Category Archives: FBI

Los Angeles thieves steal $30m in cash from safe without setting off any alarms

Posted on by

One of the largest cash heists in the city’s history went unnoticed until police opened vault that few people knew about

Thieves in Los Angeles pulled off one of the largest cash heists in city history over the weekend, stealing as much as $30m from a money storage facility on Easter Sunday, authorities said on Wednesday.

The break-in unfolded at an unnamed facility in the Sylmar area of the San Fernando Valley that handles and stores cash from businesses across the region. Burglars were able to enter without immediate detection and breached a safe, said Elaine Morales, a Los Angeles police department commander, to the Los Angeles Times.

Continue reading...

China cyber-attacks: this growing threat to UK security will not go away

Posted on by

With the Electoral Commission the latest target on a list that includes the economy and supply chains, experts warn of data-gathering ‘on an industrial scale’

In March last year an integrated review of the UK’s defence and foreign policy said it would protect the country’s “democratic freedoms” from Chinese state attacks.

A few months later the Electoral Commission confirmed why democratic institutions and processes were on the threat list as it revealed that a cyber-attack – by a then unidentified assailant – had accessed the data of 40 million voters.

Continue reading...

Ex-FBI informant charged with lying about Bidens arrested again

Posted on by

Alexander Smirnov, who claims to have Russian intelligence links, taken into custody after meeting at lawyers’ offices in Las Vegas

The former FBI informant who is charged with lying about a multimillion-dollar bribery scheme involving Joe Biden’s family was again taken into custody in Las Vegas, two days after a judge released him, his attorneys said.

Alexander Smirnov was arrested during a meeting on Thursday morning at his lawyers’ offices in downtown Las Vegas. The arrest came after prosecutors appealed the judge’s ruling allowing 43-year-old Smirnov, who holds dual US-Israeli citizenship, to be released with a GPS monitor ahead of trial. He is charged with making a false statement and creating a false and fictitious record.

Continue reading...

FBI informant who lied about Bidens’ Ukraine ties had contact with Russians – prosecutors

Posted on by

Prosecutors reveal alleged ties to Russian intelligence-affiliated persons to urge US judge to deny Alexander Smirnov’s release

A former FBI informant charged with making up a multimillion-dollar bribery scheme involving Joe Biden, his son Hunter and a Ukrainian energy company had contacts with officials affiliated with Russian intelligence, prosecutors said in a court paper on Tuesday.

Prosecutors revealed the alleged contact as they urged a judge to keep Alexander Smirnov behind bars while he awaits trial. He’s charged with falsely reporting to the FBI in June 2020 that executives associated with the Ukrainian energy company Burisma paid Hunter and the president $5m each in 2015 or 2016. The claim has been central to the Republican impeachment inquiry in Congress.

Continue reading...

Australia detains alleged key player in North Korean tobacco smuggling scheme after US request

Posted on by

Exclusive: Jin Guanghua was arrested by the AFP in Melbourne last year and is facing extradition to the US

A Chinese national has been quietly arrested and detained in Australia for 11 months at the request of US authorities investigating an alleged tobacco smuggling conspiracy that generated an estimated A$1.1bn (US$700m) in revenue to North Korea.

Jin Guanghua, 52, was arrested by the Australian federal police in Melbourne last March. Described in US court documents as an Australian resident, Jin was kept in custody in Melbourne for several months before being transferred to immigration detention while awaiting extradition.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

FBI informant charged with lying about Bidens’ role in Ukraine business

Posted on by

Alexander Smirnov falsely said executives linked to energy firm Burisma paid Joe and Hunter Biden $5m each in 2015 and 2016, prosecutors say

An FBI informant has been charged with lying to his handler about ties between Joe Biden, his son Hunter and a Ukrainian energy company.

Alexander Smirnov falsely told FBI agents in June 2020 that executives associated with the Ukrainian energy company Burisma paid Hunter and Joe Biden $5m each in 2015 and 2016, prosecutors said on Thursday.

Continue reading...

