger and cold&quot; in June, he said. Things were different for Chimenes Pavao, who was arrested on the Brazil-Paraguay border - a hotbed of smuggling - and is accused of ordering the killing of business tycoon Jorge Rafaat in the same region last month. 
 
To be transferred to the pavilion where he was held, inmates had to pay $5,000, plus weekly rent of $600, a former inmate, Osvaldo Arias, said in a TV interview. In return, they were allowed to use cell phones, the internet and receive visitors anytime, he said. 
 
&quot;He never said he was a saint,&quot; said Chimenes Pavao&#39;s lawyer. &quot;But he was completing his sentence and helping out with the money he earns legally through his companies,&quot; which employ 1,200 people, she said. She said her client paid for lodgings for prison directors, toilets for the guards, the renovation of the prison library and the cooks&#39; salaries. 
 
(AFP) 
&nbsp;

At least seven justice ministers and six prison directors took bribes from Jarvis Chimenes Pavao to turn his cell into a luxury suite

Paraguayan authorities got a surprise when they raided a Brazilian drug lord's jail cell and found a three-room luxury suite complete with library, kitchen, conference room and plasma TV. Jarvis Chimenes Pavao, considered one of South America's most dangerous drug traffickers,had been serving an eight-year sentence for money laundering at the Tacumbu prison in the Paraguayan capital, Asuncion. But little did anyone on the outside know what kind of lifestyle that really meant - until a powerful bomb was discovered inside the prison. Chimenes Pavao, who was due for release next year but facing extradition back to Brazil on drug charges, had allegedly planned to use the plastic explosives to blow a hole in the prison walls and escape. But his plan backfired when police poured into the prison to investigate and discovered his pimped out cell. The "VIP cell," as it was known to prisoners, had three rooms with en suite bathroom, a kitchen and conference room, air conditioning, stylishly tiled walls, plush furniture and a library complete with a DVD collection to watch on the big-screen plasma TV, AFP reporters saw during a visit. The DVDs included the full collection of "Pablo Escobar," a TV series on the feared Colombian kingpin who was killed in 1993, a hero of Chimenes Pavao's. Friends in high places The raid, which took place Tuesday night, has already shaken up the Paraguayan penal system. Chimenes Pavao's lawyer, Laura Acasuso, told reporters the corruption that enabled her client to turn his cell into a luxury suite reached all the way to the top. "Six or seven justice ministers and six or seven prison directors" took bribes from Chimenes Pavao, she said. Justice minister Carla Bacigalupo was sacked almost as soon as the scandal broke. Her replacement, Ever Martinez, vowed a crackdown. "We're going to demolish Chimenes Pavao's cell and take measures against the prison directors who allowed this inmate to enjoy these privileges," he said. Chimenes Pavao has now been transferred to a cell in a police special operations unit. Among the 3,500 inmates at Tacumbu -- double its capacity -- many already say they miss him. "I don't know what's going to become of us without him," said a fellow prisoner, who spoke on condition of anonymity. He said Chimenes Pavao was a generous benefactor who paid for a football pitch and chapel at the prison, as well as employing bodyguards among the inmates. "He was the most loved man in this prison," said another inmate, Antonio Gonzalez. Like at many prisons across Latin America, most inmates at Tacumbu eat only irregularly and sleep on cardboard boxes or directly on the floor. Riots are common. "It's miserable," said Josieux, another prisoner from Brazil. "Two inmates died of hunger and cold" in June, he said. Things were different for Chimenes Pavao, who was arrested on the Brazil-Paraguay border - a hotbed of smuggling - and is accused of ordering the killing of business tycoon Jorge Rafaat in the same region last month. To be transferred to the pavilion where he was held, inmates had to pay $5,000, plus weekly rent of $600, a former inmate, Osvaldo Arias, said in a TV interview. In return, they were allowed to use cell phones, the internet and receive visitors anytime, he said. "He never said he was a saint," said Chimenes Pavao's lawyer. "But he was completing his sentence and helping out with the money he earns legally through his companies," which employ 1,200 people, she said. She said her client paid for lodgings for prison directors, toilets for the guards, the renovation of the prison library and the cooks' salaries. (AFP)

Brazilian drug lord turns jail cell into luxury suite

The owner of file-sharing website Kickass Torrent (KAT)&nbsp;was indicted in the United States on Wednesday for copyright infringement related to the distribution of more than $1 billion worth of movies, video games, music recordings and other content, US&nbsp;justice officials said. 
 
Artem Vaulin, 30, of Ukraine, was arrested in Poland and US&nbsp;officials want him extradited to face charges that include conspiracy to commit criminal copyright infringement and conspiracy to commit money laundering, according to attorneys for the US&nbsp;District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. 
 
US&nbsp;officials alleged that KAT, which operates in about 28 languages, has a net worth of more than $54 million and illegally made available&nbsp;downloads of&nbsp;movies that were still in theaters such as &quot;Independence Day: Resurgence&quot; and &quot;Finding Dory,&quot; the complaint stated. 
 
