World

How COVID-19 is Affecting Domestic Violence

Published

5 years ago

July 3, 2020

In addition to the many direct impacts on the lives of millions of Americans, the coronavirus pandemic has created a landscape that could increase domestic violence rates across the nation. With unemployment rates challenging the high rates of the Great Depression, as well as financial anxieties from stock market fluctuations and isolation from support groups can further worsen a survivors risk of domestic abuse.

The removal of every day escapes like jobs, schooling, or access to public spaces can make it difficult for a person experiencing domestic violence to distance themselves from an abuser. Coupled with the possibility that a survivor is on lockdown in a home or other shared space with a potential abuser, COVID-19 is forcing survivors to spend increased amounts of time in unsafe situations.

While the novel coronavirus has upended life for many across the country, the consequences can be even harder felt by those in inopportune situations like domestic abuse. Despite the lack of data providing explicate detail as to how covid-19 is impacting those in situations of domestic abuse, many experts are beginning to prepare for the serious negative effects that may come once lockdowns are lifted and states return to more normal proceedings.

Impact of Crises on Rates of Domestic Violence

Experts who study domestic violence have long explained the relationship between times of crises and increase in destructive behaviors like domestic abuse. Additional stressors may come from instances of natural disasters, economic downturns, or health crises and can find their way into the relationships a person may have with friends, family, and partners.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused normal outlets for energy or behavior to disappear. The ability to go to sporting events, bars, restaurants, gyms, or leisure businesses has been limited due to risk of transmission of the infectious disease. This can lead to people taking up the behaviors at home and aggravating the risk of domestic violence.

The special circumstances of the global pandemic have also created new components to strain an existing relationship a person may have with an abuser. The fearful messaging and quarantine tactics implemented across the country can cause some people who are living in abusive situations to see increased control on their lives and rights.

“With federal and state guidelines prohibiting certain normal activities, we are seeing an influx in violence in the home across the country. ” explained Attorney Mark Sherman of The Law Offices of Mark Sherman, LLC.

Partners or family members may attempt to regulate the already limited pandemic-approved freedoms of a person to prevent the spread of the virus into the shared space. This can be anywhere from restriction of rights to travel, like access to a car or bike, to the extreme of a partner pulling a weapon on a person to prevent them from leaving the house.

These factors and others, can make it difficult for a person who is trying to survive the complicated time of a pandemic to do so in a situation where a partner or family member has displayed violent tendencies.

World

Criminal probe focussed on Mehtas shipping business

Published

2 weeks ago

August 6, 2025

Jonathan Grilli

From Monitoring Desk

DUBAI: An Asian family linked with the shipping business is facing criminal investigation in several jurisdictions including in Dubai and Far East where the family’s companies are under active investigation now, according to the authorities in three countries.

Sanjay and Gaurav Mehta, through their companies Best Oasis Ltd in Dubai and Priya Blue Industries in Gujarat, are facing investigations over money-laundering suspicions and suspected links to the Russian oil sector, sanctioned by the western countries, sources shared.

Sanjay and Gaurav Mehta, through their companies Best Oasis Ltd in Dubai and Priya Blue Industries in Gujarat have projected an image of environmental responsibility in ship recycling. They have tout certifications, attend global summits, and positioned themselves as ESG-compliant but their business practices have come under intense probe now. Their operations reportedly involve dismantling high-risk ships, using cash transactions, and leveraging political connections to avoid accountability, a source shared looking into the companies’ affairs. The investigation is being conducted in Dubai and the Far East.

The investigators are looking at the Mehtas operations dating back to 2006 when they came to attention of the law enforcement for the first time. Priya Blue dismantled the “Blue Lady” in 2006, a vessel containing over 1,200 tons of asbestos and radioactive waste, despite protests and objections from Greenpeace. Later, the “Exxon Valdez,” notorious for a major oil spill, was renamed “Oriental Nicety” and dismantled by the Mehtas in Gujarat, drawing international attention. In recent years, their transactions have become less conspicuous but reportedly more hazardous.

