Police seized ketamine hidden inside life-size Transformer robots in Thailand. A woman who was previously caught trying to ship meth hidden in a food processing machine was trying to send the robots to Taiwan. Thai police have broken up a large network that illegally helped foreigners, mostly Russians, to stay in Thailand long-term through the use of company nominees or shell companies, officials said Friday. Police said a 45-year-old Russian woman who came to Thailand in 2012 operated the scheme with a Thai woman who was listed as an executive or a shareholder of more than 270 companies in the southern province of Phuket. Foreigners can operate a business in Thailand, but it must be a joint venture with a Thai partner except in specified cases, and they cannot own more than 49% to protect local competitiveness.

There are several motivations for Shell to revolutionise their company via the use of AI and data. The oil and gas business is at a crossroads because to rising energy needs, disconnected environments, and pressure to combat climate change. Shell and other energy firms have a choice between maintaining the current quo and embracing a low-carbon energy future. End-to-end processes must be optimised and kept up at scale as we move toward a more dispersed, diversified, and decentralised energy system. Therefore, it is essential to find solutions that can be quickly and universally implemented.

With the objective of establishing an ecosystem that will have "zero tolerance" for non-compliance with regulations, the corporate affairs ministry is betting big on AI and data analytics to deal with shell companies. Using these technologies, the ministry is developing an advanced MCA 21 portal. Used for submitting requisite filings under the companies law and managing a repository of data on corporates in India, the portal will enable authorities to weed out entities that do not comply with regulations. Typically, shell companies are floated for illegal activities like money laundering, and a zero tolerance approach to this, enabled by AI, can put a stop to these practices. It would make it "almost impossible for a shell company to survive," points out Corporate Affairs Secretary, Injeti Srinivas.

Continuing efforts to have a robust corporate governance system and ensure high level of compliance, the ministry is also in the process of having an advanced MCA 21 portal. The portal is used for submission of requisite filings under the companies law and is also a repository of data on corporates in the country. Corporate Affairs Secretary Injeti Srinivas told PTI that once the third version of MCA 21 becomes fully operational, the portal would make it "almost impossible for a shell company to survive." Generally, shell companies are those which are not complying with regulations and many such entities are allegedly used for money laundering and other illegal activities. Noting that the third version of the portal might be fully operational in a year from now, the secretary said the ecosystem would have zero tolerance for non-compliance.