How ties to Italy’s Mafia brought Robert Fico’s second term to an abrupt end in Slovakia

Nick Squires
Wed, May 15, 2024 

Robert Fico was forced to resign as prime minister in 2018 after protests

The placard seemed to express the fury of a nation.

As tens of thousands of people took to the streets calling for Robert Fico to resign as prime minister of Slovakia in 2018, one protester had scrawled the words “mafia prostitute” across a strip of cardboard.

Mr Fico was depicted in the striped black-and-white uniform of a prisoner – an indication the crowds wanted him jailed over the murder of Jan Kuciak, an investigative journalist who had been exploring links between government advisers and organised crime.

Kuciak was shot dead along with his fiancée at their home outside Bratislava, provoking a wave of horror in a nation that had become almost inured to stories of corruption.

The 27-year-old journalist had been investigating alleged links between government figures and the ‘Ndrangheta, the powerful Italian mafia based in the southern region of Calabria.

He alleged that the Italian mafia had acquired farmland in eastern Slovakia through intimidation and then fraudulently claimed massive EU subsidies. In exchange, it was alleged, the Fico government received generous “mediation fees”.

The reporter also uncovered the fact that a topless model and Miss Universe contestant who was appointed as a senior aide to the prime minister had previously been the girlfriend of an alleged ‘Ndrangheta cocaine smuggler.

Mr Fico was accused of running a mafia state in collusion with corrupt businessmen, tax officials and police officers – charges he denied.

But just days later, he was forced to resign.

Fico bounces back

That was then. Despite the corruption accusations, Mr Fico eventually bounced back.

In an election last September, he ran on a pro-Russia campaign of no longer giving military support to Ukraine, amid opinion polls which suggested that a third of Slovaks believe the war was provoked by the West.

Aware of the waning public support for Kyiv’s war effort, he told supporters that if he returned to power “we will not send a single round of ammunition to Ukraine”.

His populist party, known as Direction or SMER, won the most votes in the election and he was able to form a coalition with two other parties, embarking on his fourth term as prime minister.

Once back in power, one of his first acts was to abolish a special prosecutor’s office that was investigating organised crime and corruption.

He shut down the anti-corruption body in February despite warnings from the EU that the move would compromise the rule of law in Slovakia.

His decision provoked widespread street protests which mirrored the demonstrations that were held after the murder of Mr Kuciak in 2018.

Mr Fico was investigated by the office but the charges were dropped in 2022. Several people linked to his party face prosecution for alleged corruption.

‘In vengeful mode’

In December the prime minister described the special prosecutor’s office as “evil”.

“He was in a vengeful mode and got rid of an institution that was going after his cronies, that was very critical of all the crooks and criminals,” said Samuel Abraham, a political analyst in Slovakia.

The shooting of the prime minister comes against a backdrop of partisan, deeply divided politics, which was evident during the parliamentary elections in the autumn and the more recent presidential election last month.

The presidential contest was won by Peter Pellegrini, who was prime minister from 2018 to 2020 after his ally Mr Fico was toppled.

Mr Pellegrini called his opponent, Ivan Korcok, a pro-Western diplomat a “warmonger” because of his support for Ukraine against Russia.

Conceding defeat, an embittered Mr Korcok said: “It turns out that it is possible to become the president of the Slovak Republic by spreading hatred.” He said he had been unfairly characterised as a “war candidate”.

It is in the context of this heated political atmosphere that the prime minister was shot multiple times in a town 85 miles outside Bratislava in a suspected assassination attempt.

“The recent political campaigns have been full of hatred and division. Sooner or later someone with a gun, perhaps some kind of weirdo, was going to pull the trigger. You reap what you sow,” said Mr Abraham.

Video Of Waymo's Robotaxi Driving In Oncoming Lane Gets The Attention Of The Feds

Ryan Erik King
Tue, May 14, 2024

Gif: okgusto / Reddit

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened a preliminary investigation on Monday into Waymo and incidents involving its driverless vehicles. The probe comes after footage of a Waymo robotaxi driving in the oncoming lane to avoid unicyclists on a San Francisco street went viral. The general public has seemingly had it with self-driving cars, considering that one of the company’s vehicles was torched in February.

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While the public undoubtedly reported at least one of the nearly two dozen incidents being investigated by the NHTSA, Waymo is obligated to report collisions to the federal agency. An NHTSA document reads:

“The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) has received reports of 22 incidents involving Waymo vehicles equipped with Waymo’s 5th generation automated driving system (ADS) wherein the ADS-equipped vehicle was the sole vehicle operated during a collision or wherein the ADS-equipped vehicle exhibited driving behavior that potentially violated traffic safety laws. Reports include collisions with stationary and semi-stationary objects such as gates and chains, collisions with parked vehicles, and instances in which the ADS appeared to disobey traffic safety control devices. In certain incidents, a collision occurred shortly after the ADS exhibited unexpected behavior near traffic safety control devices.”

Disobeying traffic control devices is putting it lightly. Waymo vehicles have stalled in the middle of intersections, completely blocking traffic. The robotaxis have been involved in other high-profile incidents, including hitting and killing a dog. The company sent a statement to the Verge defending its safety record, which reads:

“At Waymo, we currently serve over 50 thousand weekly trips for our riders in some of the most challenging and complex environments. We are proud of our performance and safety record over tens of millions of autonomous miles driven, as well as our demonstrated commitment to safety transparency. NHTSA plays a very important role in road safety and we will continue to work with them as part of our mission to become the world’s most trusted driver.”

