WaPo: Ex-Riggs Manager Won't Testify About Accounts (front page)

[Snazzy]

Ex-Riggs Manager Won't Testify About Accounts
Senate Panel Probes Money From Equatorial Guinea
By Terence O'Hara and Kathleen Day
Washington Post Staff Writers
Friday, July 16, 2004; Page A01

A former Riggs Bank manager yesterday invoked the Fifth Amendment and refused to answer questions from a Senate panel investigating his handling of hundreds of millions of dollars in suspicious transactions for a West African dictator, including why he lugged a 60-pound suitcase stuffed with $3 million in plastic-wrapped cash to Riggs's Dupont Circle branch.

The Senate probe is the latest in a series of investigations into Riggs's once-prestigious embassy banking division, now tarnished by reports that it helped former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet hide millions and that it appears to have allowed its biggest customer, Equatorial Guinea, and that country's president, Teodoro Obiang Nguema, to siphon oil revenue into his personal accounts. Despite the fact Obiang and his wife made cash deposits of nearly $13 million over a three-year period into their Riggs accounts, the bank never filed a single suspicious activity report to federal regulators as required by law.

The Senate permanent subcommittee on investigations called four current and former Riggs executives to testify yesterday, after releasing the results of its year-long probe into the bank. Simon P. Kareri, who managed Riggs's West African business until he was fired in January, was the only executive to assert his right not to testify against himself.

As details unfolded about the relationship of Riggs and Obiang -- whose government has been under scrutiny by international watchdog organizations for corruption and human rights abuses, Sen. Carl M. Levin (D-Mich.), the ranking minority member whose staff conducted the investigation, leaned over and removed his glasses as he pointedly asked Riggs President Lawrence I. Hebert how he could live with himself.

....

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A53345-2004Jul15.html

Yesterday here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x686504


WaPo also links to/publishes this Reuter's story:

Chile Weighs Probing Alleged Pinochet Funds

Reuters
Friday, July 16, 2004; Page A12


SANTIAGO, Chile, July 15 -- The Chilean government might investigate possible secret bank accounts belonging to ex-dictator Augusto Pinochet, President Ricardo Lagos said Thursday, reacting to a U.S. Senate report that said Riggs Bank had helped Pinochet hide his assets.


The report by Senate investigators said that Washington-based Riggs sought business from Pinochet and set up multiple accounts and two offshore shell companies to hide millions of dollars, violating U.S. safeguards against money laundering. Pinochet's family and advisers denied the report.

If the Senate investigation establishes the existence of the money in such accounts, "there would probably be some sort of commission set up by different government bodies in Chile to investigate," Lagos said at a news conference.

"It would be unlikely that the issue would go unnoticed in Chile, whether it be a parliamentary commission or some other body," he added.

....

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A53077-2004Jul15.html

[seemslikeadream]

1. OK now we're gettin' somewhere

aren't we Snazz? You've really been on top of this.
:toast:

[Snazzy]

3. thanks, hope so!

Like it when they start taking the fifth. But sadly absent is linking this to J. Bush & co., Jeb, and some sort of CIA Pinochet thing.

Need some investigative reporter to pull that thread and get BCCI mkII.

[UpInArms]

23. here's some more on the Pinochet thing

http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000086&sid=asBZvJs9s7Fs&refer=latin_america

July 16 (Bloomberg) -- The Chilean government might look into investigating accounts belonging to former dictator Augusto Pinochet that may have been kept secret, Reuters reported, citing President Ricardo Lagos.

Lagos said in a news conference that the government may set up a commission through different bodies to investigate the accounts if a U.S. Senate probe into Riggs Bank establishes that the bank helped Pinochet hide his assets, Reuters said.

<snip>

Pinochet, 88, led a 1973 military coup in Chile followed by 17 years of rule that resulted in the murder or disappearance of at least 3,000 people and tens of thousands of others tortured, Reuters said, citing Chilean government figures.

...a bit more at link...

[gandalf]

10. For completeness: Link to your Riggs brainstorming,

Seemslikeadream.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x1920799#1922869

[Snazzy]

2. NYT: Bankers Testify on Suspect Accounts

Bankers Testify on Suspect Accounts
By TIMOTHY L. O'BRIEN

Published: July 16, 2004


WASHINGTON, July 15 - Current and former senior executives of the Riggs National Corporation testified before a Senate panel on Thursday that they were personally involved in either opening or monitoring suspect bank accounts held by Gen. Augusto Pinochet, the former Chilean dictator, and senior officials of Equatorial Guinea, an oil-rich West African country.