In 2025, Best Oasis allegedly acquired and dismantled at least four vessels linked to sanctioned entities, including Iranian and Houthi-controlled networks. These weren’t obscure ships; they were designated under U.S. terrorism sanctions for their involvement in oil smuggling and arms transport. According to investigators, here are the details of the sanctioned ships dismantled by Best Oasis in 2025: IMO: 9155808, Name: NOLAN (SOLAN), Sanction: SDN (SDGT), Beaching: 31 Jan 2025, Plot 16; IMO: 9221657, Name: BLUEFINS, Sanction: SDN (SDGT); Beaching: 26 Feb 2025, Plot 16; IMO: 9105085, Name: CONTRACT II, Sanction: SDN risk, Beaching: Arrived mid-2025, Plot 27; IMO: 9209300, Name: GAMA II, Sanction: SDN (SDGT); and Beaching: Pending/Planned, Plot 34

All four vessels were reportedly dismantled in Alang on plots leased by proxy firms connected to the Mehtas. These short-term leases, approved on a ship-by-ship basis by the Gujarat Maritime Board, reportedly make regulatory oversight nearly impossible. Once dismantling is complete, plot registrations often lapse, leaving no long-term record, according to documents shared by the investigators in Dubai.

Rahul Mistry, a shipping compliance researcher, noted this as a growing pattern: “This is a pattern we’ve seen more frequently in the last two years sanctioned hulls arriving under the radar, processed fast, with no digital trace.”

Payments for these vessels reportedly bypassed normal financial channels. According to sources familiar with the deals, transactions were settled in cash, either on-site or through offshore handlers. One source described entire ship values being paid in foreign currency bundles, avoiding Indian and Dubai banking disclosures, said one of the investigators familiar with the matter.

A retired port official Mr. Akin Yadav, familiar with Alang and Gujarat Maritime Board approvals stated that short-term leases are routinely used to avoid scrutiny, adding, “It was never meant to be a permanent workaround. But it’s become one.”

Political connections also reportedly play a role. Union Minister Mansukh Mandaviya and Gujarat State Minister Jitu Vaghani have been linked to approvals granted for Best Oasis and its proxies. While there’s no direct evidence of personal gain, sources allege that both men used their influence to expedite approvals, slow down inquiries, and shield the companies from enforcement.

Despite these activities in India, Best Oasis is expanding under new branding. A recent joint venture in Japan with Hiroshi Abe is being marketed as a clean, regionally responsible recycling partner for Japanese shipowners.

Mariko Fujita, a Tokyo-based maritime consultant, observed, “They’re presenting themselves as a new entity with no reference to past controversies. But none of the underlying ownership or structure has changed.”

In Alang, the situation reportedly remains much the same. Plot numbers are reassigned, cash continues to circulate and the same network of breakers and handlers is reportedly involved. Individuals like Jayant Vanani (also known as Budhabhai Patel) and Ramesh Mendapara are frequently named in connection with specific beachings, including “Contract II” and “GAMA II.” Both have been previously linked to other shadow transactions involving distressed or sanctioned tonnage.

Several yards allegedly connected to Best Oasis, including Shantamani Ship Breakers and Sai Baba Ship Breakers, reportedly operate with minimal inspection, despite numerous reports of irregularities in worker safety, hazardous waste disposal, and compliance with Indian scrapping codes.

This system, according to multiple sources, appears to be intentionally designed to operate in plain sight with just enough paperwork to pass basic scrutiny but not enough to trigger meaningful enforcement. There is no indication that regulatory bodies including customs, port health officers, or environmental oversight panels have conducted full inspections of any of the sanctioned vessels listed. Most were reportedly cleared and dismantled within days of arrival.

Rahul Mistry said: “This isn’t merely a loophole; it’s reportedly a business model. Best Oasis and Priya Blue are allegedly running a high-volume, low-visibility operation that filters sanctioned, end-of-life ships through legal instruments to appear legitimate on paper. This reportedly involves routing untaxed funds and shielded actors through a well-connected political and industrial network. As global scrutiny of ESG practices intensifies, many of these activities are allegedly being whitewashed through new partnerships and branding, but the underlying mechanisms reportedly remain unchanged.”