Public scrutiny has already derailed the operations of Cruise, Waymo’s General Motors-operated rival. The California Department of Motor Vehicles suspended the venture’s license after a crash in which a Cruise robotaxi dragged a pedestrian 20 feet along the pavement and pinned her to the ground. With how intense the spotlight is right now, I wouldn’t want to be pinning the future of my company on robotaxis.

CRIMINAL MONOPOLY CAPITALI$M

Boeing broke an agreement over the 737 Max crashes that killed 346 people, and could now be prosecuted, the Justice Department says

Pete Syme
Wed, May 15, 2024 

In 2021, Boeing reached a deal with prosecutors after 346 people died in two 737 Max crashes.


The Justice Department said Tuesday that Boeing violated that deal and is now subject to prosecution.


It worsens the crisis at the planemaker which began with January's Alaska Airlines blowout.

Boeing could face criminal charges after the Justice Department determined the planemaker violated a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA).

The DPA, reached in 2021, meant Boeing didn't face charges related to the deaths of 346 people in two 737 Max 8 crashes in 2018 and 2019. As part of the settlement, Boeing paid $2.5 billion and promised to strengthen its compliance program.

The DPA expired just two days after January's Alaska Airlines blowout, which has renewed scrutiny of Boeing's quality-control processes. Safety investigators said the 737 Max involved had left Boeing's factory missing key bolts.

In a Tuesday court filing seen by Business Insider, the Justice Department said Boeing violated the DPA, "by failing to design, implement, and enforce a compliance and ethics program to prevent and detect violations of the US fraud laws throughout its operations."

It added: "For failing to fulfill completely the terms of and obligations under the DPA, Boeing is subject to prosecution by the United States."

The news amplifies the crisis at Boeing, which has seen its CEO resign and its reputation worsen with airline customers. Its share price is down 28% since the start of the year.

Boeing has until June 13 to respond to the DoJ. In a statement shared with BI, the planemaker said: "We believe that we have honored the terms of that agreement, and look forward to the opportunity to respond to the Department on this issue."

"As we do so, we will engage with the Department with the utmost transparency, as we have throughout the entire term of the agreement, including in response to their questions following the Alaska Airlines 1282 accident," it added.

The Justice Department is continuing to meet with the families of victims of the 2018 and 2019 crashes, as it determines whether to bring charges against Boeing.

Robert Clifford, an attorney for the families of victims of the 2019 Ethiopian Airlines crash, said in an email: "This is a way for Boeing to be held criminally responsible in court. It's what the families have wanted. They want answers as to what really happened in the crashes and for the safety of the public to be protected."

The Justice Department told the court it will decide whether to prosecute Boeing by July 7.

DOJ: Boeing violated deal reached to avoid 737 MAX prosecution

Seana Smith and Brad Smith
Wed, May 15, 2024 

The Justice Department found that Boeing (BA) violated the terms of the 2021 agreement it reached to avoid prosecution over the two deadly crashes involving its 737 MAX jets. Prosecutors must decide by July 7 whether to file charges against the aircraft company.

Boeing has until June 13 to challenge the Justice Department's findings, according to The Wall Street Journal, and Boeing believes it has honored the terms of the agreement.

Despite this latest news, Wall Street remains bullish on the stock, feeling optimistic about the company's future as it comes under new leadership.

For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Morning Brief.

This post was written by Melanie Riehl
Video Transcript

Boeing has violated the terms of the agreement it reached to avoid prosecution over the two deadly crashes involving its 737 max jets, according to the Justice Department.

Prosecutors now have until July 7th to decide whether or not to file charges against the plane maker.

You're taking a look at chairs of Boeing here.

Year to date, they're down by about 30%.

Of course, this has been a year with even more swirling around the company, especially following the fuselage blowout of an Alaska Airlines flight separate from the 2737 max crashes.

That really started the spotlight of scrutiny over the internal culture that came to light of negligence and then, additionally, uh, ousted CEO thereafter and Dennis Muhlenberg at the time.

And then you had Dave Calhoun, and now he is on the way out as well.

And so all of these things considered, it will be interesting to see what the Justice Department ultimately has in terms of its ruling as a result of this deal that they had reached, I mean a deal that was essentially a slap on the wrist, given the crash.

The proceedings that took place thereafter And, of course, the families impacted as well from those two deadly crashes.

And Boeing has about a month until June 13th to challenge the department's findings here.

That was, according to a letter that The Wall Street Journal cited and Boeing, at least from the statement that Wall Street Journal got excuse me, looking to test some of these findings here.

They they believe that they have honoured the terms of the 2021 agreement.

No surprise.

We obviously expected them to say that, saying that they are going to engage the department with the utmost transparency, as we have throughout the entire term of the agreement, including in their in response to their questions following the Alaska Airlines 1282 incident accident.

So again, Boeing standing by what they have done here over the last several months just in terms of upholding that agreement that they had agreed to back in 2021.

But again, I think this just adds even more clouds here that are over that aren't over hiding here for the stock When you talk about the fact that analysts largely remaining actually bullish on Boeing, given the current valuation given the underperformance that we've seen since the start of the year.

It's going to come under new management.

We are going, you get a CEO.

And many of the analysts that we have talked to here in Yahoo Finance remain optimistic on Boeing's business going forward.

I think the next couple of months might be a bit murky as we do work out the details as we do, I get more and more here.

But again, we have seen that massive underperformance of Boeing stocks since the start of the year.

And as a result, despite all these issues, it's been interesting that Wall Street has remained largely bullish on this name, right and largely because Boeing had already set aside even more than they had pledged within the settlement.

It was about a $500 million settlement that they had made for the families specifically in the fund there.

