Dutch prepare to bring in new EU rules on airline passenger information

DutchNews, January 10, 2018

Justice minister Ferdinand Grapperhaus has submitted a draft law to parliament which will require airlines to hand over all their information about passengers to the military police. 

The information will go to a new police unit for analysis with the aim of tracking down terrorists and major criminals, the minister said. The new law stems from the European Passenger Name Record directive, which is now being incorporated into Dutch law. 

Grapperhaus expects the legislation to complete its passage through parliament before the summer. 

Information about passengers – including details about baggage, payments and addresses – will be kept for five years. It can also be shared with other countries, Europol and the regular Dutch police force.

Corruption 'embedded' in world athletics, says doping body

Yahoo – AFP, Damien Stroka, 14 January 2016

Athletics' governing council must have been aware of the corruption scandal, 

according to a new report by the World Anti-Doping Agency (AFP Photo/Gabriel Bouys)

Munich (Germany) (AFP) - A World Anti-Doping Agency report said Thursday that corruption was "embedded" at the world athletics body, piling pressure on its new leader Sebastian Coe.

The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) must have known about corruption orchestrated by its former leader Lamine Diack, and about doping in Russia, it claimed.

But Richard Pound, the former WADA president who wrote the report, backed Coe as the best person to lead reforms of the world body.

Despite that support Pound still produced a litany of accusations against the IAAF.

It was not tough enough with "several countries" including Russia, the report said, indicating that doping scandals were not limited to Russia.

Veteran Senegalese powerbroker Diack faces criminal charges in France over allegations that he took more than one million euros ($1.1 million) in bribes from Russian athletes and officials to cover up failed drug tests.

"The corruption was embedded in the organisation," Pound said in a damning comment on the IAAF's handling of drug abuse.

Pound said there was a "complete breakdown of governance structures and lack of accountability" at the IAAF.

"It cannot be ignored or dismissed as attributable to the odd renegade acting on his own," he said of the corruption.

Pound said the the IAAF governing council, which included Coe, had to be aware of the corruption.

Graphic on doping methods banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency.

(AFP Photo/Adrian Leung/John Saeki)

Pound backs Coe

"The IAAF Council could not have been unaware of the extent of doping in athletics and the non-enforcement of applicable anti-doping rules," Pound said.

Former British running legend Coe, who took over the IAAF leadership in August when Diack stood down, sat in the audience as the report was presented.

And when asked about reforms to the world body, Pound said: "As far as the ability of Lord Coe to remain at the head of the IAAF, I think it's a fabulous opportunity for the IAAF to seize this opportunity and under strong leadership to move forward out of this.

"There's an enormous amount of reputational recovery to do here and, descending to personalities, I can't think of anyone better than Lord Coe to lead that. So all our fingers are crossed in that respect."

Coe later told AFP: "The journey back to trust will take far longer and will be a painful process."

He added: "We can't sit here begging for trust. We have to show by every action that we take that we earn that trust.

"Many of the recommendations that are contained in the report today we will look at them very, very closely and when we think we can and we should absorb them into our own reform process, we will."

World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) independent commission chairman Dick 

Pound attends a press conference in Unterschleissheim, southern Germany, 

on January 14, 2016 (AFP Photo/Lukas Barth)

Interpol wanted notice

The first part of Pound's report, released in November said there was a "state-sponsored" doping system in Russia, which has since been suspended by the IAAF.

The new report said Diack had told a lawyer he would need to make a deal with Russia's President Vladimir Putin to ensure nine Russian athletes accused of doping would not compete at the 2013 world championships in Moscow.

The report told of a sudden increase from $6 million to $25 million for Russian rights to televise the 2013 world championships. This was provided by a Russian bank.

Diack handpicked a lawyer to handle Russian doping cases even though he had little experience with anti-doping measures, the report added.

Richard McLaren, a lawyer who was part of the investigation commission, said that Diack's advisor Habib Cisse deliberately held up sending warning notices to Russia about drug failures.

He said the extortion "went beyond sporting corruption and may have been criminal in nature".

Cisse is facing charges in France along with his former boss, Diack's son Papa Massata Diack and Gabriel Dolle, the former IAAF anti-doping doctor.

Interpol on Thursday said it had issued a wanted notice for Papa Massata Diack.

Sebastian Coe was appointed president of the International Association of 

Athletics Federation (IAAF) in 2015 (AFP Photo/Lukas Barth)

According to McLaren, Cisse and Papa Massata Diack put up a "formidable barrier to the effective operation" of the IAAF's efforts to clamp down on doping.

Several IAAF staff have said they sought to draw attention to the doping abuses to leaders but were ignored.

"There was an evident lack of political appetite within the IAAF to confront Russia with the full extent of its known and suspected doping activities," the Pound report said.

Coe has insisted he knew nothing about the corruption and that there was no cover up even though internal IAAF correspondence indicates athletics leaders expressed concern about problems in Russia as far back as 2009.

Pound warned that Kenya "clearly" also had a doping problem but that he had only had a mandate to investigate Russia.

Interpol suspends 'Integrity in Sport' partnership with FIFA

Interpol has suspended a 10-year, 20 million euros ($22.4 million) partnership with FIFA meant to curb match-rigging and illegal gambling. The football organization says it is "disappointed" by the decision.