Raymond L. Lund, a former executive vice president, said that he personally opened General Pinochet's account and that Joe L. Allbritton, Riggs's single largest shareholder and former chief executive, had a "professional business relationship" with the general. Mr. Allbritton was unavailable for comment yesterday and was not called to testify at the hearing, which was convened by the Senate's Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations to look into possible improprieties at the bank.

According to a report released yesterday by the subcommittee, Riggs, which is based in Washington, helped General Pinochet mask accounts and illicitly move money for several years, including during the mid-1990's, when he was under house arrest in Britain on charges of human rights abuses and his assets were supposed to be frozen by an international court order.

The implications of the executives' interactions with General Pinochet are possibly serious. Law enforcement authorities are investigating Saudi Arabian and Equatorial Guinean accounts at Riggs for possible terrorist financing or money laundering. It is not clear whether the authorities are also examining the Pinochet accounts for similar problems. But if officials can show that Riggs executives knew about any illegal uses of accounts at the bank, they could face criminal charges.

Chile's government, in response to the Senate report, said Thursday that it might conduct its own review of General Pinochet's secret bank accounts.

....

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/16/business/16riggs.html

[seemslikeadream]

4. Let's go back to April 11, 2004

Bank and African Oil State Ties Probed
By Ken Silverstein, LA Times 9/4/04
Apr 11, 2004, 07:50



A federal grand jury and a Senate subcommittee are investigating the relationship between a prominent Washington bank and a tiny, oil-rich West African state.

Investigators are scrutinizing hundreds of millions of dollars in accounts held at Riggs Bank by the government of Equatorial Guinea and its ruler, Brig. Gen. Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo. Sources familiar with the probes said investigators were trying to determine whether any deposits into Obiang's personal accounts were the fruits of corruption and whether funds from a state account were diverted to the president or his family members.

The Times first reported on Riggs' relationship with Equatorial Guinea last year, which prompted the bank to conduct an internal investigation. Riggs subsequently dismissed Simon Kareri, a senior executive overseeing the Equatorial Guinea accounts.

In February, Riggs ordered Equatorial Guinea's government to withdraw all of its assets from the bank. U.S. government and banking sources said Equatorial Guinea has had difficulty finding another U.S. bank to take its money, and most, if not all, of its deposits are still held at Riggs.

"Riggs' security procedures detected questionable activities on the part of Simon Kareri," said Mark Hendrix, a bank spokesman. "Riggs turned the matter over to U.S. criminal authorities. Riggs is cooperating with authorities and, in light of the investigations, views it as inappropriate to comment further on these matters."


Interesting but not surprising that whatever congressional inquiry is flying under the radar. The $25 million is nothing but a slap (Riggs has $6.4 billion in assets), as someone here pointed out. But the fact that Allbritton stepped down, and they are shutting down Miami and some of the other money laundering capabilities, suggests the shit has hit the fan.

Here's the guy who runs the London Riggs: Steve Pfeiffer (who googles better).

Bio: http://www.fulbright.com/site_map/FindAttorney/371.htm

[seemslikeadream]

6. Simon Kareri - Aldrich H. Ames - Riggs account

Oil Boom Enriches African Ruler
By Ken Silverstein
Angeles Times
January 20, 2003

Riggs' reputation for discretion has attracted controversial clients in the past. They have included CIA agent turned Russian spy Aldrich H. Ames, who moved some of his payments from Moscow through a Riggs account in the early 1990s. Equatorial Guinea's account is managed by Simon Kareri, a senior vice president and senior international banking manager at Riggs' Dupont Circle branch in Washington. Kareri handles embassy banking for Africa and the Caribbean region and also offers private banking services for wealthy individuals with a minimum of $1 million to invest.

Kareri did not return phone calls. One of Kareri's past private banking clients was Foutanga Dit Babani Sissoko, a Mali businessman who was subsequently accused of embezzling nearly $250 million from the Dubai Islamic Bank and funneling it through U.S. and European financial institutions. Dubai Islamic filed suit to recover the money and in 1999 recovered a small part of the missing funds through a default judgment.

Kareri opened a Riggs account for Sissoko in 1997, when Sissoko was under house arrest in Miami after having pleaded guilty to attempting to bribe a U.S. customs agent. Sissoko wanted to conceal his control over the account, ran millions of dollars through it and regularly had a representative stuff large withdrawals into a suitcase or his pockets. Kareri told Dubai Islamic lawyers in a deposition that he was suspicious of Sissoko but did not report his concerns to his superiors or the Treasury Department.