Boeing had already set aside about $2.5 billion there, so it's really just kind of looking at what they're already doing on their own balance sheets versus what's actually coming forward within the rulings and of course this is just another step in that as well
View comments (18)

Feds warn Boeing of criminal charges after airliner ‘failed ‘ to improve plane safety following 737 crashes

Amelia Neath
Wed, May 15, 2024 

Feds warn Boeing of criminal charges after airliner ‘failed ‘ to improve plane safety following 737 crashes


Federal officials warned Boeing about criminal charges after the airline failed to improve plane safety and adhere to a settlement after deadly 737 aircraft crashes, prosecutors said

Five years ago, Boeing agreed to pay $2.5b and make safety improvements after two new 737 Max jets crashed in separate incidents, within the space of five months, one in Indonesia in 2018 and one in Ethiopia in 2019, killing a total of 346 people.

But, now the feds claim that Boeing has violated that deal and it could face further prosecution after a string of high-profile safety incidents involving its planes, including an incident in mid-January when an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 9’s door plug blew off, causing the grounding of all 171 MAX 9 jets by the FAA while it investigated.

“For failing to fulfill completely the terms of and obligations under the [deferred prosecution agreement], Boeing is subject to prosecution by the United States for any federal criminal violation of which the United States has knowledge,” Department of Justice lawyers wrote in a letter to a federal judge.

Rescuers work at the scene of an Ethiopian Airlines flight of a Boeing 737 Max 8 plane crash near Bishoftu, Ethiopia in March 2019 (Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

It is now up in the air as to whether Boeing could face prosecution, and it is unclear if the government would actually go ahead and prosecute the company.

“The Government is determining how it will proceed in this matter,” the Justice Department said in the court filing, according to The Associated Press.

Boeing will have until 13 June to respond to the government’s allegation. Upon doing so, the justice department said it would consider the company’s explanation “in determining whether to pursue prosecution.”

Boeing disputes the DOJ’s findings, claiming the company has “honored the terms of the agreement” and “look forward to the opportunity to respond to the Department on this issue.”

“As we do so, we will engage with the Department with the utmost transparency, as we have throughout the entire term of the agreement, including in response to their questions following the Alaska Airlines 1282 accident,” a spokesperson for Boeing told The Independent.

Indonesian investigators inspect the wreckage of an engine from the fatal Lion Air Flight JT 610 recovered from the sea at the Tanjung Priok in November 2018 (Getty Images)

In 2018, 189 people lost their lives while on a Lion Air flight from Indonesia plunged into the Java Sea just 13 minutes after take-off. Just five months after this horrific incident, an Ethiopian Airlines took off from Addis Ababa, when six minutes in, it crashed only 30 miles from the airport, killing all 157 people on board.

When investigations into the disaster crashes were underway, authorities pointed to a flight-control system that Boeing added to the Max without telling pilots or airlines, which Boeing did not overhaul until after the second crash.

After a series of negotiations, the government agreed not to prosecute Boeing on a charge of defrauding the United States by deceiving regulators about the flight system. The settlement included a $243.6 million fine, a $500 million fund for victim compensation, and nearly $1.8 billion to those airlines whose Max jets were grounded for nearly two years.

Prosecutors said they will be meeting with families of passengers who died in both Max disasters on May 31.

Paul Cassell, a lawyer who represents families of passengers in the Ethiopia crash, said the Justice Department’s allegation that Boeing violated the settlement terms is “a positive first step, and for the families, a long time coming.”

“But we need to see further action from DOJ to hold Boeing accountable, and plan to use our meeting on May 31 to explain in more details what we believe would be a satisfactory remedy to Boeing’s ongoing criminal conduct,” Mr Cassell added to The Associated Press.

Boeing 737 Max airplanes sit parked at Boeing Field in 2020 in Seattle, Washington after they were grounded worldwide since March 2019 after two deadly crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia (Getty)

The agreement was thrust back into the spotlight after a string of safety incidents involving Boeing planes in recent months. The most notable was a door plug blew out at 16,000 feet on an Alaska Airlines flight. That led to a federal investigation into the incident and Boeing.

Former workers and whistleblowers have accused the company of systematically degrading the quality of its manufacturing and the expertise of its workforce in pursuit of short-term profits for shareholders.

Last week, a second whistleblower within Boeing’s supply chain died after alleging the company had cut corners while building its 737 Max jetliner. Reports indicated the man had died of pneumonia caused by a flu infection.

In an email to employees last month, Scott Stocker, the head of Boeing’s 787 program, blamed the missed inspections on “misconduct” by workers and said that those responsible had received “swift and serious corrective action.”

Boeing Has Violated Prosecution Deal for 737 Max Crashes, DOJ Says

AJ McDougall
Tue, May 14, 2024 at 7:59 PM MDT·2 min read



Moritz Frankenberg/picture alliance via Getty Images


The U.S. Justice Department on Tuesday notified Boeing that it violated terms of a settlement that allowed it to duck criminal prosecution after two deadly 737 Max crashes, a development that leaves the company vulnerable to potential future charges.

The aerospace company breached the 2021 deferred prosecution agreement by failing to “design, implement, and enforce a compliance and ethics program to prevent and detect violations of the U.S. fraud laws throughout its operations,” federal prosecutors said in a letter filed in a Texas court.

Prosecutors said they had not decided what to do next, adding that they would alert the court about any new charges no later than July 7. Boeing has until June 13 to respond.

In a statement to The Daily Beast on Tuesday, Boeing confirmed that it had received the Justice Department’s letter.

