InfoAnda - Exclusive: Somali pirate kingpins enjoy impunity

Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case
Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They

Taiwan denies boycotting Australian film festival
Thursday, August 6, 2009

AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e

Merkel's support dips, regional ally resigns International
Thursday, September 3, 2009

By Sarah Marsh and Noah Barkin

BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German

Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who

Asian markets mixed after Wall Street rally
Wednesday, March 18, 2009

By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an

Tropical Storm Igor Forms In Eastern Atlantic | 9 September 2010
Madonna to critics: review my movie, not me | | 13 September 2011
Guinea security forces break march with tear gas | | 6 July 2010

Group decries China's "black jails" | 12 November 2009

Forum Views () Forum Replies ()

Read more with google mobile : Exclusive: Somali pirate kingpins enjoy impunity - U.N. experts |

Edition: U.S. Africa Arabic Argentina Brazil Canada China France Germany India Italy Japan Latin America Mexico Russia Spain United Kingdom Home Business Business Home Economy Technology Media Small Business Legal Deals Earnings Social Pulse Business Video The Freeland File Aerospace & Defense Markets Markets Home U.S. Markets European Markets Asian Markets Global Market Data Indices M&A Stocks Bonds Currencies Commodities Futures Funds peHUB World World Home U.S. Brazil China Euro Zone Japan Mexico Russia India Insight World Video Reuters Investigates Decoder Politics Politics Home Election 2012 Campaign Polling Tales from the Trail Political Punchlines Supreme Court Politics Video Tech Technology Home MediaFile Science Tech Video Tech Tonic Social Pulse Opinion Opinion Home Chrystia Freeland John Lloyd Felix Salmon Jack Shafer David Rohde Bernd Debusmann Nader Mousavizadeh Lucy P. Marcus David Cay Johnston Bethany McLean Anatole Kaletsky Edward Hadas Hugo Dixon Ian Bremmer Lawrence Summers Susan Glasser The Great Debate Steven Brill Jack & Suzy Welch Frederick Kempe Christopher Papagianis Mark Leonard Breakingviews Equities Credit Private Equity M&A Macro & Markets Politics Breakingviews Video Money Money Home Tax Break Lipper Awards 2012 Global Investing MuniLand Unstructured Finance Linda Stern Mark Miller John Wasik James Saft Analyst Research Alerts Watchlist Portfolio Stock Screener Fund Screener Personal Finance Video Money Clip Investing 201 Life Health Sports Olympics Arts Faithworld Business Traveler Entertainment Oddly Enough Lifestyle Video Pictures Pictures Home Reuters Photographers Full Focus Video Reuters TV Reuters News Article Comments (3) Slideshow Full Focus Editor's choice A selection of our best photos from the past 24 hours. See more Images of June Follow Reuters Facebook Twitter RSS YouTube Read Syrian battles rage in capital, Russia pressed | 5:41pm EDT Bernanke offers gloomy view but few new hints on easing 5:09pm EDT Suspect held in Alabama bar shooting that wounded 17 | 3:00pm EDT Goldman's golden egg turns leaden; bank plans cuts | 4:37pm EDT Romney appears in final stages of running-mate decision 16 Jul 2012 Discussed 119 Obama allies tell Romney to ”quit whining” about Bain attacks 97 Syria hit by diplomatic defection as U.N. battles divisions 86 World outrage at Syria ”massacre”, but no action Watched Mars landing not a crazy concept but risky: program director Mon, Jul 16 2012 U.S. Morning Call: Yahoo seeks fresh start with new CEO Mon, Jul 16 2012 Nicotine vaccine could be breath of fresh air for smokers Mon, Jul 16 2012 Pictures Reuters Photojournalism Our day's top images, in-depth photo essays and offbeat slices of life. See the best of Reuters photography. See more | Photo caption Free Syrian Army A rare look inside the Syrian rebel army fighting to overthrow Assad. Slideshow Smithsonian: Shapes and shadows Artistic images of the Smithsonian Institution, the world's largest museum and research complex. Slideshow Exclusive: Somali pirate kingpins enjoy "impunity" - U.N. experts Tweet Share this Email Print Related News Russia says no to Syria sanctions as U.N. talks begin Thu, Jul 12 2012 Analysis & Opinion Learn the compliance lessons from an epic fail in correspondent banking and trade finance The Faces of Merkel Related Topics World » United Nations » 1 of 2. A soldier aboard the Swedish corvette HMS Malmo aims his machinegun at a boat carrying suspected pirates in the Gulf of Aden May 26 2009. Credit: Reuters/Sgt. Mats Nystrom/Combat Camera Swedish Armed Forces/Scanpix NAIROBI | Tue Jul 17, 2012 2:28pm EDT NAIROBI (Reuters) - Somalia's president has shielded a top pirate leader from arrest by issuing him a diplomatic passport, according to a United Nations investigation which criticizes the "climate of impunity" enjoyed by pirate kingpins in Somalia and abroad. The U.N. Monitoring Group on Somalia said in a report to the Security Council, seen by Reuters, that senior pirate leaders were benefitting from high level protection from Somali authorities and were not being sufficiently targeted for arrest or sanction by international authorities. The Group said it had obtained evidence a diplomatic passport had been provided "with the authorization of Somali President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed" to pirate leader Mohamed Abdi Hassan "Afweyne", who presented it to authorities in Malaysia on a trip there in April. Questioned by Malaysian immigration, Afweyne provided a document issued by the Somali presidency stating he was involved in counter-piracy activities, the report said. It said that Somalia's President Ahmed had told the Group the passport was "one of several inducements" for Afweyne aimed at obtaining the dismantling of his pirate network. In a July 12 letter to the Chairman of the Security Council's Sanctions Committee, obtained by Reuters, Ahmed called the contents of the Monitoring Group's report "one-sided". The letter said the principal author of the U.N. report, whom it did not name, "seems hell bent on soiling the good names of private members of the Somali people by throwing at them unsubstantiated allegations". Somali government officials in Mogadishu could not be reached for comment. The U.N. report has also riled the authorities in the semi-autonomous region of Puntland, who are criticized for failing to arrest well-known senior pirate leaders, in spite of a counter-piracy