Property records show that Kareri and Riggs helped with Obiang's local real estate purchases. In late 1999, the Guinean president paid $2.6 million in cash for a mansion in the Maryland suburbs that has 10 bathrooms, seven fireplaces and an indoor pool, according to the real estate listing. Early the following year Obiang bought a second Maryland property for $1.15 million. He took out a $747,500 mortgage from Riggs on the property, and paid it off nine months later, real estate records show.
more
http://www.globalpolicy.org/security/natres/oil/2003/0122gui.htm

[seemslikeadream]

8. A Washington Bank, a Global Mess

By TIMOTHY O'BRIEN
New York Times
April 11, 2004

snip
Attendees have included luminaries like Prince Bandar bin Sultan, Saudi Arabia's ambassador to the United States; Jack Valenti, the president of the Motion Picture Association of America; and others with surnames like Greenspan, Kissinger and Rehnquist. President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney made their first joint public appearance after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks at the Alfalfa gathering in 2002. And each and every year, after dinner winds down, a dynamic Alfalfan from Mississippi, standing just over 5 feet tall, is host for a late-night cocktail party or a brunch the following day. These events are more than mere codas to an evening of networking. They are reminders that in a town long on political heavyweights and short on full-blown business tycoons, the 79-year-old host, Joe L. Allbritton, is a corporate titan. Upon arriving in Washington in the mid-1970's, Mr. Allbritton cemented his ties to the city's high and mighty by assembling a gaggle of businesses: a newspaper, television stations and the faded banking jewel of Washington's financial establishment, the Riggs National Corporation. Along the way, he has given generously to charitable causes, helped to endow institutions as diverse as the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and the George Bush Presidential Library and Museum, and relished the international cachet that Riggs conveyed despite its middling fortunes. Today, however, Mr. Allbritton and Riggs National Bank, which provides banking services to most of Washington's foreign embassies and to American consulates worldwide, are swept up in controversy. Federal law enforcement officials, Congressional investigators and banking regulators are scouring Riggs accounts in a wide-ranging investigation revolving around the netherworlds of terrorist financing, money laundering and the seamier geopolitics of Big Oil. Neither Mr. Allbritton nor Riggs have been charged with any crime, although regulators say they are considering levying large fines against the bank for possible violations of statutes meant to thwart money laundering. One former Riggs executive, Simon P. Kareri, is the target of a grand jury investigation related to the inquiry. The bank has been cooperating with an F.B.I. investigation of Saudi Arabian accounts at the bank, some controlled by Prince Bandar. The investigation began as federal officials tried to track funds used by the Sept. 11 hijackers; as the investigation wore on, banking regulators became increasingly alarmed by Riggs's practices. Last July, they publicly rebuked the bank for failing to comply with anti-money-laundering standards. Although Riggs said it has made great progress in overhauling its practices, it has suffered yet another setback. In recent months, according to people with knowledge of the investigation, the bank's own examiners revealed to regulators that Mr. Kareri failed to adequately supervise accounts held by officials and the government of the oil-rich West African nation of Equatorial Guinea. Until late February, Riggs managed $360 million worth of Equatorial Guinean accounts that federal investigators say were controlled by that country's dictator. The accounts were largely funded by proceeds from deals with Exxon Mobil, the oil company. Federal investigators say they are scrutinizing those accounts to see if they involve the proceeds of political graft or were used to bribe executives of any American companies, according to an individual with direct knowledge of the investigation. The problems with the Equatorial Guinean accounts also prompted the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency last month to warn Riggs that it plans to label it a "troubled" institution, meaning that the bank would have to cede significant managerial authority to the government. RIGGS, meanwhile, decided to close all of its Saudi accounts in early March after huge cash transfers by Prince Bandar in and out of his personal accounts aroused fresh concerns at the bank about the nature of the transactions. A spokesman for the Saudi Arabian Embassy said that the F.B.I. recently assured the embassy that there were no concerns that any Saudi accounts at Riggs involved terrorist funds or money laundering. The Equatorial Guinean Embassy did not respond to repeated interview requests. Amid this turmoil sits Mr. Allbritton, Riggs's controlling shareholder and until 2002 its chief executive. For more than two decades, he has held the reins of a bank that is a highly personal, extraordinarily quirky institution. Riggs is deeply rooted in the history of Washington: Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis held accounts there. Today, despite anemic profits and an elfin footprint that would make it a backwater bank in other locales, Riggs has maintained its stature by catering to the glamorous, chauffeur-and-Champagne set that is Washington's elite political and diplomatic corps. Although Mr. Allbritton and Prince Bandar share a fascination with expensive racehorses, frequent the same spots on the cocktail circuit, and have each courted the Bush family, they do not have a close personal relationship, according to Mr. Allbritton's friends. Even so, friends and banking analysts say that it would have been unusual for Mr. Allbritton and Prince Bandar not to have had regular business contacts, because the Saudis are among Riggs's biggest clients. Until the Sept. 11 attacks, Saudi officials often rolled into a Riggs branch on a Friday and withdrew millions of dollars for, say, a weekend splurge in London, according to individuals familiar with the transactions.
more
http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20040411/ZNYT01/404110358

