Singapore Man extradited to U.S. on charges of IED devices export

Singapore Man Extradited to United States in Connection with Plot Involving Exports to Iran of U.S. Components Later Found in Bombs in Iraq

Lim Yong Nam, aka Steven Lim, 42, a citizen of Singapore, has been extradited from Indonesia to stand trial in the District of Columbia on charges of taking part in a conspiracy that allegedly caused thousands of radio frequency modules to be illegally exported from the United States to Iran, at least 16 of which were later found in unexploded improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in Iraq. 

The extradition was announced by Assistant Attorney General for National Security John P. Carlin, U.S. Attorney Channing D. Phillips of the District of Columbia, Director Sarah Saldaña of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Executive Assistant Director Michael Steinbach of the FBI’s National Security Branch and Under Secretary Eric L. Hirschhorn of the Commerce.

Lim had been detained in Indonesia since October 2014 in connection with a U.S. request for extradition.  He is to make his initial appearance at 1:30 p.m. EDT before Magistrate Judge Deborah A. Robinson of the District of Columbia.  Lim was indicted on June 23, 2010, and faces one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States, one count of smuggling, one count of illegal export of goods from the United States to Iran, one count of making false statements to the United States government and one count of making false statements to law enforcement.

“The indictment alleges that Lim conspired to defraud the United States and defeat our export controls by sending U.S.-origin components to Iran instead of their stated final destination of Singapore,” said Assistant Attorney General Carlin.  “Several of those components ultimately ended up in unexploded improvised devices in Iraq.  This case, including the successful extradition of Lim, demonstrates our efforts to vigorously pursue and bring to justice those who threaten our national security.”

“Thanks to the efforts of law enforcement here and abroad, Lim Yong Nam will now appear in an American courtroom to face charges involving the illegal export of sensitive technology,” said U.S. Attorney Phillips.  “As alleged in the indictment, the parts at issue here wound up in Iran and then on the battlefields in Iraq.  The extradition of this defendant demonstrates our commitment to aggressively investigating and prosecuting those who violate our export controls and threaten our nation’s security.”

“Improvised explosive devices (IEDs) have injured or killed thousands of military service members overseas,” said Director Saldaña.  “The U.S.-made products Lim is accused of illegally exporting were found in several of the devices used against America’s warfighters.  After a long investigative process, Lim is back on U.S. soil to answer for his actions.”

“The illegal export of restricted U.S. technology is extremely harmful to our national security,” said Executive Assistant Director Steinbach.  “In this case the technology had lethal applications and was used in improvised explosive devices in Iraq which endangered U.S. and coalition forces.  This investigation was a coordinated effort by many agency partners and shows our determination to identify and bring to justice all those who steal sensitive technology.”

“The extradition of Lim Yong Nam highlights the significant cooperation of U.S. law enforcement agencies and our international partners to pursue and prosecute those who pose a threat to our national security, especially to U.S. service members overseas,” said Under Secretary Hirschhorn.  “I commend the outstanding efforts of all of the agencies involved in the case.”

According to a superseding indictment that was returned against Lim and other defendants on Sept. 15, 2010, IEDs were the major source of American combat casualties in Iraq.  The conspiracy alleged in the indictment involved radio frequency modules that have several commercial applications, including in wireless local area networks connecting printers and computers in office settings.  These modules include encryption capabilities and have a range allowing them to transmit data wirelessly as far as 40 miles when configured with a high-gain antenna.  These same modules also have potentially lethal applications.  Notably, during 2008 and 2009, coalition forces in Iraq recovered numerous modules, all made by the same Minnesota firm, that had been utilized as part of the remote detonation system for IEDs.

The superseding indictment alleges that between June 2007 and February 2008, Lim and others caused 6,000 modules to be purchased and illegally exported from the Minnesota-based company through Singapore, and later to Iran, in five shipments, knowing that the export of U.S.-origin goods to Iran was a violation of U.S. law.  In each transaction, Lim and others made misrepresentations and false statements to the Minnesota firm that Singapore was the final destination of the goods.  Similarly, according to the superseding indictment, Lim and others caused false documents to be filed with the U.S. government, in which they claimed that Singapore was the ultimate destination of the modules.  At the time of these activities, Lim and others were allegedly communicating with one another about U.S. laws prohibiting the export of U.S.-origin goods to Iran.  However, in November 2009, Lim told U.S. authorities that he had never participated in illicit exports to Iran, the superseding indictment alleges.

