Posted by Spoons on 20 Feb 2012 in Blog, Corruption, Cyber Crime, Organised Crime, Political Risk
Companies operating in the modern business environment face an array of ever more sophisticated traditional and contemporary threats. One of the most pervasive risks is fraud, which now constitutes an intrinsic component of a wide range of ever expanding criminal activity. Keeping abreast of the latest incidents in the world of fraud is, therefore, becoming an increasingly difficult yet essential part of both current and future operations. With this in mind, the Inkerman Group have created the ‘Fraud Weekly’ a new free email which offers subscribers a timely snapshot of the week’s most interesting and important developments. If you are interested in subscribing to this essential publication please contact marketing@inkerman.com
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Posted by Spoons on 9 Feb 2012 in Blog, Central Asia, Corruption, Organised Crime, Political Risk
It appears that a hunger strike which swept through Kyrgyzstan’s prison population, following a riot at a Bishkek holding facility on 16 January 2012, has all but come to an end. There have been reports that during the strike, as many as 6,000 of the country’s 9,000 prison population refused food, and as many as 2,000 sewed their mouths shut. Now that the action appears to have come to an end, rumours have been circulating as to the genuine reason behind the protests which officially came as part of a general demand for better living conditions for inmates. The most common recurring theory being that the inmates have been acting purely on the “orders” of organised criminals both inside and outside the prison walls. If true, this revelation highlights just how entrenched and pervasive organised crime is within the former soviet country and is a perfect example of how complex a challenge tackling it can be for the state.
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Posted by Josephine on 6 Feb 2012 in Africa, Blog, Corruption, Military Activity, Political Risk
As Nigeria’s Twittersphere is flooding with rumours over what the deadly Islamic militant group Boko Haram’s next target will be – the latest online whispers hint at a possible attack on commercial centres on Valentine’s Day – there are new indications that the feared group is ready to enter talks with the Nigerian Government. Boko Haram, or what is left of it following an apparent ideological split, is reportedly insisting on holding negotiations with President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration outside of Nigeria, with the likely spot expected to be Qatar. Jonathan has also hinted at entering into talks with the terror group. Following this news, as well as the recent high-profile arrests of key militant members and growing dissent within the Islamic extremist group’s ranks, analysts are asking: is this beginning of the end for Boko Haram?
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Posted by Spoons on 31 Jan 2012 in Blog, Central Asia, Corruption, Political Risk
Despite being labelled as one of the most untapped regions (in terms of energy sources) in the world, foreign investment from Europe within Uzbekistan remains low. Germany is currently the European country with the most involvement in the country, while the EU, as a whole is believed to make up only around 14% of all foreign investment. This figure, however, is becoming increasingly outstripped by the Chinese, who are already thought to be responsible for around 15% of foreign investment in Uzbekistan. This lack of EU investment is down to a confluence of factors. Although it has been argued that some of the blame lays at the feet of European countries for a failure to embrace much of Central Asia with the same enthusiasm as it has other developing economies, their tentative approach is understandable given the country’s questionable record on political and human rights.
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Posted by Josephine on 12 Dec 2011 in Africa, Blog, Corruption, Elections, Middle East, Political Risk
Pro-democracy activists took to the streets on 05 December 2011, in Rabat to protest what they considered were sham parliamentary elections. There was only one problem: barely anyone turned up. Although Casablanca, Morocco’s largest city, saw nearly 4,000 people stage protests the very same day, that number was considerably less than the tens of thousands seen in the past, and also pales in comparison to the demonstrations taking place elsewhere in North Africa and the Middle East. While the Maghreb has been swept up by a wave of mass demonstrations and conflict, with some, like Libya, leading to full-scale bloody revolutions, and others like Tunisia experiencing a relatively peaceful transition towards democracy, Morocco seems to have bucked this trend. To some this may be a sign of a shift towards democracy, however, underneath the façade of peace lies the truth: Most Moroccans want democracy, but have become so disenchanted by the country’s corrupt political process that they have largely avoided democratic participation.
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Posted by Spoons on 9 Dec 2011 in Blog, Corruption, Eastern Europe, Elections, Political Risk
When Russian voters took to the polls on 04 December 2011, to decide the shape of the lower house of the Russian Parliament known as the Duma, in what many regarded as a referendum on current Prime Minister, and expected future President, Vladimir Putin. If Putin and his supporters hoped, however, that the results would be a glowing endorsement of the Russian people’s adoration of not only his leadership, but his United Russia Party were soon dashed with the results illustrating that support appears to have fallen to just under 50% from the 64% of the vote the party received in 2007. The results are, however, not a complete shock to observers as there had been indications that the vote was going to see a significant fall in support for United Russia with a survey conducted by the Levada Center between 28 October – 01 November 2011, revealing that just 51% of Russians supported United Russia. What has been something of a shock is the reaction of some of the Russian people whose defiance in the face of what they have described as dirtiest elections since Putin’s rise to the Kremlin is considerable. Despite the noble intentions it becomes apparent that conversely rather seeing much needed changes to the Russian political and social landscape the unrest may result in an increasingly paranoid and openly authoritarian regime.
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