[gandalf]

22. Here is a better readable pdf of this NY Times article

I inserted a few paragraphs and made a pdf-file of the whole article for better readability:

http://de.geocities.com/heino_x27dd/NY_Times_on_Riggs.pdf

[JSJ]

5. Dub's Uncle Jonathan Is Or Was an Executive of Riggs

"Speaking of the Watergate," she wrote, "Riggs National Bank, where Saudi Princess Al-Faisal had her 'Saudi money trail' bank account, has as one of its executives Jonathan J. Bush," an uncle to President George W. Bush. "The public has not learned whether Riggs - which services 95 percent of Washington's foreign embassies - will be turning over records relating to Saudi finance."

http://www.disinfopedia.org/wiki.phtml?title=Riggs_Bank_N.A.

Jonathan J. Bush (Jonathan James Bush) (1931- ) is an uncle to President George Walker Bush.

Jonathan Bush's "Pioneer Profile" in "George W. Bush's $100,000 Club" cites him as the "head" of the Riggs Investment Management Co.; "Bush’s uncle Jonathan ... founded its subsidiary, J. Bush & Co., of which he is chair. He also is an ex-chair of the New York Republican State Finance Committee. Bush credits the investors sent his way by this banker uncle as a key to his 'success' in the Texas oil industry in the early ‘80s." <1> See Bush's Rangers.

On May 31, 2000, Riggs Bank N.A. "announced that the Board of Directors of RIMCO, a wholly owned investment management subsidiary, has elected Jonathan J. Bush President & Chief Executive Officer and a Director, replacing Philip Tasho who resigned. In addition, Henry A. Dudley, Jr. was elected Chairman.

"Mr. Bush will continue as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of J. Bush & Co., an investment management company he founded in 1970, which Riggs acquired in 1997. Mr. Dudley, a 24-year veteran of Riggs, will continue to be responsible for all of Riggs Bank's investment management, trust and private banking business.

http://www.disinfopedia.org/wiki.phtml?title=Jonathan_J._Bush

edited to add text and links

[SpiralHawk]

15. Jonathan Bush is a Skull & Boner, too

I am shocked, shocked, shocked.


The enxt Michael Moore film should be about the Bush Criminal Family: Chimpy, Neil, Marvin, Jebby, and Grandpappy "Nazi Banker" Precott -- the whole corrupt lot.

[NewYorkerfromMass]

19. TIA post from May on JB

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=1672605

[seemslikeadream]

7. Enforcement and Effectiveness of the Patriot Act

U.S. Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs
Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations

Title: Money Laundering and Foreign Corruption: Enforcement and Effectiveness of the Patriot Act
Date: 7/15/04
Time (EST): 9:00 AM
Place: Dirksen Senate Office Building, Rm. 342

From 1999 to 2001, the Subcommittee conducted an extended investigation into money laundering vulnerabilities at U.S. financial institutions, including in the areas of private banking, correspondent banking, and federal securities. The Subcommittee issued two reports, held five days of hearings, and provided the factual foundation for many of the anti-money laundering provisions enacted into law in Title III of the USA Patriot Act of 2001.

The Subcommittee hearing will examine current enforcement of key provisions in the Patriot Act combating money laundering and foreign corruption, using a single case study involving Riggs Bank. The hearing will examine Riggs’ anti-money laundering program, administration of accounts associated with senior foreign political figures and their family members, and interactions with its primary regulator, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). The hearing will also examine the OCC’s anti-money laundering oversight and enforcement actions. In addition, the hearing will examine the activities of some oil companies in Equatorial Guinea.

Witnesses will be representatives from Riggs Bank, the OCC, and three oil companies.


Hearing File: Minority Staff Report on Money Laundering and Foreign Corruption (.pdf format)

Member Statements
Senator Norm Coleman Senator Carl Levin




Witnesses Testimony

Panel 1
Lawrence I. Hebert , President and CEO , Riggs Bank N.A. , Washington, D.C.
Raymond M. Lund , Former Executive Vice President, International Banking Group , Riggs Bank N.A. , Washington, D.C.
R. Ashley Lee , Executive Vice President & Chief Risk Officer , Riggs Bank N.A. , Washington, D.C.
Simon Kareri , Former Sr. Vice President & Sr. International Banking Mgr. , Riggs Bank N.A. , Silver Spring, Maryland

Panel 2
Jennifer C. Kelly , Deputy Comptroller Mid-Size & Credit Card Bank Supervision , Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, U.S. Department of Treasury , Washington, D.C.
John Noonan , Former Assistant Deputy Comptroller, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency , U. S. Department of the Treasury , Washington, D.C.
Daniel P. Stipano , Deputy Chief Counsel, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency , U. S. Department of the Treasury , Washington, D.C.
Lester Miller , Examiner-In-Charge (Riggs Bank), Office of the Comptroller of the Currency , U. S. Department of the Treasury , Washington, D.C.


