Free Republic

“Operation Destabilise has exposed billion-dollar money laundering networks operating in a way previously unknown to international law enforcement or regulators. “For the first time, we have been able to map out a link between Russian elites, crypto-rich cyber criminals, and drugs gangs on the streets of the UK. The thread that tied them together – the combined force of Smart and TGR – was invisible until now. “The NCA and partners have disrupted this criminal service at every level. We have identified and acted against the Russians pulling the strings at the very top, removing the air of legitimacy that...

Russia under President Vladimir Putin has become Murder Inc. The cold-blooded assassination of Paul Klebnikov, editor of Forbes Russian edition, on June 10 in Moscow proves this claim. Western media appeared shocked by the killing of one of their own; though of Russian descent, Klebnikov, 41, was an American working for one of the West’s most influential business publications. There had long been the view that Westerners working in Russia were protected and that Russian crimes were largely fratricidal. No longer. Now that Klebnikov has joined the list of 15 journalists who have been murdered since 2000 (none of the...