International pressure on Russia and the sanctions imposed on defense and technology mobilize Russian secret intelligence groups abroad. With Russian spies under diplomatic cover revealed, there have been more and more deep-cover agents disclosed starting from the beginning of 2022, who had been infiltrated by Moscow in late 80s and 90s.

It can now be argued there is a wide network of secret intelligence agents in Europe, affiliated with both Russian military and political intelligence.

Most of them left Russia with their families following the Soviet collapse. Most of them have a technical background and own small technology firms. The second cover is the service sector, as it permits contacts with those having access to classified information.

Such conclusions could be made on the base of the arrest of a Russian married couple in Sweden, on charges of espionage. 

The arrest took place in dramatic fashion in the early hours of Tuesday, November 22. According to the Swedish media, members of the security forces descended via tactical ropes from two Blackhawk helicopters, as startled residents in the typically quiet Stockholm suburb of Nacka looked on.

The raid was apparently conducted based on information received by Sweden’s counterintelligence agency, the Swedish Security Service (SAPO), coupled with tips from the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The targets of the operation were Sergei Nikolaevich Skvortsov and Elena Mikhailovna Kulkova, a Russian-born married couple, who moved to Sweden from Russia in 1999. According to their identity documents, Skvortsov was born in Perm on July 28, 1963, and Kulkova in Moscow on May 22, 1964.

Both Skvortsov and Kulkova are university-educated, with a background in science, mathematics and cybernetics. Upon settling in Sweden, they worked in the import-export technology sector. By 2013 they had become Swedish citizens and had a son. Kulkova also had a daughter from a previous marriage. 

Bellingcat claims that shortly before leaving for Sweden, Skvortsov and Kulkova got an apartment in Zorge Street, at the same address as Denis Sergeyev, one of those who poisoned the Skripals, who worked for 29155 Russian military intelligence unit. This unit is associated with General Ilchenko who oversaw disinformation campaigns, including the Bonanza project spreading false theories on MH-17.

Kulkova’s daughter, Anna Run, was a cohabiting partner of the ex-head of Swedish military intelligence department. Anna left for Sweden as a child and had no time to obtain Russian citizenship. Anna’s patronymic is Vladimirovna, not Sergeyevna, which casts doubts on the fact she is Kulkova and Skvortsov’s daughter. It is highly likely, however, she was also involved in intelligence operations.

A company named European Technical Trading was Skvortsov’s Building and Data Technologies counterpart. Skvortsov received regular payments there of exactly the same amount. The Swedish government suspects the transactions were bogus, with money pumping from the Netherlands to Sweden, in fact. We believe these transactions were to prove the company’s activity and legitimize Skvortsov’s income. This money was unlikely paid for intelligence needs. The purpose was to maintain the cover story for Russian deep-cover agents. The Dutch company was run by the Belgian Hans de Geetere, whose companies had previously been hit by US sanctions for trying to resell American technology used in missiles and aircraft to China.

Skvortsov was a managing director at Instrument Electronics i Stockholm AB, owned by Kulemekov, a retired Russian military intelligence colonel (who’s likely to have a cover job today). He was expelled from Paris in 1981, over spying for military intelligence.

According to the court indictment, Skvortsov and Kulkova began to actively spy against the United States in 2013 and against Sweden in 2014.

The Skvortsov-Kulkova case shows that deep-cover agents had been put on hold for long 23 years, needed to legalize them. It means Russia has to activate its inactive spies. Long time on hold and the terms set by intelligence centers cause them to fail. These disclosures, meanwhile, allow to shape a profile of Russian deep-cover agents, identify the basis of their cover stories, and verify those who meet these characteristics. It is objectively possible now to eliminate most of Russian spies in Europe and the U.S., amid turbulent environment, difficulties in contacts with Moscow, and high-strain job they have.

President Joe Biden said that he is forgoing a visit to the southern border during his trip to Arizona Tuesday because “there are more important things going on.”

Biden made the remark to reporters while departing the White House for Arizona, where Biden is set to visit a new computer chip plant for Taiwanese semiconductor manufacturer TSMC. “They’re going to invest billions of dollars in a new enterprise,” Biden said about the state, arguing the factory opening was more important than a border visit.

The president’s border dismissal comes as Customs and Border Protection reported a record high of 230,000 border encounters in October. Biden is reportedly mulling bringing back Trump-era immigration rules that would make it more difficult to seek asylum.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R., Texas), whose state has been at the center of the nation’s migrant crisis, said “Joe Biden doesn’t give a damn” about the border.

