Displaying items by tag: mafia

For the second Friday running thousands of people protested across Slovakia against their government’s handling of a journalist’s murder and an end to high-level corruption, as talks between the country’s leaders failed to end a spiraling crisis that began in February. Slovakia’s cabinet is dogged by allegations of corruption and incompetence, and when investigative reporter Jan Kuciak was about to publish an article revealing links between senior Slovak political figures and Italy’s Ndrangheta mafia group he and his girlfriend were murdered. Slovak president Andrej Kiska, opposition parties and members of the ruling coalition are urging populist Prime Minister Robert Fico to call elections or overhaul the cabinet. He rejected the demands and accused Mr Kiska of conspiring with a liberal philanthropist to launch a ‘coup’ in Slovakia with the help of opposition leaders and national media outlets that are critical of the government. See  http://www.prayer-alert.net/europe-pa-site/item/10365-slovakia-press-freedom

Transparency International reported, ‘Unfortunately this week we were reminded again of the terrible risks facing journalists who report on corruption. Ján Kuciak, a Slovakian investigative journalist, and his fiancée were shot dead in their home. Ján had been investigating Mafia activity in Slovakia - including suspected links to the highest levels of the Slovak government. Police confirmed that his murder was most likely linked to his investigative work.’ This delved into the Slovakian ‘Ndrangheta Mafia, one of the world’s most powerful and fearsome criminal groups, which holds a dominant position in Europe’s cocaine market and many other criminal fields, including weapons trafficking, fraud, corruption, intimidation, and extortion. One in five of the journalists killed since 2012 were covering a corruption story. Research reveals that countries with the least protection for press and activists also have the worst rates of corruption. Progress against corruption globally is stalling.

An award-winning professor and author of four books on North Korea says that not only is North Korea’s current instability, violent attitude and weaponry, including missiles a threat to Asia, United States, key regions in the Middle East and Africa, but there is also the threat that North Korea’s collapse could unleash a variety of their military systems into the black market for sale to Iran and Syria. He, and others, believe that the two ways to contain this threat are tactical and strategic. A tactical approach would be an increased ballistic missile defence system providing a realistic umbrella against nuclear attack. The strategic way means going after banks and front companies globally where Pyongyang launders the dirty money it uses (much of it gained from military proliferation). It is important to note that when it comes to targeting North Korea’s dirty money there are mafia-like illicit financial networks in Singapore, Malaysia, Africa and China.