SUSPECTS ON ITALIAN INTERNATIONAL ARREST WARRANTS INCLUDE TWO PRESENT OR FORMER HEADS OF STATE

 

 Our information on the progress of Italy's investigation of the Malta money launderers indicates that it is moving faster than those being conducted in two other EU Member States. Our sources have advised that international arrest warrants will be issued against the principal targets, to aid in their apprehension and extradition from abroad. Whether there are any sealed indictments in Italy we cannot say.

One additional, and very important, piece of information, is that at least two of the suspects are "Present or former Heads of State in the Caribbean." We know that the investigation touches specifically upon senior officials from both the Commonwealth of Dominica, and Grenada, and our best educated guess is that one or more of the suspects named are from those two East Caribbean States, both of whom offer CBI products. Remember that the CEO of Malta's rogue money laundering Pilatus Bank had a Dominica CBI passport. Alternatively, it is possible, given that Ali Sadr himself acquired and regularly employed a CBI passport from the Federation of St Kitts & Nevis while moving money in Europe, that one of the leaders could be from St. Kitts. Leaders from St Lucia and Antigua appear to be a lesser possibility, but should not be totally discarded.   

 

We regret that there is no information regarding the other suspects; it is likely that they are Italians and Maltese nationals or residents. It will indeed be likely that some of the targets may find themselves wanted in more than one jurisdiction, and after serving sentences in one country, they may find themselves extradited to another to serve time there. General Noriega served time in three countries for his crimes, and justice requires no less, given the levels of corruption and money laundering that we have seen in Malta.

 

 

MOHAMMAD ALI HAMADEI - HEZBOLLAH AIRCRAFT HIJACKER - $5m REWARD

 

ITALY'S FINANCIAL INTELLIGENCE UNIT OPENS A CRIMINAL PROBE INTO MALTA'S JOSEPH MUSCAT REGARDING HIS FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES IN ITALY

 

The Unita di Informazione Finanziaria per l'Italia Italy's Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) has opened a criminal probe into the activities of the disgraced former Prime Minister of Malta, JOSEPH MUSCAT, and his Maltese criminal associates, involving financial transactions that they have conducted inside Italy. Investigative reporters in Malta have long suspected that Muscat has had a close relationship with elements of traditional Italian organized crime, commonly known as the Mafia, in Sicily.

Muscat's longtime Chief of Staff, KEITH SCHEMBRI, was recently arrested on suspicion of money laundering and corruption. While he had not yet been charged with a crime, it is believed that such charges are imminent. Other individuals were also arrested at that time, and hundreds of companies and other entities were named in a freeze order designed to seize criminal proceeds  held by those businesses. Schembri is known to have traveled to Milan a couple of days before his arrest in Malta.

We do not ordinarily disclose the identity of law enforcement and regulatory that agencies involved in pending investigations, but in this case, we have been permitted to name the specific agency involved by our sources. We hope that additional information will be released shortly. 

 

 

MORE CLUES IN KRULL COURT FILE REGARDING MALTA MONEY LAUNDERING CASE ?

 

 A quick look at the docket in the Matthias Krull case has yielded some additional clues which may help fill in the blanks regarding the pending Malta money laundering investigation. Yes, I know we just discussed the very recent court order freeing him from restrictions, and giving him an unusual additional six months to surrender, but this material came in since that order was entered.

Right after Mr. Krull was given a reprieve from entering prison, to commence his sentence, an unopposed motion To travel was granted. At the same time, a sealed document was filed with the Court; that is the fifth such filing in his case, which is generally a good indication he is cooperating against one or more targets. Remember, Krull has a ten (10) year sentence to serve; at all costs, he needs the Government to file a Rule 35 motion to reduce his sentence, so he simply must testify, whether before the Grand Jury, or at trial, to get his sentence lowered.

All the indicators point to Krull, whose laundering of millions of PDVSA Venezuelan capital 'diverted" to  Malta and elsewhere, and into his clients' control, being a principal witness against the Malta defendants. We shall continue to monitor all developments as they occur.