Newburgh Four: judge orders release of man convicted in US terror sting

Posted on by

James Cromitie was convicted in 2010 after FBI invented a conspiracy to attack synagogues and military planes

A man convicted in a post-9/11 terrorism sting was ordered freed from prison by a judge who criticized the FBI for relying on an “unsavory” confidential informant for an agency-invented conspiracy to blow up New York synagogues and shoot down national guard planes.

The US district judge Colleen McMahon on Friday granted James Cromitie, 58, compassionate release from prison six months after she ordered the release of his three co-defendants, known as the Newburgh Four, for similar reasons.

Continue reading...

Wieambilla shootings inspired ‘true threats’ against public figures by accused US man, court hears

Posted on by

Donald Day Jr made serious threats to kill others after allegedly encouraging deadly Queensland shootings, prosecutors say

An American conspiracy theorist arrested in connection to religiously motivated shootings by an Australian family in Queensland later used the killings to bolster his alleged threats against public figures, United States prosecutors have said.

Donald Day Jr, 58, was arrested in December 2023 by the FBI in Arizona on two counts of “interstate threats” following the December 2022 fatal shootings in Wieambilla, Queensland.

Continue reading...

FBI investigates fake tweet about bitcoin investment fund that led to price spike

Posted on by

Hackers posted false news about a widely anticipated announcement that the SEC was expected to make about bitcoin

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said Wednesday that it is working with the FBI to investigate a fake message posted on its X social media account.

On Tuesday hackers posted false news about a widely anticipated announcement that the SEC was expected to make about bitcoin, leading the cryptocurrency’s price to spike and alarming observers. An SEC spokesperson confirmed to the Guardian in a statement that the unauthorized post on the @SECGov account “was not drafted or created by the SEC”.

Continue reading...

Former US diplomat arrested in Florida is accused of serving as an agent of Cuba

Posted on by

Manuel Rocha, 73, who once served as ambassador to Bolivia, is accused of working to promote the Cuban government’s interests

A former American diplomat who served as US ambassador to Bolivia has been arrested in a long-running FBI counterintelligence investigation, accused of secretly serving as an agent of Cuba’s government, the Associated Press has learned.

Manuel Rocha, 73, was arrested in Miami on Friday on a criminal complaint and more details about the case are expected to be made public at a court appearance Monday, said two people who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss an ongoing federal investigation.

Continue reading...

Fiery Bentley crash that killed two at US-Canada border probably not terrorism, says FBI

Posted on by

Rainbow Bridge was closed on one of year’s busiest days after vehicle reportedly en route to Kiss concert exploded on Wednesday

A car crash at the US-Canada border that killed two people, injured a border officer and jangled nerves ahead of the busy Thanksgiving holiday travel period is not believed to be terrorism, according to the FBI.

The agency had handed over its investigation to local officials, who are looking into why a luxury vehicle sped towards a border checkpoint, crossed a median, launched into the air, hit a building and exploded into a fireball.

Continue reading...

Two dead after vehicle explosion at US-Canada border checkpoint

Posted on by

New York governor says ‘no indication of terrorist attack’ as officials investigate incident at Rainbow Bridge near Niagara Falls

A speeding car crashed in flames on the bridge linking New York state and Ontario at Niagara Falls on Wednesday, killing two people in the vehicle and sparking a security scare that closed four US-Canadian border crossings.

Hours later, federal and state authorities said investigators had found no evidence of an act of terrorism, though circumstances surrounding the crash on the Rainbow Bridge remained murky, leaving it to be determined whether it was accidental or intentional.

Continue reading...

Sikh activist accuses India of ‘transnational terrorism’ after US foils plot to kill him

Posted on by

Gurpatwant Singh Pannun makes comments after Washington raised concerns Indian government may known of plot

A prominent Sikh activist who was reportedly the target of a foiled assassination attempt on US soil has accused India of “transnational terrorism” after Washington raised concerns the Indian government may have had knowledge of the plot.

The Financial Times reported on Wednesday that the US had thwarted the plot to kill Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, an American and Canadian citizen, after the June murder of another Sikh separatist leader, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, in a Vancouver suburb.

