SANCTIONS TO BE IMPOSED AGAINST RUSSIA IF IT INVADES THE UKRAINE NOW INCLUDE RUSSIA'S BIGGEST BANKS

 

 

 

 

 

If Russia goes ahead with an invasion of the Ukraine, the United States sanctions will definitely include that country's most prominent financial institutions. Public statements made by a bipartisan committee of United States Senators this  week have confirmed that the sanctions proposed, which have already included massive measures by OFAC, The Office of Foreign Assets Control, and removal from the SWIFT international payments system, include Russian banks.

Some of the banks named include:

SBERBANK 

VTB

GAZPROMBANK

RUSSIAN DIRECT INVESTMENT FUND

Reports, based upon additional interviews with American government officials, also include a total banning of Russia from the American financial structure, as presently exists with respect to North Korea and other State Sponsors of Terrorism. These extreme measures would definitely impact banks in the European Union that routinely conduct funds transfers with Russian banks, for Russian clients, individuals and corporate entities, whether they be US Dollar transactions, or in other currencies.

EU compliance officers at international banks should now immediately ascertain what ongoing transactions they have with any Russian financial institutions, especially involving energy companies and high-tech entities, as those sectors have been specifically named as targets of immediate sanctions when the shooting starts on the Ukraine frontier with Russia, and make contingencies to freeze them forthwith. To do otherwise risks the wrath of the US Department of the Treasury.

ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT

 

Fr. David Muscat appeared in court on Friday, accused of a Homophobic hate speech crime for quoting from the Holy Bible.  This is definitely a bogus trial meant to silence the Roman Catholic Priest for his constant attacks on Joseph Muscat and the fraudulent financial services system in Malta that has transformed this island into a tax haven.

Thank God he plead not guilty and his case will continue on March 4.   

Now the real battle starts; Fr. David and his lawyers must stand their ground, for what they say may well change the course of Maltese history forever if a snap general election were to be called. Fr. David knows that the brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.  

Unfortunately this priest doesn't know what beast he has awakened; Muscat's henchmen may well try to murder him to cover their sins.  He must now begin fearing for his life.   He needs your prayers, for he was abandoned even by his church whose religious leaders should have known better, but persuaded themselves that this priest was a heretic ... and condemned him to possible physical harm. Stay tuned.

RUSSIAN LAWYER THAT ATTENDED 2016 MEETING AT TRUMP TOWER INDICTED FOR OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE : THERE'S A LESSON FOR COMPLIANCE OFFICERS HERE

 

Remember the infamous 2016 meeting, at New York's Trump Tower, attended by Donald Trump Jr. and Jared Kushner ? That meeting was supposedly convened so that a Russian attorney could offer to provide negative information on then Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. The Russian attorney at that meeting, NATALIA VESELNITSKAYA, has now been indicted in the Southern District of New York, and charged with Obstruction of Justice, connected to a money laundering case there. The style of the case & case number appear above.

The defendant, who allegedly has close ties to the Government of Russia, is charged with submitting false and deceptive declarations to a Federal Judge in NY. She is alleged to have altered and edited what were required to be independent findings of fact, in covert cooperation with Russian officials.

The case is of relevant interest to compliance officers in the manner that her illegal conduct was discovered. When examining documents, smart compliance officers often search for evidence that may indicate client representations are untrue, or that the client is being deceptive. In this case prior drafts of Russian Government documents were determined to have been reviewed, and edited by the defendant; also a member of her immediate family was identified as being involved in editing, but this role was not conveyed to the Court.

Veselnitskaya, Trump Jr.

Compliance officers: always examine any MS Word documents for prior drafts, which may indicate major changes, or the role of undisclosed parties, in the process. This may expose corruption, Conflict of Interest, other other criminal conduct that has been cleverly and adroitly concealed from you. Look closely at all prior versions of Word documents submitted to you ; such an inquiry may disclose concealed beneficial ownership, partners who are not of record, because they are Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs), and other game-changing relationships that were kept from you.