Panel 3
Andrew P. Swiger , Executive Vice President , ExxonMobil Production Company , Houston, Texas
Albert J. Marchetti , Vice President, International and Federal Relations , Amerada Hess Corporation , New York, New York
Steven P. Guidry , Central Africa Business Unit Leader , Marathon Oil Company , Houston, Texas

[Snazzy]

9. Round up

Houston Chron:

July 15, 2004, 11:57PM

Corrupt influence by Big Oil alleged
Senate panel uncovers deals in West Africa
By DAVID IVANOVICH
Copyright 2004 Houston Chronicle

WASHINGTON - Senate investigators say three U.S. oil companies may have "contributed to corrupt practices" while doing business in the West African country of Equatorial Guinea.

Examining possible money laundering at Washington's Riggs Bank, the investigators uncovered information about questionable business dealings involving Exxon Mobil Corp., Marathon Oil Co. and Amerada Hess Corp. in that oil-rich land.

Staffers on the Senate's Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations pointed to arrangements between the oil companies and entities controlled by the family of President Teodoro Obiang Nguema, as well as to scholarships doled out to relatives of the country's elite.

Sen. Carl Levin, the ranking Democrat on the panel, questioned whether the oil companies are doing enough to ensure they aren't helping corrupt government leaders loot Equatorial Guinea of its oil patrimony.

....

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/business/2684411

--------------

CBS Marketwatch:

Riggs National draws interest
By David Weidner, CBS.MarketWatch.com
Last Update: 5:33 PM ET July 15, 2004

NEW YORK (CBS.MW) -- Riggs National has drawn interest from bidders despite new allegations that the bank illegally laundered money for foreign officials, including former Chilean President Augusto Pinochet.

The Washington-based bank has received bids from as many as four buyers, according to people familiar with the sale effort. The interest comes despite a lingering scandal at Riggs (RIGS: news, chart, profile) that it allegedly laundered money.

On Wednesday, a congressional report detailed a series of transactions between the bank and Pinochet. It concluded that regulators ignored or acted too slowly in taking action against Riggs National.

"Since at least 1997, Riggs has disregarded its antimoney laundering obligations maintained a dysfunctional AML program despite frequent warnings from OCC regulators," the report said.

But analysts say the accusations only add detail to improper practices at the bank. Meanwhile, the market pushed Riggs shares higher by 17 cents Thursday to $22.67

....

http://cbs.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B10CDC901-0F18-4A79-A245-58B6CA4EE305%7D&siteid=google&dist=google

------------

WaPo Columnist:

Blind As a Banker

By Steven Pearlstein
Friday, July 16, 2004; Page E01


Reading through the 113-page report on Riggs Bank prepared by Senate investigators, I kept thinking of the comic refrain from Sgt. Schultz, the prisoner-of-war camp guard in the 1960s TV comedy "Hogan's Heroes."

"I see noth-ing," Schultz would exclaim as he shielded his eyes from the shenanigans in front of him.

That pretty much describes the attitude of Riggs executives who conspired with former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet to circumvent court orders meant to deny him access to the millions of dollars he'd stolen during his murderous regime.

It applies to Riggs officers and directors who cozied up shamelessly to an African kleptocrat who was among the bank's biggest customers rather than inquire why he would be depositing $3 million in cash stuffed in a suitcase or need to wire millions of dollars to blind accounts in Luxembourg and Cyprus.

....

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A53692-2004Jul15.html

----------

Financial Times:

Watchdog accused over Pinochet accounts
By Edward Alden in Washington
Published: July 15 2004 22:16 | Last Updated: July 16 2004 0:04


The senior federal government examiner overseeing compliance by Riggs Bank with federal anti-money laundering laws directed his officials to conceal evidence they had gathered about the bank's relationship with Augusto Pinochet, the former Chilean dictator, according to sworn affidavits released on Thursday by a US Senate subcommittee investigating the bank.


Ashley Lee, who worked for 34 years at the federal Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, gave that order less than one month before he informed the OCC he had been offered a senior position at Riggs Bank, according to the two affidavits.

Mr Lee, now the bank's executive vice-president and chief risk officer, was among a trio of Riggs' officials who were grilled by senators on Thursday over their handling of high-risk accounts held by foreign leaders.

