Showing posts with label cash. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cash. Show all posts
Monday, October 21, 2024
Friday, July 14, 2023
Military Madness > Another Escalation in the war, another infusion of cash to war mongering oligarchs
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Another insane escalation in NATO/America's proxy war in Ukraine with Russia. Ukraine will not benefit from this madness, it will continue to be destroyed until it regresses back to the Middle Ages. The real point of this war is to use up the many inventories of war weapons in NATO and America so that the weapons-manufacturing oligarchs continue to get filthy rich.
In all the media stories about the almost daily movement of weapons from western countries to Ukraine, you never read about who is paying for these weapons. It is most likely that western tax-payers (read middle-class) are paying for this madness.
'A strong gesture': French delivery of SCALP missiles
to Ukraine marks shift in Western strategy
French President Emmanuel Macron announced on Tuesday that SCALP missiles, capable of striking the Russian army at long range, would be delivered to Ukraine. Western countries had previously been hesitant to fulfil Ukraine’s long-standing request for these weapons for fear of escalating the conflict.
Issued on:
4 min
French President Emmanuel Macron caused quite a stir when he announced the delivery of long-range SCALP missiles to Ukraine on Tuesday July 11, upon his arrival at the NATO summit in Vilnius. "This is a strong gesture," said Guillaume Lasconjarias, a professor at the Paris-Sorbonne University, military historian and former NATO researcher. "France is giving the Ukrainian air force the ability to better support the counteroffensive, and further inland."
This air-launched cruise missile was developed jointly by France and the UK, the latter of which has been supplying Ukraine with its own version of the SCALP, the Storm Shadow, since May. With a range of over 250 kilometres, it will enable Kyiv to reach Russian-controlled areas in the eastern part of the country. A French military source told AFP that the SCALPs were already in Ukraine.
From political risk to stealth
Until now, NATO member countries, including France, had felt that long-range weapons could represent a "political risk", according to Swiss military expert Alexandre Vautravers. "This type of weapon raised questions in the sense that the Ukrainians could use them to bomb critical infrastructure on Russian territory," said Vautravers. "The West thought that if the Ukrainians managed to target an air base, then they could target a hydroelectric dam, a nuclear power station or even Moscow’s Red Square."
But today, long-range missiles are seen in a different light. Since the SCALP missile has standoff capabilities – meaning that it can be fired from a safe distance away – it won't be dropped directly from the front line. "We should not assume that these weapons will hit civilian infrastructure situated 250 kilometres inside Russian territory," said Vautravers. "Furthermore, Russia’s anti-aircraft defence system is so effective that Ukrainian aircraft are forced to drop their weapons from 100 kilometres behind the front line."
This new weapons capacity will help the Ukrainians to continue with their counteroffensive. Such capability is "critical for Ukraine’s forces to disrupt Russian logistics as well as command and control", Ivan Klyszcz, a researcher at the International Centre for Defence and Security in Estonia, told AFP. Furthermore, SCALP strikes could help "with Ukraine's current approach, which is to advance slowly so as to protect its forces and reduce losses to the extent possible," said Klyszcz.
SCALP missiles can target bunkers and specific infrastructure behind the Russian front line, as they are extremely accurate. They are also difficult to detect, which means that the probability of the missile hitting its target is very high.
Kyiv has promised Paris not to use these missiles outside of its internationally recognised borders. However, those on France’s right and far-right political spectrum feel that this promise is insufficient.
Bringing Russia to the negotiating table
Long criticised for having maintained relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin in hopes of bringing a rapid end to the conflict, Macron has made a notable shift in stance since the end of 2022. Given that the French president continually expresses support for Kyiv, Vautravers says he is "not at all surprised by Emmanuel Macron’s announcement".
Nor is the delivery of such long-range cruise missiles a first. The British government supplied Ukraine with Storm Shadow missiles in May, and the Russians have already announced having captured one without destroying it. This means that Russian engineers are now attempting to copy its technology. Vautravers feels that the new missile deliveries are above all a publicity stunt: "France is under pressure, like many other countries. It is in a sort of race to see who can help Ukraine the most."
The aim of sending long-range missiles to Ukraine is to bring Russia to the negotiating table, according to Jean-Pierre Maulny, deputy director of the French Institute for International and Strategic Affairs (IRIS). "The Westerners want to give Zelensky all the means he needs to ensure the success of the Ukrainian counteroffensive," said Maulny in a televised interview with FRANCE 24. "They want to show Putin that this aid will continue over the long term, that they will provide unfailing support, and therefore that Putin cannot win this war."
The French army's SCALP missile stocks are estimated at 400 or fewer, depending on the source. Their unit price is €850,000, according to the French Institute of International Relations (IFRI). The number of missiles delivered to Ukraine has not been specified. The number "is quite significant, but keeps French stocks well above the capabilities we need for the defence of France", said a military source.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov announced in a press conference that France’s move was a "mistake" and that Russia would be forced to "take countermeasures" in its war in Ukraine.