“We believe that we have honored the terms of that agreement, and look forward to the opportunity to respond to the Department on this issue,” it said. “As we do so, we will engage with the Department with the utmost transparency, as we have throughout the entire term of the agreement, including in response to their questions following the Alaska Airlines 1282 accident.”

After a two-year investigation, prosecutors charged Boeing with deceiving federal regulators about the capabilities of a new feature on its planes implicated in both the deadly crashes, which killed a combined 346 people in 2018 and 2019.

In January 2021, Boeing agreed to pay a $2.5 billion penalty, and undergo three years of monitoring, to settle the single charge of fraud.

But the plane-maker has been thrust back into an uncomfortable spotlight in recent months, beginning with the Jan. 5 mid-air blowout of a door plug on a 737 Max 9 operated by Alaska Airlines. A preliminary investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board released in February found that four bolts meant to hold the door plug in place were missing before the jet took off.

The next month, The Wall Street Journal reported that the Justice Department had quietly launched a criminal investigation into the blowout.

The families of the 346 crash victims have long held that they want to see Boeing properly held accountable for its role in the double tragedies, and have pushed for federal investigators to reopen their probe.

Paul Cassell, a professor of law at the University of Utah College of Law who is representing the families, called the Tuesday letter “a positive first step” in a statement.

“But we need to see further action from DOJ to hold Boeing accountable, and plan to use our meeting on May 31 to explain in more detail what we believe would be a satisfactory remedy to Boeing’s ongoing criminal conduct,” he said.

The Daily Beast.

The US says Boeing violated a 2021 settlement. That doesn't mean the company will face charges

DAVID KOENIG
Wed, May 15, 2024 

FILE - An airplane flies over a sign on Boeing's 737 delivery center, Oct. 19, 2015, at Boeing Field in Seattle. The Justice Department's determination on Tuesday, May 14, 2024, that Boeing violated corporate probation for deceiving federal regulators does not necessarily mean that prosecutors will revive criminal charges against the giant aircraft manufacturer. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)

The Justice Department's determination that Boeing violated corporate probation for deceiving federal regulators does not necessarily mean federal prosecutors will revive criminal charges against the giant aircraft manufacturer.

But we should know within weeks whether Boeing will face another day in court.

The Justice Department said in a court filing Tuesday that Boeing had violated terms of a 2021 settlement that allowed it to avoid prosecution for actions that led up to two deadly crashes involving the company's 737 Max jetliners more than five years ago.

Prosecutors indicated they haven’t decided what to do next. What follows is an explanation of the Justice Department’s options and other things to know about the case.

WHAT IS BOEING ACCUSED OF?

The Justice Department says Boeing failed to meet terms of the settlement, which required the company to set up and maintain a program to detect and prevent violations of U.S. anti-fraud laws. Notably, the government did not say whether Boeing actually committed any acts of fraud.

WHY WAS BOEING ON PROBATION?

The crashes, which happened in Indonesia in 2018 and in Ethiopia in 2019, killed a total of 346 people. After the second one, the Justice Department investigated how Boeing convinced the Federal Aviation Administration to certify the 737 Max. Prosecutors determined that Boeing committed fraud against the United States by deceiving the FAA about elements of a key flight-control system that was later implicated in the crashes.

Boeing and the Justice Department secretly negotiated a settlement – called a deferred prosecution agreement – in which Boeing blamed the deception on two low-level employees and agreed to pay $2.5 billion, mostly to its airline customers. In exchange, the government agreed to drop a single criminal count of fraud if Boeing kept clean for three years.

WHAT ROLE DID BOEING'S CURRENT PROBLEMS PLAY?

The three-year probationary period was about to expire when a door plug on a new 737 Max blew out during Alaska Airlines flight 1282 in January. The incident prompted new investigations of the company, including one by the Justice Department. Accident investigators determined that four bolts that help secure the door plug were missing after the panel was removed for work at a Boeing factory near Seattle.

Boeing told federal officials it had no documentation about the repair job. At a meeting last month with families of people killed in the Max crashes, Justice Department officials said Boeing's lack of information could be a violation of the settlement agreement, according to two lawyers who were present.

The FBI told passengers on the Alaska flight they might be victims of a crime.

WHAT DOES BOEING SAY?

The Arlington, Virginia, company disputes the Justice Department’s finding.

“We believe that we have honored the terms of that agreement, and look forward to the opportunity to respond to the Department on this issue,” a Boeing spokesperson said in a statement. The company said it has always been transparent in its communications about the agreement, "including in response to (the Justice Department's) questions following the Alaska Airlines 1282 accident.”

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

Boeing has until June 13 to formally respond to the allegation that it violated the deferred prosecution agreement, which was filed in federal district court in Fort Worth, Texas. The Justice Department said it would consider the company's comments “in determining whether to pursue prosecution.”

Prosecutors said they would meet in Washington on May 31 with families of passengers who died in the two Max crashes to explain the determination that Boeing has failed to comply with the settlement and get relatives' input. Family members were angry and disappointed after a similar meeting last month.

WHAT OPTIONS DO PROSECUTORS HAVE?

The Justice Department told U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor — who upheld the 2021 agreement — that Boeing could be prosecuted for any crime the government knows about, but it did not say what those might be. The department also did not disclose the alleged actions by the company that prosecutors determined breached the 2021 settlement.

Although government prosecutors could revive their original fraud charge, they also may choose to keep Boeing on probation for the 737 Max-related fraud or to ask the judge to permanently dismiss the charge – in effect, ending the case.

It would be unusual — but not unprecedented — for the government to call off a corporate plea deal. Last year, Swedish telecommunications company Ericsson pleaded guilty and paid a $206 million criminal penalty after breaking a deferred prosecution agreement.

