MUELLER REPORT : JOSEPH MIFSUD OF MALTA LIED TO THE FBI ABOUT HIS WORK FOR RUSSIA

What you are seeing above is a page taken from the Mueller Report on Russian interference in the 2016  American Presidential Election. It clearly shows that Maltese Professor Joseph Mifsud lied to agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Mifsud concealed the extent of his conversations with George Papadoupolous, the content of their conversations, and subsequent meetings they had together. 

It is a felony to make a false statement to the FBI, in connection with a federal investigation, with a maximum penalty of five years in Federal Prison; should he be located, it is possible that he will be charged.

 

There may be an additional reason why Mifsud perjured himself when he was interviewed by the Bureau; the next entry in the Mueller Report was totally redacted in the unclassified version that was released to the public. It is information about another individual whose identify was concealed, due to the fact that it has to do with Grand Jury material, which is by law secret, unless and until it is entered into evidence in a criminal trial.

 We cannot determine the name of that target, and whether he was working directly with Joseph Mifsud, but the proximity of that entry to Mifsud and Papadoupolous in the Report strongly suggests that there is a link. Whether he is Joseph Muscat, and whether Mifsud hid his relationship with him from the FBI, remains an open question that we hope to answer in the future.

 

 

FASHION HOUSES IN ITALY CONTINUE TO FACILITATE MALTA'S MONEY LAUNDERING SCHEMES

                                         Anger Management Candidate by COSIMO
 

 We have been receiving a number of reader inquiries from Northern Italy regarding our article entitled Another Clue explains Italy's Focus on Malta Money Laundering (October 7, 2020), and asking for more details about the subject. Given that Fashion House money laundering continues unabated, perhaps a masterclass is in order.

 To begin with, money laundering through retail is pretty straightforward:   

(1) You take your criminal profits and integrate them into the legitimate receipts of a retail business by depositing them into the business accounts as sales.

(2) You grossly inflate profits after you dissolve the dirty money into the pool of good money, creating additional records to cover the supposed receipt of that money as sales.

(3) You pay taxes on the new total, and, having cleaned the proceeds of crime, repeat the process.

(4) If you are really ambitious, having the wealth, you now look to acquire power to protect it, by making political contributions, publicly donating to worthy charities, and participating in "giving back" to those in the community most in need. You may even run for public office.  

                                                 Borderline Personality  by COSIMO

Of course, this scheme depends upon a cooperating and reliable source of finished goods, in this case, Italian fashion houses that will (A) falsify invoices to increase the amount of inventory you bought from them, and (2) allow you to  greatly increase the retail prices, which facilitates the laundering of even more dirty money. We are talking about high-end Ready-to-Wear, not Au Couture, which are goods custom made to order by craftsmen in their studios, and thus not amenable to bulk shipping for units to the retail store.

Certain fashion houses and individuals residing in Northern Italy have been closely monitoring this blog, and were particularly interested in our articles about money laundering through fashion. We have previously reported at length on this subject, and the interest taken of late by Italian investigators.

To add to the mix, we now have a report that an individual holding diplomatic status and senior diplomatic rank has assisted in the payment phase of the scheme.As you know diplomats may pass through international borders without submitting to Customs inspection, and we are advised that this loophole has been repeatedly exploited by laundrymen and their associates.

                                                      End Stage  by COSIMO

Given that many of the participants in the scheme appear to be powerful Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs), we do not expect it to be terminated by arrest and prosecution, with rare exceptions.

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All drawings and caricatures are works of fiction. Any similarity to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

WHO WILL RECEIVE THE NEXT WHISPER OF DEATH IN THE MICRO STATE ?

 

 

                                     How Sad,  Fearless Leader must Resign by COSIMO

Sometimes truth is far stranger than fiction, or appears to be more like a B grade crime movie. Please follow this Parable. A crusading investigative journalist is knocking on the door, and about to write about massive corruption in connection with a major utility. The recipients of illegal payments, fearing exposure, form a criminal conspiracy, the sole purpose of which is to eliminate the threat, permanently and efficiently, through violence.

The country's corrupt Prime Minister, whose closet contains more financial skeletons than he can count, and without whose approval nothing happens in his small nation, is at a reception at a luxurious hotel. A close associate, of ministerial level, approaches. He delivers the Whisper of Death into the PMs ear. They will assassinate the journalist.