Continue reading...

Trump suggests he would use FBI to go after political rivals if elected in 2024

Posted on by

Trump said: ‘If I happen to be president and I see somebody doing well and beating me very badly, I say go down and indict them’

Donald Trump has suggested he would use the FBI and justice department to go after political rivals should he return to the White House next year in a move which will further stoke fears of what a second period of office for Trump could mean.

Trump made the comments during an interview with the Spanish-language television network Univision. The host Enrique Acevedo asked him about his flood of legal problems saying: “You say they’ve weaponized the justice department, they weaponized the FBI. Would you do the same if you’re re-elected?”

Continue reading...

FBI raids home of New York mayor’s top campaign fundraiser

Posted on by

Brianna Suggs questioned by corruption squad as Eric Adams cancels several Washington DC meetings

The home of a consultant with ties to the New York city mayor, Eric Adams, was raided by the FBI on Thursday.

Brianna Suggs, Adams’s top campaign fundraiser, was questioned by the FBI’s public corruption squad as they searched her house in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn, the New York Times reported.

Continue reading...

North Korean IT workers sent US pay home for weapons program, says FBI

Posted on by

Authorities say thousands of people dispatched by North Korea to work for US companies fed millions of dollars to missile program

Thousands of information technology workers contracting with US companies have for years secretly sent millions of dollars of their wages to North Korea for use in its ballistic missile program, FBI and Department of Justice officials said.

The justice department said Wednesday that IT workers dispatched and contracted by North Korea to work remotely with companies in St Louis and elsewhere in the US have been using false identities to get the jobs. The money they earned was funneled to the North Korean weapons program, FBI leaders said at a news conference in St Louis.

Continue reading...

US and UK spy chiefs warn Middle East crisis could raise domestic terror threat

Posted on by

Heads of MI5 and FBI say Jewish communities and other groups may face danger from lone actors, Iran or militants

The heads of MI5 and the FBI have issued an unprecedented joint warning that the threat of a domestic terrorist attack could rise as a result of the crisis in the Middle East.

The counter-terror chiefs said Jewish communities and organisations, as well as other groups, may face a heightened danger from lone actors, Hamas militants and Iran on British or US soil.

Continue reading...

US has seen increase in domestic threats since Hamas attacks in Israel, FBI says

Posted on by

Director Christopher Wray cautioned police vigilance and encouraged police chiefs to continue sharing information

FBI director Christopher Wray has reiterated part of an FBI statement that the US domestic security agency does not have “specific and credible intelligence indicating a threat to the United States stemming from the Hamas attacks in Israel”.

Speaking from prepared remarks at the International Association of Chiefs of Police conference in San Diego, Wray acknowledged an increase in domestic threats due to the “heightened environment”, calling for increased vigilance and requesting that police continue to share intelligence.

Continue reading...

FBI warned prominent US Sikhs of threats after murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada

Posted on by

Revelation comes days after prime minister Justin Trudeau blamed the assassination of the Sikh activist on the Indian government

The FBI warned at least three Americans active in the Sikh community that their lives were in danger in the immediate aftermath of the murder of a Sikh activist in Canada last June.

Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau has blamed the apparent assassination on the Indian government, as assessment that has reportedly been backed by Canadian and US intelligence sources and has created a rupture in Ottawa’s relationship with Indian prime minister Narendra Modi’s government.

Continue reading...

Texas’s impeached attorney general acquitted by fellow Republicans

Posted on by

Ken Paxton, impeached in May, has been found not guilty of bribery and dereliction of duty and may resume office

After a dramatic impeachment trial that lasted more than a week, Ken Paxton, the ultraconservative Texas attorney general, has been acquitted and will be able to resume his work in elected office.

Paxton, who faced 16 articles of impeachment against him in this trial – involving bribery, dereliction of duty and disregard for official duty – and four more separately, avoided becoming Texas’s highest-ranking elected official to be removed from state office. He quickly issued a statement boasting that, in his case, “the truth prevailed”.

Continue reading...