CORPORATE INTELLIGENCE

• NEW YORK - K2 quietly demotes co-CEO

• ABU DHABI - Consultant Charles Peterson returns to nuclear

• WASHINGTON - Ex-staffer takes Guidehouse to court

Sparks fly between corporate intel stars Fusion GPS and Guidepost in US tech investor case 

A case brought by US tech investor Shervin Pishevar to uncover the author of a forged police report that accused him of rape has unleashed a courtroom battle between two corporate intelligence firms FusionGPS and Guidepost, Pishevar's client.

Cham Bank picks lawyer Gassan Baloul for legal fight against OFAC 

The lawyer, who is an expert in the Middle East, has clients ranging from Lebanese banks IBL and Jamal Trust Bank to the Republic of Iraq. He is now defending Syria's Cham Bank which is suing the US Treasury for having placed it under sanctions.

Pro-Trump advocacy firm New Founding forced to trim its sails 

The conservative influence group has accomplished little of note since opening two years ago. New Founding's bleak circumstances also taint Claremont, the influential Trump-friendly organisation that hatched it.

Former conservative undercover operative Tarah Price re-emerges in the far-right ecosphere 

Price disappeared from public view after her role in an aborted 2018 sting against National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster was exposed. Now she works for Steven Crowder, a leading media figure in MAGA World. Price is a relentless defender of her currently embattled boss, and has built a growing following of her own.

Congressional power struggle between Armenia and Azerbaijan over US aid 

Some of Washington's best-known influence peddlers fought to curry favour with House members crafting the legislation. Organising PR events on Capitol Hill, getting a foot in the door with key lawmakers, and orchestrating favourable media attention for their clients also ranked high on the list of lobbying priorities.

• SYDNEY/NEW YORK - The investigator chasing a ghost investor

• PARIS - Public bank boosts export intelligence scope

• NEW YORK - Mintz still investigating Kossoff's downfall

• NEW YORK - Ex-Nardello CISO goes to Merck

• LONDON - Former FTI Barker moves to intelligence with Strix Varia

• KYIV/LARGO -  New Ukraine mission for US Army vet Parker

• KYIV/COPENHAGEN - Danish lobbyist Rud Pedersen sets up shop in Ukraine

Toyota, under investigation, hires compliance experts from Volkswagen's monitor StoneTurn 

Toyota has been quietly beefing up its compliance teams with experts formerly of consulting and investigation firm StoneTurn. The Japanese carmaker is under investigation by the US Department of Justice over alleged corruption in its Thai subsidiary.

Venezuela arrests business partner of Alex Saab as he awaits trial in US on charges of corrupt ties to President Nicolas Maduro 

Saab and partner Alvaro Pulido are both citizens of Colombia, a close US ally. Before setting up shop in Venezuela, they forged a global business empire at home, where they won influential political friends and allegedly laundered money.

Kazakh opposition seeks to focus US Congress attention back on asset recovery 

A group of Kazakh opposition activists are trying to garner support in Washington for their fight to have sanctions imposed on business people close to ex-president Nursultan Nazarbayev.

• HOUSTON - Former Federal Reserve Board executive Christopher Laursen joins Straife
  

• PARIS - Bpifrance executive committee loses another member
  

• NEW YORK - Wells Fargo's Isabel Plasencia moves to Treliant

• WASHINGTON - Robert Lewis anchors The Van Aucker Group to Ankara again
  

• BRISTOL - Police inspector Mark Lemoir goes private

Foundation brings US army vets and logistics experts to Kyiv 

University and charity networks in Kyiv are bringing together professionals from a wide range of backgrounds. The latest to be approached is Ukraine's state protection chief.