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Fintech CEO: As Lithuania Breaks Energy Ties with Russia, Risk of Cybercrime Further Heightens

Published

3 years ago

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cybercrime - Investors King

This week, Lithuania’s Energy Ministry released a statement which noted that the country is now completely independent from Russian natural gas. It read, in part, “Seeking full energy independence from Russian gas, in response to Russia’s energy blackmail in Europe and the war in Ukraine, Lithuania has completely abandoned Russian gas.” Lithuanian leaders called on other EU countries to make the same move to withdraw from Russian economic influence.

“Lithuania is in a unique position as it abuts Russia’s Kaliningrad Oblast. The country has historic ties to Russia, and that history should carry influence larger than typical for a small country with less than three million people — especially as proposals emerge for a LNG terminal located in Paldiski, which would be an Estonian joint venture with Latvia and Finland. Due to their geography, these countries see a more urgent Russian threat, but as the world continues to divest from Russian energy, there will be a need to find new streams of revenue to finance the war effort,” said Richard Gardner, CEO of Modulus, a US-based developer of ultra-high-performance trading and surveillance technology that powers global equities, derivatives, and digital asset exchanges.

“From this month on – no more Russian gas in Lithuania.Years ago my country made decisions that today allow us with no pain to break energy ties with the agressor. If we can do it, the rest of Europe can do it too,” tweeted Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda.

“If you’re Russia and the world won’t buy your energy resources, where do you turn? It doesn’t require you to stretch your imagination very far to realize that, in a conflict which is actively employing cyberwarfare, the government could find hacking to be an appropriate avenue of revenue generation. Whether that is focusing hackers on digital asset exchanges or engaging more heavily in cyber-based extortion campaigns remains to be seen. However, these exchanges are giant honeypots, and, right now, Russia is the equivalent of a hungry bear,” said Gardner.

“Practically, it will be difficult to extract large amounts of stolen assets to use for homeland activities like paying troops, which may make the endeavor less attractive. However, it would be completely naïve to think that the idea isn’t on the table,” said Gardner.

Modulus is known throughout the financial technology segment as a leader in the development of ultra-high frequency trading systems and blockchain technologies. Modulus has provided its exchange solution to some of the industry’s most profitable digital asset exchanges, including a well-known multi-billion-dollar cryptocurrency exchange. Over the past twenty years, the company has built technology for the world’s most notable institutions, with a client list which includes NASA, NASDAQ, Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America, Barclays, Siemens, Shell, Yahoo!, Microsoft, Cornell University, and the University of Chicago.

“It is more important than ever for financial exchanges, including those dealing in cryptocurrencies, to be on high alert. For the many exchanges that have historically focused more heavily on marketing than security, now is the time to flip the script and lockdown your security apparatus. Good enough isn’t good enough. Your innovation is only as good as the security that protects it,” said Gardner.

Is the CEO and Founder of Investors King Limited. He is a seasoned foreign exchange research analyst and a published author on Yahoo Finance, Business Insider, Nasdaq, Entrepreneur.com, Investorplace, and other prominent platforms. With over two decades of experience in global financial markets, Olukoya is well-recognized in the industry.

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Energy

Dangote’s Allegation of Refinery Boycott By Marketers False, Says  IPMAN President

Published

6 days ago

on

October 30, 2024

By

Petrol Importation - investorsking.com

The President of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Abubakar Garima, has expressed shock over business mogul, Aliko Dangote’s allegation that marketers were boycotting his refinery.

Dangote, the owner of a $20bn refinery had claimed that oil marketers in Nigeria have been avoiding his refinery for imported petrol.

He had lamented that such a move would impact negatively on the country’s economy and would discourage local investment.

Responding, however, IPMAN President said the allegations were false.

According to Garima, while speaking on a live telephone programme monitored by Investors King on Wednesday, IPMAN members are not importing petrol.

On the contrary, he disclosed that oil members can’t load petrol from the Dangote Refinery in Lagos despite having paid ₦40billion to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL).

He said rather than get Dangote petrol through the NNPCL, the private refinery should register independent petrol marketers directly for smooth loading of the product.

The IPMAN boss noted that if Dangote could be able to sell the product to oil marketers directly, they can buy the product.