The investigation into Riggs, which at one time handled virtually all the foreign embassy bank accounts in Washington, has raised new questions about whether federal anti-money laundering efforts are being enforced effectively in spite of a raft of new powers given to regulators under the post-September 11 2001 Patriot Act. Some Senate leaders have suggested creating a new anti-money laundering agency and stripping the authority from existing regulators.


....

http://news.ft.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=FT.com/StoryFT/FullStory&c=StoryFT&cid=1087373755217

-----

Most everywhere else running either the Reuters, AP or AFP stories. But running it they are (China, Australia, Singapore, UK and networks among places I checked).

[gandalf]

11. Hi Snazzy, keep up the good work

I am following the Riggs posts with great interest.

After all, the services once offered by BCCI are still badly needed, I suppose.

Unfortunately, this topic never manages it in my German newspaper (probably it's an US-only topic for German newspapers).

[ze_dscherman]

12. Handelsblatt: US-Diplomatenbank half bei Geldwäsche

http://www.handelsblatt.com/pshb/fn/relhbi/sfn/buildhbi/cn/GoArt!200012,200039,763474/SH/0/depot/0/

Gefunden mit news.google.de

Grüße!

[gandalf]

14. Hallo ze_dschermän,

diese Postille habe ich heute morgen aus meinem Briefkasten gefischt, aber noch nicht gelesen. Werde ich nachher mal tun.

Thanks for the link!

[Judi Lynn]

13. This is pure heaven, seeing something moving against Pinochet

whose very presence on this planet is a curse. However, we must be prepared to learn Pinochet will not be happy about this! Fortunately, he's not officially in charge of anything now, no thanks to Henry Kissinger.



How many people cannot shake their awareness of the fact Nixon/Kissinger helped Pinochet get rid of Salvador Allende, (who "committed suicide" suddenly) the Chilean people's properly elected Presidential choice on September 11, 1973?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

From Snazzy's first Washington Post article posted above:

(snip)
Much of yesterday's hearing focused on Riggs's eight-year relationship with Equatorial Guinea, a profoundly poor country whose president has been cited by the State Department and various human rights organizations as among the most corrupt and brutal dictators in the world.
(snip)

There seems to be a pattern here.......

Good health and safety to Democratic Senator Carl Levin onward from this moment.

[leesa]

20. But we also need it to move against the Bush Crime Family

Why are they allowed to fund terrorists?

[seemslikeadream]

16. 'Pinochet' bank to be sold

'Pinochet' bank to be sold


Riggs has long been an active bank in the diplomatic community.
Riggs Bank, which stands accused of helping the former Chilean leader Augusto Pinochet evade efforts to seize his assets, is to be sold.
PNC Financial Services Group will pay $779m (£420m) in cash and shares for the bank's parent Riggs National.

The Federal Reserve recently told Riggs to do more to prevent money laundering.

In May, Riggs was fined $25m for allegedly failing to report suspicious transactions, some of which might be connected to terrorism financing.

Retrenchment

The fine was over Riggs handling of cash transactions in Saudi-controlled accounts that were under investigation by anti-terrorism officials.

Riggs has long been an active bank in the diplomatic community.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/3900641.stm

[seemslikeadream]

17. Take a look Snazz

Questions asked of Mossad's involvement in NZ and Aust
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x689442

US bank helped dictator hide millions
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x689231

[Snazzy]

26. I'm heavily leaning toward the SA bank

On the meanings of those names. FirstRand.

Not related to Rand Corp. (That I know anyway).

Huge bank in SA, formerly majority owned by De Beers. Google: Anglo American Corp. An eye-opener.

This is going to be the connection to the mercs. A different arm of the octopus. Put the two together and we can see how to launder oil money and mining, put offshore in the UK for both. (Ashburton has offices in both Isle of Mann and also Jersey, where Riggs was).

South Africa is the nexus for mercs, not just for the, so far, failed EG thing, but also for DRC and a bunch of African fighting/looting and Iraq.

One thing that has bugged me, after all the EG biz and suitcases of cash at Riggs, why would 'they' (insert BFEE powers that be) want to overthrow Obiang, lose that flow? Well, what would happen to the money then? Who keeps that? Who gets even better control of the oil? Would that have helped shut down the various investigations (there is a grand jury going on this one too, like Plame), had he been overthrown as planned? (Insert a "You bet your bippy" here).

Protecting Pinochet's cash is such a tell. Riggs did it, Bush Sr. and whatever old guard he left behind in the CIA is all over it. Think about when all the bad shit happen in Chile and when Sr. became DCI. Not to forget all the usual crazy Miami Cubans. Or the larger Operation Condor in general. Oh, and we just happen to have all those people in power once again.