                                                   Dark and Darker  by COSIMO

The prime minister promptly faints dead away, and must be revived by his frantic aides. Two days later, the investigative journalist's car, with her inside, explodes due to a car bomb's detonation. The PM desperately seeks to distance himself from the public outcry, but must eventually resign in disgrace, as several of the suspects are close associates. 

Years later, as evidence begins to point in his direction, the former prime minister wonders whether his successor will soon receive the next Whisper of Death, and another individual, or even he himself, will be the target.

                                                       Two faced  by COSIMO ________________________________________________________________

Note to readers: This is a work of fiction. Any similarity to actual persons,living or dead, or actual events, is purely coincidental.

 

 

READ HOW MALTA'S JOSEPH MIFSUD DOMINATES THE MUELLER REPORT

 

Inasmuch as most people have not read the Report on the Investigation into Russian Interference in the 2016 Presidential Election, more commonly known as the Mueller Report, we are attaching several of the relevant pages, so that our readers may understand Joseph Mifsud's importance in the efforts of Russia to work with the Trump Campaign, and to produce information intended to interfere in the 2016 US Presidential Election. 

Bear in mind that the publicly-released edition of the report is only the unclassified version. There were numerous redactions, all of which were made for specific purposes, and which were identified by type, so the public would understand why there were so many blacker-out paragraphs, names and dates. Each redacted section is labeled with one of these categories:

(1) Revealing information would harm an ongoing matter. Think pending criminal investigations of other targets. At the time the report was drafted, we know that there was at least one ongoing investigation of Maltese nationals, and their interaction with American nationals and residents.

(2) Disclosing certain information would reveal investigative techniques. Think Sources and Methods.

(3) The information would reveal private information of third-party individuals. Think innocent third parties not involved in any criminal activities, or activities deemed to violate US laws.

(4) The information was obtained from Grand Jury testimony. Such testimony is secret by law. 

 

                                                  Gone but not Forgotten by COSIMO 
 

Remember that there may be indirect connections that implicate individuals in massive criminal conspiracies, although they may only be in contact with one individual, and even if their involvement might be extremely limited, the law imputes liability to them for the entire criminal enterprise that they contributed to. Given the extensive redactions, we have no further information available regarding which additional individuals from Malta participated in Muscat's operation, the goal of which was to assist the campaign through Russian assistance, including the delivery of evidence damaging to the campaign of Hillary Clinton. Targets of other criminal investigations are redacted.

One source has calculated that 7.25% of the material is redacted. Our point is that, given we know that there is a newly-opened criminal investigation into Malta targets, involving Joseph Muscat and certain of his associates, the former Prime Minister may have been named in the classified version of the Report.

Take the time to review these entries:

 

                                    NOTE: 'HARM TO ONGOING MATTER.

    NOTE: NAMES REDACTED

INVESTIGATIVE TECHNIQUE/HARM TO ONGOING MATTER

PILATUS BANK ASKS FOR ADDITIONAL TIME TO RESPOND IN ITS AMERICAN DISCOVERY REQUEST TO ADMINISTRATOR

                                      Pilatus Bank officers at a bank awards ceremony
 

 

 Counsel for Pilatus Bank, having received what they admit is an extensive response from the attorneys for the Lawrence Connell, the Competent Person, who was the designated administrator of the bank after its license was cancelled by the European Central Bank, have asked for additional time to reply on the merits. They have asked for an extension until March 29, representing that counsel has advised there is no opposition.

The problem may be that the Court ordered the case dismissed if service of process could not be effectuated by a deadline date, and this did not occur. A proposed order, based upon stipulation allowing Lawrence Connell's counsel for additional time to reply to the Petition was never signed, and it remains to be seen whether it is no longer pending. It may just be a long shot by Pilatus' counsel, hoping that the Court will allow it to continue.

 

 

JOSEPH MIFSUD, MALTESE ACADEMIC LINKED TO RUSSIA, TRUMP CAMPAIGN AND JOSEPH MUSCAT REMAINS MIA

 

 

                                                Missing in Action ?  by COSIMO

Joseph Mifsud, the mysterious Maltese academic who is believed to have been the connection between Russian Intelligence and the 2016 Presidential Campaign of Donald Trump, and who has been missing for more than two years, has reportedly become the subject of a new investigation into that covert relationship, initiated since the Biden Administration came into office in January. There was apparently  an unofficial freeze on any inquiry, originating from Trump political appointees, who did not want the extent of the link to be exposed. One very senior Trump campaign official has been specifically mentioned as the possible recipient of the Russian information; the confirmation of his identity would have had a major impact upon the Trump Administration.