The Justice Department said it would notify the judge of its decision about Boeing no later than July 7.

Boeing violated $2.5B settlement to avoid prosecution, says Justice Dept

Tara Suter
Wed, May 15, 2024 


The Department of Justice (DOJ) told a federal judge Tuesday that Boeing violated a settlement that let it escape criminal prosecution following the two crashes of 737 Max aircraft a few years ago.

The DOJ now has to figure out if it will file charges against the aviation giant, according to The Associated Press. According to the department, prosecutors will let the court know of their plans by early July.

Glenn Leon, the head of the DOJ’s criminal fraud section, said Tuesday in a letter filed in federal court in Texas, that Boeing violated the terms of a $2.5 billion settlement from January 2021 in relation to the two crashes of 737 Max jets in 2018 and 2019.

It said Boeing had breached the deal to evade prosecution “by failing to design, implement, and enforce a compliance and ethics program to prevent and detect violations of the U.S. fraud laws throughout its operations.”

The finding that Boeing violated the terms of the settlement by not making the changes could result in the company being prosecuted “for any federal criminal violation of which the United States has knowledge,” the DOJ said.

Boeing has continued to experience high-profile safety issues and public scrutiny, most recently in January when a door plug blowing off of a 737 Max 9 aircraft during an Alaska Airlines flight.

Boeing confirmed it received communication from the Justice Department and a request for response over the alleged violations of the nonprosecution deal.

“We believe that we have honored the terms of that agreement, and look forward to the opportunity to respond to the Department on this issue,” it said in a statement.

“As we do so, we will engage with the Department with the utmost transparency, as we have throughout the entire term of the agreement, including in response to their questions following the Alaska Airlines 1282 accident.”

US government says Boeing in breach of US fraud laws agreement

DPA
Wed, May 15, 2024

A logo with the inscription "Boeing" pictured on a hall of the Boeing distribution center. Georg Wendt/dpa


Aircraft maker Boeing violated the terms of a US agreement that has so far protected it from prosecution following two fatal plane crashes, according to the US Department of Justice.

Boeing had not implemented a programme to prevent violations of US fraud laws as agreed, according to court documents filed on Tuesday. The government says it has not yet decided how to proceed in the matter.

Boeing was given until June 13 to provide an official response. In an initial reaction on Tuesday, the company emphasized that, in its own estimation, it had complied with the agreement.

The crashes of two Boeing 737 MAX aircraft in October 2018 and March 2019 killed 346 people. According to investigators, software that was supposed to support pilots but interfered with the controls more than they expected was behind both crashes.

Boeing was criticized because the aircraft manufacturer had declared special training for the software unnecessary when the plane model was certified by the US authorities.

In accordance with the agreement with the US government, Boeing paid a fine of $243 million. In return, the allegations of fraud in connection with the information provided to the US authorities were not pursued further.

However, Boeing was required to implement a compliance and ethics programme. The Department of Justice has now emphasised that a breach of this can again result in criminal prosecution of the company.

After the two crashes, the 737 MAX aircraft had to remain on the ground for months, until Boeing carried out improvements.

This year, the company once again came to the attention of the authorities after a piece of fueselage blew off an almost new Boeing 737-9 Max operated by US carrier Alaska Airlines in mid-air in January.

Nobody was seriously injured in the incident.

The US government subsequently launched an investigation and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) called on Boeing to submit a plan to improve quality controls. The FAA also blocked Boeing's planned expansion of 737 MAX production until further notice.

PROMOTING RACE WAR

Maryland woman pleads guilty to conspiracy in alleged extremist plot to attack Baltimore power grid

Greg Wehner
Tue, May 14, 2024

A Catonsville, Maryland, woman pleaded guilty on Tuesday to conspiring to damage or destroy electrical facilities near Baltimore, which she and a co-conspirator planned to execute for white supremacist reasons intended to help to break down society.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) said in a release that 36-year-old Sarah Beth Clendaniel pleaded guilty to conspiracy, while a co-conspirator, Brandon C. Russell of Florida, awaits trial on the same charge.

Clendaniel and Russell became acquainted with each other in 2018, and both advocated the white supremacist ideology of "accelerationism." The concept is based on the white supremacist believing that the current system is irreparable and without a political solution. Therefore, violent action is required to spawn a government collapse, the DOJ explained.

Between December 2022 and February 2023, Clendaniel, Russell and others allegedly planned to attack energy facilities in the Baltimore region to disrupt the distribution of electricity to the city.

FBI ARRESTS MAN, WOMAN WITH ‘EXTREMIST’ VIEWS IN ALLEGED POWER GRID ATTACK PLOT TARGETING 5 SUBSTATIONS

A woman believed to be Sarah Beth Clendaniel holds an ammunition clip and wears tactical gear while posing with a rifle.

When Clendaniel pleaded guilty, she admitted to communicating and planning to carry out the attacks on energy facilities, using encrypted communication applications.

Both Clendaniel and Russell allegedly told a confidential human source (CHS-1) of their plans to attack the Baltimore power grid, the DOJ said. Plans began to come together on Jan. 12, 2023, when CHS-1 and Russell discussed the attack, which involved hitting multiple substations at the same time.

Clendaniel used the screen name "Nythra88" to send a message to CHS-1, confirming that she supported the attack.


Sarah Beth Clendaniel, left, is seen in another photo included in the affidavit of the Joint Terrorism Task Force ("JTTF") in the FBI Baltimore Division.

Clendaniel told the source she lived near Baltimore, that she was a felon, and unsuccessfully tried to obtain a rifle. Clendaniel asked CHS-1 to purchase a rifle for her within the next couple of weeks to "accomplish something worthwhile."

