Shell

Russia
Moscow region hires Serbian private soldiers for imminent deployment to Ukraine

Intelligence Online has obtained details of a secret operation from Moscow in Belgrade to recruit nearly 500 Balkan nationals to fight in Ukraine.

Spotlight | United States
FBI alerted of Russian oil trader Niels Troost's secret US business interests

Troost has largely gone underground since being named in news reports as a key energy broker for Russia. He denies charges of sanctions busting or any illegal activities, but recently cancelled a trip to New York, according to a source.

Poland, United States
Poland negotiates offset deals for new US Apache and Patriot orders

Having become a logistics hub for allied reinforcements for Ukraine, Poland is also looking to beef up its own military firepower and is currently negotiating offset arrangements associated with its acquisition of US materiel.

Malaysia
Leonardo and Airbus wage battle for Malaysian skies

Competition for the helicopter market in Malaysia is ramping up with the arrival of a local newcomer backed by Airbus, which is upsetting the monopoly previously enjoyed by Leonardo's local partner, Weststar.

France
Bug bounty firm Yogosha's founders fight each other in court over cyber contracts in UAE

The French firm's co-founder Fabrice Epelboin and his former Moroccan business partner Abderahman Zohry are threatening to sue Yogosha before the ECHR. They blame the company, which is now run by its other co-founder, Yassir Kazar, for taking on contracts in the UAE.

United Kingdom, United States
Harvard law professor Matthew Stephenson retained by British embassy in Washington to monitor legislation impacting lawyers and advisers for oligarchs

The Establishing New Authorities for Businesses Laundering and Enabling Risks to Security (ENABLERS) Act, which would impact prominent players in lobbying, legal and corporate intelligence circles, will be reintroduced this year in Congress. British authorities are very interested in following the developments.

The Corporate Intelligence Village Voice
Goron to supplant MPP at LVMH, GEOS in El Salvador, Jones joins Alvarez, EU sets up sanctions helpdesk, banking lobby fights financial crimes in EU

Appointments, financial results, new contracts: each week, we report on events both big and small that matter in the global corporate intelligence community. This week, we go to Paris, Brussels, Basel and Washington.

Paris Goron poised to take over from MPP as LVMH provider

Basel/Brussels Anti-money laundering banking lobby registers in EU

France GEOS heads to El Salvador for the EU

Washington Alvarez & Marsal ropes in investigations star Kenneth Jones

Brussels EU forks out €4m to help small businesses do due diligence

The Intelligence Gazette
Syrian chemical programme, UK's Economic Crime Committee, Swedish StratCom at NATO, Pakistani ambassador in Kabul, Skopje and NATO, PLA in Taiwan

Appointments, reforms and the issues at stake: every Monday, Intelligence Online serves up snippets big and small from the global intelligence community from London to Stockholm, via Kabul and Skopje.

France/SyriaFrench company Smart Pegasus remains under sanctions for participating in Syrian chemical weapons program.

United KingdomOpposition MP's push parliamentary Economic Crime Committee project.

Sweden/LatviaSwedish anti-fake news agency shines at NATO's StratCom.

Pakistan/AfghanistanISI investigates attempted assassination of Pakistani ambassador in Kabul.

North MacedoniaSkopje intelligence chief learns the rope at NATO.

ChinaPeople's Liberation Army tests modern urban warfare techniques to hone Taiwan strategy.

Moldova
Moldova's anti-corruption drive buttressed by investigators and Western institutions

Private and public anti-corruption experts in Paris, London, Brussels and Washington are offering their assistance to the Moldovan Republic, which is eager to let its Western partners help wage its fight against graft.

Australia, China
GRACosway lobbies for Chinese raw materials giants in Sydney

The Australian consulting firm was recently contracted to help Chinese state-owned companies to get closer to Australian politicians.

Spotlight | France, Germany, Malaysia
Naval Group and Rheinmetall contracts caught up in Malaysian anti-corruption audit

Intelligence Online has seen the full audit report - not the redacted public version - on Naval Group's corvette sale programme to the Royal Malaysian Navy. The report focuses on financial dealings between the BNS shipyard and Germany's Rheinmetall Group, but a secret section looks at potential corrupt practices in ancillary contracts that followed the sale of submarines in 2002.

United States
Lawyers and investigators take on Johnson & Johnson in baby powder battle

J&J's high stakes baby powder legal dispute, which could cost it billions in damages, has mobilised an array of law firms, as well as intelligence and strategic communications firms.

Brazil, China
China's CCCC consolidates its position in Brazil with massive new investment

By backing CCCC's expansion plans in Brazil, the Chinese Communist Party hopes to create new opportunities for Chinese companies throughout Latin America. It also wants to test a new entryist strategy for getting into hostile markets.

Europe, North Korea
Pyongyang tries its luck in Brussels again

Driven by both a desire to gain a new diplomatic hold and a need for cryptocurrency, North Korea has been ramping up its efforts in Europe.