Readers who are not familiar with the origins of the story are referred to our first article,  The Two Josephs, Muscat and Mifsud, and a Mysterious Russian Whistleblower,  January 9. 2021.  use the Search Box above to locate the article.

To add to the reach of this new investigation, the role played by former Malta Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, who was close to Mifsud, and may have facilitated the Russian connection through his contacts, is now a component of the inquiry. Muscat's relationship with Russian nationals, particularly those who had accounts at Pilatus Bank, and who were therefore in a position to quietly pay bribes and kickbacks in Malta, for favors and referrals that were within Muscat's power to grant, remain an open question. 

                                           Spy vs. Spy ?  by COSIMO

Though some authorities claims that Mifsud was most certainly murdered, to keep him for disclosing details of information passed from Russian intelligence agencies to political operatives in the Trump Campaign, his remains have never been found. Additionally, the peculiar surfacing of his passport abroad,  while possible a plant to throw off American investigators who were pursuing him,  failed to put the matter to rest. Is he really just living anonymously in Italy ?

                                              Dead on Arrival ?  by COSIMO      

Where on Earth is Joseph Mifsud ? Until we answer that question, his role in the Trump-Russia-Muscat triamgle will remain an unsolved mystery. We hope the new investigation answers that question.

MANY UNINDICTED COCONSPIRATORS IN SADR CASE LINKED TO MALTA

In the now closed case of United States vs. Ali Sadr Hashemi Nejad,  the Court has ordered certain documents unsealed, in connection with its inquiry into Brady violations and possible withholding of exculpatory material. Certain of these documents have not been unsealed, and are available to the public and media in the court files.

While readers of the indictment against Sadr were unable to name the nine unindicted co-conspirators who were only identified by 'CC" designations, one of the documents now unsealed reveals who those individuals are, and though they were not charged in that specific case, they are known to US law enforcement, and are at risk of being charged.

You will note that some of them have direct connections to Malta, for a number of reasons;

(1) They reside there, such as one of the Pilatus Bank Directors

(2) They held corporations formed in Malta, such as the Iranian national not related to Sadr.

(3) Their business touched on Maltese financial institutions.

(4) They worked for Sadr.

(5)  They were related to Sadr.

(6) Named in the  Egrant  Magisterial inquiry.

This document provides an important clue as to where the American Pilatus Bank investigation, which is separate and apart from the Sadr case, is going. More documents are scheduled to be unsealed and published soon, and we shall examine them.

 

 

 

FORMER ANTIGUA FINANCIAL REGULATOR LEROY KING, COOPERATING WITH AMERICAN AUTHORITIES, IS SENTENCED TO TEN YEARS IN FEDERAL PRISON

                                                    Leroy King and R Allen Stanford

Leroy King, the former head of the financial regulatory agency in Antigua & Barbuda, has been sentenced to ten years in Federal Prison by a District Judge in Texas, in the $7bn Stanford International Bank case. King, who was facing a Life Sentence when extradited from Antigua last year, pled guilty to lesser charges, while cooperating with American law enforcement. King received over $500,000 from convicted American banker Allen Stanford, who is presently serving a sentence of 110 years for his crimes. 

 It is believed that his poor health was a factor in his decision to enter a plea; his sentencing was delayed multiple times, which is a good indicator that he was engaged in extensive cooperation regarding money laundering and corruption in his native Antigua. Reliable sources in the United States have asserted that a number of present and former government officials have been identified by King. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act violations by American citizens have also reportedly been the subject of his testimony.

Authorities in Antigua fought King's extradition through the country's corrupt court system, which passed the case from judge to judge, and from lawyer to lawyer , employing bogus appeal after appeal, not authorized by existing law, to keep King from cooperating in the US, but justice was eventually done, and additional indictments are expected, based upon his cooperation.

 

 

KEY GOVERNMENT WITNESS IN MALTA MONEY LAUNDERING CASES GETS ADDITIONAL DELAY TO START SERVING HIS SENTENCE

 

Matthias Krull, the convicted Swiss banker who was a major participant, instrumental in the massive money laundering of hundreds of millions of dollars diverted from Venezuela, and funneled through Miami and Malta, has once more had his reporting date, to prison to begin serving his sentence, delayed. In this case, Krull, who will begin a ten year sentence, has been given a delay until July 2, 2021 to surrender. 