Throughout the conversations, Clendaniel told the source she had identified a few possible locations to target, adding the source would have to be the driver while she would be the shooter.

On Jan. 29, 2023, Clendaniel told the source she planned to target five substations, including Norrisville, Reisterstown, and Perry Hall, the DOJ said. She described how there was a "ring" around the city of Baltimore, and if they hit several of the substations in the same day, they "would completely destroy this whole city."

BALTIMORE POWER GRID ATTACK SUSPECT HAD ‘WISH LIST OF GUNS, SOUGHT TO ’COMPLETELY DESTROY THIS WHOLE CITY'


Sarah Beth Clendaniel is one of two people suspected of planning to attack five substations in Maryland.

The substations Clendaniel planned to take out were what she called "cores," saying a "good four or five shots through the center of them" should "destroy those cores, not just leak the oil…"

"It would probably permanently completely lay this city to waste if we could do that successfully," Clendaniel allegedly told the confidential source.

The DOJ also said that during the conversation between Clendaniel and the confidential source, Clendaniel sent five links to the "Open Infrastructure Map," showing the locations of five specific Baltimore, Gas and Electric (BGE) electric substations. BGE utilizes substations like those targeted by Clendaniel, to produce and distribute energy.

NEO-NAZI LEADER CHARGED IN MARYLAND POWER GRID ATTACK PLOT ARRESTED YEARS AGO AFTER ROOMMATES' DOUBLE MURDER

While three of the five substations were in Norrisville, Reisterstown and Perry Hall, the other two were in Baltimore City.

The DOJ claims Russell and Clendaniel were under the belief that taking out these five substations would serve as "accelerationism" and help break down society.

Law enforcement officials executed a search warrant at Clendaniel’s residence on Feb. 23, 2023, and ultimately recovered various firearms and hundreds of rounds of ammunition.

Since Clendaniel is a convicted felon for robbery in 2006 and attempted robbery in 2016, she is unlawfully permitted to possess firearms.

She pleaded guilty to conspiracy and felony possession of firearms charges.

Clendaniel is scheduled to be sentenced Sept. 3, and could face up to 20 years in prison for the conspiracy charge and 15 years for the possession charge.

She also faces a lifetime of supervised release for the conspiracy charge.

Original article source: Maryland woman pleads guilty to conspiracy in alleged extremist plot to attack Baltimore power grid

CRIMINAL CRYPTO CAPITALI$M

US charges two brothers with novel $25 million cryptocurrency heist

Nate Raymond
Wed, May 15, 2024 

FILE PHOTO: Illustration shows representation of cryptocurrency Ethereum


By Nate Raymond

BOSTON (Reuters) - Two brothers who studied at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology were arrested on Wednesday on U.S. charges that they carried out a cutting-edge scheme to exploit the Ethereum blockchain's integrity and steal $25 million worth of cryptocurrency.

Federal prosecutors in Manhattan called the scheme perpetrated by Anton Peraire-Bueno, 24, and James Peraire-Bueno, 28, "novel" and said the case marked the first time that such a fraud had ever been the subject of U.S. criminal charges.


Authorities said they executed their elaborate heist in April 2023, stealing $25 million from traders in just 12 seconds by fraudulently gaining access to pending transactions and altering the movement of cryptocurrency.

"As we allege, the defendants' scheme calls the very integrity of the blockchain into question," U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said.

An indictment charged them with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Anton Peraire-Bueno was arrested in Boston, while James Peraire-Bueno was arrested in New York.

Their lawyers did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Both brothers had attended Cambridge, Massachusetts-based MIT, where according to prosecutors they studied computer science and math and developed the skills and education they relied upon to carry out their fraud.

The indictment alleged that for months, the Peraire-Bueno brothers plotted to manipulate and tamper with the protocols used to validate transactions for inclusion on the Ethereum blockchain, a public ledger that records each cryptocurrency transaction.

Prosecutors said they did so by exploiting a vulnerability in the code of software called MEV-boost that is used by most Ethereum network "validators," who are responsible for checking that new transactions are valid before they are added to the blockchain.

Prosecutors said that after carrying out the heist, the brothers rejected requests to return the funds and instead took steps to launder and hide the stolen cryptocurrency.

(Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston; Editing by Bill Berkrot)

Brothers Accused of $25M Ethereum Exploit as U.S. Reveals Fraud Charges
Sam Kessler, Nikhilesh De
Wed, May 15, 2024 



Two brothers have been arrested by the U.S. Department of Justice for attacking the Ethereum blockchain and stealing $25 million of cryptocurrency during a 12-second exploit, according to an indictment unsealed on Wednesday.

The indictment charges Anton Peraire-Bueno, 24, of Boston, and James Pepaire-Bueno, 28, of New York, with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

The charges are significant because they represent a first-of-its-kind criminal action from the U.S. government related to the controversial practice of MEV, or maximal extractable value, whereby the operators of Ethereum (and similar blockchains) preview upcoming transactions from users to earn an extra profit for themselves. The government suggests in the indictment that the very existence of MEV illustrates how Ethereum itself is a vulnerable system.

"[T]he defendants’ scheme calls the very integrity of the blockchain into question," Damian Williams, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, said in a press release.
What is MEV-Boost?

According to Wednesday's indictment, the Pepaire-Bueno brothers exploited MEV-boost, an MEV software used by most of the validators that run the Ethereum blockchain.

The indictment walks through how Ethereum works, highlighting its staking consensus mechanism and the role of validators as participants who secure the network.