THE ALI SADR CASE OUTCOME, AND THE TRUE REASON BEHIND IT, CONTINUES TO BE A MYSTERY

 

 Either Ali Sadr Hasheminejad had his case dismissed due to an excessive number of egregious Brady violations, for which the District Judge wants the guilty parties' heads, OR an extremely favorable covert deal with senior SDNY prosecutors, including one who handles terrorism cases, has been struck, and the "controversy" is just a cover, OR perhaps a little of both. Take your pick, for the puzzle has not yet been solved.

It just gets curiouser and curiouser; here is the latest piece of the puzzle. If the SDNY is so manipulative and sneaky (which I doubt) about Brady tricks, why does it land on this particular case, which is perhaps the most important Iran oil-for-gold sanctions evasion case filed ? Is the judge being overbearing here, or is there more than meets the eye ? Are there National Security Issues here that we are not cleared to know about ?

 Weeks after we first looked askance at the US Attorney's resolution of the case, we are still clueless, but the quest for truth goes on; Perhaps when we see the next major indictment in the Southern District, and you find Sadr's fingerprints on it, we might get a hint about what he really did contribute.

Stay tuned.

MALTA'S REGULATOR SUSPENDS CBI LICENSE OF BT

Malta's regulator of its Citizenship by Investment (CBI) passport sales program, known as the Individual Investor Programme Agency, has suspended the license of BT INTERNATIONAL LIMITED, d/b/a NEXIA BT until further notice. BT purchased Panamanian shell companies for Maltese PEPs, and was exposed in the "Panama Papers."  The company's partners, BRIAN TONNA and KARL CINI, were taken into custody in Malta in the KEITH SCHEMBRI money laundering investigation, and there is no indication that they have bonded out, or been released. Under local law, they must be charged with a crime within 48 hours or released.

Here is a screenshot of the Notice.

 

 

VALLETTA THREE ARE NOW PLUS ONE

Apparently the three arrests which occurred in Malta this week have had an effect; according to a reliable source, an additional Maltese resident has approached American investigators, offering to cooperate, in exchange for favorable treatment from the US Department of Justice in the cases now known collectively as MaltaGate. His or her nationality is not known.

We imagine that many individuals in Malta who have been involved in dodgy financial transactions that could be found to constitute Conspiracy to Commit Money Laundering under the American criminal code became short of breath upon learning that Keith Schembri, the former Chief of State to ex-Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, was taken into custody, and subject to formal interrogation. They believe that they are also potential targets, irrespective of the level of their participation, and rightly fear extradition to an American courtroom where they could receive a sentence of decades of imprisonment. Those stakes would give anyone pause, especially targets whose attorneys have been candid about their chances of obtaining an acquittal, given the facts and evidence.

Given that attorneys for the earliest cooperators generally obtain the most favorable outcome for their clients in a complex criminal case, we can expect the list to grow, especially since sources have confirmed that local proceedings will not deter the ultimate filing of charges by the United States. 

 

 

 

 

 

MALTA ARRESTS DO NOT AFFECT U.S. INVESTIGATIONS, WHICH CONTINUE TO EXPAND IN SCOPE

 

 The public shock over the local arrest of Keith Schembri, the former Chief of Staff in the Office of the Prime Minister, will have absolutely no effect upon the progress of the unfolding multiple American law enforcement investigations into money laundering, terrorist financing, corruption, and the Citizenship by Investment (CBI) program, in the Republic of Malta, according to a senior source who has consistently and reliably provided details of the investigations, which have accelerated during the past thirty days. While he states that the arrests may serve as a distraction, or a bone thrown to MONEYVAL, they will not deter the American cases in any manner.

