Equatorial Guinea readies for Zim 69 extradition

[seemslikeadream]

By Agencies
Last updated: 07/19/2004 06:59:14
EQUATORIAL Guinea is preparing an extradition request for 69 alleged mercenaries to be sent to that country for trial, the South African Constitutional Court was told on Monday.

The court was hearing arguments why it should intervene in the trial of the group which is facing various charges. They are currently being held in a prison in Zimbabwe.

Advocate Francois Joubert argued before Chief Justice Arthur Chaskalson and nine colleagues that they had the power under the South Africa's Bill of Rights to help the 69 men.

Joubert told the court the men faced charges of conspiring to murder the president of Equatorial Guinea and overthrowing his government.

"Our clients dread the prospect of ending up in Equatorial Guinea," Joubert said.

more
http://www.newzimbabwe.com/pages/plane38.11315.html

[seemslikeadream]

1. Zimbabwe Mercenary Trial Delayed

The trial of 70 people accused of being British led mercenaries plotting a coup in Equatorial Guinea was postponed in Zimbabwe today to allow their lawyers to appeal for the trial to be moved, court officials said.

The men were detained after landing at Harare International Airport on March 7, and are charged with conspiring to carry out a coup in Equatorial Guinea with weapons bought in Zimbabwe. They are also charged with violating Zimbabwe’s immigration, firearms and security laws.

The charges carry a maximum penalty of life imprisonment in Zimbabwe.

Lawyers for the men are seeking to have the trial moved to South Africa, where some of the suspects are from. They are concerned that if the trial starts in Zimbabwe the men could face extradition to Equatorial Guinea – a tiny West African nation that is ranked by rights groups as one of the most repressive and corrupt in the world.

Such an extradition is possible because Zimbabwe established diplomatic relations with Equatorial Guinea last month. If tried there, the men could face execution. In South Africa there is no death penalty.
more
http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=3225082

[papau]

2. EQUATORIAL Guinea murder/corruption Texas Oil family approved

Makes Saddam look like Saint Paul

Indeed it is a family business where the coup that put this family in power - to kill previous leader and all challengers -

but they have lighten up in the last few years - claimed an election win of 99.2% a few years back

This time they locked up all opposition for the 14 months prior to the election - but only claimed 97.3% victory.

Billions go in - Riggs bank hides the money - the population of a half million stays dirt poor 0 but the good news was that this last go round the folks locked up for the election were mostly just tortured - not murdered.

Still the US ambass. wrote that they were evil - and got reamed out by Exxon Mobil Exec for screwing with important oil revenues!
'
I do like the oil folks - the Bush family - running the country.

:-)

[seemslikeadream]

3. AND ------------ PNC to acquire 'clean' Riggs

PNC to acquire 'clean' Riggs
With its acquisition of troubled Riggs Bank in Washington, D.C., PNC Financial Services said it expects Riggs' current regulatory issues to be mostly resolved before the deal closes. However, the merger agreement gives PNC the right to walk away if significant new regulatory troubles arise for Riggs before then.
The Riggs name also will disappear and be replaced by PNC at the bank's 50 branches in Washington, Maryland and Virginia.

"The Riggs we will acquire will not be the same as the Riggs of today," PNC chief executive James Rohr said in a conference call with analysts.



"We will be acquiring a clean company, to the best of our knowledge."




PNC agreed Friday to buy Riggs National Corp., which is under investigation for allegedly failing to prevent, and in some cases fostering money laundering, for about $779 million in stock and cash.

Its Riggs Bank subsidiary, an old-line Washington institution with deep ties to the diplomatic community, has been sanctioned by federal regulators and is under congressional investigation for allegedly helping hide money for former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet and other lapses.

As part of the deal with the larger Pittsburgh-based PNC, Riggs will shed all of its diplomatic and international businesses -- the source of its regulatory troubles.
MORE
http://www.cincypost.com/2004/07/17/pnc07-17-2004.html

[On the Road]

4. I Haven't Like Riggs Since Their Umbelievably Self-Important Ad Campaign

in the late 70s: "The most important bank in the most important city in the world." They lamely tried to improve it by adding "thinks you're important, too," but the damage had been done, at least for me.