I think this is one of the reasons Plame hasn't yet had traction, and this whole scandal is simmering so far below the radar (except for today). There are indeed two big groups of people in the CIA or the broader intel community. The cowboys and angels as some put it. The cowboys are very much on the same damn page as they were on that day in Dallas. Seeing Valenti on the Riggs board totally confirms this for me (there's another LBJ player too).

But to my knowledge it's not some angel that is helping expose the money trail we are seeing with Riggs. It's the damn Patriot act and some mindless bureaucrats that are, at the moment, their accidental undoing.

We need to watch carefully where the money goes from here. The complexity of the whole thing is key, of course. No way a lazy (at best) press can touch this. We need a Hersh or better yet Krugman to explain to the masses this nearly legal international money laundering, what horrors the money funds, and the remarkable coincidence that every stone you turn over points to either Bush Sr. or one of his close friends.

Edit: There's a bunch of threads!--I got on FirstRand via the name of one of the Pinochet offshore accounts (much like Enron, just the names of the Bahamas shell companies/trusts tells us something about who set them up.) I have great personal confidence, having followed this carefully, that it is related to this entity:

http://www.ashburton.com/00%5FHome/

and for offshore, this:

http://www.ashburton.co.uk

[seemslikeadream]

18. just a little gossip

E-SYSTEMS under contract with CIA -- just like the
Blackwater Security Consulting of Moyock, NC,

The Wackenhut top gun guy is former US Attorney General <1979-81>,

Benjamin Civiletti, involved in the IranContra scandals and BCCI
ho-down too.

Beware of the Benjamins, Benjamin Riggs and Benjamin Civiletti


Check Wackenhut and Sodexho commercialized global
prisonsnetwork and their stock on the market is chilling.

[Snazzy]

24. E-systems came up with something else

I think it was related to the bank that just baught Riggs--one of the directors.

Where does this come from?

[seemslikeadream]

25. Vital Stats E-SYSTEMS

List of the world's most powerful computing sites
) 461.12 - (10-JUL-1995)
E-Systems,Dallas,Texas,US,[e-mail]
1) 8 * Cray C916/16512 366.08 (2.86 @ 1 cpu)
2) 9 * Cray J916/16512 95.04 (.66 @ 1 cpu)
http://www.tu-darmstadt.de/hrz/hhlr/hpc/gunter.html

Internship : E-SYSTEMS
Vital Stats

Selectivity:
Approximate applicant pool: 500; Interns accepted: 30–50

Compensation:
$300–$420/week for Accounting and HR; $400–$520/week for Engineering

Eligibility: college juniors, college seniors, graduate students, international applicants

Location: Dallas (HQ) and Greenville, TX; Falls Church and Vienna, VA; Linthicum, MD; St. Petersburg, FL; State College, PA

Fields: Defense

Duration: At least three semester- or summer-long sessions: ongoing



The Work
Founded in 1964, E-Systems manufactures and distributes electronic systems and communications networks, including electronic warfare equipment, navigation and reconnaissance machinery, and highly sophisticated spying devices. Employing 16,000 people worldwide and generating over $2 billion annually in sales (85 percent of which is classified), the company has outfitted such military projects as the Doomsday Plan (the system that allows the President to manage a nuclear war) and Operation Desert Storm. Interns are placed in seven of E-System’s nine operating units in such areas as engineering, engineering development, accounting, and human resources.

The Perks
Co-op club at each site; softball leagues, picnics, trips to sporting events, etc.; access to workout facilities at some sites.

FYI
Launched in 1985, E-System’s co-op program offers permanent employment to over 50 percent of interns. During their first co-op session, interns working in technical areas (approximately 75 percent of interns) apply for a security clearance, requiring four to ten months to obtain . . . According to a recent 60 Minutes investigation, many of E-Systems’ employees are former and possibly current CIA agents.

To Apply
Must be majoring in engineering (aeronautical, civil, electrical, mechanical, and software), math, physics, accounting, or business administration. Contact campus co-op office for information on application procedure.

Deadlines: Rolling

Manager of Staffing, Coroporate Offices, E-Systems
P.O. Box 660248
Dallas, TX 75226
[phone]
http://www.princetonreview.com/cte/profiles/internshipGenInfo.asp?internshipID=998

E-Systems Acquisition: Strategic Fit
In the second quarter of 1995, Raytheon acquired E-Systems in a transaction valued at approximately $2.2 billion. E-Systems brings to Raytheon a strong government and defense electronics operation with complementary skills and programs, and a strong backlog of surveillance, reconnaissance, and intelligence programs that have been less sensitive to the decline in defense procurement spending than more traditional equipment programs.