Given that ex-COF Shembri, said to be until very recently the most powerful man in Malta, even eclipsing the former Prime Minister, Joseph Musca, was released on bond, and not charged, after local law enforcement has had four and one-half years to collect evidence of his obvious guilt, means that Malta's justice system still cannot be trusted to follow the Rule of Law, and avoid its heritage of abject corruption, according to a different American source. The source explained that, while any Maltese politician convicted and actually serving a prison sentence might escape extradition, that there will remain a large number of suspects who will still face justice inside American courtrooms in New York or Miami. This also does not effect any proceedings that may be brought in EU criminal courts, where at least three investigations are known to be active.

The Schembri arrest and, two related arrests, which are believed to have resulted from the effects of the placement of serious pressure upon Malta's Police, will have no effect upon the US cases. Given that Malta's criminal justice system  has a reputation for a total lack of the application of swift justice, or any justice at all, for that matter, your blogger does not expect that Keith Schembri will be charged with criminal activity, or if he is eventually charged, that he will ever serve one day in prison in Malta for his crimes. He can well afford to buy his way out of trouble. Malta's criminal justice system is broken, and cannot be easily repaired, give the undue influence of the political party currently in power,  their illicit wealth, and their unknown, but very powerful, foreign benefactors.

 

 

The posture of the US investigations remains unchanged, and any thoughts by the public that a couple of arrests by local authorities have had the effect of supplanting them is not realistic. The show will go on; the only question is when, MP Muscat and Labour Party associates, in case you are asking.

  

MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING IN MALTA ?

 

 The news about Schembri's arrest, while welcomed here, has to be treated with cynicism. Will he actually be charged, and if so, will his case go to trial in a relatively short period of time, and will be actually be sentenced and serve prison time ? I need to know that this activity is not just for MONEYVAL's benefit, and that it will dissipate in November. Please tell me the case is real. Little things bother me,; the failure to name one of the daughters in the freze order, Schembri's eleventh-hour flight to Milan, the four year delay in the arrest. It goes on and on.

I am reminded of the Maltese citizen who was sentenced to prison time; the court allowed him to attend university, on the campus, each day, while he was incarcerated, as a sort of school release program. Is that the functional equivalent of sitting in a prison cell, only sleeping there, as in a halfway house ? I doubt it.  Will Schembri be released each day, due to his power, wealth and influence ?

Listen, I may be totally wrong here, and if I am, I will apologize, but I do not see this arrest as solving Malta's long corruption and money laundering nightmare. Only arrests from a jurisdiction that is not susceptible to corruption, such as the United States or the UK, will make me happy, for those countries do not accept bribes to fix court cases.

Just so we are clear, the Schembri case will NOT affect, in any way, the American investigations currently underway. I have it on good authority that they are proceeding with all deliberate speed. Govern yourselves accordingly.

THE ILLEGAL FORECLOSURE TACTICS EMPLOYED BY FAY SERVICING

 

 

This blog shall continue to report on the financial criminals who are hell bent on making Americans homeless. If you have not previously read our coverage of Fay Servicing , you are invited to visit our prior article here: https://rijock.blogspot.com/2020/08/making-america-homeless-again.html

We, every day, are learning even more about how vulnerable American homeowners, particularly Seniors, are to dishonest mortgage companies. Most states have laws against filing false documents with the courts; there is even a Federal Statute on point. See 8 United States Code §1324(c) - Penalties for Document Fraud. Falsifying documents is a criminal offense when it involves the alteration, correction, modification, delivery or possession of a document when conducted for an unlawful purpose. While it is considered a white-collar crime, it is known by different names, depending upon the state. It may also be included a part of other collateral crimes. The falsification of documents is a felony under state law.  

Allow us to explain. Let's say your unethical mortgage company has decided it no longer wishes to wait for the balance of your 30-year mortgage, which you have been faithfully paying on time for the past 20 or 25 years.