Read more: What Is MEV, aka Maximal Extractable Value?

When users submit transactions to Ethereum, those transactions are not immediately written to the blockchain's ledger. Instead, they're added to a "mempool" – a waiting area for other yet-to-be-processed transactions.

MEV-boost lets "block builders" assemble those mempool transactions into official blocks. MEV bots called "searchers" scour the mempool for profitable trading opportunities and will sometimes "bribe" builders to insert or re-order transactions in a manner that would net them an extra profit. (These "MEV strategies" can sometimes eat into the profits of end users.)

Validators, the operators that ultimately add blocks to the Ethereum blockchain, take the pre-built blocks from MEV-boost and then write them to the chain, where they're cemented permanently.
The exploit

The Pepaire-Bueno brothers exploited a bug in MEV-boost's code that allowed them to preview the content of blocks before they were officially delivered to validators, according to the indictment.

The brothers created 16 Ethereum validators and targeted three specific traders who operated MEV bots, the indictment said. They used bait transactions to figure out how those bots traded, lured the bots to one of their validators which was validating a new block and basically tricked these bots into proposing certain transactions. The brothers allegedly frontran the bots on certain trades and also used their validator to "tamper with" the new block by sending a false digital signature that gave them access to the block's full contents and replaced "lure transactions" with "tampered transactions." In those tampered transactions, the brothers allegedly sold illiquid cryptocurrencies they had tricked the victims' trading bots into placing buy orders for.

"In effect, the Victim Traders sold approximately $25 million of various stablecoins or other more liquid cryptocurrencies to purchase particularly illiquid cryptocurrencies," the document said. "In effect, the Tampered Transactions drained the particular liquidity pools of all the cryptocurrency that the Victim Traders had deposited based on their frontrun trades."

This meant the traders couldn't sell their new illiquid cryptos, which were "rendered effectively worthless," while the defendants made off with the $25 million in stablecoins and other "more liquid cryptocurrencies," the DOJ alleged.

The defendants then allegedly laundered the funds through various addresses and sets of transactions, including converting the stolen funds into DAI and then USDC.

“These brothers allegedly committed a first-of-its-kind manipulation of the Ethereum blockchain by fraudulently gaining access to pending transactions, altering the movement of the electronic currency, and ultimately stealing $25 million in cryptocurrency from their victims,” Special Agent in Charge Thomas Fattorusso of the IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) New York Field Office said in the statement.

The indictment walks through some of what investigators found, including "a document setting forth their plans," the launch of shell companies, test transactions to identify best practices for attracting MEV bots and internet search histories.


DOJ: $25 million in crypto allegedly stolen by 2 brothers in 12 seconds

Chris Benson
Wed, May 15, 2024 


"This alleged scheme was novel and has never before been charged," Damian Williams, U.S. Attorney for New York's Southern District, said Wednesday. 

File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI

May 15 (UPI) -- The Justice Department on Wednesday revealed it indicted two brothers in their twenties for a series of alleged crimes for manipulating the cryptocurrency market to steal $25 million in crypto in a 12-second period, according to reports.

Anton Peraire-Bueno, 24, of Boston, Mass., and his brother James Peraire-Bueno, 28, of New York were arrested Monday in their respective cities and are being charged for conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering,

"This alleged scheme was novel and has never before been charged," Damian Williams, U.S. Attorney for New York's Southern District, said in a news release.

The Peraire-Bueno brothers Wednesday afternoon will be presented before U.S. Magistrate Judge Paul Levenson for the Massachusetts District, and U.S. Magistrate Judge Valerie Figueredo for New York's Southern District of New York.

If convicted, the brothers individually face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for each criminal count.

"As alleged in today's indictment, the Peraire-Bueno brothers stole $25 million in Ethereum cryptocurrency through a technologically sophisticated, cutting-edge scheme they plotted for months and executed in seconds," Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said in a news release.

The Justice Department alleges the Peraire-Bueno brothers had "meticulously" planned their "exploit" over the course of several months. The indictment says their alleged crimes began as early as December 2022 and continued as far as this month with a series of executed financial transactions.

Monaco indicated that Internal Revenue Service agents were instrumental in unraveling the "first-of-its kind wire fraud and money laundering scheme" allegedly committed by the brothers.

Williams says their alleged crimes "calls the very integrity of the blockchain into question."

According to the Justice Department, the brothers had studied computer science and math "at one of the most prestigious universities in the world." The internet links one of them to Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The federal government alleges that the two "used their specialized skills and education to tamper with and manipulate the protocols relied upon by millions of Ethereum users across the globe. And once they put their plan into action, their heist only took 12 seconds to complete."

Among other things, DOJ says they took the time to learn the trading behaviors of the victim traders whose cryptocurrency they allegedly stole, and "took numerous steps" to conceal their identities and "lay the groundwork to conceal the stolen proceeds," which the government contends included setting up shell companies and using multiple private cryptocurrency addresses and foreign cryptocurrency exchanges.

The indictment asked for a series of JP Morgan Chase and Choice Bank accounts under their names to be seized along with other personal property. The federal government claims the two had executed a series of financial translations designed to conceal not only their identities, but the real ownership of the funds stolen.

But investigators had found that both brothers had a digital search history consistent with the alleged crimes committed by them, including lawyers and American extradition policies.

India's parliament has fewer Muslims as strength of Modi's party grows

SHEIKH SAALIQ and KRUTIKA PATHI
Updated Wed, May 15, 2024

MALAPPURAM, India (AP) — Preventing Muslim migrants from gaining citizenship. Revoking the semi-autonomy of the country’s only Muslim-majority region. Building a Hindu temple where a violent mob razed a mosque.