“Kids are being raped by cartel members. Tons of drugs are flooding across the border that will kill Americans. Millions of illegal aliens are flooding across the border,” the lawmaker tweeted Tuesday.

The post Biden Ducks Border Visit, Says ‘More Important Things Going On’ appeared first on Washington Free Beacon.

Donald Trump’s real estate company was convicted on Tuesday of carrying out a 15-year-long criminal scheme to defraud tax authorities, adding to the legal woes facing the former U.S. president as he campaigns for the office again in 2024.

The Trump Organization – which operates hotels, golf courses, and other real estate around the world – faces fines over the conviction. The exact amount will be determined by the judge overseeing the trial in New York State court at a later date.

The company had pleaded not guilty. Trump himself was not charged in the case.

The judge set a sentencing date of Jan. 13.

While the fine is not expected to be material for a company of the Trump Organization’s size, the conviction by a jury could complicate its ability to do business by spooking lenders and partners.

The case centered on charges that the company paid personal expenses like free rent and car leases for top executives including former chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg without reporting the income, and paid them bonuses as if they were independent contractors.

“The smorgasbord of benefits is designed to keep its top executives happy and loyal,” prosecutor Joshua Steinglass told jurors during his closing argument on Friday.

The Trump Organization separately faces a fraud lawsuit brought by New York state Attorney General Letitia James.

Trump himself is being investigated by the U.S. Department of Justice over his handling of sensitive government documents after he left office in January 2021 and attempts to overturn the November 2020 election, which he lost to Democrat Joe Biden.

Weisselberg, 75, testified as the government’s star witness as part of a plea deal with prosecutors that will allow him to spend no more than five months in jail.

The Trump Organization argued that Weisselberg carried out the scheme to benefit himself. He is on paid leave from the company and testified that he received more than $1 million in salary and bonus payments this year.

“The question here is not whether as a byproduct the company saved some money,” Susan Necheles, a defense lawyer, said in her closing argument on Thursday. “(Weisselberg’s) intent was to benefit himself, not the company.”

Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on Nov. 19. that his family got “no economic gain from the acts done by the executive.”

Republican Trump, who on Nov. 15 announced his third campaign for the presidency, has called the probe a politically motivated “witch hunt.” Both Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and his predecessor who brought the charges, Cyrus Vance, are Democrats.

Weisselberg, who pleaded guilty in August to concealing $1.76 million in income from tax authorities, testified that Trump himself signed the Christmas bonus checks and personally paid hundreds of thousands of dollars in private school tuition for Weisselberg’s grandchildren.

He also said Trump’s two sons – who took over the company’s operations in 2017 after Trump became president – gave him a raise after they knew about his tax dodge scheme.

“The whole narrative that Donald Trump was blissfully ignorant is just not real,” Steinglass said.

The Trump Organization also sought to argue that Donald Bender, an outside accountant, should have caught and blown the whistle on Weisselberg’s fraud.

The company called Bender as its main witness, but his testimony appeared to backfire when he said he trusted that the information Weisselberg gave him was accurate and that he was under no obligation to investigate further.

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. military said on Tuesday that an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy boat came within 150 yards of American warships in the Strait of Hormuz, but the situation was de-escalated with the help of audible warnings and non-lethal use of lasers.

In a statement, the U.S. military said the incident took place on Dec. 5 during a routine transit in international waters.

“The IRGCN’s actions violated international standards of professional and safe maritime behavior, increasing the risk of miscalculation and collision,” the statement added.

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Wall Street closed lower on Tuesday, with the S&P 500 declining for the fourth straight session, as skittish investors fretted over Federal Reserve rate hikes and further talk of a looming recession.

Among the biggest drags on the S&P was Meta Platforms Inc (META.O), which slid following reports that European Union regulators have ruled the company should not require users to agree to personalized ads based on their digital activity.

However, technology names generally suffered as investors applied caution toward high-growth companies whose performance would be sluggish in a challenging economy. This hit Apple Inc (AAPL.O), Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) and Alphabet Inc (GOOGL.O) and sent the tech-heavy Nasdaq down for a third straight session.

Most of the 11 major S&P sectors were lower, with energy and communications services (.SPLRCL) joining technology (.SPLRCT) as leading laggards. Utilities (.SPLRCU), a defensive sector often preferred during times of economic uncertainty, fared better.