The First Step in the fraudulent plan to steal your home, and deprive you of your life's largest asset, begins with illegal practices at a company such as Wells Fargo  Mortgage, where the firm actually took action against borrowers, notwithstanding that they always made all their payments on time, only to learn later that the company was using illegal tactics and methods to increase its revenue, and even foreclose upon their homes, by committing fraud and unconscionable acts. One recent article that deserves your attention is here:https://www.nbcnews.com/business/personal-finance/troy-harlow-has-always-made sure-pay-his-

The Second Step: Once the lender has created a fraudulent dispute on the target homeowner's mortgage account, the mortgage in question is bundled up with others, and sold to an unscrupulous third party debt collector. In this case, it was Fay Servicing, described by observers as a racketeer-influenced corrupt organization (RICO), notoriously known for having a staff that lies to its customers, frequently deceives them, fabricates bogus loan documents, and pads mortgage accounts with all types of excessive and fraudulent fees, thereby forcing the homeowners into bankruptcy court, to protect their homes from foreclosure.

In Step Three,  the homeowner is granted a Stay by the Bankruptcy Judge, with an affordable payment plan, created by the Court and the Trustee. Two senior Fay Servicing officers, President Kimberly Bingham and Vice President Ryan Finnigan have been reportedly instructing their employees to file a false Proof of Claim, in the Chapter 11 or Chapter 13 filing, asserting an higher number of the principal loan balance. This forces the homeowner to a higher, and unaffordable, payment, and where the case is later dismissed, making the property vulnerable to the illegal foreclosure scam without allowing the borrowers any workout options to save their homes.

We note that this practice is a violation of 18 U.S.C. 152(4). Fay Servicing, its executives, employees and debt collection attorneys, who are fully aware of their filing of false Proofs of Claim, continue to file the same fraudulent documents with local courts, to pursue their unlawful foreclosures. Cloaking themselves under the name Wilmington Trust, N.A., as Trustee for MFRA Trust, the victims may never know who actually holds their note and mortgage. Readers are directed to review the multiple state and Federal decisions holding that MFRA foreclosures were based upon fraudulent and untrustworthy documents and filings; a number of those cases, including appellate decision, denied foreclosure.

Moving on to Step Four;  Fay Servicing, knowing very well that the homeowners targeted by their fraud are on financial life support, its attorneys finish the job by quickly foreclosing on the victims' homes, often while they are lying critically ill in hospital beds.Deceptive Mortgage Servicing Company Fay Servicing Exploits and Cheats Borrowers. 

Whereas, most individuals who commit Document Fraud are charged with a felony, as it is a crime to knowingly file, register, or record a false or fraudulent document with the courts of any public office within any state, Fay Servicing has consistently and repeatedly broken state or Federal law. with impunity, and just successfully foreclosed upon your home. 

The final insult: those same attorneys who just unlawfully foreclosed upon your home, will quickly contact you, their victim, via a proxy and unscrupulous business name, set up within the dark operation of their law firm, to begin offering the already ripped-off, stressed-out and depressed homeowner post-foreclosure assistance, at an exorbitant fee. In truth and in fact, the crooks have no genuine intention of helping the homeowner that they just scammed; it is only another ploy to trick and threaten the homeowner into surrendering their home, while enriching their pockets by double-dipping the gullible homeowner after they have stolen his home.

Somehow, Fay Sentencing, through all its unethical and dishonest conduct, seems to have operated above the law, while making hardworking borrowers homeless. We sincerely hope that the various state Attorneys General, the executive Office for US Trustees, and other law enforcement agencies take action to terminate these illegal activities. 

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For Further reading:

Meet Fay Servicing's Foreclosure Pit Bull in Florida 

deceptive Mortgage Servicing Company Fay Servicing Exploits and Cheats Borrowers

 

 

  

 

 

ANOTHER CLUE EMERGES IN MALTAGATE MONEY LAUNDERING INVESTIGATION

                                                                   Matthias Krull

A reader asked me today if there was any documentary proof, meaning from a court file, that there are open cases pending against the present and former Malta government officials, in a matter we have named Maltagate. While any criminal indictments will be filed under seal, and disclosure of any information strictly prohibited, there are a number of clues to be uncovered, if you know what to look for. It often means sifting through related, or even seemingly unrelated, cases to extract some gems of information that will fill in one or more of the blanks.