These were political triumphs for Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the past decade, burnishing his reputation as a leader who prioritizes the interests of India's Hindu majority. For India's 200 million Muslims, they highlight their waning political power in the world's largest democracy.

Tensions between Hindus and Muslims in India are not new, but they have gotten worse under Modi, whose ruling Bharatiya Janata Party touts a Hindu-nationalist ideology. And with Modi seemingly on the cusp of a third five-year term, the outlook for Muslim politicians — and citizens — is bleak. This year's vote will be decided in June.

It's not just that Modi has ramped up anti-Muslim rhetoric in campaign speeches. Ever since the BJP began its rise as a political force in the mid-1980s, the proportion of Muslim lawmakers in parliament and state legislatures has shrunk.

Muslim representation has fallen in the ruling BJP, and in opposition parties, too.

When Modi assumed power in 2014, the outgoing parliament had 30 Muslim lawmakers — and just one was a member of the BJP. Muslims now hold 25 out of 543 seats, and none belong to the BJP.

India has gone from being a country where Muslims were largely marginalized to one where they are “actively excluded,” said Ali Khan Mahmudabad, a political scientist and historian at New Delhi’s Ashoka University.

“Without representation, you are unable to ask the state for resources and articulate the kind of needs the community has in order to progress, whether its education, jobs, health or basic infrastructure,” Mahmudabad said.

In the mid-1980s, Muslims accounted for 11% of India's population, and had 9% of seats in parliament; today they are 14% of the population and have less than 5% of seats in parliament.

Nine out of 10 members in parliament are Hindus, who make up 80 percent of India’s population of 1.4 billion.

The political representation of Muslims at the state level is only slightly better. India has more than 4,000 lawmakers in state legislatures across 28 states and Muslim lawmakers hold roughly 6% of these seats.

A government report in 2006 found Muslims lagged Hindus, Christians and people from India's lower castes in literacy, income and access to education. They have made some gains since then but are still at a significant disadvantage, according to multiple independent studies.

Under Modi's decade in power, the BJP has enacted or proposed various laws that Muslim leaders consider discriminatory.

— Some states ruled by the BJP passed laws restricting interfaith marriage as a way to address what they claim is the threat posed by Hindu women marrying Muslim men and then converting.

— One state formerly ruled by the BJP banned girls from wearing hijabs in school. (The law was reversed after the BJP lost political control.)

— The BJP is advocating a common legal code that would affect some religious practices, by changing some laws in India's constitution that deal with matters ranging from marriage to divorce and inheritance.

Violence against Muslims is commonplace, and Modi has said little to deter it. Muslims have been lynched by Hindu mobs over allegations of eating beef or smuggling cows, an animal considered holy to Hindus. Their homes and businesses have been bulldozed, and their places of worship set on fire.

At recent campaign rallies, Modi has said Muslims are “infiltrators” and that they “have too many children.” Without evidence, he has accused the BJP's main rival, the Congress party, of planning to redistribute the wealth of Hindus to Muslims.

Many Muslims believe Modi is stoking divisions as a campaign strategy.

“They're keeping the Hindu-Muslim issue hot... so they remain enemies,” said Mehmood Bhai Khatri, a 64-year-old Muslim voter from Modi's home state of Gujarat, a BJP stronghold.

“But who will speak up? If they do, they may be picked up (by police) or a bulldozer will be sent to their homes," said Khatri. "So out of fear, nobody speaks up.”

Not one of India's 28 states has a Muslim as chief minister; the BJP and its allies have chief ministers in 19 states.

In Uttar Pradesh, the country's most populous state and where roughly 16% of residents are Muslim, just 7% of state lawmakers are Muslim.

As the BJP becomes ever more powerful, India's opposition parties have become increasingly reluctant to nominate Muslim candidates for fear of alienating Hindu voters, experts say.

While Hindus overwhelmingly rally around the BJP, Muslims have struggled to form a cohesive political agenda, in part because of how diverse their community is across sects, ethnicity, language, customs, and culture.

“There is no way to unite this very heterogeneous group of people, without making Islam the common denominator,” said Mahmudabad, the political scientist.

But when political parties don't field enough Muslims, issues important to them — from minority rights to hate speech — hardly ever get debated in the parliament, said Muhammad Saad, a cab driver in New Delhi who is Muslim.

“If there are no Muslims in the parliament, who will raise the voice for us?” Saad questioned.

Analysts say the BJP has made some outreach efforts to Muslims, such as seeking their help as volunteers and at the polls. But the party fielded just 13 Muslim candidates combined in the 2014 and 2019 elections, and none were elected.

The BJP denies discriminating against Muslim people.

The party "permits accommodation of all kinds of people, not just the Hindus,” said M Abdul Salam, the only Muslim out of some 430 BJP candidates running for parliament this year. If he wins, he will become the first Muslim member of the BJP since 2014 in India’s lower house of the parliament.

Salam, who is from the Muslim-majority southern city of Malappuram, said Muslim politicians from other parties could gain power by joining the BJP’s alliance in parliament.

But Muslims from other parties are struggling simply to stay in office.

S T Hasan, a Muslim member of parliament from the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, was not chosen by the Samajwadi Party to seek reelection. He was replaced by a Hindu politician, a decision he believes was made to appeal to Hindu voters, who are the majority in the region he represents.

Hasan said political parties, especially those that consider themselves secular, need to make more room for minority candidates.

“Fair representation of every community is good for a democracy," he said. “But what we are seeing is that one community is being gradually pushed to the corner.”

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Pathi reported from New Delhi and Ahmedabad.

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