Latest news with #shellcompanies
Wall Street Journal
5 days ago
- Business
- Wall Street Journal
Be Transparent About Shells
In 'Some Importers Look for Path to Bend the Rules' (U.S. News, July 15), Corinne Ramey makes clear that tariffs are only as effective as the U.S. ability to enforce them. U.S. customs officials will be hamstrung in their enforcement efforts without access to information about the true owners of anonymous shell companies. It is possible for foreign companies to set up American shell companies and import products into the U.S. Those firms, as the importers of record, are legally on the hook to pay tariffs. But, in some cases, these companies dissolve, enabling them to skip the bill and evade law-enforcement scrutiny.
The Independent
6 days ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Police arrest man accused of running ‘Westarctica' embassy from rented Delhi building
Indian authorities have arrested a 47-year-old man accused of posing as a diplomat and operating a bogus embassy from a rented bungalow in the suburbs of New Delhi. The property had luxury cars with fake diplomatic plates, doctored photos of the 'fake' diplomat with world leaders, and seals of imaginary nations, police said. The man, identified as Harshvardhan Jain, allegedly conned unsuspecting job seekers by promising overseas employment and lucrative foreign deals under the guise of ambassadorial clout. According to Sushil Ghule, a senior officer with Uttar Pradesh 's Special Task Force (STF), Mr Jain introduced himself as an adviser or ambassador to 'micronations' such as 'Seborga, Lodonia, Poulvia and Westarctica'. Inside the property, police uncovered an elaborate setup: international flags, falsified insignia of India's ministry of external affairs, and nearly three dozen fake seals from various nations. Investigators also seized four luxury vehicles fitted with counterfeit diplomatic number plates, around 4.5m Indian rupees (approximately £38,000) in Indian and foreign currency, and multiple forged documents, according to the Associated Press. Photographs recovered from the scene showed Mr Jain with political leaders, including prime minister Narendra Modi. Police believe the pictures were digitally manipulated. Authorities also accuse Mr Jain of using shell companies overseas to facilitate illegal money transfers and laundering operations. He now faces a range of charges, including impersonation, forgery, and possession of forged documents. According to India Today, he turned a rented bungalow in Ghaziabad's Kavi Nagar into the so-called 'Embassy of Westarctica'. The building had flags marking the micronations, luxury cars bearing fake diplomatic plates, and the interiors mimicked a real consulate. While Seborga is a town in northern Italy with a self-declared prince and a symbolic government, Ladonia is a Swedish nature reserve founded by artist Lars Vilks. Westarctica is an unrecognised Antarctic micronation. Mr Jain is said to have made up the name of Poulvia. Mr Jain was reportedly born into a wealthy marble-trading family in Rajasthan and studied business in India and the UK, according to reports. This wasn't his first run-in with law enforcement. In 2011, he was booked for possessing illegal satellite phones, with a case registered at Ghaziabad's Kavi Nagar police station, said UP Police senior officer Amitabh Yash.
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
⚖️Negreira case: Luis Enrique, Valverde and Laporta to give evidence
The anti-corruption prosecutor's office requested that Joan Laporta, the current president of Barcelona, Luis Enrique, and Ernesto Valverde, former coaches, provide clarification. The Public Ministry asks them to clarify the "reason for the payments" made by the Barça team to the "shell companies" of José María Enríquez Negreira. In the case of the tactical heads, they must explain whether they received reports on the match referees prepared by Negreira's son. And, obviously, if these had "real effectiveness in the planning of the matches." This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here. 📸 David Ramos - 2023 Getty Images
BBC News
16-07-2025
- BBC News
Dublin man Andrew Pender jailed over €9 million drugs haul
A man described by garda (Irish police) as a "major drug dealer" has been sentenced to 15 years in Pender, 52, was caught with drugs with an estimated street value of more than €9 million (£7.8m) and more than €1m in pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court on Wednesday to drugs trafficking and money court was told Pender was at the top tier of a Dublin drugs dealing network and was in full control of a multi-million euro cocaine, cannabis, ketamine, ecstasy (MDMA) and a money laundering network. When he was stopped on 19 July 2024 a small amount of cocaine and more than €9,000 in cash was found hidden in his car. Keys were also found for a drugs storage simultaneous follow-up searches, another €8.9m worth of drugs and more than €1.1m in cash were found in shipping container and a box van in a yard at The Ward in County Dublin.A stolen garda uniform with PPE equipment, epaulettes and a garda stab vest were also court was told that Pender used a van with a false wall operated by a hydraulic arm, while a car had a false floor under the seats, which were lifted using an electronic vehicles were falsely registered in other people's names. 'A highly sophisticated operation' Pender also set up shell companies in November 2021 as fronts for his drugs and money laundering branding was put on the truck to move the cash and drugs in Dublin and around the countryJudge Orla Crowe described it as a "highly sophisticated operation".She added that the fact an " entire stolen garda uniform" was found during searches was "chilling"."His involvement was highest possible level," Judge Crowe said."The cash was payment for the movement of drugs, there was no other person higher in the network". Garda Assistant Commissioner Paul Cleary said Pender was observed personally delivering large quantities of drugs to communities around Dublin, particularly in the north and west of the said the case was a very good example of how the gardaí targeted drug trafficking at all levels.