 Remember MATTHIAS KRULL ? He's the dirty German-Swiss banker operating in the Republic of Panama who pled guilty to a money laundering charge two years ago, and began cooperating with law enforcement, to reduce his ultimate sentence. He moved $1.2bn in embezzled PDVSA money out of Venezuela, through many countries, including Malta.  He's been under house arrest ever since; we reported that he acquired a residence in Miami recently, and we wondered why the change from his home further north in Florida, since he was scheduled to surrender in September.

Now we know why; when I checked with the Bureau of Prisons to learn where he was serving his sentence, and his Release Date, I found that he was NOT in BOP custody. A check of the Court file revealed the Order that appears below. He was not only given additional freedom, a delay until March 7, 2021 to report to prison, he was released from House Arrest (Home Confinement) as well as Electronic Monitoring of his movements. This is, trust me, an early Christmas present; instead of cooling his heels in some county jail, awaiting his turn to testify before a grand jury or at trial, he remains out on bond, in his new Miami residence. This is clearly preferential, and even special, treatment. This is not done every day; must be for a significant case.

Given that he can now be readily available to Miami Federal prosecutors, I would say that this is a very good indicator that they have plans for him in any Maltagate case opened in Miami, if not also the lead case, in the Southern District of New York. It is further evidence of his role in a major criminal case . We know that this small piece of evidence may not convince everyone, but there are sufficient indicia like this one to support the conclusion that the probable targets had better finish up their efforts to acquire US criminal defense attorneys post haste.

 

 

  

URGENT: MALTA COURT FREEZES ASSETS OF FORMER CHIEF OF STAFF SCHEMBRI FOR MONEY LAUNDERING

                                               KEITH SCHEMBRI and JOSEPH MUSCAT
 

If you are a compliance officer anywhere in the world, but particularly in the European Union, and the British Virgin Islands, please pay close attention to the 18-page document attached below. It lists all the companies named in a freeze, attachment and garnishment order entered by Judge Edwina Grima, at the Attorney General's request. There are many corporations, banks, and other entities which have 24 hours to comply. Are you banking any of these individuals or companies ? You are advised to consult with your counsel immediately, especially if you have any pending transfer or withdrawal orders from your clients.

Suspected of money laundering is KEITH SCHEMBRI, the ex-Chief of Staff to the former Prime Minister, JOSEPH MUSCAT, who is himself a target of US law enforcement, and a Person of Interest in several EU countries. Yes, I know the Order is in Maltese, but you can certainly read the names and check your records forthwith. You are strongly advised to do so. 

Whether this asset freeze is the beginning of a major Maltese money laundering enforcement campaign, or merely an astute political move, to superficially deflect the international pressure which Malta's government is definitely feeling of late, remains an open question. Will there be subsequent enforcement actions ? Only time will tell. October is fast approaching, and that means only one thing: MONEYVAL.

THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, PART II : MALTA'S LABOUR PARTY TROLLS AND HACKERS TRY TO KILL THE TRUTH

 

As my sources, both in Malta and in the United States had aptly warned, paid trolls and hackers obviously working for Malta's Labour Party have repeatedly, but unsuccessfully, attempted DDOS attacks upon this blog, seeking to push the truth offline, to keep our news of the legal tsunami coming against their money launderers and corrupt party officials from our readers.

We have received phishing emails with dubious attachments, all of which have been deleted forthwith, with masked IP addresses, gaslighting emails, and copies of letters to the editor of mainstream Malta newspaper message boards asking that we be sued by the disgraced former prime minister, all designed to make this blog dead on arrival, or distract me from the task at hand, which is to tell the unvarnished truth.

