by KS
UNITED STATES: One Cop in Breonna Taylor Case Indicted
After months of pleas and demands for justice, a step has finally been taken in the death of a black woman – but it might make matters worse.
On Sept. 23, former Louisville police detective Brett Hankison was indicted in the death of 26-year-old EMT Breonna Taylor. Hankison, who was fired along with officers Jonathan Mattingly and Myles Cosgrove after the incident, was charged with three counts of wanton endangerment in the first degree.
These charges however pertained to his firing of bullets into other apartments, and nothing as to the shots fired in Breonna Taylor’s apartment, where the shooting occurred. Penalties can include up to five years in prison, and as much as $45,000 in fines. Bail was set at $15,000.
Mattingly and Cosgrove were not charged, as Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron said that their actions according to Kentucky law were justified, as they were in self-defense against Kenneth Walker – Taylor’s boyfriend. The three cops executed a “no-knock” warrant to enter Taylor’s apartment upon suspicion of drug activity.
While the announcement of one officer being charged was better than none charged according to some, there was outrage everywhere else.
Attorney Ben Crump, who is representing Taylor’s family in the matter, posted on twitter, “Jefferson County Grand Jury indicts former ofc. Brett Hankison with 3 counts of Wanton Endangerment in 1st Degree for bullets that went into other apartments but NOTHING for the murder of Breonna Taylor. This is outrageous and offensive!
“If Brett Hankison’s behavior was wanton endangerment to people in neighboring apartments, then it should have been wanton endangerment in Breonna Taylor’s apartment too. In fact, it should have been ruled wanton murder!”
A curfew and limited access to the downtown Louisville area were put in place before the announcement in case of any unrest due to expected protests.
“Anarchist Jurisdictions”
The war between the Trump Administration and liberal cities has taken a turn for the weird – with the words “anarchist jurisdictions” added to the fray.
On Sept. 21, the U.S. Department of Justice identified the following three jurisdictions that have permitted violence and destruction of property to persist and have refused to undertake reasonable measures to counteract criminal activities: New York City; Portland, Oregon; and Seattle, Washington. The Department of Justice is continuing to work to identify jurisdictions that meet the criteria set out in the President’s Memorandum and will periodically update the list of selected jurisdictions as required therein.
The list was published on DOJ’s website in response to President Trump’s memorandum of Sept. 2, entitled “Memorandum on Reviewing Funding to State and Local Government Recipients That Are Permitting Anarchy, Violence, and Destruction in American Cities.”
“When state and local leaders impede their own law enforcement officers and agencies from doing their jobs, it endangers innocent citizens who deserve to be protected, including those who are trying to peacefully assemble and protest,” said Attorney General William P. Barr. “We cannot allow federal tax dollars to be wasted when the safety of the citizenry hangs in the balance. It is my hope that the cities identified by the Department of Justice today will reverse course and become serious about performing the basic function of government and start protecting their own citizens.”
In response to being dubbed “anarchist jurisdictions” the mayors of New York City, Portland and Seattle released the following statement: “This is thoroughly political and unconstitutional. The President is playing cheap political games with Congressionally directed funds. What the Trump Administration is engaging in now is more of what we’ve seen all along: shirking responsibility and placing blame elsewhere to cover its failure.”
This will likely result in a court battle. In the last case involving the holding up of funds, the Trump Administration lost in its bid to bar sanctuary cities from accessing federal money.
EUROPE: Money Laundering Exposed
Shares in European banks tumbled after news broke that many of them were involved in money laundering and other shady dealings.
Through many documents that were leaked from the U.S. Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), several banks were exposed for aiding money laundering by moving huge sums of illegal money for criminals and criminal activity. Among the banks accused are JPMorgan Chase, Deutsche Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, and Bank of New York Mellon.
There were other banks that shook Euro-stocks the most. HSBC, Société Générale, State Street Corporation, and Commerzbank AG, and China Investment Corporation were all implicated in FinCEN’s “suspicious-activity reports” or SARs. Over 2,000 SARs were flagged, but that is considered to be less that 1 percent of the entire catalog.