 

 

SSSSSSSSSSSSSS

THE VOICE OF REASON CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS

Muscat's Dark Future by COSIMO

The next election is more important than the election held in 1987.
A Nationalist government must not only sort out the financial aspect of our economy.
It has the most important task ahead, the total reconstruction of Malta's democracy.
Unfortunately the PL in government, notwithstanding the funds received from the EU, the funds from the highly distasteful received from the IIP program, the unpresentable building construction has doubled if not more the debt to €8 million. The prospects are that in future years this debt will continue to rise. All due to fraudulent administration.
But then again, the urgent need for the Independent Institutions to be not only efficient but more importantly that their recommendations are discussed at length, if need be in Parliament and if approved (and so they should) be strictly implemented.
The Minister of Finance, with the full help of the Auditor General must ensure that public funds must be properly accounted for.
The economy cannot continue to grow when only the rich (or those who have used the Revenue Department as a Bank to finance their asset worth increase.
Finally, a transparent and good governance is sorely needed. The rule of law must prevail. This is the only way forward to get out of the grey listing.
The ever increasing cost of living and quality of life, the environment must be given utmost attention. The thousands who are living very close or even below the poverty line need to be tackled urgently.
The very fact that the Labour government voted against the mega bill, clearly shows that they are no longer the Party of Workers.
I appeal to the people of goodwill, we desperately need change not continuity.

( name redacted to protect the author from retribution)

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IF RUSSIA INVADES THE UKRAINE, MALTA'S UNSAVOURY RUSSIAN BUSINESS WILL BE EXPOSED, AND THERE WILL BE CASUALTIES IN VALLETTA

"I see no Light at the End of the Tunnel " by COSIMO 

Amidst all the political infighting reportedly going on within Malta's ruling Labour Party, apparently nobody is paying attention to fast-moving events in Europe. There is a very good chance that the first major war on the continent since 1945 will short begin, should Russian troops cross the border and invade the Ukraine. Most military experts agree that armed conflict, which Russian leader Vladimir Putin reportedly plans to use to roll back any expansion of NATO into Eastern Europe, and eliminate any American influence there, could begin at any time.

Maltese leaders obviously are NOT reading the American press, because if they were, they would have already seen that amongst the sanctions President Biden and his advisors have promised will occur upon invasion shall include, but are not limited to:

1. Blocking all access of Russian banks, and the country's government, to the SWIFT system, used for the international transfer of funds.

2. Denying Russia any and all access to the American financial structure, as is presently in place against Iran, DPRK (North Korea), and Syria. 

3. Placing massive OFAC sanctions upon Putin personally, his close associates and PEPs, and a broad sector of the Russian economy.

These acts, which we understand were contemplated in 2014, when Russia occupied the Crimea, but never implemented when Russia made promises of a broader shooting war in Ukraine, and elsewhere, should such severe actions occur, will have knock-on effects felt globally, including within Malta.

Should war commence, and the sanctions ensue, Malta will find itself in a dangerous position; Russian clients will seek the assistance of the individuals and companies who have secreted, transferred and laundered funds from Russia through the US for decades, to recover their holdings within America and Canada, evade the sanctions in international transactions, and conduct business in US Dollars, which must flow through the New York banking centre. One can expect greedy Maltese businessmen and banks to dive into such a potentially lucrative event, feet first, without regard for the possible adverse consequences. 

Expect the American Department of the Treasury, and the FBI to be on those Maltese players zealously and forthwith, and local financial institutions may end up as collateral damage when their access to the American banking structure is terminated, due to their facilitation of sanctioned Russian entities and individuals. Pray for Peace, Malta, for war in Russia could end up killing the Golden Goose of offshore finance in your country, once and for all.

In short, Malta may be an unintended consequence of an American campaign to stop sanctions evasion by Russia.  

MALTA'S CORRUPT ATTTORNEY GENERAL, VICTORIA BUTTIGIEG, MUST BE REMOVED, NOW; THE FATF IS WATCHING

 

The AG, as comfortable as a Chesterfield sofa, by COSIMO

VICTORIA BUTTIGIEG, the Attorney General of the Republic of Malta, is a major part of the country's problem. She has largely remained in the background, and out of the news, but the damage she is doing to the Rule of Law demands her removal from office, as she is largely the reason none of the government leaders, past and present, are being held accountable for the rampant corruption and money laundering that has infected Malta, making it the most corrupt Member of the European Union. She simply must go.

Buttigieg was the Assistant  Attorney General to the previous AG, whose corruption was well known. She was hand-picked by corrupt PL officials to protect them. While she takes her direct orders from the notoriously corrupt Minister of Justice, EDWARD ZAMMIT LEWIS, in truth and in fact, Buttigieg was placed in office by Prime Minister Robert Abela, on orders of Joseph Muscat, who still pulls all the strings, even though he long ago left office. JM remains in power from outside Castille; he's Malta's Godfather.

Therefore, EZL orders her to allow corrupt PL leaders to commit crimes with impunity, without consequences on orders he receives from Muscat.  Buttigieg must be removed from office, and be replacedby someone not subject to Muscat's whims and instructions, if Malta has any hope of ever being removed from the Greylist of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). The guilty must be charged, tried, sentenced and imprisoned, including Joseph and Michelle Muscat. To do any less means Malta shall remain, indefinitely, as the only Member country in the European Union to be so sanctioned by the FATF.