The indictment stated that for financial gain the peer-to-peer file-sharing website, also known as Kickass&nbsp;Torrents, distributed since 2008 copyrighted works such as this year&#39;s film &quot;Captain America: Civil War.&quot; 
 
Justice officials and artists&#39; groups have gone after other websites that provided venues for file sharing, such as Napster and Megaupload. The founder of Megaupload, known as Kim Dotcom, is fighting extradition to the United States and has denied allegations that his site has cost film and record companies more than $500 million in revenue. 
 
&quot;Copyright infringement exacts a large toll, a very human one, on the artists and businesses whose livelihood hinges on their creative inventions,&quot; US&nbsp;attorney Zachary Fardon said in a statement. 
 
&quot;Vaulin allegedly used the Internet to cause enormous harm to those artists,&quot; Fardon said, adding that KAT relied on computer servers around the world due to efforts to halt illegal file sharing. 
 
There was no legal representation listed for Vaulin in any court docket, a US&nbsp;Department of Justice spokesman said. The company could not be reached through websites, which were experiencing outages, and there was no immediate response to a request sent to KAT through social media. 
 
One of the domains operated by KAT, Kat.cr, was the 70th most popular website in the world, according to monitoring firm Alexa. 
 
(Reuters)

US?officials allege KAT has a net worth of more than $54 million and illegally made available downloads of movies still running in theatre

The owner of file-sharing website Kickass Torrent (KAT) was indicted in the United States on Wednesday for copyright infringement related to the distribution of more than $1 billion worth of movies, video games, music recordings and other content, US justice officials said. Artem Vaulin, 30, of Ukraine, was arrested in Poland and US officials want him extradited to face charges that include conspiracy to commit criminal copyright infringement and conspiracy to commit money laundering, according to attorneys for the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. US officials alleged that KAT, which operates in about 28 languages, has a net worth of more than $54 million and illegally made available downloads of movies that were still in theaters such as "Independence Day: Resurgence" and "Finding Dory," the complaint stated. The indictment stated that for financial gain the peer-to-peer file-sharing website, also known as Kickass Torrents, distributed since 2008 copyrighted works such as this year's film "Captain America: Civil War." Justice officials and artists' groups have gone after other websites that provided venues for file sharing, such as Napster and Megaupload. The founder of Megaupload, known as Kim Dotcom, is fighting extradition to the United States and has denied allegations that his site has cost film and record companies more than $500 million in revenue. "Copyright infringement exacts a large toll, a very human one, on the artists and businesses whose livelihood hinges on their creative inventions," US attorney Zachary Fardon said in a statement. "Vaulin allegedly used the Internet to cause enormous harm to those artists," Fardon said, adding that KAT relied on computer servers around the world due to efforts to halt illegal file sharing. There was no legal representation listed for Vaulin in any court docket, a US Department of Justice spokesman said. The company could not be reached through websites, which were experiencing outages, and there was no immediate response to a request sent to KAT through social media. One of the domains operated by KAT, Kat.cr, was the 70th most popular website in the world, according to monitoring firm Alexa. (Reuters)

Kickass Torrent founder Artem Vaulin arrested in Poland,  US indicts him, wants him extradited

The eldest son of Sri Lanka&#39;s ex-president was arrested on a money laundering charge today, days after being named shadow foreign minister.

Namal Rajapakse was remanded into custody for accepting more than $500,000 from an Indian company, police told a Colombo judge.

Colombo Fort Magistrate ordered Rajapakse, a lawmaker from an opposition party faction loyal to his father, Mahinda, to be kept in custody until July 18 to allow the police&#39;s Financial Crimes Investigations Division to conduct their enquiries.

There was no immediate comment from the former first family over 30-year-old Namal&#39;s arrest.

The ex-president&#39;s younger son, Yoshitha, is already facing similar money laundering charges over dealings at his private television channel, Carlton Sports Network.

In April last year, authorities arrested Mahinda Rajapakse&#39;s younger brother Basil, who was a government minister under his sibling.

The ex-president and his relatives controlled nearly 70 per cent of Sri Lanka&#39;s national budget during his rule that ended in January 2015, when he was defeated at the polls by his former ally Maithripala Sirisena.

The new president has vowed to investigate allegations that members of Rajapakse&#39;s family siphoned off billions of dollars from the country during his nearly 10-year rule.

Local rights organisations have accused the government of not taking swift action to investigate corruption under Rajapakse. 
 