Krull is believed to be a principal witness against targets in Malta, Venezuela, and the United States. The fact that the Government wants him readily available, and not within the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Prisons, where obtaining him for debriefing or trial preparation can be problematic, means that his participation is considered essential. He is a critical witness to detail how the proceeds of crime were laundered, and who were the conspirators involved.

Criminal defence attorneys already retained by the money laundering targets, located in Malta, Dominica and Venezuela, most likely have already noted the importance of the Order that appears below,  have most likely increased their monitoring of new District Court filings, and instructed their clients to notify them if taken into custody, or detained for any reason.

FOREIGN GOVERNMENT EXPRESSLY WARNED CATERING COMPANY NOT TO HIRE JOSEPH MUSCAT FOR DUBAI POSITION

                              JM in Custody 2022; The Count of Monte Christo  by COSIMO
 

If you were wondering why cashiered former Malta Prime Minister Joseph Muscat never took the plum CEO job a Maltese catering company promised him in Dubai, there is a reason. You may recall that Muscat, who has neither training nor experience in the food service industry, was supposed to start right after New Years' Day 2021, and he has been seen with officers of that firm, as well as a hotel executive of a related Malta business. 

Our sources have claimed that the job was a no-show position, where he would draw an impressive weekly check without requiring his physical presence on site. One insider has asserted that the compensation he was to receive was a simple laundering technique, allowing him to receive bribe payments, disguised as salary.

So what happened ? His "employer" was specifically warned, by representatives of a foreign government, that it would not be in their best interests to hire Muscat, for any purpose. That's the closest that most people get to a direct threat. The reason the warning was obviously heeded is that the party initiating it was French Intelligence, which our source stated was the DGSE, the Directorate General for External Intelligence. Obviously it was acting upon official orders. That's why Muscat is still hanging around Malta with his Merry Men of Bedlam, and why has has not moved to the UAE. He has become toxic to legitimate business.

WHO GAVE THE GANG THAT COULDN'T SHOOT STRAIGHT THE KEY CARDS TO THE BANK ?

 

 

 

                                        My Kingdom for a Key Card ! by COSIMO

We are pleased to note that this week, at least in Malta, the proverbial chickens are all coming home to roost. In plain English, a sin committed long ago has come back to haunt an individual who has, in the meanwhile, gone on to greater things, and now has everything to lose. The lack of accountability for prior sins and transgressions, which until recently was the hallmark of Maltese public life, is about to change in a big way. 

There's a reason why crimes involving bank robbery always result in the offenders receiving serious prison time, no matter what country the crime is committed in; they tear at the very fabric of our financial structure. Even peripheral players in those cases end up receiving major sentences, notwithstanding that you are of ministerial rank.

 

                                 Hong Kong Shanghai Banking What ? by COSIMO
 

To make matters worse, he is not the only person implicated by a cooperating individual; the other one could easily place Malta's most prominent former government official away for Life, should he decide that he does not want to die in prison. As one of my favorite law enforcement officers was fond of saying,  it's going to get ugly real fast; Buckle up.

 

                                                Hiding in Plain Sight by COSIMO

 

 

 

THE MYSTERY REMAINS REGARDING MARIA EFIMOVA'S STOLEN DHL DELIVERY TO INTERPOL

 

 

 

Due to the demand from our readers that we keep the informed about Maria Efimova's continuing investigation into the disappearance of her DHL parcel intended for INTERPOL in Lyon, France, we have discussed the matter with her, and have been advised that DHL has not given her a satisfactory explanation  as to why its records show a delivery, with the package signed for at its destination, when in truth and in fact, this was simply not the case.

To quote Ms. Efimova," Below is also a reply my husband received from DHL office in Athens.  They repeatedly ignore his question about the reason why he wasn't informed about the delivery failure when it actually happened, and why it is still marked as 'delivered' at DHL site." [We have the correspondence in the original Greek].

We do have the statement, taken by the Lyon Police, taken from the DHL courier, who stated that the package, together with another also destined for INTERPOL, originating from Panama, was also stolen. To add to the mystery, the other package was also shown as 'delivered.' How can two stolen packages going to a law enforcement agency be listed as arriving when they didn't ?

Our question: who knew that Ms. Efimova was sending evidence to INTERPOL, and was the other package taken to confuse investigators ?  Who was behind this crime ?

 

WHY DID NOTORIOUS FORECLOSURE MILL GET COVID FINANCING ?