[seemslikeadream]

5. Yea just cause they had a tunnel dug from the US Treasury

they thought they we're so important


that's Riggs behind the Treasury
thanks Snazzy

[On the Road]

6. Oh Was "Right on the Money" Their Campaign, Too?

I actually liked that one for some reason.

But it figures. Riggs's message is: We're important. You need us. Not the kind of establishment I want to patronize.

[seemslikeadream]

8. Here's that 10 that didn't show up

If you look close you can see them digging the tunnel!

[Snazzy]

17. The new 10 may be a view from Riggs

Not sure which side of the treasury that is, the one with the statue of Hamilton (shot by vee pee Burr over a controversial election of Jefferson--sounds like an early BFEE man).


(Hey mods, can we add BFEE to the dictionary pls.!)

[al bupp]

7. NPR Riggs Report on Saturday

I was happy to hear the Riggs Bank scandal get some air-time on NPR's Weekend Edition w/ Scott Simon.

Click the RealAudio link on this page to listen:

http://www.npr.org/features/feature.php?wfId=3482019

[seemslikeadream]

9. I bet you didn't hear the name Jonathan Bush

well maybe it was NPR.
Thanks al bupp I'll listen to it now. :hi:



1836
William Wilson Corcoran opens a note brokerage house---an early form of bank.

1837
Businessmen from New York and abroad, including former neighbor Elisha Riggs, shield the Corcoran brokerage house from collapse during the economic panic.

1840
Corcoran and George Washington Riggs, Elisha's son, form Corcoran Riggs, a partnership that offers depository and checking services.

1842
States-rights Democrat John Tyler is the first President of the United States to bank at Corcoran & Riggs.

1844
The U.S. government selects Corcoran & Riggs as the sole federal depository in Washington.

1845
Corcoran & Riggs finances the invention of the telegraph by Samuel Morse.
Corcoran & Riggs purchases the buildings and assets of the Washington branch of the defunct Second Bank of the United States, located across the street from the Treasury.

Corcoran & Riggs invests heavily in railroads and land, contributing to the nations push westward.


1847
Corcoran & Riggs lends $16 million to the U.S. government for the Mexican War and subsequently covers the loan by selling bonds to London financial houses. As the first sale of American securities in Europe since 1837, this transaction bolsters the credit of all American bankers.

1850
Senators Henry Clay, John C. Calhoun and Daniel Webster bank at Riggs.

1853
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers opens Corcoran & Riggs accounts for construction of the Washington Aqueduct and the extension of the Capitol.

1854
Corcoran retires to devote his life to private investments and charitable causes; George Washington Riggs takes over the bank under its new name, Riggs & Co.

1861
Abraham Lincoln opens an account at Riggs shortly before Civil War hostilities begin, only weeks after Confederate President Jefferson Davis closes his account.

1865
Instead of accepting a charter under the new national bank act, Riggs & Co. remains a private bank. This decision accounts for the bank's stability in the aftermath of the Civil War.

1868
Upon the request of Secretary of State Seward, Riggs & Co. supplies $7.2 million in gold bullion to the U.S. government to purchase Alaska from Russia.

1873
Financial panic throws banking houses across the nation into confusion, yet Riggs deposits double within the next three years.

1881
Following the death of George Washington Riggs, Charles Carroll Glover becomes the dominant force in the bank.

1896
Riggs & Co. accepts a national banking charter. The Riggs National Bank elects its first board, sells stock, and shifts its focus from specialized investment services to general banking services for a large clientele.
Glover becomes the first president of the bank.

1900
Lawrason Riggs, the last member of the family associated with the bank, retires from the board of directors.
With deposits of more than $5 million, Riggs is twice as large as any other bank in the District of Columbia. Riggs issues stock to National City Bank, the largest New York bank, to forge a profitable alliance.
http://www.riggsbank.com/Discover_Riggs/timeline.html

[al bupp]

10. You Would Win That Bet

All through the interview, I held out a slim hope that Jonathan's name would pop up, but alas, no.