 

The Face of Corruption

 

In Malta, reform must start with the senior law enforcement official of that country, and that person is Victoria Buttigieg, who is only a tool of Joseph Muscat, but an effective one. She is blocking change in Malta; remove her or face the consequences.

 

IN MALTA, IT'S 1987 ALL OVER AGAIN FOR A CORNERED JOSEPH MUSCAT; HIS SOLUTION - SHOOT THE MESSENGERS

 

                                                 JM's Torment  by COSIMO

Both the political and legal situations facing the cashiered former Prime Minister, JOSEPH MUSCAT, have significantly deteriorated of late. We hasten to update our readers on a the new developments, so that you can take precautions where appropriate.

First, according to Labour Party insiders, Muscat has been ordering individual Members of Parliament to make public statements against the magistrates and investigating police, He reportedly does no longer trust PM Robert Abela, his former protege', to keep him out of legal trouble. JMs most trusted hatchetman, GLENN BEDINGFIELD, threw his hat into the ring; he accused the police of "persecuting" Muscat. We find this strange, because GB supported Deputy PM Chris fearne for Prime Minister, and was thought to be distancing himself from Muscat.

Hatchetman  by COSIMO

ROSEANNE CUTAJAR, Malta's poster child for corruption, is also playing the same tune; attack the magistrate and the investigators. Whether the public will listen to her remains an open question. There are ministers and MPs also engaged in that dirty game, but they are trying to avoid being obvious about how they are showing their support for Muscat. They are acting behind the scenes, or speaking up, under the condition that their names not be published.

Poster Child  by COSIMO

Second, longtime analysts of PL internal politics have commented openly that JM is losing support internally; therefore his aims is to build a narrative to the effect that the magistrate, and the police investigating him, have sided with the Nationalist Party (PN). JM intends to mobilise his crowd during the upcoming election campaign. If you know your Maltese history, you know that PL mobs during the year 1987, deliberately attacked the courts, and destroyed & burned files, to prevent criminal charges being brought against PL officials. Muscat clearly intends to play the violence card once again, to avoid accountability for his crimes.

There is reported evidence and sworn testimony against JM, coming from other main actors in the sham Vitals contract. That evidence is said to be rock solid, according to those who have been allowed to view it.  He has no way out; the  only way is to cause chaos with his mob of supporters, disrupting the investigation, much in the way a Banana Republic dictator would act: destroy the court and the records, making any subsequent prosecution impossible.

Third, information and photographs that the police will eventually recover from JMs wife, MICHELLE MUSCAT'S mobile telephone will, when given to the media, cause him severe embarrassment; her secret & very private WhatsApp chats could even be leaked to the press, publicly exposing a dark side of her life that he wishes to keep out of the public eye at all costs. Common decency prohibits us from providing details, but suffice it to say the exposure of this information could have fatal political consequences for JM.

                                     ... And a Good Time was Had by All by COSIMO 

All indications point to a dissolution of the Maltese Parliament during the first week of February, with a snap election being called five weeks later. Will Joseph Muscat implode from all these existential pressures ? we cannot say, but we will be watching.

WHAT DOES YOUR HEART TELL YOU ABOUT FATHER MUSCAT'S SITUATION ?

Job

  

Do you think Fr. David will win?  Do you suspect that the prosecution will give the Catholic priest a hard time or will they try to bury it?

This sudden silence in the media about Fr. David is eerie.  Few days ago he was vilified, ridiculed, mocked, virtually mobbed and character assassinated on every media outlet.

Suddenly nobody speaks about it.  Is this  the calm before the storm?  Is it the wolf hiding in quiet to jump on the adversaries of Joseph Muscat when he sees it is the best time?

One fact is crystal clear.  In that, now famous, allegedly homophobic statement Fr. David Muscat was ironically defending a male prostitute named Abner that had just raped and murdered an innocent Polish girl - may God give her eternal peace and solace in this hour of darkness.  Everybody in Malta was  calling for the mass lynching of the murderer and even the reintroduction of the death sentence as in the United States.  

But Fr. David has the heart of a Catholic priest and as a supporter of Pope Francis opposes the death sentence even to diehard unrepentant criminals.  He felt he had to write something about this poor chap who was driven into madness by multiple causes.

