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2016 Postmortem
In reply to the discussion: Guess who works for Phil Gramm at UBS? [View all]Octafish
(55,745 posts)47. Phil Gramm works at UBS
Last edited Sun May 29, 2016, 01:50 PM - Edit history (1)
UBS Money Launering: What Did Phil Gramm Know and When Did He Knowby Robert Scheer
TruthDig, Aug. 18, 2009
In recent days yet another wealthy private customer of the Swiss-based banking conglomerate UBS admitted to criminal fraud in a growing parade of perp walks that could extend into the thousands. It is a case that threatens to ensnare former Sen. Phil Gramm, the Texas Republican who is vice chairman of UBS investment banking business. Given the widespread involvement of UBS in what the Justice Department alleges were systematic efforts to violate U.S. tax laws, it must be asked: Did Gramm as a top executive have no inkling about what was going on?
Perhaps, but for Gramm this has to be a moment that at the very least tests his ideological commitment to the radical deregulation of banking that he championed during his 24 years in Congress. He joined UBS soon after the bank acquired Enron, a company that had gone bankrupt after jumping through the Enron loophole in the Commodity Futures Modernization Act, which Gramm had pushed though Congress. Gramms wife, Wendy, had been an Enron board member and head of its audit committee but failed to sound the alarm before the Houston-based company collapsed. Then UBS itself ran into big trouble because of $37 billion in bad mortgage debt made possible by derivatives market deregulation engineered by then-Sen. Gramm. U.S. taxpayers have had to pony up money to heal UBS self-inflicted wound. But the banks involvement with tens of thousands of secret accounts tied to allegations of tax evasion raises starker issuesof possible criminal fraud through practices that Gramm as a senator helped keep opaque.
In his last years in the Senate, Gramm succeeded in blocking legislation that, as The New York Times editorialized, would have made it easier to crack down on offshore tax havens and would have expanded rules that require banks to find out more about individuals and foreign jurisdictions they are dealing with. The Times noted, The legislation won bipartisan support but was blocked by Senator Gramm of Texas, a foe of government regulation.
Following that victory, Gramm stepped into a top position at UBS, stating: It will provide me with an opportunity to practice what Ive always preached. I have a strange combination of experiences that a lot of people dont have knowledge of economics, a knowledge of government policy. Given that knowledge, it is legitimate to ask just how Gramm could have been unaware of the extensive efforts of his new employer, UBS, to thwart the IRS. In court cases involving UBS over the past year, witnesses have provided extensive details of the banks alleged practices in abetting tax avoidance.
CONTINUED...
http://m.truthdig.com/report/item/20090819_ubs_money_laundering_what_did_phil_gramm_know
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IT IS... ALL ABOUT THE GD MONEY! Carvilee is A POS Corporatist as Well
CorporatistNation
Apr 2016
#48
Really Scary: UBS received $287 Billion bailout...and Phil Gramm still talks slow.
Octafish
Apr 2016
#24
They're all just one big happy family aren't they? We were so scammed! But not anymore thankfully.
sabrina 1
Apr 2016
#37
Mere mention of its existence brings out anguished (and now paid) cries of ''CONSPIRACY THEORY!''
Octafish
Apr 2016
#42
They are all Cronies Octafish, you know this...Bernie- has a minor in cronyism LOL
snooper2
Apr 2016
#17
Except wrt to the Panama Papers, a lot of us were painfully aware of this back in the day...
2banon
Apr 2016
#18
I like the way your thinking...I want them to feel the Bern...fuckers. Evil! nt
haikugal
Apr 2016
#29