The superseding indictment alleges that several of the 6,000 modules the defendants routed from Minnesota to Iran were later discovered by coalition forces in Iraq, where the modules were being used as part of IED remote detonation systems.  In May 2008, December 2008, April 2009 and July 2010, coalition forces found at least 16 of these modules in unexploded IEDs recovered in Iraq, the indictment alleges.

An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed a violation of criminal law and is not evidence of guilt.  Every defendant is presumed innocent until, and unless, proven guilty.

This investigation was jointly conducted by ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) special agents in Boston and Los Angeles; FBI agents in Minneapolis; and Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security agents in Chicago and Boston.  Substantial assistance was provided by the U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls, the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control and the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs, particularly the Justice Department Attaché in the Philippines, as well as the FBI and HSI Attachés in Jakarta and Singapore.  

U.S. law enforcement authorities thanked the governments of Singapore and Indonesia for the substantial assistance that was provided in the investigation of this matter.

The prosecution is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ari Redbord of the District of Columbia and Trial Attorney Julie Edelstein of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section.

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News Edited By:

KANWAL ABIDI  - Journalist & Political Analyst

063 News (Global Press Agency)

FBI drops the case against Apple

Withdrawal of the Dept of Justice lawsuit brings an 

unexpected conclusion to a divisive battle between 

FBI and Apple:

Summary:

Abandoning a Legal Battle: The U.S. government dropped its case against Apple, saying it doesn’t need the tech company’s help to access the data on the iPhone used by the San Bernardino shooter last year. Turns out the feds were able get in with the help of an unnamed third party. Apple has argued that cooperating with law enforcement would put smartphone users at increased risk of snooping from hackers and the government, while the FBI contended that accessing the device would be in the interest of national security.

Full Story:

The Justice Department is withdrawing its lawsuit against Apple, telling a federal court Monday that it was able to unlock an iPhone used by one of the San Bernardino shooters without the tech giant's help.

“The FBI has now successfully retrieved the data stored on the San Bernardino terrorist’s iPhone and therefore no longer requires the assistance from Apple required by this Court Order,” Justice Department spokeswoman Melanie Newman said in a statement.

The FBI is currently reviewing the information on the phone, consistent with standard investigatory procedures.

The FBI had asked the courts to direct Apple to unlock the iPhone, but at the last minute, delayed the first court hearing last week. At the time, authorities said they wanted to test a new method to unlock the phone without Apple's assistance.

In a motion filed Monday, the DOJ told the court that method proved successful, giving authorities access to the data on the phone used by Syed Rizwan Farook, one of two shooters who killed 14 people in the San Bernardino, Calif., terrorist attack in December.

The withdrawal of the DOJ lawsuit brings an unexpected and rapid conclusion to a divisive battle that many thought would go all the way to the Supreme Court.

Apple’s defiance of an FBI court order last month touched off a heated debate over government access to encrypted data that has enveloped Capitol Hill and spread to the campaign trail.

The recent terrorist attacks in Paris, San Bernardino and Brussels have only brought added urgency to the debate.

Law enforcement officials have long pushed for greater access to encrypted data, warning that criminals and terrorists are using the technology to help hide from authorities, or “go dark.”

But the tech community and privacy advocates have cautioned that guaranteeing access to secure data weakens global digital security, and potentially endangers online privacy.

The Apple-FBI standoff quickly became a proxy for this long-standing battle.

The FBI wanted Apple to create software to disable a failsafe security feature that would wipe the phone’s memory if an incorrect password were attempted incorrectly 10 times.

In its refusal, Apple said that software was akin to a dangerous “backdoor” that could give hackers access to all iPhones. The company also argued that compiling a company to generate code — or “speech” — violated the First Amendment.

Apple also warned that complying would set a troubling precedent that empowers law enforcement to ask other companies to undermine their own security.

The FBI insisted that such a method was the only way to access Farook's phone, and that its request was not meant to set a precedent.

“At the time we made the [initial] filing, it was a last resort,” a law enforcement official told reporters in a conference call late Monday.

The bureau suddenly changed course last week, when it said a third party outside the government had approached the agency with a previously undiscovered way to crack into the phone. It remains unclear what the method is, or who discovered it.

“I don’t think we’re going to go into any details other than what we put in our filing before,” the law enforcement official said.

The official also declined to give any indication of what might be on Farook's phone.

Despite backing down from its controversial court order in San Bernardino, the Justice Department did not rule out using the approach in future cases, emphasizing that San Bernardino was not a "test case."

According to reports, there are at least a dozen other criminal cases in the country where law enforcement is seeking help to unlock phones. 

