EXPATS SAYS OPPOSITION TOOK BRIBES FROM VENEZUELAN BANKERS LINKED TO THE GOVERNMENT

Some observers of the current political situation in Venezuela have noticed that the mainstream Opposition groups have softened their attacks on the government this month, backing off from demands made as recently as two weeks ago. What is disturbing about this change in attitude toward the regime  is that it has emerged despite over two hundred additional arrests including Opposition leaders, the killing of student protesters by aimed head shots believed to have come from snipers, and a hardening of the government's position towards freedom of the press. What's happening here ?

The answer may lie in an extension of the systemic corruption that pervades Venezuela to the Opposition itself. Expatriate Venezuelans, living in the United States, have charged that some of Venezuela's most powerful bankers, whose profits come largely from special business arrangements with  government departments, allowing them to earn obscene levels of profit, have literally paid off senior opposition leaders, in an effort to collapse all organized opposition to the government. Does this mean that even the Opposition has fallen prey to the easy money the Chavez/Maduro regime has generated to reward those who it favors ? If so, then abandon all hope for any regime change.

Before you write off these allegations as farfetched, consider this: it is these bankers who are most at risk for Crimes Against the State charges, should democracy return to Venezuela, for they have become billionaires, in many cases at the expense of the state treasury, and by excess profits earned illegally or unethically in a wide variety of financial ventures and operations. Of all the Bolivarian PEPs, they stand to lose the most, including their freedom, if the regime falls. Those $70m mansions in Palm Beach will end up seized, and life in prison, or an end far more violent, awaits them if the Opposition succeeds, so they corrupt even those who would reform the country, before they can.

POLICE LIEUTENANT PLEADS GUILTY TO ASSISTING PONZI SCHEMER SCOTT ROTHSTEIN

Ponzi money corrupts everyone who touches it. A Fort Lauderdale, Florida Police Lieutenant entered a plea of guilty today, in US District Court, to Extortion Conspiracy, and violation of Civil Rights. David Benjamin functioned as convicted attorney/Ponzi schemer Scott Rothstein's hired gun, providing security, and doing Rothstein's bidding, where a uniformed police officer was needed. Benjamin, who reportedly accepted cash and gifts worth just under $200,000, also helped load $500,000 in cash, and millions of dollars in watches, on board a private jet, when Rothstein escaped, temporarily, to Morocco, when the billion-dollar Ponzi scheme imploded.

It was Benjamin who ordered a police detective to make a unlawful arrest of the ex-wife of one of the attorneys involved in the Rothstein Ponzi scheme, on the orders of his "client." Both police officers have now had their lifetime pensions terminated, and they may have problems with fellow inmates when they are incarcerated, even if they are sent to a minimum security institution, under assumed names; They will be ostracized.

The Rothstein scandal continues to vacuum up all the players, even those who operated on the sidelines. Court watchers are waiting to see when Rothstein's two name law firm partners are charged.

EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS AWARDS €90m AGAINST TURKEY

The Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights has entered a judgment of ninety million Euros, against the Government of Turkey, for damages suffered by Greek Cypriots during the 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus, and the subsequent occupation of the northern portion of the island, which has never been accepted by the international community.

The amount awarded is to be divided as follows:
(1) €30m to go to the relatives of the 1456 Greek Cypriots missing in the aftermath of the invasion.
(2) €60m to go to Greek Cypriot residents of the Karpas Peninsula, and former residents of the area, which is in the northern part of the island, in the Turkish occupied zone.

Whether the announcement of this judgment throws cold water on the recent joint Greco-Turkish talks  at unification, and thereby, on Country Risk for Cyprus, is too early to call, but the ECHR case could sour the improvement of relations.

CORRUPT PANAMANIAN PEPS INVESTED THEIR INSIDER TRADING WINDFALL IN CANADA

A question came up recently, regarding my recent article that covered the movement of the proceeds of insider trading crime, from Panama into Canada, and held by a number of senior Panamanian government officials. The question was: where did all this wealth go ? The answer: much of it has been invested in Canadian real estate, through nominees, and other PEPs not known to be closely linked to the Panamanian government ministers whom they are fronting for.