(AFP)

Namal Rajapakse has been remanded into custody for accepting more than $500,000 from an Indian company, police said

The eldest son of Sri Lanka's ex-president was arrested on a money laundering charge today, days after being named shadow foreign minister. Namal Rajapakse was remanded into custody for accepting more than $500,000 from an Indian company, police told a Colombo judge. Colombo Fort Magistrate ordered Rajapakse, a lawmaker from an opposition party faction loyal to his father, Mahinda, to be kept in custody until July 18 to allow the police's Financial Crimes Investigations Division to conduct their enquiries. There was no immediate comment from the former first family over 30-year-old Namal's arrest. The ex-president's younger son, Yoshitha, is already facing similar money laundering charges over dealings at his private television channel, Carlton Sports Network. In April last year, authorities arrested Mahinda Rajapakse's younger brother Basil, who was a government minister under his sibling. The ex-president and his relatives controlled nearly 70 per cent of Sri Lanka's national budget during his rule that ended in January 2015, when he was defeated at the polls by his former ally Maithripala Sirisena. The new president has vowed to investigate allegations that members of Rajapakse's family siphoned off billions of dollars from the country during his nearly 10-year rule. Local rights organisations have accused the government of not taking swift action to investigate corruption under Rajapakse. (AFP)

Sri Lanka arrests former president Rajapakse's son over money laundering

Hundreds of followers of an influential Buddhist leader in Thailand blocked investigators aiming to arrest the abbott on corruption charges at the Dhammakaya Temple north of Bangkok. 
 
The abbot, Phra Dhammachayo, 72,&nbsp;is accused of conspiring to launder money by accepting cash stolen from a credit union. 
 
The controversy over Dhammachayo, in part reflects more than a decade of divisive politics in Thailand, which has permeated all aspects of life, including Buddhism. 
 
Many of his supporters suspect he has been targeted because of perceived links to political opponents of the military-dominated establishment. 
 
Officials from the Department of Special Investigation (DSI)&nbsp;who turned up at&nbsp;Dhammachayo&#39;s Wat Dhammakaya temple complex found rows of followers sitting silently in the rain. 
 
&quot;We got in as far as we could, but were blocked by a group of devotees&nbsp;who, no matter what, would not let us get through,&quot; said DSI deputy chief police major Suriya Singhakamol. 
 
The failed bid to enter the wealthy and influential temple was broadcasted live on national television. 
 
Scores of riot police, who carried no weapons or batons, waited at a nearby government office but were not deployed. 
 
Suriya said a police search warrant was only valid until 6 p.m. (1100 GMT) on Thursday. 
 
He said he was &quot;confident&quot; the abbot remained inside the temple. 
 
&quot;This mission is not over. We still have the arrest warrant so the officials can still work with this warrant,&quot; Suriya added. 
 
Citing ill health, the abbot failed to appear at a police station to answer graft charges in May. 
 
The temple&#39;s spokesman said the abbott was still sick and he will not try to flee. 
 
&quot;Some of the devotees do not listen to anything and they insisted to ask mercy from the officials because Abbott Dhammachayo is still sick, and most importantly, he&#39;s not going to flee,&quot; said Phra Sanitwong Wutthiwangso, the temple spokesman. 
 
His followers reject the accusations against him, saying the charges are politically motivated because of the temple&#39;s perceived links with populist former premier Thaksin Shinawatra. 
 
Respected Buddhist monks are often seen as untouchable and many Thais would frown upon police entering a temple by force. 
 
But others say the repeated failure to arrest the abbot is further proof of Thailand&#39;s culture of impunity - the ease with which the rich and powerful can get away with nearly anything. 
(Reuters)

Buddhist devotees were found meditating in the rain as investigative officers entered the temple to arrest the abbot for corruption charges

Hundreds of followers of an influential Buddhist leader in Thailand blocked investigators aiming to arrest the abbott on corruption charges at the Dhammakaya Temple north of Bangkok. The abbot, Phra Dhammachayo, 72, is accused of conspiring to launder money by accepting cash stolen from a credit union. The controversy over Dhammachayo, in part reflects more than a decade of divisive politics in Thailand, which has permeated all aspects of life, including Buddhism. Many of his supporters suspect he has been targeted because of perceived links to political opponents of the military-dominated establishment. Officials from the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) who turned up at Dhammachayo's Wat Dhammakaya temple complex found rows of followers sitting silently in the rain. "We got in as far as we could, but were blocked by a group of devotees who, no matter what, would not let us get through," said DSI deputy chief police major Suriya Singhakamol. The failed bid to enter the wealthy and influential temple was broadcasted live on national television. Scores of riot police, who carried no weapons or batons, waited at a nearby government office but were not deployed. Suriya said a police search warrant was only valid until 6 p.m. (1100 GMT) on Thursday. He said he was "confident" the abbot remained inside the temple. "This mission is not over. We still have the arrest warrant so the officials can still work with this warrant," Suriya added. Citing ill health, the abbot failed to appear at a police station to answer graft charges in May. The temple's spokesman said the abbott was still sick and he will not try to flee. "Some of the devotees do not listen to anything and they insisted to ask mercy from the officials because Abbott Dhammachayo is still sick, and most importantly, he's not going to flee," said Phra Sanitwong Wutthiwangso, the temple spokesman. His followers reject the accusations against him, saying the charges are politically motivated because of the temple's perceived links with populist former premier Thaksin Shinawatra. Respected Buddhist monks are often seen as untouchable and many Thais would frown upon police entering a temple by force. But others say the repeated failure to arrest the abbot is further proof of Thailand's culture of impunity - the ease with which the rich and powerful can get away with nearly anything. (Reuters)

Devotees shield Buddhist monk from arrest in Thailand

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