campaign that has reportedly resulted in the arrest of hundreds of low-level pirates. The report said that only one Puntland based pirate leader, Abshir Boyah, had been arrested by the Puntland authorities but said his jail sentence of only five years contrasted sharply with terms of up to 20 years given to junior pirate figures. Successful Somali pirate hijackings have been declining steadily since 2010, partly the result of intensive international naval operations and the use of private security on maritime vessels, but pirate leaders are adapting and diversifying into new businesses, the U.N. report said. Confirming this trend, the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) said on Monday that tougher action by international navies and the use of private armed guards on ships have more than halved the number of Somali pirate attacks in the first half of 2012. PIRATE CHIEFS ESCAPING PROSECUTION Last year, Somali piracy in the busy shipping lanes of the Gulf of Aden and the northwestern Indian Ocean netted $160 million, and cost the world economy some $7 billion, according to the American One Earth Future foundation. The U.N. report said pirate leaders are now increasingly involved in land-based kidnap for ransom of foreign tourists and aid workers in northern Kenya and Somalia, as well as selling services as counter-piracy experts and consultants in ransom negotiations, and exploring "new types of criminal activity". "This evolution of the piracy business model is being driven largely by members of the Somali diaspora, whose foreign language skills and bank accounts are all valuable assets," it said. U.N. officials say the Monitoring Group has submitted two confidential cases to the Security Council documenting the flow of piracy proceeds via international accounts and singling out a Somali businessman with British citizenship who is part of a piracy ring but who also runs a counter-piracy business. The Group said that in spite of three international task forces and efforts by a dozen national governments in maritime counter-piracy efforts, serious legal obstacles remain that "impede the prosecution and sanctioning of pirate leaders and kingpins". Out of 125 registered hijacking cases since December 2008 which have come under the jurisdiction of 83 different countries, not more than 10 governments have actually embarked on broader investigations into Somali pirate networks, the report said. "As a result, the international community is investing enormous resources to pursue and punish those at the bottom of the piracy pyramid ... while virtually guaranteeing impunity for those at the top of the piracy pyramid who bear the greatest responsibility and profit the most," it said. UK BLOCK ON TARGETED SANCTIONS Confusion over whether ransom payments and drop-offs of ransoms by private security companies constitute illegal activity has also prompted Britain to block the U.N. Security Council from applying financial sanctions against senior pirate leaders since 2010, the report said. With pirate leaders left untouched by U.N. sanctions, payments to them would not be considered illegal and therefore private security companies could pay out ransom fees without fear of violating sanctions, sources at the U.N. said. The British blocking of Security Council proposals to designate senior Somali pirate leaders for targeted sanctions was "apparently at the behest of powerful domestic interests in shipping, crisis and risk management consultancies, maritime law and insurance and private maritime security companies who indirectly derive significant profits from the Somali piracy phenomenon," the report said. Asked for comment, a Foreign Office spokesperson in London told Reuters the British government maintained a clear policy of not making or facilitating "substantive concessions to hostage takers, including the payment of ransoms". The spokesperson said Britain had since April 2010 maintained "a technical hold" on proposals in the U.N. Sanctions Committee to designate pirate leaders for sanctions "as it is necessary to better understand the potential unintended consequences of using Sanctions, which include implications for the families of U.K. nationals captured by pirates". British Prime Minister David Cameron had set up a task force to look into piracy kidnap for ransom in more detail, including the option of U.N. sanctions. The task force would make recommendations by the end of the year, the Foreign Office said. The U.N. report said the current situation had discouraged private security companies from sharing information on who they had paid money to, putting a brake on international investigations into piracy. The Monitoring Group has asked the Security Council to explicitly clarify that ransom payments to Somali pirates could not be considered an offence that would be sanctioned. Such a move would allow counter-piracy businesses in the U.K. to share information on ransom payments they make, without the fear those payments could expose them to future prosecutions, the report said. The Foreign Office spokesperson said Britain was working with international partners to establish a Regional Anti-Piracy Prosecution and Intelligence Coordination Centre (RAPPICC) in the Seychelles, which would target pirate kingpins. (Additional reporting by Nairobi bureau and Matthew Falloon in London; Editing by Pascal Fletcher and Louise Ireland) World United Nations Tweet this Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/ Comments (3) relmasian wrote: Edition: U.S. Africa Arabic Argentina Brazil Canada China France Germany India Italy Japan Latin America Mexico Russia Spain United Kingdom Back to top Reuters.com Business Markets World Politics Technology Opinion Money Pictures Videos Site Index Legal Bankruptcy Law California Legal New York Legal Securities Law Support & Contact Support Corrections Connect with Reuters Twitter Facebook LinkedIn RSS Podcast Newsletters Mobile About Privacy Policy Terms of Use AdChoices Copyright Our Flagship financial information platform incorporating Reuters Insider An ultra-low latency infrastructure for electronic trading and data distribution A connected approach to governance, risk and compliance Our next generation legal research platform Our global tax workstation Thomsonreuters.com About Thomson Reuters Investor Relations Careers Contact Us Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests. NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.

