The Economist: Why Belgium Is Now the Cocaine Capital of Europe

Nov 3, 2022 | With record seizures of cocaine at Belgian ports, the country has become Europe’s cocaine-trafficking capital. As the flow of drugs increases, local authorities are struggling with corruption and violence.

Lindsay Sandiford: British Grandmother Set to Face Firing Squad after Bali Appeal Fails
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Lindsay Sandiford, the 56-year-old British grandmother facing the death sentence in Indonesia for drug trafficking, has had her appeal rejected by a court in Bali.

A spokesman announced that the high court has upheld the sentence and that Sandiford will remain scheduled to face a firing squad.

She now has 14 days to appeal to the national Supreme Court.

Sandiford, from Redcar in Teesside, was accused of being at the centre of a drug ring involving three other Britons. She insisted she was set up and was forced by a gang to smuggle drugs to protect her children.

Britain expressed "disappointment" at the failure of Sandiford's appeal and criticised the decision to apply the death penalty. However, Sandiford failed in a legal bid earlier this year to force the British government to provide legal assistance for her appeal.

"We are disappointed to hear Lindsay Sandiford's appeal has been refused by the High Court in Bali," said a spokesman for the British embassy in Jakarta.

"The UK strongly opposes the death penalty and has repeatedly made representations to the Indonesian government on this matter. We will continue to provide consular assistance to her at this difficult time." » | Jonathan Pearlman in Sydney | Monday, April 08, 2013

HSBC 'Sorry' for Aiding Mexican Drugs Lords, Rogue States and Terrorists
THE GUARDIAN: Executive quits in front of US Senate as bank faces massive fines for 'horrific' lapses that resulted in laundering money for drugs cartels and pariah states


Executives with Europe's biggest bank, HSBC, were subjected to a humiliating onslaught from US senators on Tuesday over revelations that staff at its global subsidiaries laundered billions of dollars for drug cartels, terrorists and pariah states.

Lawmakers hammered the British-based bank over the scandal, demanding to know how and why its affiliates had exposed it to the proceeds of drug trafficking and terrorist financing in a "pervasively polluted" culture that persisted for years.

A report compiled for the committee detailed how HSBC's subsidiaries transported billions of dollars of cash in armoured vehicles, cleared suspicious travellers' cheques worth billions, and allowed Mexican drug lords buy to [to buy] planes with money laundered through Cayman Islands accounts.

Other subsidiaries moved money from Iran, Syria and other countries on US sanctions lists, and helped a Saudi bank linked to al-Qaida to shift money to the US. » | Dominic Rushe in New York | Tuesday, July 17, 2012