Apple also recently asked a New York judge to press pause on a similar case revolving around the locked iPhone of a convicted drug trafficker. The government is appealing the judge's recent decision that Apple could not be forced to comply with the request to help unlock the phone.

“It remains a priority for the government to ensure that law enforcement can obtain crucial digital information to protect national security and public safety, either with cooperation from relevant parties, or through the court system when cooperation fails,” Newman said.

The law enforcement official would only confirm that the method used to hack Farook’s phone worked on that one phone, an iPhone 5c running a version of Apple’s iOS 9 operating system.

“It’s premature to say anything about our ability to access other phones at this point,” the official said.

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News Edited By:

Kanwal Abidi

*Journalist & Political Analyst

063 News (Global Press Agency)

FBI's Community Leadership Award

Juvenile Assessment Center Wins FBI Director’s Community Leadership Award

FBI DenverMarch 10, 2016

Public Affairs Specialist Deborah Sherman

The FBI Denver Division has recognized a local non-profit that helps victims of child sex trafficking and other troubled youth with its most prestigious national citizenship award, the FBI Director’s Community Leadership Award (DCLA.)

The Juvenile Assessment Center, known as the JAC, received the award Thursday morning during a press conference at the FBI Denver Division. Executive Director Kira Suurvarik accepted the DCLA on behalf of the organization’s staff and board of directors.

Juvenile Assessment Center (JAC) and FBI Denver Division personnel at FBI Denver Headquarters, where the JAC was presented with the Director’s Community Leadership Award on March 10, 2016. .....................................................................................................................................

“This is truly an honor for us, thank you,” said Suurvarik. “We are proud to partner with the FBI’s Rocky Mountain Innocence Lost Task Force to find and recover children from adults who are sexually exploiting them in Colorado and Wyoming.”

Leaders within the FBI Denver Division chose to honor the JAC for working with children and teens who use drugs, run away from home, struggle in school, and face mental illness. The JAC also partners with the FBI Innocence Lost Task Force to stop human trafficking. Together, they identified and recovered several girls and boys who were being sexually exploited last year during Operation Cross Country IX.

“Kira and the JAC have helped make the world safer for our children, have given parents a place to go when they’re at their wits’ end, and have helped create safe, healthy, and happy families,” said Denver FBI Special Agent in Charge Thomas Ravenelle. “Thank you for your community service and partnership with the FBI.”

Since 1990, the JAC has partnered with government and community-based agencies to provide coordinated responses for youth and families. Its partners include law enforcement, the Department of Human Services, school districts, mental health centers, non-profit providers, and juvenile justice agencies in Arapahoe, Douglas, Elbert, and Lincoln Counties.

The FBI has been presenting the DCLA  for more than two decades to publicly recognize extraordinary citizens and organizations that help make our communities safer today and in the future.

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News Edited By: KANWAL ABIDI 

                                  Journalist & Political Analyst

                                  *063 News 

FBI warns of Phone Scam for MD state

FBI Warns US Citizens Being Targeted in Phone Scam

FBI SpringfieldFebruary 16, 2016

The FBI is warning citizens to be on alert for a phone scam 

that is targeting individuals while displaying the FBI’s 

telephone number on the recipient’s caller ID.

The FBI has received multiple calls complaining of a phone 

scam involving someone claiming to represent the U.S. 

government or even claiming to be FBI agents. In those 

cases, the caller advised the citizen of delinquent student 

loans or dues, delinquent taxes, or even overdue parking 

tickets. On occasion, the caller even threatens arrest. The 

scam artists are requesting the fees immediately being paid.

During each attempt to gain personally identifiable 

information from the recipient, the caller claims to have 

specific personal information. In addition, the originating 

telephone number used by the scammer is displayed or 

“spoofed” as that of the telephone number of an FBI field 

office.

The public is reminded that the FBI does not call private 

citizens requesting money and to never give out unsolicited 

requests for personal information to callers that you don’t 

know. Individuals receiving such calls can file a complaint 

through the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center 

at www.IC3.gov.

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News Edited by:

Kanwal Abidi *Journalist & Political Analyst (063 News)

Information by:

Special Agent Marshall Stone (FBI)

AMERICAN VOTERS’ UPRISING

Analysis of Voters' Insight:

Op-ed piece by: Kanwal Abidi                                           

                                        

“Washington D.C. You Are Fired!” – has engraved minds of American voters who seek real change in the White House this year.

