Three Sri Lankans Alleged Ringleaders in ATM Skimming Scam in Australia
Photo from watoday.com.au
August 15 - (UPDATE: SL-USA) - Three Sri Lankans are among five charged by police in Sydney, Australia of being part of a "highly sophisticated" international skimming syndicate that modified EFTPOS terminals (an Australian system for processing debit card at “points of sale”) to steal customer’s credit card details.
A statement of facts tendered to a local court claimed the gang consisted of alleged international ringleader Jeyavel Thangavelautham, 45, specialist Canadian technician Sutharson Baskaran, 25, and Jeyakumar Jeyapalsingham, 34, who was described as the Australian organizer.
During Sunday's raids of the Pendle Hill, Strathfield and Auburn homes of the accused, police allegedly seized EFTPOS devices, Canadian credit cards, fake travel documents, and 10,000 AU dollars (10,422 U.S. dollars) cash.
New South Wales Fraud Squad Commander Col Dyson said the network had been under investigation for more than two years and a total of 25 people had so far been charged by police.
The court heard covert surveillance and extensive phone taps allegedly caught the men having open and "coded" conversations about the importation of skimming equipment, theft and the manipulation and installation of EFTPOS terminals.
Police said the group offered shopkeepers up to $25000 to have modified EFTPOS machines installed so they could steal customers’ credit card details and also modified machines in stores and replacing them with identical devices that enabled them to get hold of data. Police alleged the group had discussed stabbing a member of the syndicate for not following instructions.
More than 1280 phone calls were intercepted, with Thangavelautham allegedly using 10 separate mobile phones.
Among those arrested was shopkeeper Mohammed Faheemuddin Junaidy, 34, who police allege agreed to install a "dummy" EFTPOS device in his Strathfield store to capture card information and pin numbers from his customers and transfer it to the syndicate. The court heard the device, which was shipped to Australia in two parts from Canada and the US, was installed in his shop last Friday night. Junaidy allegedly rang the group to confirm he had tested it with four cards and it was working properly.
Magistrate Jennifer Betts was told Customs intercepted the device, which was concealed in a video camera case which also contained skimming software and credit card numbers.
Customs later released the unit to allow police to track its movements.
The men were all refused bail.
Sources: Compiled from Australian media
A statement of facts tendered to a local court claimed the gang consisted of alleged international ringleader Jeyavel Thangavelautham, 45, specialist Canadian technician Sutharson Baskaran, 25, and Jeyakumar Jeyapalsingham, 34, who was described as the Australian organizer.
During Sunday's raids of the Pendle Hill, Strathfield and Auburn homes of the accused, police allegedly seized EFTPOS devices, Canadian credit cards, fake travel documents, and 10,000 AU dollars (10,422 U.S. dollars) cash.
New South Wales Fraud Squad Commander Col Dyson said the network had been under investigation for more than two years and a total of 25 people had so far been charged by police.
The court heard covert surveillance and extensive phone taps allegedly caught the men having open and "coded" conversations about the importation of skimming equipment, theft and the manipulation and installation of EFTPOS terminals.
Police said the group offered shopkeepers up to $25000 to have modified EFTPOS machines installed so they could steal customers’ credit card details and also modified machines in stores and replacing them with identical devices that enabled them to get hold of data. Police alleged the group had discussed stabbing a member of the syndicate for not following instructions.
More than 1280 phone calls were intercepted, with Thangavelautham allegedly using 10 separate mobile phones.
Among those arrested was shopkeeper Mohammed Faheemuddin Junaidy, 34, who police allege agreed to install a "dummy" EFTPOS device in his Strathfield store to capture card information and pin numbers from his customers and transfer it to the syndicate. The court heard the device, which was shipped to Australia in two parts from Canada and the US, was installed in his shop last Friday night. Junaidy allegedly rang the group to confirm he had tested it with four cards and it was working properly.
Magistrate Jennifer Betts was told Customs intercepted the device, which was concealed in a video camera case which also contained skimming software and credit card numbers.
Customs later released the unit to allow police to track its movements.
The men were all refused bail.
Sources: Compiled from Australian media
President Rajapaksa has Immunity under Hague Convention
Accepting summons from US plaintiffs in 'war crimes' lawsuit would infringe sovereignty
August 15 - (UPDATE - SL - USA) The Sri Lankan Ministry of Justice explaining why it refused to accept summons served on President Mahinda Rajapaksa in a civil case filed against in a US Court holding him responsible for alleged 'war crimes' said under the Hague Convention the President had immunity from lawsuits and that 'compliance would infringe the sovereignty of Sri Lanka.'
Justice Ministry Secretary Suhada K. Gamlath acknowledged receiving a request from a process server in Seattle, Washington on June 6 to serve legal summons on the President in Kasippillai Manoharan v Percy Mandra (Mahinda) Rajapaksa. But, invoking Article 13 of the Hague Service Convention, he said acceptance would be prejudicial to Sri Lanka's sovereignty. As Head of State, the President was 'absolutely immune from the jurisdiction of the courts of the United States," Mr. Gamlath wrote in a letter that was filed Friday by plaintiff's attorney Mr. Bruce Fein in the US District Court for the District of Columbia.
Mr. Gamlath further said the claims against President Rajapaksa for his actions as Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces are 'in substance claims against Sri Lanka itself' and that both Sri Lanka and President Rajapaksa are entitled to sovereign immunity from lawsuits.
"The claims against President Rajapaksa intrude on the sovereignty of Sri Lanka because they seek to impose liability, under the laws of another country, for acts allegedly taken within the sovereign territory of Sri Lanka and under its own legal authority."
Sri Lanka has informed the State Department of these developments, he added.
