Wow! Republicans to pass resolution calling for repeal of FATCA
The Republican party is expected to pass a resolution on Friday
calling for the repeal of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) (Hat Tip: Memeorandum).
If adopted, the anti-FATCA resolution would
reflect the party's political priorities for the time being but would
not change its presidential campaign platform, according to the RNC.
Approved
in 2010 after a tax-avoidance scandal involving a Swiss bank, FATCA
requires most foreign banks and investment funds to report to the U.S.
Internal Revenue Service information about U.S. customers' accounts
worth $50,000 or more.
Criticized
by banks, libertarians and some Americans living abroad as a costly and
unneeded government overreach, FATCA is on the books, but its effective
date has been delayed repeatedly, with enforcement now set to start on
July 1.
Repeal seems unlikely, but
more political heat from Republicans could further complicate and delay
implementation, said financial industry lobbyists.
Moreover,
Republicans are eager to use FATCA as a campaign and fundraising issue
against Democrats ahead of the congressional mid-term elections in
November, RNC members said.
"I see FATCA just like Obamacare," said Solomon
Yue, an RNC official from Oregon who is leading the party's FATCA repeal
effort. "It will attract American overseas donors."
The act, which as noted is intended to prevent Americans from hiding money in foreign bank accounts, is the bane of the existence of many Americans residing abroad. Here in Israel, for instance, if you are a US citizen, unless you live here full time, you cannot open a bank account, and if you had one, you were probably forced to close it. Moreover, if you're a dual citizen living here and open a bank account, you must now give your US social security number.
Yes, this issue resonates with Americans overseas - at least with the ones who haven't already given up their US citizenship to avoid issues like this one.
Labels: Israeli banks, money laundering, Republican party, Swiss bank account
Turkey struggling to avoid international financial blacklist over money laundering
Turkey, which has become a money laundering capital of the world, is on the verge of being placed on an
international blacklist (Hat Tip:
Joshua I).
Turkey is scrambling to push
through a long-awaited anti-terrorism financing law before a
deadline next month to avoid being expelled from an
international watchdog and placed on its blacklist alongside
Iran and North Korea.
Turkey is already on a "grey list" of countries drawn up by
the 36-member Financial Action Task Force (FATF), a
money-laundering watchdog, for not implementing the legislation
required by its members despite pressing Ankara for years.
The FATF has warned Turkey if it does not pass the necessary
legislation, which would allow alleged "terrorist" accounts to
be frozen without a court order, by Feb. 22, it will be expelled
as a member of the group and blacklisted.
Such a move could restrict foreign activity with Turkish
banks, hamper Turkey's ability to raise funds abroad and could
affect its credit rating, which received a boost last year when
Fitch raised the country to investment grade.
"Potentially, this would be a crippling blow to Turkish
banks as they look to be more international in outlook, and have
been active in seeking to finance themselves increasingly
offshore in recent months," said Timothy Ash at Standard Bank.
On Friday, a parliamentary commission passed the draft bill,
which has been stalled since 2011, after two days of debates.
Despite strong resistance from the country's main opposition
party, Turkish officials have voiced confidence that the
legislation would be adopted by next month's deadline.
Part of the reason the bill has been held up is Turkey's
existing terrorism legislation. Opposition lawmakers fear the
law could be used to wrongly label people as terrorists.
Turkey has one of the highest arrest rates in the world for
terrorism charges and faces increasing criticism from the United
Nations and rights groups over what they see as poorly-defined
and broad-based laws which are regularly abused.
The biggest problem with Turkey is not what is going on illegally, but rather what is going on legally, like its trading gold for oil with Iran.
Read the whole thing.
Labels: money laundering, Turkey
Hezbullah's cocaine-running amigos
The first post I wrote about Hezbullah operating in Mexico was in
April 2006. In the time since then, Hezbullah has become more entrenched and has become deeply involved in trafficking cocaine. Now, with their Iranian funding drying up due to sanctions relating to the Iranian nuclear program, the Mexican cocaine operation is becoming
a major source of Hezbullah funding.
US intelligence indicates that Mexico is home to some 200,000 Syrian
and Lebanese immigrants – most of them illegal – who were able to
cross the border via an extensive web of contacts with drug cartels,
both in Mexico and in other countries in South America.
These cartel contacts smuggle illegal immigrants – including individuals affiliated with Iran, Hezbollah,
al-Qaeda and other radical Islamist groups – into Mexico, placing them a virtual stone's-throw away from the United States.
Western intelligence agencies have been able to gather ample evidence
suggesting that the drug cartels in Mexico – which are the de facto
rulers of the northern districts bordering the US – are in cahoots with
Islamic terror organizations, which are eager to execute attacks against
American, Israeli, Jewish
and western targets; but most of all, the Islamic terror groups are
eager to make money, so they can fund their nefarious aspirations.
In December 2011, the US authorities released an indictment filed
against Lebanese drug lord Ayman Juma, which exposed Hezbollah's
involvement with the Los Zetas drug cartel. According to the US
Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), Los Zetas is the most technologically advanced and most dangerous cartel operating in Mexico.
Juma was indicted in absentia for smuggling 85 tons of cocaine into
the US and for laundering $850 million for Los Zetas. He was also
accused of serving as a go-between for the Mexican crime syndicate and
the Shiite terror group.
