Top official warns of ‘disturbing’ amount of Russian money laundering in UK January 25, 2021 One of the UK’s top officials in monitoring economic crime has today warned about the “disturbing” prevalence of Russian money laundering in London, claiming up to half of all money laundered from the country is done through the UK. Graeme Biggar, director general of the National Economic Crime Centre, told MPs today that it was [...]
Welcome to the Culinary Capital of the Caribbean January 25, 2021 The Cayman Islands is renowned for its food, be it fine dining or casual fare, such as freshly-caught fish fried on the beach. Help yourself to the decadent international wine list, or perhaps you’d like to try a Caybrew or the famous Mudslide – a take on a White Russian invented at the Wreck Bar, [...]
Alexei Navalny: Police arrest 1,500 amid protests over jailing of Putin critic January 23, 2021 More than 1,500 people have been arrested across Russia as protesters staged rallies in support of jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny. The Putin critic called on his supporters to protest after being arrested last weekend when he returned to Moscow for the first time since being poisoned with a military-grade nerve agent. Tens of thousands [...]
Navalny aide sent to prison to stifle tomorrow’s mass protests in Russia January 22, 2021 The press secretary for poisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has been sentenced to nine days in prison today following a police roundup of several opposition aides. Navalny aide Kira Yarmysh tweeted during her arrest today, saying that police threatened to break down her door while detaining her. Continuing to tweet from custody, she said [...]
EU Parliament calls for halt to Nord Stream 2 construction after Navalny arrest January 21, 2021 EU lawmakers are currently voting on a resolution that would stop the completion of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline in response to the Kremlin’s arrest of Alexei Navalny. It is expected that the resolution, which calls on the bloc to review its cooperation with Russia in light of Navalny’s arrest, will pass. “The European [...]
Alexei Navalny calls for UK sanctions against Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich January 19, 2021 Detained Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has called for the UK to sanction Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich and former Arsenal shareholder Alisher Usmanov if he is not released from prison. Navalny’s close associate Vladimir Ashurkov said today that Navalny had written up a list of eight Russian oligarchs that “he felt should be sanctioned if [...]
Dominic Raab demands immediate release of Alexei Navalny January 18, 2021 The UK has demanded the immediate release of Alexei Navalny after he was arrested at a Moscow airport yesterday. Kremlin critic Navalny was detained by police as he got off the plane on his first return to Russia since being poisoned last year. Writing on Twitter, foreign secretary Dominic Raab said: “It is appalling that [...]
Alexei Navalny detained after returning to Russia January 17, 2021 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has been arrested at the Moscow airport, after flying back to Russia five months after being poisoned with the deadly nerve agent Novichok . Local media has reported that Navalny was detained at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport “for multiple violations of his suspended sentence”. Navalny, who almost died from the poisoning and [...]
Is “Londonograd” hiding a culture of dirty tricks in banking? January 11, 2021 A legal dispute is coming to a head concerning an alleged banking fraud committed during the sale in 2016 of Vivacom the largest Bulgarian telecoms company. Vivacom, the largest Bulgarian telecoms company, was sold in August 2016 by VTB Capital Plc (“VTBC”), a UK-based investment subsidiary of the Russian state-owned VTB Bank, in a pledge [...]
When it comes to China, Europe is no longer America’s sidekick December 23, 2020 The largely unnoticed downgrading of US-EU ties is so important. Taken entirely for granted by a Trump administration uninterested in the high art of alliance management, when the US sheriff sets out to corral new rival China, it will do so without Europe unambiguously coming along as part of the posse. A recent series of [...]