The murderer was addicted to drugs.  He was sexually abused before the legal age.  He was a barely legal twink prostitute searching rich sugar daddies because he needed money to buy drugs.  His ex gay friends have closet sexual relationships with big heads of the island perhaps even politicians.  He had his mind confused by an obsession with the occult and heard satanic frequencies and voices in his mind.  He could have perhaps been inspired by the classic Stanley Kubrick's horror movie A Clockwork Orange than recently was reinterpreted in an exclusive gay theatre with an all male cast.  This is not surprising for its soundtrack was done by the notorious transsexual Wendy Carlos.  There is a Facebook group of Ibiza parties called precisely Clockwork Orange.

Indeed the murderer of Paulina Dembska was a troubled soul with a cocktail of disorders.

Isn't it odd that is was precisely Randolph Debattista, a Labour government media guru that is married to Cyrus Engerer - that Maltese Socialist MEP found guitly of revenge porn against his ex,  that boasted of denouncing Fr David Muscat for an allegedly homophobic rant on Facebook?  Isn't it also weird that Cyrus publicly called for the incarceration of Fr. David?  What about Owen Bonnici?  And why was it a notoriously liberal online news outlet that first published Abner's photos with the weird occult t-shirt?  Do they have their gay radar attennae open?

All of this is suddenly changing the whole story.  

Don't you think that it is sinister that suddenly the narrative about Abner's motive for the murder changed so quickly?  First the media with the government said it was a femicide and the Maltese Prime Minister Robert Abela with his wife joined the chorus by attending for a vigil of prayers at the site of the murder.  The police said that the case is extremely complicated, that Abner is seriously mentally deranged and that it may take months for the trial to start.

Suddenly the police started saying it was not a femicide and that the murderer had a sudden and unexpected recovery.  What on earth could have happened?  Everybody knows that psychiatric disorders heal very very slowly.

What happened in the Maltese police headquarters or perhaps the Office of the Prime Minister at Castille for this sudden change?

Were they planning to put this young male prostitute on medication at the psychiatric hospital to fuck up his mind so that any names or connections he mentions would be dismissed as symptoms of schizophrenia?  Would they have planned the murder of the poor fellow at the hospital and then say it was a suicide?  There were multiple suicides in the Maltese prison facility.

All this sounds like a detective horror movie.  But it should not surprise anyone.  This is Joseph Muscat's Malta where the rule of law crumbled completely, no institution works and impunity reigns.

In the middle of the storm there is one lone catholic priest, Fr. David Muscat  who was abandoned even by his church.

This is getting exciting.   It shows that nothing works in the island republic of Malta and that Joseph Muscat's rot spread to all levels of Maltese society.

Stay tuned.

                                                                      

 

 

MALTA, LOST IN CORRUPTION, ACCORDING TO TRANSPARENCY INTERNATIONAL

 

                                                    Muscat on the Lookout  by COSIMO

This was taken verbatim from this week's Transparency International Malta page. It has not been edited or altered in any way. Read it carefully, Malta, for unless meaningful reforms are enacted, and criminal elements actually go to prison, your future is very dark and uncertain.

_______________________________________________________________

Malta’s score on the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) has been getting worse for several years, reflecting serious corruption challenges that afflict the Mediterranean island nation. With a score of 53 out of 100 on the 2020 CPI, Malta hits an all-time low, well below the Western European average. Two questions arise: why is the country still intrinsically embroiled in corruption, and what should its government do about it?

The country at a crossroad

The issue of how the country envisions itself, its future and its place on the global stage and especially within the EU, which it joined in 2004, will determine the next crucial steps in the process of reversing the patterns of corruption that pervade Malta. Is the country truly willing to uphold its transnational reputation as a Mediterranean tax haven, a golden-ticket-to-Europe dispenser, a remote gambling hub and a nation which has categorically failed to unequivocally protect those who endeavour to exercise their right to free speech, particularly in the name of public interest?

The assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia, the prolific investigative journalist who sought to uncover high-level corruption amongst Malta’s wealthy and political elite, and its connection to high-level politicians exposed by a long-awaited public inquiry, illustrates a deep chasm in the state’s current priorities and responsibilities toward its citizens. Two root issues that hold Malta back still prevail: the weak rule of law and the commodification of corrupt practices as a cornerstone of the economy.

Recent judicial reforms send mixed signals

In essence, the criminal justice system does not sufficiently deter nor penalise corruption.
The Maltese justice system is weighed down by pressures on judicial independence and hindered by extremely lengthy judicial proceedings - the average length of first-instance money-laundering proceedings in Malta is over 2,000 days. However, recent judicial reforms have tried to address these issues.