 

 It's bad enough that America's foreclosure mills, companies that authorize mass foreclosure actions on behalf of some of our dodgy banks, are victimizing our senior citizens, with the assistance of law firms which engage in mass-production foreclosure filings;  now, we are seeing that the funding available due to companies suffering the effects of COVID-19,  is financing their borderline illegal activities.

Fay Servicing LLC, which we have previously exposed on this blog, and its attorneys, received a multi-million dollar loan, notwithstanding years of bitter complaints from victims, allegations of breaches of consumer credit regulations, deceptive actions by staff, and borrowers who alleged that they were misled into conveying their residential interest through fraud. Apparently, COVID loan officers are not conducting enhanced due diligence upon borrowers, due to public pressure to fund all loans forthwith.

 

 

 We call upon the Inspector General to open an investigation into  SBA and PPP loans made to unsuitable borrowers who are openly breaking consumer protection laws, and to also check into any payments those foreclosure mills make to lawyers and law firms, for we do not know how extensive the COVID loan fraud is, and whether any of the law firms litigating the suspect claims is also improperly or illegally receiving pandemic funds, but they have received funding.

Question; were any of these loan proceeds used to bring improper, illegal or unethical foreclosure actions against senior citizens ?

For further reading:

Deceptive Mortgage Servicing Company Exploits and Cheats Borrowers 

Making America Homeless Again

The illegal Foreclosure Tactics Employed by Fay Servicing 

Meet Fay Servicing's Foreclosure Pit Pull in California 

 

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CORRUPTION GALLERY MALTA 2021; ROSIANNE CUTAJAR MAKES THE LIST

 

                                              Before the Truth Came Out by COSIMO    

                       
This week's winner of the title Poster Girl for EU Corruption 2021 goes to Parliamentary Secretary Rosianne Cutajar, who twice sought to influence governmental bodies, while accepting commissions under the table from Yorgen Fenech, and failing to disclose this payment as required by law. Her level of arrogance and blatant corruption, conducted in plain view, is textbook Conflict of Interest. How can any public servant believe that they will get away with it ?

Add to the situation the ongoing relationship between Cutajar and Fenech, and you have an unacceptable political issue. Rumours of trysts on his yacht have long roiled Malta's voters.

 If she fails to resign, then Malta's Prime Minister Robert Abela must step in to remove her. Should he fail to do so, Malta must, in its own way, make him redundant. PM, do your job, or  step aside for someone who will.

         

 After the Fall  by COSIMO

CONTROVERSIAL DWEJRA COAST DEVELOPMENT DISCUSSED AT MUSCAT'S PRIVATE GOZO GANGLAND PARTY

 

                                               KS in the Dock by COSIMO

 For those who were curious about precisely what important "business" was discussed at the recent private meeting of Joseph Muscat and his crew, which we covered here as Muscat and his Merry Men hold Gangland Meeting in Gozo (February 16, 2021), you need only look at the recent coverage of the controversial development plans of the Indian multi-millionaire, Vijay Kumar Berlia. The Dwejra Project was the number one topic set by Mr. Muscat.

.In Malta, back-office meetings in smoke-filled rooms are usually where arrangements are made to evade environmental and planning objections, and who better to pull those strings than Malta's winner of  Europe's Most Corrupt Politician Award for 2019 ?

 Not only was that development the principal topic at the mob-style meeting at the Chinese restaurant  in Gozo, which was attended by five people, according to  a source familiar with the close surveillance being conducted upon the former PM, but Muscat personally knows Berlia from Dubai.  Back on December 18, 2019, Kumar strongly objected to Muscat's resignation, saying "we need him for development Malta."

Whether the strong opposition to the project prevails over the application of Muscat's power base, which includes the current Prime Minister, is doubtful in today's Malta, where rampant corruption generally results in the total disregard of environmental issues. Whether campaigners will  be successful in blocking the development, given the obvious support of the Labour Party, and the fact that the purchase of the land by Kumar will increase the pressure to  build out the area, it is doubtful that the project will be tabled.

Local Gozitans have already voiced strong objections to the project; whether its approval will result in subsequent rampant development of Gozo is a major concern. One source warns that the result may be the construction of what is being called the Michele Muscat Automobile Tunnel being built from Malta to Gozo, resulting in over development of the sister island.

 

 

Who will prevail, the forces of corruption or those who have the best interests of the land and the people at heart ?

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