The US Justice Department on Wednesday charged an Indian citizen with directing a foiled plot to assassinate a Sikh separatist leader in New York City.
Nikhil Gupta faces murder-for-hire charges, the US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York announced. Mr Gupta was arrested in June by authorities in the Czech Republic, with whom the US has an extradition treaty.
“As alleged, the defendant conspired from India to assassinate, right here in New York City, a US citizen of Indian origin who has publicly advocated for the establishment of a sovereign state for Sikhs, an ethnoreligious minority group in India,” US Attorney Damian Williams said in a statement.
Mr Gupta has been charged with murder-for-hire and conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire. Both carry a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
The statement did not reveal the victim's identity, but Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a US citizen of Indian origin and Sikh separatist leader, has been reported to be the target.
Mr Pannun is general counsel of Sikhs for Justice, an organisation supporting a Sikh state called Khalistan, independent from India.
The Financial Times first reported last week that Mr Pannun was the target of the failed plot and that the White House raised the issue “at the most senior levels” of the Indian government.
The report said the protest came after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the White House in June.
Mr Pannun declined to tell the FT whether US authorities warned him about the plot, but said he would let the US respond “to the issue of threats to my life on American soil from the Indian operatives”.
“The victim is a vocal critic of the Indian government and leads a US-based organisation that advocates for the secession of Punjab, a state in northern India that is home to a large population of Sikhs, an ethnoreligious minority group in India,” the US Attorney's Office said.
“The victim has publicly called for some or all of Punjab to secede from India and establish a Sikh sovereign state called Khalistan, and the Indian government has banned the victim and his separatist organisation from India.”
According to the Justice Department, an Indian government employee identified as “CC-1" worked with others – including Mr Gupta – in India and elsewhere to direct a plot to assassinate a US-born Indian target residing in New York.
Mr Gupta was recruited by CC-1 earlier this year to “orchestrate the assassination of the victim” in the US, the Attorney's Office said in a news release.
The intended victim was an associate of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Sikh separatist who was murdered by masked gunmen outside a Sikh temple near Vancouver, Canada, in June.
After Mr Nijjar's murder, Mr Gupta said “there was 'now no need to wait'” on assassinating the victim, the US Attorney's Office said.
India has denied involvement in Mr Nijjar's assassination.
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Expo details
Expo 2020 Dubai will be the first World Expo to be held in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia
The world fair will run for six months from October 20, 2020 to April 10, 2021.
It is expected to attract 25 million visits
Some 70 per cent visitors are projected to come from outside the UAE, the largest proportion of international visitors in the 167-year history of World Expos.
More than 30,000 volunteers are required for Expo 2020
The site covers a total of 4.38 sqkm, including a 2 sqkm gated area
It is located adjacent to Al Maktoum International Airport in Dubai South
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Power: 170bhp
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- Grade 9 = above an A*
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- Grade 3 = between grades D and E
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- Grade 1 = between grades F and G
POSSIBLE ENGLAND EURO 2020 SQUAD
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The Cairo Statement
1: Commit to countering all types of terrorism and extremism in all their manifestations
2: Denounce violence and the rhetoric of hatred
3: Adhere to the full compliance with the Riyadh accord of 2014 and the subsequent meeting and executive procedures approved in 2014 by the GCC
4: Comply with all recommendations of the Summit between the US and Muslim countries held in May 2017 in Saudi Arabia.
5: Refrain from interfering in the internal affairs of countries and of supporting rogue entities.
6: Carry out the responsibility of all the countries with the international community to counter all manifestations of extremism and terrorism that threaten international peace and security
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UAE finals day: Friday, April 13 at Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City
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UAE Premiership – final standings
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- Jebel Ali Dragons
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- Abu Dhabi Saracens
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Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