The vital factor to comprehend is that American voters are in revolt. The crowd at rallies and debate would boo over comments made by US presidential candidates if they talk about claiming high achievements or take political donations from Wall Street or talk about issue over eminent domain or simply tell the audience that they are progressive.  

The time ahead to National Conventions is tough and unpredictable, thus, the US candidates need to understand what an average American wants, to win their delegates to go in the National Convention for Presidential nomination.

Americans want a peaceful sleep where they do not fear ISIS will knock on their doors, they want to plug in the porous border of Mexico and US, they want to reduce the debt incurred in the college education, they want to break away from Planned Parenthood, they want a Affordable Health care plan, they do not want gun violence, they do not want unnecessary wars – because they want to break away from political corruption by voting for an “honest and trustworthy” leader to the White House.

The trust deficit gap between the citizens of America and the government has grown wider, which is reflected in the recent Pew Research Center survey - that less than 20% of voters’ trust the government to take care of them.

In December 2015, the San Bernardino attack heightened the fear of Americans that why is it so easy for anyone to get up and go on a shooting spree. This brought about a long debate on guns control and rights of the citizens enlisted in the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution.

The CNN poll revealed that 60% of the voters’ think that American dream is impossible and the survival is at its highest stake these days. According to the voters’, the trait of honesty and trustworthiness matters more than the fact that the candidate has political experience or not.

The establishment leaders running for US presidential candidates have been unable to deliver clear path manifestoes on health, education and foreign policies – which make them untrustworthy for the voter.

The Americans revolt from political corruption and to do away with the big monies – is evident from the voters’ turning their back to the presidential candidates leading Super PACs and gatherings funds from political donors at Wall Street.

The Benghazi attack highlighted the email scandal of Clinton, putting her credibility at stake over misuse of the government email server and not conveying promptly the threat imposed to the US Embassy in the Libya in 2012 to the government authorities.

The results produced by the primaries and caucuses held at the twelve states on Super Tuesday in March, and the upcoming in Nevada and South Carolina in February – will determine the future path for the prospective US candidate. But one thing is for sure – that all candidates should not leave untapped questions in the voters’ mind to secure their mandate.

A democratic voter, residing in Manchester, shared his concern on US presidential race as he waited in the long queue at New Hampshire primary. He is a financial analyst and a father of three children struggling for survival and is concerned about his children going to college and his family health care plan. He “angrily” spoke of government employees’ corruption. He quoted that from July 2013 through June 2014, over 4000 transactions worth just short of $ 1 million were conducted at casinos using the Department of Defense’s government travel cards. Thus, he wants an honest leader in the White House, who can “wave a magic wand” against corruption.

Similarly, a GOP lady voter, at Iowa caucus, working as a waitress at a café, wants Trump as her leader as he is against the political corruption and he does not want Washington’s money. She wants to buy prescription medicines with ease, she wants to afford her daughter a good college education without going into a debt and more over she wants to live peacefully without seeing people roaming around with guns openly.

When Sanders announced his presidential candidacy, most of the analysts were vary of the fact that he could never beat Clinton. Nearly everyone cited that a self avowed socialist and a septuagenarian senator could not have a resounding victory over Clinton in the New Hampshire primary.

But it did happen; Sanders had a surging victory over Clinton - that looked unthinkable just a few months ago. Only reason is that voters’ need a candidate who is up to their expectations of being honest and come up to their survival pulse.

Similarly, when Trump announced his candidacy, many were shocked – but the real estate mogul has proved that he is just not entertainer, he has more material to what Americans want. He capitalized on the San Bernardino attack, by calling for a temporary ban on Muslims, to seal US Mexico border and legislate to stop any further Syrian or Iraq refugees coming to America.

Trump said “he could not see Americans dying on streets” and coupled with his vows about not needing Washington money, he has earned voters’ confidence, over his GOP political rivals.

Therefore, in this 216 US presidential race, surprises would be seen as the American electorate is starved for an honest and trustworthy politician – that will automatically make allowances for results which have never been witnessed in the American history.

A shocking paradigm shift is seen in the women voters’ who have moved away from Clinton and trust Sanders more. Sanders edged Clinton with 55% to 44% women favoring Clinton. Further, Sanders proved that young Americans in the age bracket of 18 to 29 years feel totally disconnected from the political establishment and 83% of them voted for him and only 12 % liked Clinton.

Sanders has always stood firmly and advocated for the average American; thus in his victory speech of New Hampshire primary, he called for $ 27 donation towards his fund raising for presidential campaign through his website. Sanders claims that his funds are funded “by the people”, whereas Clinton’s $25 millions Super PACs funds, out of which $15 million came from Wall Street contributions. So, Sanders want to leave this fact for Americans to determine who can lead better “for the people!”