The source of the funds is illegal insider trading profits "earned" from the sale of shares of securities of Petaquilla mine, which was initially selling at twenty-two cents a share, and later rose to $1.20. Ministers in possession of inside information regarding the company, and nonpublic information on government legislation that would cause the price of the shares to skyrocket, bought in early on, and sold at the apex of the price, before the inevitable crash occurred. The now-defunct broker dealer, Financial Pacific, was alleged to have manipulated the pricing of the stock.

The most prominent individual to be accused of insider trading is outgoing Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli, but several sitting ministers are also suspected of participating. One wonders why Canada's Conservative government, which is a strong proponent of the development of the private sector, has failed to initiate an investigation into the laundering these criminal proceeds through real estate investments in Canada. Since the funds came in through two major Canadian banks, tracing them, as they were promptly used to purchase realty, should not be difficult for investigators.

AMERICAN FUGITIVE "QUEENPIN" ASSASSINATED IN MONTREAL WAS ENGAGED IN CROSS-BORDER MONEY LAUNDERING

If you thought that money launderers don't get killed on the job, think again. An American citizen, known to be a fugitive from justice since 2007, and whose story had been featured on "America's Most Wanted," was shot in the head, while she was sitting in the passenger's side of an automobile in Montreal. Law enforcement authorities found identification under an alias on her person.

Canadian media have dubbed her a "Queenpin," due to her allegedly prominent role in a narcotics trafficking enterprise. The deceased was said to be involved in cross-border money laundering of narcotics profits of criminal organizations in Canada, the United States, and Russia. Who says money launderers don't die in the line of duty ? Not me.

RICHARD CHICHAKLI'S COURT-APPOINTED STANDBY COUNSEL DISPUTES HIS CLAIM OF INEFFECTIVE ASSISTANCE OF COUNSEL

Marlon Kirton, who was appointed standby counsel by the District Judge presiding over the Federal criminal trial of Viktor Bout associate, Richard Chichakli, has filed an affidavit which contradicts the assertions of his former client, that he received ineffective assistance of counsel, and that he is entitled to a new trial upon those grounds. Chichakli acted Pro Se in those proceedings, meaning that he represented himself at trial, and conducted his own defense, as his own attorney. Mr. Kirton has filed, as exhibits, what he characterizes as proof, in a number of documents and pleadings that demonstrate his active role in the defense of the case, and detailed his efforts on his client's behalf.

Often filed after a conviction, and rarely meritorious, claims of ineffective assistance of counsel will only prevail, according to prevailing case law, if:

(1) The attorney's legal representation falls below the professional standards for lawyers who try criminal cases; and

(2) There was a reasonable possibility that, but for counsel's unprofessional errors, the results of the trial would have been different.

The defendant has an even more difficult path, if he wishes to obtain a new trial, because Mr. Kirton did not actually try the case, but, as standby counsel, only was required to provide technical advice, to assist Chichakli. When acting Pro Se, a defendant assumes complete responsibility for his own representation. How can he argue ineffective assistance of counsel, when it was the defendant who tried the case himself ? The argument is fatally flawed, in my humble opinion.

The defendant also alleged that Kirton harassed and insulted him, in the presence of the jury, which the attorney denies under oath, and stated that he was trying to guide the defendant. In a similar case, the US Supreme Court, denied relief to the defendant, holding that standby counsel's zealous assistance to a defendant did not rise to a level where the defendant was entitled to relief*.

It should be noted that, as standby counsel, Mr. Kirton forwarded any and all of his client's concerns, questions, and complaints, directly to the Court, for consideration, and he appears to have conducted himself competently and professionally under what must have been difficult circumstances, where his client, not familiar with either the rules of procedure, nor the rules of evidence, chose to conduct the trial Pro Se.

I believe that the Court is awaiting the opinion of an appointed mental health professional, as to Chichakli's ability to assist in his own defense, before ruling on all pending motions.
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* McKaskle v. Wiggins, 465 US 168, 104 S. Ct. 944, 97 L. Ed 2d 122 (1984).