 One specific secure email was chilling, it was a mysterious offer of promised "extraordinary" information, but required that we meet with this "source" abroad. This was the precise manner in which the British investigative journalist and editor Barry Randall was lured to Montenegro, where he was reportedly poisoned with radioactive Polonium, causing an early, and painful, death. Mr. Randall was a known correspondent of Daphne Caruana Galizia, and he was the subject of attention from known dark forces in Malta at the time he was poisoned, allegedly due to the fact that the two journalists had shared information about Citizenship by Investment (CBI) bribes and kickbacks. He wasn't in Montenegro on holiday, we know that.

Maltese law enforcement authorities have completely avoided investigating Randall's death, notwithstanding a 2020 arrest of a known career criminal in Malta, who was found to be in possession of a quantity of Polonium. There are investigations ongoing in both the US and the United Kingdom, however.There also appears to be a news blackout among Malta's principal media about the subject, and we must assume that it was the result of the economic clout exercised by major advertisers allied with the Labour Party, who at times enforce a form of censorship which also has been seen in the East Caribbean States that also sell CBI passports. 

Message to Labour; during the 1980s, I represented some of the worst criminals in Miami, all narcotics traffickers, and I have a very thick skin. I also do not scare easily. I have been offered a platform to appear personally in Malta, to discuss the issues of the day, and I plan to accept those offers. I challenge now private citizen Joseph Muscat to debate me, in a public forum, to air the subjects of common interest, when I arrive, though he may be at a distinct disadvantage, not because he is a non-lawyer unskilled in debate, but because he fears the Truth, and "the Truth will set you Free."(John 8:31-36).

IS THIS THE PRIMARY WITNESS AGAINST THE MALTAGATE MONEY LAUNDERING AND CORRUPTION DEFENDANTS ?

 

 

This is the Turkish-Iranian businessman, REZA ZARRAB; he went from being the multi-billion dollar Iran Oil-for-Gold sanctions team leader to an outlaw boldly stealing $2bn from his employer, the Government of Iran, to a convicted felon in US District Court, to a mysterious Cooperating Individual (CI), who may pose the greatest threat at trial against the Maltese nationals who assisted, directly and indirectly, in facilitating Iran's massive covert oil sales operation. His close relationship with the most senior individuals in the Government of Turkey, who nicknamed him "Goldfinger," where he operated his racketeering enterprise, and who assisted him there, confirm his status as a world class money launderer, whose only mistake was entering the Continental United States while on a family vacation.

Notwithstanding his guilty plea, Zarrab is enjoying what appears to be total freedom from being held in any type of custody, unlike typical Federal convicts, who must work off a sentence reduction, while incarcerated and serving their time. Zarrab's cooperation must be so usual that he has actually been seen eating at a Manhattan Sushi restaurant with a date. This is so far outside normal law enforcement protocol that he must have not only given extremely incriminating testimony before a Grand Jury, sufficient to obtain an indictment against powerful people. but must have promised to repeat that dynamite testimony at all upcoming trials.

 

 

Given that Iranian-owned by Malta-based Pilatus Bank's primary purpose was always money laundering, and the transit of the proceeds of crime, its involvement in moving illegal Iranian oil profits has never been in doubt. The only question is how extensive the bank's facilitation of the illicit profits was, and who in Malta was involved, both inside and outside the government.

The assumption is that Zarrab's testimony in New York has resulted in several sealed indictments, which will eventually be unsealed, when one of more of the defendants are extradited from Malta, or detained elsewhere. We have noticed that international travel, by  any of the suspected individuals, has seriously declined. They are staying very close to home.

Since Grand Jury testimony is sealed, we do not expect to confirm Zarrab's cooperation until the eve of trial. Meanwhile, we must assume the targets have retained counsel, and are taking medication for their likely sleepless nights. Their long nightmare will begin soon enough.

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NOTE: Readers who are wondering why I have coined the term "Maltagate" to describe the case, please understand that there is a factual basis for that decision, the reasons of which cannot be disclosed at this time, but which will shortly become painfully apparent to certain individuals.

 

A LA MEMOIRE DES VICTIMES CANADIENNES - 11 SEPTEMBRE 2001