When approached about the leak, FinCEN stated that unauthorized release of any of its documents is unlawful, and can compromise investigations and put individuals at risk.
In all, the estimated total on the unethical transactions is at least $2 trillion U.S. dollars.
AFRICA: Two Arrested in Mask Fraud
Authorities in Nigeria have arrested two suspects who are believed to be behind a huge fraud scheme which nearly saw German health authorities pay EUR 2.4 million for masks they never received.
In March 2020, as a number of countries were going into lockdown due to COVID-19, health authorities were desperate to purchase protective equipment for medical staff. They contracted a procurement company to find EUR 15 million worth of face masks.
Despite being experienced buyers, company representatives were hooked by fraudsters and led down a path of referrals, fake emails and websites, extra fees and ultimately, no masks.
In a case coordinated by INTERPOL, financial crime and intelligence units and banks across Germany, Ireland, Netherlands and the United Kingdom raced against the clock to intercept a number of wire transfers and recover the down payments made to guarantee an initial shipment of masks.
Once the funds were secured, investigators continued working their way up the fraud scheme to dismantle the criminal group behind it.
Following arrests in the Netherlands, investigators identified a Nigerian contact who had planned to send EUR 500,000 from the UK to Nigeria. Evidence showed the man was in fact the mastermind behind the money laundering element of the scheme.
INTERPOL helped facilitate contact between INTERPOL National Central Bureaus and criminal investigation departments, and ultimately, a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) was sent to Nigeria from Germany prosecutors.
Nigerian authorities responded quickly, leading to the location and arrest of the mastermind and identifying his accomplice, believed to have opened a corporate account in Lagos to receive criminal proceeds from the scheme.
MIDDLE EAST: Hope for Yemen
The first ever direct talks between Afghan Government representatives and the Taliban which began on Saturday, present “a major opportunity” to finally realize the “long-held aspirations” of the people, for a peaceful future, the UN chief has said.
More than five years of war have “devastated the lives of tens of millions of Yemenis,” with experts estimating that up to one million may have been affected by COVID-19, the UN chief told the General Assembly on Sept. 17.
Secretary-General António Guterres informed a High-level Ministerial meeting, that there were more than 2,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Yemen, and with war having “decimated the country’s health facilities,” the need for a negotiated political settlement to end the conflict is more urgent than ever.
He recalled his personal attachment to the country, which dates back to his time as High Commissioner for Refugees.
“I will never forget the generosity of the Yemeni people in hosting refugees,” he said. “Since assuming the position of Secretary-General, I have constantly sought to do whatever I can to help find a peaceful resolution to the conflict.”
He noted that the war has not only brought State institutions to the verge of collapse but also “reversed development by decades.”
And despite initial expressions of support by the warring parties for a global ceasefire and Yemeni-specific truce, “the conflict continues unabated,” he said.
In recent weeks, the conflict that has persisted for more than five years between the Saudi-backed coalition supporting the internationally recognized Government, and the Houthi rebels formally known as Ansar Allah, has escalated.
“Airstrikes and ground clashes result in many civilian casualties, and Houthi drone and missile attacks on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia persist,” flagged the UN chief.
Moreover, more civilians were killed in August than any other month this year, with one-in-four slain and injured in their own homes.
Mr. Guterres echoed his call for all parties to cooperate without preconditions, in efforts to reach an agreement on the Joint Declaration, which is comprised of a nationwide ceasefire, economic and humanitarian confidence-building measures, and a resumption of peace talks.
The Secretary-General said that the military escalation between Houthi fighters and the army in Ma’rib – where more than one million civilians have sought shelter since 2015 – only serves to derail peace efforts.
He emphasized that the need to build on the UN-brokered Stockholm Agreement of December 2018, and the Saudi-facilitated Riyadh Agreement, which lays the groundwork for sustainable peace.
Mr. Guterres urged all parties to cease hostilities and reiterated the UN’s continued support in implementing the agreements.
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