BOKO HARAM MASS KIDNAPPING WAS AN AFRICAN VERSION OF TERRORIST FINANCING

If you were wondering why the radical Islamist group Boko Haram risked international outrage, by kidnapping that large contingent of school girls, their action is, according to sources living in their area of operation, an integral part of their funding activity. When recruiting a new member, from the poorest villages in Nigeria, BH offers the soldier a choice of how he wants to be paid to join up: he can have a payment of $3000, or a virgin.While this form of "payment" for services is immoral by Western standards, and a gross violation of basic human rights, it is has occurred in the past in Africa, in conflict zones.

Thus, the kidnapped girls potentially represent over $600,000 that BH does not have to lay out in payments to its new recruits. The video, released to the media, where the BH leader was seen to state that the girls would be sold, fails to state the truth; Terrorist financing takes many forms.

POLICE DETECTIVE PLEADS GUILTY AS NET WIDENS IN SCOTT ROTHSTEIN PONZI SCHEME SCANDAL

Jeff Alan Poole is a Broward County (Florida) Police Detective; so how is he involved in the billion-dollar Rothstein Ponzi scheme case ? Poole, following the orders of a police lieutenant connected to Rothstein, violated the civil rights of a former wife of one of the lawyers involved in the Ponzi, by improperly arresting her. He may have just been following orders, but now he faces prison time, and will get a felony conviction; there is no provision for a withhold of guilt in the Federal justice system.

The defendant never met Rothstein, nor was he directly part of the Ponzi scheme that defrauded investors, but Rothstein's money, and undue influence upon other police officers in his payroll, indirectly sucked him into the scandal, and now he faces a maximum ten year sentence in Federal Prison, which is where former police officers are treated poorly, and live under the threat of violence, except at lower security levels.

Poole*, who pled guilty this week, has been scheduled for sentencing on July 17; the case represents just one more illustration of the consequences of even tangential involvement in a Ponzi scheme, when it implodes into itself.
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*United States vs, Poole, Case No.: 14-cr-60089-WPD (SD FL). 

APPEALS COURT IN FLORIDA HOLDS THAT CREDITORS CANNOT REACH STOCK OF DEBTORS IN OFFSHORE CORPORATIONS

The Fourth District Court of Appeals of Florida decision*, holding that a judgment creditor could not, through court order, seize shares of stock if a debtor held in companies outside the United States, has been upheld as the Supreme Court of Florida declined to review the lower court decision. The DCA ruling stated that the trial court judge did not have the authority to order a debtor to turn over foreign share certificates to creditor's counsel, to pay a judgment.

The case involved a breach of contract between a Florida billionaire businessman, and the husband of the half-sister to Jordan's King Abdullah II. The plaintiff obtained a judgment for $28.8 million, which represented his portion of the profits in a venture involving the transport of fuel, through Jordan, for US military forces in the Iraq conflict.

The Defendant's holdings were held in companies located in:
(A) The Isle of Man
(B) The Bahamas
(C) The Netherlands
(D) Jordan
(E) The Dominican Republic

The plaintiff's attempt to seize the stock certificates, which were located outside the United States, was successful but the Appeals Court reversed, holding that it had no jurisdiction regarding assets overseas. The decision is a blow to the ability of creditors to recover upon judgments, when the assets of the debtor are in another country, and therefore not within the State of Florida. It will encourage the development of the growing asset protection industry in Florida, where professionals for high net-worth individuals advise their clients on the use of tactics that result in the inability of creditors to seize assets post-judgment.