The reforms of July 2020 are a step in the right direction with regard to the checks and balances of Parliament and the independence of the judiciary, but still fall short of full independence from the legislative and executive branches. Legislative changes to the process of appointing judges, for instance, endeavour to minimise the Prime Minister’s and Parliament’s role in the decision making process. In a contradictory manner, these reforms require for the appointment of the Chief Justice the support of two thirds of the members of Parliament, without any involvement of the judiciary or the Judicial Appointments Committee.

Not only does this not depoliticise the system, it actively politicises it. It is clear that these late reforms do not address the structural roots of the problem, namely the state’s lack of will to step away from dubious and often corruptible activities from which its officials may potentially benefit. The way these reforms are implemented will test whether they are merely superficial acts to appease the Venice Commission and other international institutions that are applying pressure to the Maltese state to reform its institutional setup.

An economy dependent on corruption

Institutionally, Malta’s reliance on nurturing an ecosystem in which corruption can thrive is largely undealt with. This is perhaps best epitomised by the golden visa scheme that Malta has capitalised upon. Malta has cloaked itself as the night manager of the EU’s back door, who if you drop them some hundreds of thousands of euros, will let you sneak in with little scrutiny.

Malta must make it a priority to find viable, economic alternatives to sustain a free market economy, rather than a back-alley one drawing in foreign investment through passport and visa sales schemes.

Whilst a sovereign state enjoys the right to determine the parameters of its citizenship, Malta’s joining the EU - and its physical and jurisdictional borders - means it has obligations towards its fellow member states. As Didier Reynders, EU Commissioner for Justice, has pointed out, the passport scheme “undermine[s] the essence of EU citizenship. European values are not for sale,” a sentiment further echoed by Commission President Ursula Van Der Leyen.

Malta is at a crossroads, apparently split over its national identity - as if the nation simultaneously wants to be part of the EU, without respecting the EU’s communalism and core values. The path it chooses will determine whether corruption continues to flourish unchecked to the detriment of its own people and its European neighbours. (www.transparencyinternational.org)

 

 

 

ENTREVISTA A KENNETH RIJOCK; LAVADO DE DINERO, LOS PAPELES DE PANAMA Y CRIMENES FINANCIEROS

 

NOTE TO READERS: The interview, conducted by attorney Luis Pajares, which deals with Panama and money laundering, is in English.

 https://youtube.com/watch?y-AQTcZKUippM

FATHER DAVID MUSCAT NEEDS YOUR HELP

 

Whatever your beliefs, say prayers for the needs of Fr. David Muscat, the Maltese priest
who, for speaking out against the rampant money laundering on the island republic of
Malta, will be arraigned in court on Friday, and could face penalties of two years'
imprisonment and a fine of €23,000.

The ridiculous and unjust accusation made against him is homophobic hate speech. The real reason is due to the political hatred against him, because he has been vocal against a government that has broken every rule of human decency. This will not go down well with the Americans, because they appreciate that this Roman Catholic priest has defended American interests. The Americans know who their friends are and know that Fr. David Muscat thanked God for Malta’s Greylisting because in his own words ‘’only in this way can we start reforming our corrupt system’’.

 Even the Israelis know that Fr. David attacked Joseph Muscat for permitting the trafficking of Iranian Oil through Maltese territorial waters aiding a terrorist state that wants to nuke the State of Israel. 

The Americans know that Fr. David once said that Gaddafi’s money is in Bank of Valletta and the chap that was supposed to find them is a friend of Joseph Muscat and was chosen by him to deliver a speech on the National Day of Malta, 8th September. The Americans know that Fr.David criticized the corrupt Labour government for permitting arms trafficking through Malta that ended up in the killing of the American Ambassador in Libya.
 

Yet, Fr. David Muscat doesn’t have any friends among Maltese liberals and even within his Church. They think he is a deplorable racist, if not a Nazi. He is neither, although his association with Norman Lowell and his group was a grave tactical mistake but to their face, Fr. David had the guts to insist that Blacks and Jews are created in the image of God. It was like saying that Martin Luther King is a saint in a Ku Klux Klan gathering. Neither did Fr.David incite hatred against illegal immigrants crossing the Mediterranean in boats because he is criticizing exploitative employers and not the immigrants themselves. 

When he constantly warns that working class Maltese are in danger of becoming outnumbered in their own country, it was to warn his fellow compatriots about becoming, together with immigrants, second class citizens of a Maltese corrupt elite that blatantly disregards human rights.

