Biden reassures Finland, Sweden of support over NATO decision
Finland and Sweden have been given reassurances by President Joe Biden of the United States of America support over their decision to join NATO or not. This comes after threats by Russia to attack either country should they decide to join the US-backed NATO.
While speaking to the press in Berlin, Germany, Sweden foreign minister Ann Linde said that outside of Russia who have strongly objected to her country joining NATO no other country not even Turkey has objected to it consideration joining the pact.
Today, May 14, 2022, NATO foreign ministers are set to discuss the issue of enlargement considering Sweden and Finland’s appeal to want to join the pact.
The information available to us, reveals that despite denial President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey has expressed concern over Sweden and Finland’s consideration to become members of NATO.
Meanwhile, moves are currently ongoing to calm things down between the two superpowers as defence chiefs of US and Russia had their first call since the Russian invasion began. Officials at the defence headquarters told Bloomberg that the conversion was professional and full of mutual respect.
Crypto Ponzi scheme on the rise, as tax investigators identify potential $1 billion crypto fraud
In an investigation that has been ongoing for some years now, tax officials cut across several countries have through effective collaboration identified more than 50 leads to potential crypto tax crimes. An investigation has even identified a $1 billion Ponzi scheme that has the potential to change the narrative in crypto investment.
According to Bloomberg, a group known as the J5, which comprises of top financial and criminal investigating officials from the US, UK, Canada, Australia, and the Netherlands met in London this week to not only discuss emerging trends in cross-border illegal crypto activity but to also share valuable intel about identifying these criminals and assisting their governments make laws to curb this ugly trend.
At the end of the meeting, Jim Lee, the US Internal Revenue Service’s Chief of Criminal Investigation who spoke to reporters said, “Some of these leads I’m talking about, they involve individuals with significant NFT transactions revolving around potential tax or other financial crimes throughout our jurisdictions,”.
He was emphatic about a particular lead that he believes “appears to be a $1 billion Ponzi Scheme. That’s billion with a B and this lead also touches every single J5 country.”
This initiative comes as a much-needed relief to identifying and proffering solutions to growing threats of fraud and other risks in the crypto industry.
The cryptocurrency recent crash made the US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen encourage lawmakers to see the need to come up with new regulations to control the crypto industry.
For fraudulent crypto exchanges and Fintech companies, Lee assured the press that an important announcement on “significant targets” will be made very soon.
This cross-border partnership was necessitated by the need to curtail technology influenced financial crimes and help governments design the relevant laws to keep up with the rapid pace in technology.
Niels Obbink, of the Dutch Fiscal Information and Investigation Service, told reporters that NFTs has become one of the fastest-growing ways for cross-border money laundry activities.
“NFTs are one of the new modern digital ways of trade-based money laundering,”
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Somali parliament to choose new president
As the nation prepares to choose its next president, Somalia’s highly contested, long-delayed presidential vote will take place on Sunday “behind blast walls” as two former presidents square it up to gather the most support from voting lawmakers.
The voting is expected to be carried “behind blast walls” so as to protect lawmakers from Islamist attacks or meddling by factions within the security services, Reuters gathered.
The current president of Somalia, Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed will be battling it up with 39 contenders who will be seeking to take up his job as President of the politically troubled nation.
The vote will be conducted in a heavily protected airport hangar as lawmakers cast their vote for their choice candidate and with members of the international community scheduled to observe proceedings.
Whoever wins the election will inherit a lot of challenges starting with dealing with the effect of the worst drought in four decades, a violent conflict entering its fourth decade, clan feuds, and a power struggle between the government and federal member states, Reuters said.
President Mohamed said when asked by a reporter what were his expectation about the upcoming election. He said, “I am the most deserving person who can take Somalia to one man, one vote,”
Despite his unassuming self-assurances, some political analysts believe that his chances of securing the needed votes to secure his position has been affected by his political allies’ failure to secure enough votes in the parliament last month.
Other factors that may affect the president’s chances include the attack by security forces loyal to the president on the life of a lawmaker. This is added to the “face-off between African Union peacekeepers and security forces loyal to the president who blocked entries to the hangar.”
Europe looks to Africa for more gas as E&P scale up projects
Gas production in Africa is projected to hit 470 billion cubic meters by late 2030s, replacing the exact amount Russia supplies to Europe in 2022, this is according to Rystad Energy research, Rigzone said.
During the early months of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, provoked by the insistence of Putin to exact his power on the sovereign state of Ukraine, the European Union decided to reduce its dependence by two-third on Russian gas by the end of this year alone.
A move that has seen the EU drive to replace Russian supply from all over the world on overdrive.
Rigzone reported based on Rystad Energy research that even with the continent’s unused potential, Africa still has a significant production potential. The continent with Algeria and Nigeria as its biggest gas producer is projected “to increase its gas output from about 260 Bcm in 2022 to as much as 335 Bcm by the end of this decade.”
The report stated that its modest immediate and mid-term projection can be surpassed only if investment on gas projects and production in the country can be increased.
The ongoing political impasse between Russia and the European Union driven mainly by the ongoing war in Ukraine has given Africa whose gas supply to Europe averages about 18 percent to replace the 62 percent Russian supply to Europe.
Despite the challenges such as “ high development costs, challenges accessing financing, issues with fiscal regimes, and other above-the-ground risks” the continent is likely to not only increase income but to drive investment in the entire oil and gas value chain.
Rigzone said that signals from oil and gas majors such as BP, Eni, Equinor, Shell, ExxonMobil, and Equinor indicate further investment in Africa, with several projects that were previously on ice – including LNG projects – as they consider restarting or accelerating previously shelved projects in response to rising global demand.”
“The geopolitical situation in Europe is changing the landscape for risk globally. While LNG flows from the US are substantial, demand is much higher.”
“Asian and European importers will need to consider African priorities as they develop projects, as many African producers are focusing on supplying energy locally as well as to intra-African markets along with catering to global markets.”
“Existing pipeline infrastructure from Northern Africa to Europe and historical LNG supply relationships make Africa a strong alternative for European markets, post the ban on Russian imports,” says Siva Prasad, senior analyst at Rystad Energy
Algeria and Nigeria have the chance to scale up their exports to Europe. With talks of a long-distance pipeline connecting gas fields in Nigeria to Algeria via the onshore Trans Saharan Gas Pipeline (TSGP) and the offshore Nigeria Morocco Gas Pipeline (NMGP) the chance to drive income by scaling up production have picked up in recent months.
WTI closes trading at 7-week high
Buoyed by further supply disruptions from Russia the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose to its highest level on Friday to settle at $110.5 per barrel gaining nearly 4.1 percent in the process.
This growth represents its highest position since March 25, 2022, and extends its gain in both the future and spot markets.
With the current political turmoil in Europe not showing any sign of ending, escalating tension driven by the EU ban on Russian oil will likely drive the price even higher next week.
Earlier this week, Moscow as a retaliation against the EU imposed sanctions on European units of state-owned Gazprom. Other developments that drove the price to $110.5 per barrel were “the fear of a stronger dollar and high inflation, weaker global growth and China’s Covid curbs would dampen demand lingered this week”.
Meanwhile, the International Energy Agency (IEA) stated on Thursday that increased oil output in the Middle East and the United States, as well as a slowing in demand growth, are “expected to fend off an acute supply deficit amid a worsening Russian supply disruption.”