Future economic growth prospects were in focus on Tuesday following comments from financial titans pointing toward uncertain times ahead.

Bank of America Corp’s chief executive predicted three quarters of mild negative growth next year, while JPMorgan Chase and Co’s (JPM.N) CEO Jamie Dimon said inflation will erode consumer spending power and that a mild to more pronounced recession was likely ahead.

Their comments came on the heels of recent views from BlackRock and others that believe the U.S. Federal Reserve’s aggressive monetary tightening to combat stubbornly high price rises could induce an economic downturn in 2023.

“The market is very reactive right now,” said David Sadkin, president at Bel Air Investment Advisors.

He noted that, while markets traditionally reflect the future, right now they are moving up and down based on the latest headlines.

Fears about economic growth come amid a re-evaluation by traders of what path future interest rate hikes will take, following strong data on jobs and the services sector in recent days.

Money market bets are pointing to a 91% chance that the U.S. central bank might raise rates by 50 basis points at its Dec. 13-14 policy meeting, with rates expected to peak at 4.98% in May 2023, up from 4.92% estimated on Monday before service-sector data was released.

The S&P 500 rallied 13.8% in October and November on hopes of smaller rate hikes and better-than-expected earnings, although the expectation for slower rate hikes could be undermined by further data releases, including producer prices due out on Friday.

“The market got ahead of itself at the end of November, but then we got some good economic data, so people are re-evaluating what the Fed is going to do next week,” said Bel Air’s Sadkin.

According to preliminary data, the S&P 500 (.SPX) lost 57.05 points, or 1.43%, to end at 3,941.79 points, while the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) lost 225.01 points, or 1.99%, to 11,014.93. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) fell 347.49 points, or 1.02%, to 33,599.61.

Jitters on the direction of global growth have also weighed on oil prices, with U.S. crude slipping to levels last seen in January, before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine disrupted supply markets. The energy sector (.SPNY) fell on Tuesday.

Banks are among the most sensitive stocks to an economic downturn, as they potentially face negative effects from bad loans or slowing loan growth. The S&P banks index (.SPXBK) was down, with Bank of America a leading decliner.

Elsewhere, Mirati Therapeutics Inc (MRTX.O) slumped after the company reported disappointing early trial data on its experimental cancer drug adagrasib.

Textron Inc (TXT.N) climbed after the U.S. Army awarded the contract for its next-generation helicopter to the company’s Bell unit.

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An Argentine court sentenced Vice President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner to six years in jail and disqualified her from holding public office in a high-profile corruption case on Tuesday, though she has immunity due to her public office.

The powerful vice president will not face immediate prison time and is also expected to appeal the sentence, with the case likely to spend years winding through higher courts.

Fernandez de Kirchner served as president for two terms between 2007 and 2015 and commands rock-star crowds of supporters. She faced charges of alleged corruption in the awarding of public works during her presidency. She has denied the allegations and called the court a “firing squad.”

In a live-streamed session, Federal Court 2 in Buenos Aires city found Fernandez de Kirchner guilty of the crime of “fraudulent administration” in a case known as “Vialidad” in which construction magnate Lázaro Báez was also sentenced to six years in jail.

Prosecutors alleged that public works contracts were handed to a businessman ally of Fernandez de Kirchner, who then channeled money back to her and late husband Nestor Kirchner, also a former president. Defenders of the vice president maintain that she was a victim of judicial persecution.

Lawyers said that Fernandez de Kirchner would not go to jail any time soon because she has immunity while serving as vice president. She would need to be removed from office in a political trial before she could be sent to prison.

“She currently has privileges as vice president, which means she is one of the officials whose removal requires a political trial,” said lawyer Alejandro Carrio, adding that higher courts could spend years going over appeals up to the Supreme Court. “I do not see the process with a case of this magnitude taking less than three years.”

The country is on edge after a long economic crisis and inflation heading toward 100%. Supporters of Fernandez de Kirchner gathered in the streets after she survived an assassination attempt this year. The ruling Peronist government of President Alberto Fernandez is facing a tough battle to fend off a challenge from the conservative opposition in general elections set for next year.

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NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump’s company was convicted of tax fraud on Tuesday in a case brought by the Manhattan District Attorney, a significant repudiation of financial practices at the former president’s business.