But the basic difference between Fr. David Muscat and the rest of the NGOs, civil society groups, and bloggers who attack blatant corruption in Malta is a fundamental one. Fr. Muscat attacks the root cause of the problem. This is the 5% effective tax on foreign businesses locating in Malta, who receive a 30% rebate from the Maltese government. This translates into legalized tax evasion by these foreign companies, which should be paying tax at the full rate in their own countries. In other words, Malta is a tax haven for companies wanting to avoid paying tax in their countries of origin. The other liberal NGO and civil society groups and vocal critics of Joseph Muscat have never attacked Malta as a Tax Paradise. Rather, together with the six Maltese MEPs in Brussels,defend it and want to get rid of the Labour government in order to save this unfair system which discriminates against Maltese businesses.

Fr. David has been arguing for years that this economic model is not only anti-European, but above all, goes against Catholic Social Teaching. He often cites documents such as the Tax Justice Report which shows that 50% of the taxes of African countries are stolen and laundered by tax havens such as Malta. Everyone knows that Isabella dos Santos of Angola, among many others, uses Malta to bring to Europe the money she stole from her people. Fr. David grabs the bull by the horns: “scrap the system!” Just because it's legal doesn't mean it's ethical or Christian.
 

 Fr. Muscat uses examples from the gospel to show how much tax evasion within Malta’s tax haven violates Jesus' warning; give to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's, where the Lord clearly condemns tax evasion. For Fr. David the Maltese financial services break three of God’s commandments: do not steal, do not lie and do not covet thy neighbour’s goods. This is why Fr. David stands alone at this moment.
 

Even the church seems to have abandoned him because the archbishop of Malta has denounced and threatened him with suspension of his public ministry, thereby prejudicing Fr. David’s court case. The archbishop’s actions have only served to bolster the local NGOs because they are champagne socialists who hate Fr. David, who is a social conservative. Above all, these actions serve the Labour government. In Malta, Fr. David is alone and only God can deliver him. May God bless him and give him courage so that he will plead not guilty and if he loses the case he may appeal for a higher court. If he loses again, he may appeal to the European court of human rights.

 By dragging the case he will do more damage to the corrupt Labour government. But does Fr. David have the courage to do so? He has been subjected to dangerous humiliation by all the media outlets in the island of Malta even by the church media. Even his bishop, by excommunicating him for a nonexistent harmless allegedly homophobic rant on Facebook, has abandoned him to the wolves. He probably calculated that by appeasing the champagne socialists he will be promoted in the Vatican by Pope Francis. Fr David does need your prayers now; he is alone.

 

 

 

 

INSIDER: JOSEPH MUSCAT FEARS THE AMERICAN INDICTMENT

 

                                                                 Mug Shot

 A trusted source inside the Labour Party has disclosed that he has seen Joseph Muscat express abject fear of an imminent American criminal indictment. There have been rumours that Muscat  is extremely stressed out, and worries about going to a prison in the United States, due to his small stature, and fears about coming into contact with convicted drug traffickers, in an upper-level facility where violence and intimidation is always just under the surface.

The stress and fear of imprisonment may have led to Muscat making a serious political error; going on camera after the raid on his home, and alienating a significant group of his supporters, who now question whether his baggage will not only cost Pl votes, and fail to being Malta back from the edge: the FATF Greylist, the UK High-Risk designation, and the Swiss NGO money laundering condemnation.

It was internal, not external, pressure that resulted in the Magistrate ordering the search and seizure of Muscat's residence. Police and financial crime investigators had to act. Abela's pushing back at the judiciary only adds to the pressure, doesn't reduce it. What we have is a Perfect Storm for political Chaos, with Muscat at the center of that storm. Will he end the year in a Federal prison uniform, awaiting trial on money laundering, corruption and racketeering charges ?  Stay tuned.

 

      The Wages of Sin ... by COSIMO

 

Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from telling lies.  Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.  The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, and his ears are attentive to their cry; but the face of the LORD is against those who do evil, to blot out their name from the earth.  The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles.  The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.  The righteous person may have many troubles, but the LORD delivers him from them all;  he protects all his bones, not one of them will be broken.  Evil will slay the wicked; the foes of the righteous will be condemned. PSALM 34

 

READ THE TRUTH ABOUT THE FORCED LIQUIDATION OF PANAMA WALL STREET; IGNORE BOGUS INTERNET POSTINGS

 We have noticed that the closed Panamanian brokerage house PANAMA WALL STREET  has polluted the Internet with entries designed to keep investors from learning precisely why the company was shut down. Here is the information from an official source.

Panama: Forced Liquidation of Brokerage Firm

Citing several irregularities during the intervention process, the Securities regulator decided to order the liquidation of the brokerage firm Panama Wall Street.