Florida Supreme Court

Unfortunately, fraudsters and other financial criminals often employ the same asset protection methods, sending their criminal proceeds to offshore tax havens, to evade the civil actions filed by their victims. The Florida decision will aid and abet their efforts to keep their ill-gotten gains.
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* Harry Sargeant III and Oil Trading Co LLC, et al vs. Mohammad Anwar Farid Asi-Saleh

BOKO HARAM FIGHTERS FUEL UP ON WESTERN PRESCRIPTION DRUGS

If you were curious how the troops of the radical Islamist terrorist group, Boko Haram (BH), can repeatedly engage in war crimes, killing unarmed noncombatants, and then retreat to live in dense and inhospitable jungle, their leaders keep the rank-and-file high on a specific cheap Western-manufactured prescription painkiller, which results in an addiction that is difficult to beat, resulting in fighters who can easily be controlled, and motivated to remain with the organization. Cash is also used as an incentive, and fighters recruited are generally from Nigeria's poorest region, but the drugs represent the most effective method used to keep fighters from leaving.

Their drug of choice is Tramadol, sold in the US as Ultram, an inexpensive synthetic opioid analgesic that is available, in bulk at low cost. Seizures of illicit Tramadol, in Benin, resulted in the deliberate destruction, by government forces there, of seventeen tons of the drug this year.  Boko Haram, though an Islamist group, is free to dispense the drug to its fighters, as it is considered, by local Muslim clerics there as Halal, and not Haram, or prohibited. BH recruiters are able to entice young males from remote villages, by offering this drug, which is increasingly being abused in Nigeria and West Africa, to fill the ranks of their radical Islamist army. BH is heavily engaged in drug trafficking, as well as kidnapping for ransom, and arms trafficking. It also has received funding from Al Qaeda.

Detained Boko Haram fighters should be tested, by Nigerian forces, for their addiction to Tramadol, so that the extent of use by BH combat troops can be measured. If the United States is going to support the anti-terrorist efforts of the Government of Nigeria, then it is humbly suggested that experienced agents from the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) be deployed, in a counter-drug capacity, to seize existing illegal stockpiles, and to interdict the flow of these illicit drugs into West Africa.

OUTGOING PANAMANIAN PRESIDENT MARTINELLI IS SERVED WITH A SUBPOENA FOR THE ITALIAN CORRUPTION CASE IN WHICH HE IS A TARGET

President Ricardo Martinelli was reportedly served with a subpoena on Monday, ordering him to appear in Italy, and give a deposition in the massive corruption case, involving bribes and kickbacks given to Martinelli, and others, for awarding lucrative contracts to government-owned companies. Apparently, attorneys for Valter Lavitola, the admitted testaferro (bagman), want him to appear. lavitola has already named Martinelli as the recipient of illicit payments.

Given that he may already have sealed charges pending against him in Italy, Martinelli is said to have flatly refused to travel to Italy, and he appears to be afraid to even leave Panama for local travel, as he declined to attend an inauguration in Central America this week. It is believed that the Italian government is waiting for him to leave office before unsealing any criminal charges, to avoid embarrassing the Government of Panama with the arrest of its sitting leader.

Incoming President Varela, who campaigned on a slate of anti-corruption, has made no secret of the fact that he intends to weed out all if Panama's dirty officials, starting with the eleven corrupt ministers that have been the subject of several articles on this blog recently.

US ATTORNEY RESPONDS TO RICHARD CHICHAKLI'S MOTION FOR NEW TRIAL

The US Attorney's Office in New York has filed a memorandum of law in opposition to Richard Chichakli's recently filed Rule 33 Pro Se Motion for a New Trial. I will summarize its arguments:

(1) Chichakli's motion is without merit, and should be denied; it doesn't meet the requirements of existing case law on Rule 33.

(2) The defendant has no claim for ineffective assistance of counsel. He conducted the trial himself, and his standby counsel had no significant role. Also, there is no Constitutional requirement of a right to standby counsel.

(3) The expert testimony of Al Monica was properly admitted.

(4) There was no evidence of juror misconduct; two jurors had exchanged notes, but not about the merits of the case.

(5) The Court's evidentiary rulings were correct, and there were no rulings on whether the defendant was precluded from introducing evidence of his relationship with the US Government and its intelligence agencies.

(6) The jury charges (instructions) were proper.

(7) The Court properly ruled on the Classified Information Procedures Act issues; it reviewed the evidence, and held that it was not relevant, nor helpful to the defense.