I suppose a well-written letter to that nice Mr. Simon might be called for...

[seemslikeadream]

11. Martha gets equal time

What do you expect he can't even pronounce Guinea, must be from France, :shrug: I'm just listening for the second time. I thought I might have missed it!


It's a lot harder to hide money in Swiss Banks these days. And we better make sure Martha gets equal time. When was the last time Martha funded a coup in Africa?

[al bupp]

12. I was actually surprised they mentioned Riggs at all!

I'd tuned out much of the Martha banter, only half listening while making the family breakfast, but perked-up when Riggs entered into the conversation.

I agree w/ you, if only, in the eyes of even the "liberal Media" such as NPR, the Riggs bank merited half the coverage given to Ms. Stewart.

[Snazzy]

13. Ex-SAS captain faces Zimbabwe coup trial

(not sure if you had this one Dream--just catching up on my favorite coups and scandals.... )

Ex-SAS captain faces Zimbabwe coup trial

20.07.2004
By KIM SENGUPTA

A former captain in the British SAS, with connections to the British establishment, will face court in Zimbabwe this week, accused of planning a coup in an oil-rich African country.

In a tale of crime and politics, the trial of Simon Mann will hear allegations about a murder plot against a dictator accused of cannibalism.

Mann, whose father was an England cricket captain, is the scion of the Watney brewing empire. With 69 other men, he has been charged with trying to overthrow Teodoro Obiang, the President of Equatorial Guinea.

Their fellow conspirators, it is claimed, were the President's relations, Severo Moto Nsa, an exiled opposition leader, and Ely Calil, a London-based millionaire oil trader, who is a former financial adviser to Lord Jeffrey Archer, the disgraced peer and former deputy chairman of the Tory party.

The prize, it is said, was not just power, but vast sums from oil concessions.

....

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/storydisplay.cfm?storyID=3579225&thesection=news&thesubsection=world

Recall the there's high level Tory support for Pinochet, coincident with the creation of his two offshore companies by Riggs to hide the loot--companies named after famous Brits. The English side to the Riggs implosion is just begging to come out, I think that's going to be the link to our EG mercs.




Wednesday, October 6, 1999 Published at 20:52 GMT 21:52 UK

UK Politics

Pinochet 'not a political prisoner'

Lady Thatcher says the arrest was 'judicial kidnap'

Human rights campaigners have hit back at Baroness Thatcher's claim that General Augusto Pinochet is being detained in Britain as a "political prisoner".

Lady Thatcher, a friend of the former Chilean dictator, renewed her fierce criticism of his arrest in a speech to a fringe meeting at the Tory conference.

But Amnesty International UK has strongly rejected her assertion that the 83-year-old's detention was a politically-motivated act prompted by left-wing opponents.

They pointed out that he was charged under international law with criminal offences of torture and conspiracy to torture.

....

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/467955.stm

Thatcher pleads Pinochet's case

Baroness Thatcher has accused the UK Government of acting like a police state in sanctioning the arrest and extradition case against Chile's General Augusto Pinochet.

BBC Political Editor Robin Oakley: Fears that party is looking back
Her defence of the former Chilean dictator at a fringe meeting at the Conservative Party conference was every bit as strong as expected, but although Lady Thatcher was greeted with an ovation her reception was more muted than many had expected.

She told Tories in Blackpool it was vital for the party to fight the government on this case.

"We must pay heed to the implications of an international lynch law, which under the guise of defending human rights now threatens to subvert British justice and the rights of sovereign nations."

....

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/467114.stm

[seemslikeadream]

14. Read this

Defence opens in BCCI law suit
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x694780

:hi:

[Snazzy]

15. Caught some of that, thanks

Thought it was interesting that it's Deloitte & Touche suing BOE. D&T set up Pinochet's companies for Riggs in the Bahamas. You have to read the fine print in the Senate Riggs report to get that (think it is a footnote).

Also not reported in the 'news.'

[seemslikeadream]

16. oops It was this one, I think?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=694684

There's another one too I'm looking for it.


I see you found it.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x693948