Deutsche Welle, 13 June 2015

Interpol halted its cooperation with FIFA on Friday, hinting at the corruption scandal rocking the football world as the reason behind its decision.

The partnership, costing FIFA 20 million euros ($22.4 million), was created to combat match-rigging and illegal gambling.

The decision was taken by Interpol Secretary-General Jürgen Stock, who said the intergovernmental organization would "freeze the use of financial contributions from FIFA" for as long the deal was suspended.

"In light of the current context surrounding FIFA, while Interpol is still committed to developing our 'Integrity in Sport' program, I have decided to suspend the agreement," Stock said in a statement on Friday.

'Must share fundamental values'

The FIFA funds, provided to Interpol in a May 2011 deal on the 10-year program, were the largest contribution from a private partner. However, a clause in the agreement specified that football's governing body must be "compatible with the principles, aims and activities of Interpol" during the collaboration.

"All external partners, whether public or private, must share the fundamental values and principles of the organization, as well as those of the wider law enforcement community," Stock said.

FIFA reacts

FIFA said on Friday that it was "disappointed" by Interpol's decision and that it was attempting to contact Interpol to reverse the move.

"Our cooperation over the past four years has been a key part of addressing the transnational problem of match fixing," FIFA said in a statement. "This successful program is unrelated to the current issues surrounding FIFA and we believe that this unilateral decision will negatively impact the fight against criminal activity."

Long plagued by corruption allegations, FIFA has been seriously on the back foot since May, when the US Department of Justice indicted 14 current or former FIFA officials on corruption-related charges. Less than a week later, just days after securing a fifth term in office, FIFA President Sepp Blatter announced his intention to quit, once a fresh vote for a successor has taken place.

ls/msh (AP, AFP, Reuters, dpa)

Camorra mob boss arrested in Brazil after 30 years on the run

Brazilian police have captured Pasquale Scotti, one of the most wanted mobsters in Italy, officials have said. The fugitive had started a new life in Brazil after changing his name and appearance.

Deutsche Welle, 27 May 2015

Pasquale Scotti was arrested in the northeastern Brazilian city of Recife, in a joint operation with Interpol, Brazilian police announced Tuesday. The former boss of the Camorra crime syndicate had been on the run since the mid-1980s, and was convicted for more than 20 homicides by an Italian court.

The 56-year old Scotti was seized while driving his two teenage daughters to school, according to the AFP news agency.

Before his arrest, Scotti had been living in Recife for 28 years, under a name of Francisco de Castro Visconti. He used false identification, taxpayer and voter registration documents, and apparently underwent several plastic surgery procedures, the police have said.

The fugitive has also married a Brazilian woman, and owned a real estate and a fireworks company.

The man told the police that not even his Brazilian family knew his true identity, and that he wanted to "forget his past; that Pasquale Scotti no longer existed. Only Francisco de Castro exists," according to the head of Interpol's Brazilian operation, Federal olice officer Valdecy Urquiza Junior.

The former mafia boss also said that he left Italy out of fear of being killed.

Escape from the hospital

Italian authorities managed to arrest Scotti, a known member of Naples mafia, after a shootout in 1983. Scotti has suffered several gunshot during the gun battle.

On Christmas Eve of 1984, he managed to escape the hospital where he was treated after signing a plea bargain. Despite a series of raids and road blocks, Italian police were not able to locate him.

"He left no traces. It's as if he vanished," Italian police were quoted as saying in a La Repubblica article from the time.

The Camorra chief was later convicted in absentia by an Italian court for illegal possession of firearms, extortion and dozens of murders.

Italy's most wanted

On Tuesday, Brazilian police said that Scotti was indentified by comparing archived fingerprints. The Italian authorities have started the process leading to his extradition, officials have said.

Italian Interior Minister Angelino Alfano praised the arrest as an "extraordinary" success, underling that Scotti was among the most sought and dangerous fugitives on Italy's most-wanted list.

dj/rc (Reuters, AFP, dpa, AP)

Interpol issues wanted notice for Ukraine's former President Yanukovych

Interpol has issued a global "red notice" for former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych. The 64-year-old is accused of financial wrongdoing. Russian sources have indicated Moscow would be unlikely to extradite him.

Deutsche Welle, 12 Jan 2015

International police network Interpol said on Monday it had placed Yanukovych on its international wanted list on charges of embezzlement and financial wrongdoing.

Ukrainian authorities said Interpol's publication of the "red notice" - authorizing Yanukovych's arrest - empowered any police force to hand him over to Ukraine.

However, Russia - where Yanukovych has taken refuge since he was ousted from power in February 2014 - is unlikely to extradite him, according to a source familiar with the situation.

Probe into 'The Family'

Yanukovych fled to Russia in February after months of street protests in Kiev over his decision to withdraw from an association agreement between Ukraine and the EU. Yanokovych was said to have been intent instead on strengthening Kyiv's economic and political ties with Moscow.

Pro-Western authorities have accused Yanukovych - as well as a group of relatives and close allies known as The Family - of accumulating huge wealth by robbing state funds and plundering national assets.

Yanukovych, who Russia claims was the victim of a coup, denies that he or members of his family were involved in corruption.

rc/tj (AF, Reuters)