A leader in systems integration, E-Systems business areas include reconnaissance and surveillance systems; specialized aircraft modification; command, control, and communications; electronic imaging; and other information-based technologies. Raytheon's traditional defense and government business is strong in air defense systems; air-launched missiles and strike systems; command, control, communications, and computers; naval systems; and air traffic control.

By being part of Raytheon, E-Systems gains the opportunity to broaden its international presence and the application of some of its defense technologies in commercial markets.


Reconnaissance, Surveillance Programs
E-Systems continued to be a leader in reconnaissance, surveillance, and intelligence systems, supporting programs that remain critical to maintaining the peace.
http://www.raytheon.com/finance/1995/annrpt/esys.html

BAD WEEK

1. Raytheon

It looks like Raytheon Co. will be the first company charged by the SEC with violating Regulation Fair Disclosure. This, according to Bloomberg.

According to a number of published reports, the two parties are negotiating a settlement that, if agreed to, would result only in a slap on the wrist for Raytheon.

Under the proposed settlement, Raytheon will not pay a fine. Without being forced to admit to the charges, Raytheon management would agree to be subject to tougher sanctions if the company does break the rule in the future.

As of yesterday, however, Raytheon management continued to deny that it had any knowledge of any SEC investigation.

Reportedly, Raytheon is accused of providing earnings estimates to Wall Street analysts before telling the rest of the public. Allegedly, two of the company executives were also caught passing notes during an earnings conference. Officials at the SEC refuse to divulge the contents of the notes, although one source close to case told GW/BW: "You'll never guess who likes who. And I mean, like likes."

2. Duke Energy, El Paso Corp.

Management at Duke Energy and El Paso Corp. reported last Friday that they received subpoenas for documents from the U.S. Attorney's Office in Houston as part of a grand jury investigation into round-trip trades. But spokesmen for Duke and El Paso told GW/BW that both companies sent subpoenas to the U.S. Attorney's Office, so that should cancel out the original subpoenas.

3. PNC Financial Services

This week, the Securities and Exchange Commission settled charges of accounting improprieties by The PNC Financial Services Group Inc. That marks the first time the commission has leveled an enforcement action against a company's misuse of special-purpose entities (SPEs).

As you know, SPEs are at the heart of Enron's troubles.

The commission said that "PNC violated Generally Accepted Accounting Principles when it transferred from its financial statements about $762 million of volatile, troubled or under-performing loans and venture capital assets sold to three special purpose entities created by a third party financial institution in the second, third, and fourth quarters of 2001, which resulted in material overstatements of earnings, among other things."

The SEC also issued an order explaining its order against PNC.

http://216.239.41.104/search?q=cache:yRzV0j3W2v0J:www.cfo.com/printarticle/0,5317,7470%257CA,00.html%3Ff%3Doptions++Raytheon+pnc&hl=en

[seemslikeadream]

27. Richard Armitage

Richard Armitage, Deputy Secretary of State is president and partner of Armitage Assoc. LLP, was a Boeing consultant, a Raytheon consultant and an advisory board member. Armitage was also President Bush's special emissary to Jordan's King Hussein during the 1991 Gulf War. Armitage has also worked in the past for Halliburton.
http://dc.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=45246&gro...

[seemslikeadream]

21. from emad

emad aisat sana
Additional reporting from TheSpoof.com:

"Bush Bank helped Pinochet stash Enron $$$$$$$$$s"
Snip:
General Pinochet's personal references had been supplied by former President George Bush Senior whose glowing written assessment described him as a "notorious military leader accused of involvement with death squads, corruption, arms sales and drug trafficking," an epithet that virtually guaranteed him the bank's Tripe A Customer Credit Rating.

Jonathan Bush opened an account for him personally, helped him establish two offshore hell corporations in the Belize called Ashcroft and Aitken (named after UK Tory ministers who had formal postgraduate qualifications in money laundering and perjury at Supreme Court level), and then opened more accounts in the name of those hell corporations both here, in the UK and in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

and

"In 1998, when General Pinochet was arrested in London on charges of not committing enough crimes against humanity, a court issued a gagging order to protect his bank accounts. Jonathan Bush then quietly helped him move money from London to the United States," said Levin.

In March 1999, while Pinochet was still under arrest, the bank authorised the transfer of $16 million from a London account of Aitken to a new one in the United States, despite a court order to increase the amount by another $10 million. "Needless to say, the bank didn't alert law enforcement or the courts to his accounts," said Levin, because the money was earmarked 'George Bush Junior 2000 presidential campaign war chest'.

Commenting on this novel arrangement of electional fundraising, the General's attorney said: "We can't allow our financial systems to be misused by corrupt dictators, terrorists or other criminals who don't do business with the Bush family".

Story:

http://www.thespoof.com/news/spoof.cfm?headline=s2i5826 ...