The guilty verdict came on the second day of deliberations following a trial in which the Trump Organization was accused of being complicit in a scheme by top executives to avoid paying personal income taxes on job perks such as rent-free apartments and luxury cars.

The conviction is a validation for New York prosecutors, who have spent three years investigating the former president and his businesses, though the penalties aren’t expected to be severe enough to jeopardize the future of Trump’s company.

As punishment, the Trump Organization could be fined up to $1.6 million — a relatively small amount for a company of its size, though the conviction might make some of its future deals more complicated.

Trump, who recently announced he was running for president again, has said the case against his company was part of a politically motivated “witch hunt” waged against him by vindictive Democrats.

This story is developing. Check back for updates.

© Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved.

This week, international media reports quoted Iran’s attorney general Mohammad Jafar Montazeri proclaiming the state’s morality police—known for enforcing its strict dress code on women—had been “abolished.” But question marks about whether Montazeri’s comments were an accurate reflection of the Islamic Republic’s policies immediately swirled.

That’s because, for many Iranians, the so-called morality police are the most visible face of the regime’s suppression of women. The current mass protests began following the death of 22-year-old Kurdish-Iranian woman Mahsa Amini on Sept. 16 while in custody of the morality police, after being arrested for allegedly violating the country’s strict hijab rules.

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The crackdown by Iran’s security forces has left at least 473 people dead, according to the Tehran-based Human Rights Activists News Agency.

Below, what to know about Montazeri’s comments and Iran’s morality police.

Read More: The Brutal Militia Trained to Kill for Iran’s Islamic Regime

What has Montazeri said about the morality police?

Iran’s morality police has existed in various forms since the 1979 Islamic Revolution and is overseen by the interior ministry, rather than the judiciary, where Montazeri works.

Montazeri was asked in a press conference Saturday whether the “Gasht-e Ershad,” or morality police, would be disbanded. “Morality police have nothing to do with the judiciary. It was abolished from the same place it was launched. Of course, the judiciary will continue to monitor society’s behavior,” he reportedly said.

Montazeri’s comments came days after he reportedly said on Dec. 1 that Iran’s parliament is reviewing the legal requirement to wear hijab, according to a CNN article that cited the pro-reform Iranian outlet Entekhab.

But state-run TV channel Al-Alam said some had “tried to misinterpret” the attorney general’s comments, while Student News Network (SNN), a conservative news outlet, dismissed the headlines as false and stressed that observing hijab is “still a law in Iran.” BBC Persian has characterized Montazeri’s comments as “vague.”

No Iranian officials have confirmed the closure of the morality police.

How have Iranian activists responded?

Many activists and protesters say they feel frustrated by news reports that Iran abolished the morality police, and that it was a stunt by the government to distract protesters. “Too often, the regime narrative is given greater credence than those of protesters, and that bias has to change,” activist Masih Alinejad tells TIME.

An Iranian journalist and activist now based in Paris, Alinejad has become a prominent international voice for Iranian women protesting against the regime after launching the “White Wednesdays” movement in 2014. She says that news reports about the abolition of Iran’s morality police have circulated “many times in the past,” including before this year’s protests.

Read More: Iran Has a Long History of Political Activism and Protest

Hadi Ghaemi, executive director of New York-based Center for Human Rights in Iran, says that Iranian officials have so far made “confusing and ambiguous” statements. Ghaemi cited a press conference Sunday in Belgrade, Serbia where Iran’s foreign minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian was asked whether the morality police was disbanded. “In Iran, everything is moving forward well in the framework of democracy and freedom,” Abdollahian reportedly said.

“For the last two months, we haven’t had morality police on the streets anyway, since the protesters have disbanded them,” Ghaemi says.

Can Montezari’s comments be seen as a concession?

Ghaemi says that Montezari’s statement may have been to show that the government was listening to protesters and making concessions after months of unrest. With Wednesday being Iran’s National Student Day, which marks the anniversary of three Iranian students who were killed by state police in 1953, Ghaemi expects protests to continue unabated—with citizens even shutting down street markets in recent days to show their support for the protesters.

Alinejad reiterated that the protests would continue. On Twitter, she wrote that an amusement park in Tehran was closed Monday after a photo of a female employee without hijab went viral on social media and authorities opened a case against her. “All over the country, people are banding together to strike and protest against this regime,” she tweeted.

But the grievances of Iranians go “far beyond the hijab law,” Ghaemi says. “There’s no bandwidth for the regime to control the situation anymore.”