Mr. Fein in a letter to the court indicated he would be seeking an alternative.
"Due to the complexity of the legal issues pertinent to this case, Plaintiffs are now contemplating a 'Motion for Alternative Service Pursuant to Rule 4(f)(3) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure coupled with a prima facie showing of personal jurisdiction and the absence of head of state immunity by September 30, 2011."
In his complaint filed on January 28, 2011, plaintiff Dr. Manoharan alleges his son was killed in Trincomalee by the Special Task Force and that he was forced to flee the country due to threats to his life.
Justice Ministry Secretary Suhada K. Gamlath acknowledged receiving a request from a process server in Seattle, Washington on June 6 to serve legal summons on the President in Kasippillai Manoharan v Percy Mandra (Mahinda) Rajapaksa. But, invoking Article 13 of the Hague Service Convention, he said acceptance would be prejudicial to Sri Lanka's sovereignty. As Head of State, the President was 'absolutely immune from the jurisdiction of the courts of the United States," Mr. Gamlath wrote in a letter that was filed Friday by plaintiff's attorney Mr. Bruce Fein in the US District Court for the District of Columbia.
Mr. Gamlath further said the claims against President Rajapaksa for his actions as Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces are 'in substance claims against Sri Lanka itself' and that both Sri Lanka and President Rajapaksa are entitled to sovereign immunity from lawsuits.
"The claims against President Rajapaksa intrude on the sovereignty of Sri Lanka because they seek to impose liability, under the laws of another country, for acts allegedly taken within the sovereign territory of Sri Lanka and under its own legal authority."
Sri Lanka has informed the State Department of these developments, he added.
Mr. Fein in a letter to the court indicated he would be seeking an alternative.
"Due to the complexity of the legal issues pertinent to this case, Plaintiffs are now contemplating a 'Motion for Alternative Service Pursuant to Rule 4(f)(3) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure coupled with a prima facie showing of personal jurisdiction and the absence of head of state immunity by September 30, 2011."
In his complaint filed on January 28, 2011, plaintiff Dr. Manoharan alleges his son was killed in Trincomalee by the Special Task Force and that he was forced to flee the country due to threats to his life.
Rare Display of Pakistan's Buddhist Sculptures at Asia Society
New York - August 15 (UPDATE: SL-USA) - - Asia Society Museum is currently exhibiting spectacular Buddhist sculptures, architectural reliefs and works of gold and bronze from the Gandhara region of Pakistan, most never exhibited before in the United States.
These artworks show the rich artistic heritage of Gandhara as a geographical and historic region and as a particular style of art. The Buddhist Heritage of Pakistan: Art of Gandhara reveals the complex cultural influences—from Scytho-Parthian to Greco-Roman traditions—that fed the extraordinary artisticproduction of this region from the first century B.C.E.
through the fifth century C.E.
“Against a backdrop of political turmoil and tensions in the U.S.-Pakistan relationship, securing these loans has been an extraordinary achievement,” says Melissa Chiu, Asia Society Museum Director and Vice President, Global Art Programs. “We are extremely grateful to our colleagues at the Lahore Museum in Lahore and the National Museum of Pakistan in Karachi, and to countless individuals both in Pakistan and the U.S. for their efforts on behalf of the exhibition. Despite images of Pakistan as a place of violent extremism, the region has an ancient tradition of tolerance and pluralism as evidenced by the survival of these spectacular examples of Gandharan art. Through this exhibition, Asia Society aims to provide new contexts for looking at the arts and culture of Pakistan today, in keeping with our long history of programming about and engagement with the region and following our 2009 exhibition Hanging Fire: Contemporary Art from Pakistan.”
The Buddhist Heritage of Pakistan: Art of Gandhara is the first exhibition to bring works of Gandharan art from Pakistan to the United States since Asia Society’s groundbreaking exhibition of Gandharan sculpture in 1960. The majority of works in the exhibition are on loan from the National Museum in Karachi and the Lahore Museum in Lahore. (Above) Vision of a Buddha Paradise. Pakistan. 4th century CE.- Lahore Museum
These artworks show the rich artistic heritage of Gandhara as a geographical and historic region and as a particular style of art. The Buddhist Heritage of Pakistan: Art of Gandhara reveals the complex cultural influences—from Scytho-Parthian to Greco-Roman traditions—that fed the extraordinary artisticproduction of this region from the first century B.C.E.
through the fifth century C.E.
“Against a backdrop of political turmoil and tensions in the U.S.-Pakistan relationship, securing these loans has been an extraordinary achievement,” says Melissa Chiu, Asia Society Museum Director and Vice President, Global Art Programs. “We are extremely grateful to our colleagues at the Lahore Museum in Lahore and the National Museum of Pakistan in Karachi, and to countless individuals both in Pakistan and the U.S. for their efforts on behalf of the exhibition. Despite images of Pakistan as a place of violent extremism, the region has an ancient tradition of tolerance and pluralism as evidenced by the survival of these spectacular examples of Gandharan art. Through this exhibition, Asia Society aims to provide new contexts for looking at the arts and culture of Pakistan today, in keeping with our long history of programming about and engagement with the region and following our 2009 exhibition Hanging Fire: Contemporary Art from Pakistan.”
The Buddhist Heritage of Pakistan: Art of Gandhara is the first exhibition to bring works of Gandharan art from Pakistan to the United States since Asia Society’s groundbreaking exhibition of Gandharan sculpture in 1960. The majority of works in the exhibition are on loan from the National Museum in Karachi and the Lahore Museum in Lahore. (Above) Vision of a Buddha Paradise. Pakistan. 4th century CE.- Lahore Museum