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Friday, May 17, 2019
Record 12 Billion Rubles in CASH Seized from Arrested FSB Officer
Being a colonel in Russia's FSB probably pays well, but not that well!
Corruption is Everywhere - Definitely in Russian Police Services
Corruption is Everywhere - Definitely in Russian Police Services
FILE PHOTO. © Global Look Press / Silas Stein
Some 12 billion rubles ($185 million) in cash has been reportedly seized from an FSB colonel facing charges of large scale corruption – overshadowing the notorious case of Colonel Zakharchenko and his record of 8.5 billion rubles.
The piles of cash – literally – were discovered at three apartments belonging to FSB Colonel Kirill Cherkalin and, allegedly, to his allies, Russian media reported on Friday, citing sources close to the investigation. Aside from cash, a whole collection of luxury wristwatches and other treasures were seized as well.
The funds were allegedly provided to the official and two of his accomplices by various banks and other businesses for “protection.”
“We believe these funds have been received for a general ‘patronage’ from representatives of several commercial firms, first of all from directors of banks,” a source told Rosbalt.
On Thursday, Colonel Cherkalin, who has served as the head of the FSB department on cyber security in the banking sphere, was charged with receiving a hefty bribe of $850 thousand (some 55 million rubles) from a commercial firm. Cherkalin and his two accomplices – both of them are retired FSB Colonels – were arrested earlier this year and remain in custody by court ruling.
Col. Cherkalin resisted arrest and wound up with a broken arm.
If confirmed, the sum of 12 billion rubles will mark the largest-ever amount of cash, seized from a corrupt official in Russia. Prior to this, the dubious ‘record’ was held by police colonel, Dmitry Zakharchenko.
While holding a senior anti-corruption post, Zakharchenko managed to amass a whopping 8.5 billion rubles (some $ 131.5 million) in cash, allegedly extorting bribes from various businessmen. The hearings on the Zakharchenko case continue, earlier this week a prosecutor asked the court to sentence the former law enforcer to 15 and a half years behind bars.
Tuesday, July 17, 2018
Apparent Links Between Tamil Nadu's Chief Minister and Company Under Investigation for Corruption
What’s making AIADMK nervous: Links between raided SPK group and TN CM’s family
Raids at the SPK Group has yielded Rs 163 crore in cash and gold bullion of over 100 kg parked in cars across the state.
Dhanya Rajendran, Manasa Rao
The raids on SPK Group, a road contractor in Tamil Nadu, have come as a shock to the ruling AIADMK.
The Income Tax department says that they have recovered Rs 163 crore (about $24 million in USD) of unaccounted cash and over 100 kg of gold bullion on the first day of raids.
What has made the AIADMK and in particular, Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami, nervous about the raids are the alleged links between SPK Group promoter Nagarajan Seyyadurai and his family.
Seyyadurai’s SPK Group has won over many highway contracts in the last few years, and in March 2018, he incorporated a new company called the SPKAndCo Expressway Private Limited. His partner in this venture is none other than businessman Subramaniam Palanisamy, the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister’s son’s father in law.
Seyyadurai and Subramaniam Palanisamy have other business connections too. Both are directors in the Sri Balaji Tollways Madurai Private Limited. The company was incorporated in 2016 with Subramaniam Palanisamy as its director. In September 2017, Seyyadurai joined this company as a director.
The TN government’s Rs 200 crore contract for the four laning of the Madurai Ring Road, was awarded to Sri Balaji Toll Ways Private Limited in 2017. This is the same company that initially had J Sekar Reddy as one of its directors, but he resigned sometime in the recent past.
In a complaint lodged with the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption in June 2018, the DMK had alleged that many highway contracts were being given to the Chief Minister’s family and benamis. Incidentally, the Chief Minister holds the Highways and Minor Ports portfolio.
“P.Subramaniam, (in-law of Edappadi Palanisamy), P.Nagarajan (benami of Palanisamy) and J.Sekar @ Sekar Reddy are the Directors of this firm. Subsequently after this tender was awarded, through G.O. Ms No. 82, Highways and Minor Ports (HS.1) Department, dated 16.05.2018, an additional 18.57 crores was sanctioned for this project,” the DMK’s complaint reads.
The DMK had also alleged that the six laning of the Vandalur-Walajabad road, assisted by the World Bank, was awarded to SPKAndCo Expressway owned by Nagarajan and Subramaniam Palanisamy.
A government order mentioning this contract could not be found on any TN government websites. But if the DMK’s allegation is true, the question of how a four-month-old company was given a government contract persists.
A source in the AIADMK told TNM that the OPS and EPS factions were nervous about what plans the BJP (BJP is the ruling political party in India) had for their future. “The moment Amit Shah said that TN government was the most corrupt, some sort of action against the Chief Minister was expected. With these raids, his family’s links will come under the radar. What we hear is that the BJP is unhappy with both leaders,” the AIADMK leader told TNM.
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