(8) The defendant's other claims are meritless.

The Court must rule on this, and the other post-trial pending motions, before sentencing the defendant.

KIMBERLY ROTHSTEIN, IMPRISONED WIFE OF CONVICTED PONZI SCHEMER SCOTT ROTHSTEIN, IS HIT WITH $2M JUDGMENT

The trophy wife of attorney Scott Rothstein, whose sale of "investments " in ficticious out-of-court settlements was merely a billion-dollar Ponzi scheme, had a two million dollar judgment entered against her this week, in favor of Michael Goldberg, the Liquidating Trustee assembling assets to pay her husband's victims. Kim Rothstein, who is presently a guest of the Federal Bureau of Prisons at FCI Coleman, withheld jewelry and gold from the trustee, and attempted to sell them covertly, after her husband was imprisoned.

The Bankruptcy Judge in the Rothstein law firm case*, Raymond Ray, did cut her a break; the judgment states:

"In the event that the Liquidating Trustee recovers and liquidates any of the jewelry, the amount of the judgment shall be reduced by the net proceeds of any such recovery."

Her mega-diamond, which was recovered, and is scheduled to be sold for more than a million dollars, will substantially reduce the debt.
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*In Re: Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler, Case No.: 09-34791-BKC-RBR (SD FL).

CORRUPT PANAMANIAN PEPS ARE HEAVILY INVESTED IN CANADA

Readers working in Canada, who were struck by our recent article* noting that many Panamanian ministers prohibited from entering the United States are regular visitors to Canada, are correct in being disturbed, because the Panamanian PEPs are not there to play tourist. They are engaged in serious investment of illicit wealth believed to have been looted from the Republic of Panama. Is the reason why Canada allows them entry the large deposits that they have made into its financial institutions ? Let us hope not.

Sources from within Canada advise that the wealth management divisions of two Canadian banks have been the recipients of huge US Dollar deposits from Panamanian officials, and through PEPs closely linked to them.  Some of the deposits have been made through Panamanian branches of Canadian banks, saving the PEPs the inconvenience of moving their ill-gotten gains north. For the others, one wonders whether there was widespread use of the diplomatic status of the senior PEPs, to transport cash and financial instruments into Canada, evading inspection by Canada Border Services Agency.

It is humbly suggested that an official investigation be immediately launched, in Ottawa, to determine whether Canada, which has become a preferred destination for Panamanian wealth of illicit origin, should seize that wealth, and force the owners to disclose Source of Funds, failing which, the Proceeds of Crime Act should be employed.
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*Corrupt Panamanian Ministers, barred from the US, operate freely in Canada




  

US MILITARY DOMESTIC INVESTIGATION OF US BANK ACCOUNTS WAS AUTHORIZED FIVE YEARS AGO

My recent article,  Is SOCOM Venturing into the crowded Field of Money Laundering Investigations ? has caused some to raise the question: is the US military authorized to conduct domestic investigations of legitimate financial transactions, and if so, by whom ? I believe that I have found the answer, and some readers may find it of relevant interest.

Issued on 19 August, 2010*, a Department of Defense Directive, Number 5205.14, which sanctioned Counter-Threat Finance (CTF) operations, as a matter of policy, specifically authorized such actions:

"The Department of Defense shall work with other US Government departments and agencies, and with partner nations, to deny, disrupt, or defeat and degrade adversaries' ability to use global licit and illicit financial networks to negatively disrupt US interests."

A fair reading of that passage certainly appears to authorize the US Military to work with domestic law enforcement agencies, and examine American banking records, including legitimate transactions, for anything "negatively affecting US interests." That statement is so broad, one could drive an M1A1 Abrams Main Battle Tank through it, and certainly does authorize money laundering investigations, whether there is anything illegal happening, or not.

The Directive was signed by Deputy Secretary of Defense William Lynn. If you wish to review the complete text, you may access it here**.

Deputy Secretary Lynn

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*Updated 16 Nov 12.
** DOD Directive 5205.14