Corruption | FinTelegram News

Category: Corruption

September 8, 2023

Ukraine Oligarch Ihor Kolomoysky Indicted Over Alleged Fraud Around PrivatBank!

Following his arrest a few days ago, Ukrainian oligarch Ihor Kolomoysky has been officially charged with suspected fraud in the PrivatBank scheme. The prosecutor's office said he is suspected of having embezzled funds from the bank amounting to more than €233 million. The prosecutor's office referred in its letter to the "former head of the Dnipro region" and beneficiary of the bank at the time of the crime in 2015.

September 7, 2023

French-Israeli Diamond Tycoon Beny Steinmetz Released On Bail In Cyprus!

FinTelegram and other media outlets reported last week that Israeli entrepreneur Beny Steinmetz was arrested in Cyprus on a conviction and arrest warrant in Romania. According to the court verdict, he was allegedly involved with Tal Silberstein and other partners in Romania's large-scale fraud and corruption scheme. He was sentenced to 5 years in prison. Steinmetz has now been released on bail in Cyprus.

June 12, 2023

Ukraine’s PrivatBank Sues Former Owners Over Epic Fraud! Alleged Collusion With President Zelenskyy!

Ukraine's largest bank, PrivatBank, has initiated a legal battle in England's High Court against its former owners, oligarchs Igor Kolomoisky and Gennadiy Bogolyubov, the Financial Times reports. The trial was postponed last year due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. PrivatBank is seeking $1.9 billion in addition to up to $2.5 billion in interest from Kolomoisky and Bogolyubov, who co-owned the bank until it was nationalized in 2016.

Corruption

June 12, 2023

Disgraced Former Scottish First Minister Arrested Over Suspected Abuse Of Donations!

On Saturday, Nicola Sturgeon, the former first minister of Scotland was arrested and questioned as a suspect by officers who have been investigating for the past two years what happened to more than £600,000 of donations to the Scottish National Party (SNP). She was then released. Sturgeon unexpected resigned in February. It follows the arrest and subsequent release of her husband, ex-SNP chief executive Peter Murrell, in April 2023.

May 31, 2023

Qatargate: Suspected Lawmaker Eva Kaili Asks To Return To EU Parliament!

EU lawmaker Eva Kaili, arrested five months ago as part of the Qatargate investigation into corruption allegations within the European Parliament, is now preparing to return to work. The Belgian prosecutor announced that she is no longer under house arrest. She allegedly asked to return to the EU Parliament. Kaili's lawyers confirmed that she can now resume her duties. However, travel restrictions still prevent her from attending plenary sessions in Strasbourg.

May 21, 2023

Interesting Report: Organized Crime Activities In Ukraine Before And After The Russian Invasion!

Ukraine was the center of the international cybercrime scene until the Russian invasion in February 2022. Many online brokers and boiler room scams were based in Ukraine. The Russian mafia had also established its network in the West through Ukraine. Russian and Ukrainian organized crime had established a powerful criminal ecosystem within Europe and controlled a profitable transnational smuggling network between Russia and Western Europe.

May 21, 2023

Lebanon Received Interpol Red Notice For Its Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh

This is a new and interesting situation around the never-ending issue of international corruption. Interpol Red Notice wants an acting central bank chief on suspicion of corruption. Lebanon's interior minister, Bassam Mawlawi, informed Reuters on Friday that an Interpol notice has been received for Riad Salameh, the country's central bank governor. Mawlawi stated that the notice would be followed if the judiciary instructed him to do so.

May 19, 2023

Worthwhile Read: The OCCRP Report On The Maltese Healthcare Corruption Affair!

FinTelegram brought the Maltese scandal surrounding the privatization of three hospitals and Vitals Global Healthcare (VGH) in early March 2023. Now OCCRP has picked up the story, reporting on the misuse of millions and the personal enrichment of the people behind VGH, including its former CEO, Sri Ram Tumuluri. Funds were also funneled to Joseph Muscat, the former Prime Minister of Malta. The Maltese corruption seems to know hardly borders.

April 16, 2023

New Book Reveals How Maltese Law Enforcement Obstructed Efficient Prosecution Of Pilatus Bank!

A book released in Malta by NGO Repubblika concludes that police officers investigating suspected money laundering at MFSA’s licensed Pilatus Bank were searching for justifications for the decision not to prosecute top bank officials. The author Robert Aquilina exposed how police officers discussed how to justify the decision by Attorney General Victoria Buttigieg not to prosecute Pilatus Bank's former top executives, Antoniella Gauci and Mehmet Tasli.

March 10, 2023

Seriously? State-Controlled Bank Of Valletta Co-Financed Malta’s €4 Billion Privatization Fraud!

The €4-billion privatization deal was the largest a Maltese government ever struck with the private sector. It ended before the courts. A Maltese judge rescinded the deal after finding it fraudulent throughout. The original concession for running three hospitals was given to Vitals Global Healthcare, which sold it to Steward Health Care. The Medical Association of Malta (MUM) has warned about the fraudulent deal signed in 2015 and co-financed by the state-controlled Bank of Valetta.

March 7, 2023

Corruption Is the Name Of The Legacy Game! SEC Order Against Rio Tinto!

In our cyberfinance environment, we are prone to navel-gazing and focusing on the dark side of cryptocurrencies, i.e., money-laundering or scam facilitation. In doing so, we forget that the legacy economy and finance is genetically driven by corruption and money laundering. One example? The U.S. SEC's latest order against Rio Tinto. The company has agreed to pay a $15 million civil penalty to settle the SEC’s corruption charges.

February 27, 2023

Corruption: Former Lebanon Central Bank Governor Transferred Embezzled $300-500M To Switzerland!

Who says that only the crypto industry has a problem? The FIAT regiment is much worse, including regulators. According to SwissInfo, Lebanese authorities charged long-time central bank governor Riad Salameh, his brother Raja Salameh, and his assistant Marianne Howayek with money laundering, embezzlement, and illicit enrichment. Salameh has been heading Banque du Liban (BDL) since 1993. He is the longest-serving central bank governor in the world.