Friday, June 10, 2016

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From this moment forward, investors and creditors of Panama Wall Street S.A. must present themselves at the company's premises to declare the amounts owed to them and start due process with the authorities who will lead the settlement process.

In the resolution, the decision to liquidate the company was based on the following conclusions:

"... 1. The Brokerage Firm is a repeat offender in terms of not having processes in place to
provide internal controls which impacts the entire organization: operations, accounting, technology, customer management, prevention of AML / CFT, management of administrative files and client files. Therefore it is exposed to imminent risk of an imbalance in the records of customer accounts, either in cash or in securities positions, as we have outlined in the report.
2. It does not have the human capital with experience which is required in the face of its high staff turnover.
3. The lack of a robust internal control system, impacts the weak due diligence with which customers are attended to.
4. Management of client accounts under complex corporate structures.
5. Unusual corporate practices in relation to advanced distribution of dividends.
6. The Brokerage Firm has no manuals, backup processes, separate on site custody, vulnerability testing and is has what is called "human error risk" in the management of the area of technology, which exposed customers to an imminent risk of information leakage, deterioration or what we have found to be deficiencies in systems, lack of knowledge of some areas, there is no roadmap for migration from one system to another to act as a backup that can be sustained and is auditable. "

JOSEPH MUSCAT'S €540,000 KICKBACK PLACES HIM AT THE TOP OF THE US FCPA HITLIST AS A PRINCIPAL TARGET

 

Will Joseph Muscat, Malta's defrocked former Prime Minister, ever learn ? Muscat, now being referred to as the Messenger of Satan, has been exposed, again, receiving an obscene kickback in the hospital deal. His corruption knows no bounds.

The problem is, he is allegedly receiving money from an entity which is under US jurisdiction, and the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, 15 USC §78dd-1 et seq (FCPA) kicks in. The US Department of Justice takes a very dim view of recipients of bribes and kickbacks, when tendered or promised to get or retain new business from a foreign government. These new disclosures have painted a very large target upon JMs back. he will eventually, be tried abroad, not Malta, as the country's courts and law enforcement are too corrupt.

Unfortunately for him, this is only the tip of the legal iceberg; The personal investments he made in the United States (remember, he admitted as much publicly) US Dollars transferred from Dubai, his Miami trip, plus the apartment he allegedly purchased in New York City, bought in the name of one of Michelle's friends, ( FBI investigation already), all give the DOJ jurisdiction over Mr. Muscat.

Don't expect an angry Maltese public, Gahans as well as PL, to protect him, especially after it was revealed that he knew the police were coming, with a search warrant. The current PM, who is himself on shaky ground, won't stop  Lady Justice, arriving from Washington. The Maltese Mafia has no loyalty to him. Time is running out for the Artful Dodger, who still believe he has the Get-out-of-Jail-Free Card in his pocket, but it has apparently expired.

 Here is my personal message for those in Malta who know reform is sorely needed. Resist Muscat's evil.

  Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.  For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place,  and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.  In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Ephesians 6:11-16 .

 

 

 

 

 

 

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UPDATE ON ROBERT STRICKLAND'S SUIT TO RECOVER HIS TIMES OF MALTA INHERITANCE

Mr. Strickland has kindly submitted to the blog an update on the Times of Malta case.We present it here in the complete text, without any edits or changes:

 
The Maltese Legal System is somewhat arcane and normally only allocates 30 minutes max for each hearing of a civil court case before putting off the case for a further 3/4 months time for another short hearing.   Cases can takes years - which is attritious for the plaintiffs involved and some cases have even been going on over 40 years. 

However, in my particular court case, (regarding the improper transfer of the majority shareholding of Malta's leading media group to an entity which cannot even own the shares), we now have a new Judge Franco Depasquale appointed.  We understand this Judge is determined to get cases heard and decided within five years from start to finish.  This is good as our shares case has been in Court for six years already since it was first filed in 2015.    

Furthermore any judgment can be appealed, as happened with my first court case (regarding the self serving interpretation of my Aunt's will by her executors).  This case was filed in 2010, decided in 2018 and appealed in 2018.  The first appeal hearing of this case is not expected until 2024 at the earliest because of the worsening backlog of court cases.  This situation can also be manipulated by unscrupulous parties as appeals can be filed without any valid grounds ever being given.