He expressed frustration in the fact that marketers had to pay before they pick, adding that “Presently, we have ₦40bn under the NNPCL custody but we cannot source the product.”

Garima explained how some marketers that NNPCL sent to load in Dangote refinery stayed with their trucks for four days, and they cannot load.

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Energy

Ghana to Source Fuel from Dangote Refinery in 2025

Published

6 days ago

on

October 30, 2024

By

Petrol - Investors King

As part of efforts to reduce the cost of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), commonly known as petrol, Nigeria’s neighbouring country Ghana has expressed readiness to start buying from Dangote Refinery in the first quarter of 2025.

Chairman of the National Petroleum Authority Ghana, Mustapha Abdul-Hamid announced this at the Oil Trading and Logistics (OTL) Africa Downstream Oil Conference held in Lagos, Nigeria.

Abdul-Hamid categorically said that Ghana will purchase fuel from Nigeria once the Dangote refinery begins operation fully.

According to him, the projected 650,000bpd daily production is too much for Nigerians to consume. Hence, Ghana could benefit from the surplus production, allowing both countries to collaborate more closely in the energy sector.

Currently, importing petrol from Rotterdam has made fuel prices relatively high in Ghana due to unfavorable exchange rates.

“If the refinery reaches its 650,000 bpd capacity, all that volume cannot be consumed by Nigeria alone, so instead of us importing as we currently do from Rotterdam, it will be much easier for us to import from Nigeria, which I believe will help bring down our prices,” Abdul-Hamid stated.

By sourcing petrol from Nigeria, Ghana hopes to mitigate logistic costs and benefit from a more favourable pricing structure.

Ghana buys $400 million worth of petrol from Europe monthly, which over the years has impacted the commodity pricing in the West African country.

Abdul-Hamid further said the volatility of the Ghanaian cedi against foreign currencies led to increased costs for fuel.

Additionally, buying from a neighboring country would reduce the exchange rate impact on petrol prices, significantly lower fuel costs, and reduce the prices of other goods.

“The reduction in freight expenses would help bring down the prices of various goods, positively impacting Ghana’s broader economy,” he concluded.

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Energy

Kwankwaso Urges State Governors To Invest in Alternative Power Sources As Blackout In Northern Nigeria Persist

Published

1 week ago

on

October 28, 2024

By

Electricity - Investors King

Former Kano State governor, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, has broken silence over the persistent power outage affecting the Northern part of Nigeria which has left many homes in darkness.

Kwankwaso aired his grievances on Monday, October 28, via a statement shared on his official X handle.

The presidential candidate of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) in the 2023 election who blamed the blackout on vandalism decried the high cost of petrol, stating that it has further compounded the situation in the North.

Kwankwaso lamented the poor capacity of the country’s power sector as clearly evident in the delay to restore power in the Northern region.

He said, “It is very disheartening that many parts of Northern Nigeria are in total darkness today due to vandalism on the important 330kV Shiroro-Kaduna power line that supplies the states of Kano and Kaduna and another line that supplies Bauchi, Gombe and other parts of the northeast.

This situation has been further compounded by the high cost of petrol and diesel in Nigeria, which has further plunged homes into darkness and forced factories to close down.

The time this crisis has taken to be addressed underscores the huge deficit of capacity our power sector has in order to address large scale problems and this must be addressed to avoid any future disruption.”

The NNPP leader called on government and private investors to shift their attention toward alternative electricity sources to reduce the reliance Nigeria’s aged energy sources which he described as ‘inadequate’.

Kwankwaso added: “It is about time that we look into alternative power sources to address our energy needs and we need to exploit the abundant resources available to this country.

I wish to encourage all state governments and private investors to invest in alternative electricity sources, just like we did in Kano by installing two turbines in the Challawa Gorge and Tiga Dams in order to reduce the reliance on our inadequate and aged energy sources.”

Meanwhile, the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) revealed that it is collaborating with the Office of the National Security Adviser to repair the vandalised Shiroro-Kaduna line that caused the blackout in Kaduna, Kano and other major cities in the north.

A statement by the General Manager, Public Affairs of TCN, Ndidi Mbah detailed that the TCN is working diligently to restore bulk power supply as quickly as possible despite prevailing security challenges.

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