Other News on Wednesday, 18 July 2012
Exclusive: Somali pirate kingpins enjoy impunity
Tunisian leader promises Ben Ali fair trial, safety |
Moroccan cleric indicted for editor's death edict |
U.N. expert says U.S. executions, due Wednesday, unconstitutional |
Iran offers to insure foreign ships to skirt EU ban |
Google unit says will avoid U.S. import ban on smartphones |
Facebook shares slide as user growth in question |
Yahoo Japan buys stake in cloud storage firm Basho |
Tom Cruise visits daughter after Holmes split |
Syrian battles rage in capital, Russia pressed |
North Korean leader cements control over army |
Congo unrest threatens push to curb conflict minerals trade |
Insight: Syria's Assad trusts inner circle in fight for survival |
Frenchman goes to China as witness in Bo case: Cambodia |
Romania president likely to be impeached: poll |
Australian woman wins multi-million Thalidomide payout from Diageo |
UAE's first nuclear plant gets construction permit |
China's Wen vows job creation as growth slows: paper |
Nuclear issue puts increasing pressure on Japan government |
Judge rejects secrecy bids in Apple vs. Samsung battle |
Visa, MC still face hurdles in China after WTO ruling |
Australia's Qantas Airways drops Blackberrys for iPhones |
Dell CEO upbeat on China despite slowdown |
Actor Christian Bale reflects on years as Dark Knight |
Tom Cruise visits daughter after Holmes split |
Paparazzo may face charges in Justin Bieber car chase |
Panetta hails F-35 jet as key for UK, U.S. |
Blast on Bulgaria bus carrying Israeli tourists, 3 dead |
Britain to set further Afghan troop drawdown at end 2012 |
Senate panel votes to renew Myanmar sanctions |
Hungary detains man, 97, accused of torturing Jews in war |
Mali asks Hague court to investigate rebel crimes |
Frenchman goes to China as witness in Bo case: Cambodia |
Russia clamps down on foreign-funded rights groups |
AT&T data fees to jump in new shared plan option |
Analysts see weak PC demand hurting Intel margins |
Analysts await new Yahoo CEO's strategy after dull results |
Investors cheer Check Point profit rise, buyback |
Rovi shares slump on profit warning |
Cogeco to pay $1.36 billion for Atlantic Broadband, shares dive |
Smartphones a brightspot amid Asian chipmaker gloom |
Halle Berry suffers minor head injury on Los Angeles set |
Sofia Vergara tops Forbes highest paid U.S. TV actresses |
UK exhibition stresses Shakespeare's relevance today |
A Minute With: Michael Caine revisiting Batman's Alfred |
Greece at new risk of being pushed off euro
Bodies of missing Tenn. mom, Jo Ann Bain, and daughter found
Female Breasts Are Bigger Than Ever
AMD Trinity Accelerated Processing Units Now in Volume Production
The Avengers (2012 film), made the second biggest opening- and single-day gross of all-time
AMD to Start Production of piledriver
Ivy Bridge Quad-Core, Four-Thread Desktop CPUs
Islamists Protest Lady Gaga's Concert in Indonesia
Japan Successfully Broadcasts an 8K Signal Over the Air
ECB boosts loans to 1 trillion Euro to stop credit crunch
Egypt : Mohammed Morsi won with 52 percent
What do you call 100,000 Frenchmen with their hands up
AMD Launches AMD Embedded R-Series APU Platform
Fed Should not Ignore Emerging Market Crisis
Fed casts shadow over India, emerging markets
Why are Chinese tourists so rude? A few insights

USD EUR - 1 year graph		BlogMeter 1.01