INTELLIGENCE ONLINE

China, France
New group OFNRS promoting China's BRI in France tied to presidential hopeful Zemmour

An association promoting the Belt and Road Initiative in France has been increasingly busy releasing publications targeting French academic and political circles to spread a positive narrative on China's actions abroad.

Spotlight | China, Europe
China's Qualland Institution fishing for intelligence in EU

A Chinese centre presenting itself as an international business consultancy has recently been recruiting freelance strategic researchers in areas of interest to China, such as the Indo Pacific region, under the nose of European intelligence services.

France
Construction conglomerates fight for pole position to build intel services' new HQs

France's internal and external intelligence agencies have begun drawing up plans for their future headquarters, to be located at either end of Paris. Both are now in the process of selecting constructors for these two major public contracts.

The Agencies' Gazette
CIS, UK counter state threats bill, Palestine-Algeria

Appointments, reforms and the issues at stake: every Monday, Intelligence Online serves up snippets big and small from the global intelligence community from London to Paris via Moscow.

Palestine-AlgeriaMaster spy Noureddine Mekri takes a stab at Palestinian reconciliation

United KingdomChristine Lee affair sparks Tom Tugendhat's push for draft bill on counter state threats

Russia'Compatriot' think-tank receives award

Bahrain, Israel
Bahrain reorganises intelligence services to work closer with Israel

Bahrain is determined to beef up the technological capacities of its intelligence services and strengthen its cooperation with Israel, its Strategic Security Bureau now dealing directly with Israeli intelligence.

Cyprus, Kazakhstan, United Kingdom
KPMG and Kroll forensic experts focus on Kazakh recycling

To defend their side of the legal wrangle between the previous and current management of Kazakh paper recycling firm Kagazy that came to a close in December, Maksat Arip and Tomas Werner sought help from forensics investigators at KPMG and Kroll.

Spotlight | France, India
Thales's offshore payments system exposed by court case brought by former agent in India

In an article in Britain's Daily Telegraph on 11 January, Thales's former agent in India has upped the pressure on the French defence electronics group, from which he is claiming €11m before the French courts.

The Agencies' Gazette
SVR, Tracfin, Romanian cyber, French prison intelligence

Appointments, reforms and the issues at stake: every Monday, Intelligence Online serves up snippets big and small from the global intelligence community from Moscow to Paris and Washington.

RussiaSVR awards artists' prize.

FranceTracfin places focus on transparency

USWashington provides close cyber support to Romania

FrancePrison intelligence struggling

The Agencies' Gazette
DGSE, Kazakhstan's KGB

Appointments, reforms and the issues at stake: every Monday, Intelligence Online serves up snippets big and small from the global intelligence community from London to Paris via Nur-Sultan.

Paris the DGSE adopts a TREX

Nur-Sultan the new KNB master's rise signals victory for the Tokayev camp

Paris DGSE more careful on the internet than DGSI

Egypt, France, Saudi Arabia
LODI loses battle for damages over Riyadh and Cairo ODAS defence contracts

The business diplomacy firm LODI Consulting has walked away empty-handed after a lengthy legal wrangle with the ODAS, France's military exports office.

Lebanon
IMF needs to see real progress on Alvarez & Marsal's Beirut forensic audit

On the eve of new talks between Beirut and the International Monetary Fund, held with the aim of seeing the release of a long-awaited financial bailout, many obstacles remain. Foremost among them are the delays to crucial audits, including the one conducted by US forensic auditor Alvarez & Marsal.

France
French prisons to get anti-drone systems

The French justice ministry has chosen French companies Cerbair, KEAS and Nuances Technologies to install anti-drone systems at French prisons. Its choice of companies is not particularly surprising but will have a structuring effect on the French anti-drone market as it waits for the much bigger contract for the defence ministry's Parade programme to be awarded.

France
Elysée Palace weighs in to solve French intel staffing woes

Understaffed units, top-heavy management, recruitment difficulties and brain drain are among the human resources challenges that intelligence coordinator Laurent Nunez's team has been entrusted with tackling.

Kazakhstan, Switzerland, UAE
Kazakh oligarchs fly off on holiday to escape the protests

The unrest in Kazakhstan has led former President Nursultan Nazarbayev's inner circle and the country's oligarchs to fly out of the country in the hope that calm will soon be restored.

Spotlight | Europe, Israel, United States
Wi-Fi protocol evolution is turning agencies away from dedicated interception systems

The increasing use of randomised MAC addresses has made Wi-Fi interception more difficult and tools less stable. A similar process of obfuscation of the unique identifier is being implemented by the 5G network, which does not bode well for the future use of current interception tools.

France
Macron gets intelligence services battle ready to protect elections from potential foreign interference

Unlike previous presidential polls, the Elysée is mobilising intelligence services on an unprecedented scale to secure the next election. Behind France's dedicated new agency Viginum, the DGSE, the DGSI and Tracfin are actively trying to prevent new foreign interferences.

The Corporate Intelligence Gazette
Raedas, FTI, Montrose, Casale, 5 Stones

Appointments, financial results, new contracts: each week, we report on events both big and small that matter in the global corporate intelligence community. This week we go to London, Paris, New York and Miami.

LondonRaedas passes the Covid test.

ParisFTI brings in Karl Payeur to turn round its investigations business.

LondonMontrose germinates in Germany thanks to super-diplomat Michael Schaefer.

New YorkCasale moves from FBI anti-corruption unit into pharmaceuticals.

Miami-ParisFormer DEA Paris bureau chief joins 5 Stones.