COVID has not helped the system in Malta but,  when our solicitors tried to cancel my shares case hearing last week (because of an upsurge of COVID infections in Malta), we insisted on it being held remotely, by zoom, and luckily the Judge granted this facility. We hope to get a decision on this case within a year or two as we have effectively closed our evidence and are awaiting any evidence from the defense but we do not believe they can possibly produce anything to support their illegal transfer of the majority shareholding of the newspaper group.   We are also awaiting copies of evidence submitted to Court by the MFSA (Malta Financial Services Authority) last week, at our request.   

UK and European observers of this case have noted that if this case had been heard in the UK, I have been told that it would have been decided in a single sitting and the shares awarded to me (as the sole heir of my Aunt), because there has never been any valid instrument of transfer produced and The Strickland Foundation,  as a 'body corporate', cannot own any shares in Allied Newspapers Ltd.  This is because Allied  Newspapers Ltd, as a family company (known as a private exempt company in Malta), has the standard restrictions in its Company Articles restricting shareholders to private individuals and disallowing any 'body corporate' from owning shares.  These articles cannot be changed without the approval of all of the shareholders, including myself.  This would have been an open and shut case in the UK.  Hopefully the judge  in Malta will come to the same conclusion.

Until the outcome of the shares case is known, effective control of the major media group in Malta currently rests with the four person council of The Strickland Foundation which excludes any Strickland but includes, perversely, a politically exposed person (PEP) who is a serving minister with the political opposition in Malta.  As such he should be nowhere near any media group, for obvious reasons, especially one that built its reputation on being independent from political parties. This 'undue influence' had been exercised both by his father before him (also a PEP), and now by himself, ever since my Aunt's death 30 years ago. In the last eight years the newspaper group has also been the subject of a succession of fraud and money laundering allegations against three of its managing directors all appointed by these PEPs.  This has left the paper my family founded and ran, until my aunt's death,  a shadow of its former self, and brings into question its entire reputation for independence.  

This is a major Maltese scandal that you rarely hear about in newspapers in Malta and certainly never in our family papers. Malta is a small island and only has two dominant political parties.   If the Media is the fourth pillar of democracy then this self censorship is at risk of undermining our fragile democracy in Malta.   

Robert Hornyold-Strickland

 

 

             

Mabel Strickland; gone but not forgotten

                        

CONGRATULATIONS, RM

 

LOAN MART, ONE OF AMERICA'S MOST DECEPTIVE AND UNSCRUPULOUS AUTO TITLE LOAN COMPANIES - PART 1

 

 

Predatory lenders, working as auto title loan companies, continue to exploit consumers, through bait & switch, obscenely excessive fees, refusing to work in good faith with consumers, jacking up interest rates as high as 175% (yes, that constitutes Usury), and many, many more unethical or illegal tactics, all designed to extract money from unsuspecting consumers, many of whom are elderly, handicapped, ill and infirm. These companies deserve to lose their licenses, and their operators should be going to prison, for putting their clients through financial hell.

One such financial nightmare is LOAN MART, the trade name of  WHEELS FINANCIAL GROUP LLC, located in Van Nuys, California. It is also known to operated under 800 LOANMART, 1800LOANMART, and W.F.G. NEED CASH NOW.COM. HUGO DONNER is listed as its CEO; ANNALISA CLEARIHUE a/k/a ANNIE PIRAINO, as compliance officer;  CARLOS CARDONA a/k/a JOE CARDONA as Title Service & Collections Manager. The Director of Compliance is JESSEN CALLOWAY (818) 285-2129. All of these officers have been accused by their victims of criminal activity, specifically making usurious loans (Loansharking).

Of course, Loan Mart can no longer fund small consumer loans in the State of California, due to, among other things, making usurious loans in violation of state and Federal law. The company signed a Consent order with the California Department of Financial Protection and innovation on December 14, 2021.

Nevertheless, LoanMart continues to operate outside of California; victims allege unethical behavior, Annual Percentage rates over 150%;harassing consumers over the telephone; altering credit reports; wrongful repossession of consumers' automobiles; Alteration of Annual Percentage Rates; tacking on charges to insure that loans will literally never be paid off; installing illegal tracking devices on consumers' vehicles; deception; failure to release titles after payment in full have been made; and many more consumer complaints filed with regulatory agencies, online complaint websites, and consumer protection groups.

This is the first of a series of five articles.We will be covering LoanMart's criminal operations in future stories, focusing upon actual consumer statements, regulatory action, litigation, and details about specific cases of misconduct. Actual cases will be detailed, with the names of victims redacted to preserve their privacy.We shall also profile its officers and directors; Stay tuned. 

What follows is the State of California Consent Decree, which details the company's criminal conduct leading to its termination of services within the state. It will give the reader insight into how this predatory lender operates.