Time will decide who will move forward to the National Conventions, but all the US presidential candidates will need to be more empathetic towards the voters’ and should listen to their concerns to get the Presidential nomination.

The political, elite class must understand the words of Abraham Lincoln “Ballot is stronger than Bullet” – so they must respond to the voters’ rising emotions, who want to see an “honest, true leader” sitting at the Oval Office.

………………………………………………..

 Signed: 

KANWAL ABIDI     17th Feb 2016

The writer is journalist, political analyst and media strategist

Tweets @KANWALanalyst

FBI Warns of Online Dating Scams on Valentines

FBI Warns of Online Dating Ahead Valentine's Day
Criminals Looking to Steal Your Money Through Promises of Love and Companionship Via Money Transfer Services; Report Scams to www.ic3.gov

FBI San Diego - Press ReleaseFebruary 11, 2016

Millions of Americans visit online dating websites every year hoping to find a companion or even a soulmate. But as Valentine’s Day gets closer, the FBI wants to warn you that criminals use these sites, too, looking to turn the lonely and vulnerable into fast money through a variety of scams.

These criminals—who also troll social media sites and chat rooms in search of romantic victims—usually claim to be Americans traveling or working abroad. In reality, they often live overseas. While their most common targets are women over 40 who are divorced, widowed, and/or disabled, but every age group and demographic is at risk.

Here’s how the scam usually works. You’re contacted online by someone who appears interested in you. He or she may have a profile you can read or a picture that is e-mailed to you. For weeks, even months, you may chat back and forth with one another, forming a connection. You may even be sent flowers or other gifts. But ultimately, it’s going to happen—your new-found “friend” is going to ask you for money.

So you send money...but rest assured the requests won’t stop there. There will be more hardships that only you can help alleviate with your financial gifts. He may also send you checks to cash since he’s out of the country and can’t cash them himself, or he may ask you to forward him a package.

So what really happened? You were targeted by criminals, probably based on personal information you uploaded on dating or social media sites. The pictures you were sent were most likely phony lifted from other websites. The profiles were fake as well, carefully crafted to match your interests.

In addition to losing your money to someone who had no intention of ever visiting you, you may also have unknowingly taken part in a money laundering scheme by cashing phony checks and sending the money overseas and by shipping stolen merchandise (the forwarded package).

In another recently reported dating extortion scam, victims usually met someone on an online dating site and then were asked to move the conversation to a particular social networking site, where the talk often turned intimate. Victims were later sent a link to a website where those conversations were posted, along with photos, their phone numbers, and claims that they were “cheaters.” In order to have that information removed, victims were told they could make a $99 payment—but there is no indication that the other side of the bargain was upheld.

While the FBI and other federal partners work some of these cases—in particular those with a large number of victims or large dollar losses and/or those involving organized criminal groups—many are investigated by local and state authorities.

We strongly recommend, however, that if you think you’ve been victimized by a dating scam or any other online scam, file a complaint with our Internet Crime Complaint Center (www.ic3.gov).

Before forwarding the complaints to the appropriate agencies, IC3 collates and analyzes the data—looking for common threads that could link complaints together and help identify the culprits. This helps keep everyone safe.

Here are some tips on how to avoid becoming a victim of an online dating scam.

Recognizing an Online Dating Scam Artist

Your online “date” may only be interested in your money if he or she:

• Presses you to leave the dating website you met through and to communicate using personal e-mail or instant messaging;
• Professes instant feelings of love;
• Sends you a photograph of himself or herself that looks like something from a glamour magazine;
• Claims to be from the U.S. and is traveling or working overseas;
• Makes plans to visit you but is then unable to do so because of a tragic event; or
• Asks for money for a variety of reasons (travel, medical emergencies, hotel bills, hospitals bills for child or other relative, visas or other official documents, losses from a financial setback or crime victimization).

Do not send money through any wire transfer service to someone you met online. The chances of recovering your money are very slim.

One way to steer clear of these criminals altogether is to stick to online dating websites with nationally known reputations. Finally, the FBI advises not to send money through any wire transfer service to someone you met online. The chances of recovering your money are very slim. If you believe you are the victim of an online dating scam or any Internet facilitated crime, please file a report at www.ic3.gov.

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News Edited By: KANWAL ABIDI

                              *Political Analyst & Journalist 

                               063 News (Global Press Agency)