INTELLIGENCE ONLINE

China, Europe, Qatar
Gas-hungry Europeans watch as Qatar and China talk supplies

Qatar has become crucial as the West races to find a solution to wean itself off Russia gas amid its rivalry with China. While the emirate is happy to align its interests with US and European groups for now, Beijing has not said its last word.

Saudi Arabia
A notable absence: Saudi Arabia's Land Forces Commander was not at Eurosatory

Many of the world's military chiefs attended the European defence show in Paris but the chief of Saudi Arabia's land forces was conspicuously absent, illustrating the power games at play in Mohammed bin Salman's new defence circles.

Italy
Ever on the offensive, bitCorp moves into secure communications

The small Italian company bitCorp, owned by two former Carabinieri intelligence officers, Gianluca Tirozzi and Christian Persurich, and already well established in cyber intelligence, is now seeking to enter the field of secure military communications via European funding.

The Corporate Intelligence Gazette
Nardello, Alaco, JS Held, GPW

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 Washington, London and New York.

New York Nardello seeks new London bureau chief

London Adrian Stones quits Alaco

New York JS Held recruits from Kroll

London The GPW deal in numbers

Washington Ex-US Air Force investigator sets up on his own

Israel
Change of control at NSO's rival in strategic market Quadream

Guy Geva and Nimrod Reznik, who co-founded Israeli cyber intelligence company Quadream with Ilan Dabelstein, have sold their shares, just as competitor NSO finds itself in serious difficulty.

France
Safran overtakes L3 in the final stretch to win French spy plane camera contract

L3Harris, the US group which produces the Wescam camera, had been the favourite but, in the end, France's Vador intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) aircraft will be fitted with Safran's Euroflir 410 cameras. One plane is already in service over Romania but is not fully equipped.

China, Ukraine
Beijing's failure to get to grips with the Ukrainian crisis is leading it to seek outside help

Chinese intelligence services are increasingly seeking advice from outside the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Public Security (Gonganbu) in order to find a solid position on the Ukrainian issue. This use of external sources allows Beijing's leaders to absolve themselves of responsibility for any further poor decisions.

Saudi Arabia
Emad Krimly, the engineer behind the scenes on Neom mega project

Nadhmi al-Nasr, the man in charge of Mohammed bin Salman's colossal Neom project, has quietly been calling on the US engineer for help with the technical aspects of the new city, a project propelling him close to the inner circle of Saudi power.

France, Turkey
Ankara sets its sights on French aeronautical SMEs at Eurosatory trade fair

The Turkish agency in charge of military procurement and exports, SSB, is trying to foster links between the country's industrial SMEs and their French counterparts. To do so, it has funded several discreet initiatives and is actively scouring for defence partnership opportunities.

The Agencies' Gazette
EU counter-espionage, Lebanese intelligence and drug trafficking, new KNB vice director

Appointments, reforms and key issues: every Monday, Intelligence Online serves up snippets of news, big and small, from the global intelligence community. This week we hone in on Beirut, Beijing, Nur-Sultan and Brussels.

European Union Commission ramps up counter-intelligence

Lebanon Military intelligence to tackle drug trafficking

Kazakhstan Kazakh spymaster enlists financial investigator

China Xi Jinping confident Li Shulei named vice director of CCP's propaganda unit

Iraq
Cerbair's anti-drone system sparks interest of Iraqi Counter-Terrorism Service

As drone attacks increase in Baghdad, the Iraqi Counter-Terrorism Service is making moves to tackle the threat. It has shown interest in the systems developed by French company Cerbair despite US domination of the local defence market.

Afghanistan
Haqqani Network threatens to break away from main Taliban movement with Pakistani backing

Showing unprecedented pragmatism, the Haqqani Network has criticised the Taliban rulers of Afghanistan for their religious radicality and is increasingly looking to take an independent line from the rest of the movement.

Spotlight | France, UAE
Sylvain Vieujot, the richest Frenchman in Dubai, caught up in dynastic power struggle

Equitativa Group's Emirates REIT, one of the largest property trusts in the Gulf, is the subject of several investigations and a lawsuit from a former partner linked to Tahnoon bin Zayed. The business duo Vieujot-Mouquet, who are connected to MbZ, are also being closely watched.

Italy, Qatar
Friction between Rome and ENI in European race for non-Russian gas

Though he is still backing the national oil champion's bid for gas in Qatar, Italian prime minister Mario Draghi has taken steps to gain more independence from Russia, and from the oil and gas giant itself.

The Corporate Intelligence Gazette
Ex-CIA official launches new firm, RosettiStarr, Davra Consulting, Avisa loses ethics chairman

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 Washington, San Diego, London and France.

WashingtonEx-CIA official Ameer Shalaby launches intelligence tradecraft consultancy

San DiegoRosettiStarr hires ex-hacks

LondonRAF veteran launches consulting career

FranceGourdault-Montagne steps down as chairman of Avisa Partners' ethics committee

Bulgaria, Greece, United States
US State Department oversees restructuring of southern European energy market

Washington is taking advantage of Russia's invasion of Ukraine to speed up its nuclear energy plans in Greece. A cooperation programme is in preparation, with Bulgaria playing the role of go-between.

UAE
Former FinFisher boss gives boost to Abu Dhabi's new rising star

After years running Germany's FinFisher Labs, Carlos Gandini moved into consultancy and is now providing his expertise to the UAE's latest cyber intelligence unit, CPX.

Saudi Arabia, United States
Phalanx v CSI : Saudi Arabian FMS deal dogged by commission battle

US-Saudi Arabian defence deals appear to go smoothly, yet behind the scenes there are often multiple agents fighting tooth and nail to get them done, sometimes triggering litigation like the ongoing spat involving anti-IED specialist CSI.