According to US officials, for a modest 8%-14% commission, Juma's
money laundering process would take about a week. The operation involved
bank accounts in dozens of countries, making it virtually impossible to
track the dirty money.
According to the
indictment, Hezbollah is using Juma's cartel connections to minimize its
dependency on Iranian funding. The international sanctions crippling
Tehran's economy have taken a serious bite out of the $200 million in
annual aid given to Hezbollah, but the latter's appetite for cash has
only grown. Los Zetas' Beirut-based money man has reportedly helped the
Shiite terror group meet its financial needs.
Read the whole thing.
For more posts about Hezbullah in Mexico, go
here.
Labels: drug cartels, Hezbullah, Mexico, money laundering
Standard Chartered settles with NY regulators for $340 million
London's Standard Chartered Bank has settled charges of money laundering for Iran which were made by New York State banking regulators.
The settlement cost the bank $340 million.
Standard Chartered has agreed to pay $340 million to settle allegations that it hid transactions with Iran from regulators, the New York Department of Financial Services said on Tuesday.
In addition to the civil penalty, the bank agreed to install a monitor for at least two years to evaluate the bank's money-laundering risk controls in its New York branch, the department said in a statement.
The department also said it had adjourned a hearing set for Wednesday at which it had called on Standard Chartered to demonstrate why its New York state banking license should not be revoked.
"The parties have agreed that the conduct at issue involved transactions of at least $250 billion," the department said in a statement.
The bank did not immediately return a call seeking comment on the settlement.
You will recall that the bank claimed that only $14 million was involved and the State claimed it was $250 billion, so that last admission is quite significant.
Labels: Iran sanctions regime, London, money laundering, New York City
Lebanon fears being sanctioned for money laundering for Iran
Lebanese banking officials fear being sanctioned as a result of their banking system being
used by Hezbullah to launder money for Iran.
New York-based United Against a Nuclear Iran (UANI) made public last month the results of a three-month, confidential investigation into the influence of Iran and Hezbollah on Lebanon’s banking system and sovereign bond market.
The group says Lebanon’s financial system – including Banque du Liban, the country’s central bank – is being used to funnel massive amounts of illicit cash for Hezbollah and its state sponsor, Iran.
“The Lebanese banking system provides the means by which Iran transacts funds transfers to evade the effects of sanctions and the growing international banking blockade against Iran, and allows the money transfers that support illicit weapons and other transactions, including with Syria,” UANI said.
Lebanese concerns about the report come after several groups – Austria’s Erste Sparinvest, Eaton Vance Investment Managers, Nord Est Asset Management, Ameriprise and Aktia Fund Management – divested from Lebanese sovereign debt securities.
Last week, UANI also called on Advanced Series Trust and its investment adviser Prudential Investments LLC to divest from Lebanese debt securities.
...
In response, UANI spokesman Nathan Carleton said that Lebanese banking officials should be concerned about the campaign, noting that several bondholders had divested from Lebanese sovereign debt.
“Lebanon’s Central Bank Governor Riad Salame has said absolutely nothing in response to UANI, and his silence has been deafening,” Carleton added. “He has notably been unable to answer even basic questions about Iran’s role in Lebanon’s banking system, including whether he agrees with Hezbollah’s leadership that its funding comes entirely from Iran.”
Regarding criticisms of UANI’s explanations over the Lebanese sovereign debt to GDP ratio, Carleton said there was “no innocent explanation as to why Lebanon’s numbers are so off-kilter.”
“While we are not privy to private conversations between US and Lebanese officials, we doubt that the US has truly been giving the Lebanese banking system a 100-percent clean bill of health. After all, the idea that Iran funnels money to terrorists through Lebanon is not new, and has been acknowledged by the US before,” Carleton said.
Given Hezbullah's role in the Lebanese
government, it's hard to believe that it's not using Lebanon's banking system, and it's unlikely that it's not passing those benefits on to Iran. It's time for Lebanon to come clean and stop supporting terror.
Labels: Hezbullah, Iran sanctions regime, Lebanon, money laundering
US regulators angry at New York over Standard Chartered, afraid it will interfere with Obama's reelection bid
Of course. New York state regulators caught London-based Standard Chartered
laundering money for Iran. And President
Obama's regulators are angry at the New York regulators about it. Can you guess why?
By going it alone through the order he issued on Monday, the head of the recently created New York State Department of Financial Services, Benjamin Lawsky, also complicates talks between the Treasury and London-based Standard Chartered to settle claims over the transactions, several of the sources said.
His action, which included releasing embarrassing communications and details of the bank's alleged defiance of U.S. sanctions, is rewriting the playbook on how foreign banks settle cases involving the processing of shadowy funds tied to sanctioned countries. In the past, such cases have usually been settled through negotiated settlements with public shaming kept to a minimum.
In his order, Lawsky said the bank's dealings exposed the U.S. banking system to terrorists, drug traffickers and corrupt states.
So why are the Feds angry? Wasn't the point of the Iran sanctions supposed to be 'name and shame'? Of course: The New York action might interfere with President Hussein Obama's reelection bid.
Sources familiar with the New York regulator's decision say it was based in part on a worry that the Treasury and the Fed were trying to slow the settlement process down until conditions were more politically favorable. The U.S. presidential election is only three months away and Geithner has indicated he will leave his post at the end of the year.
What could go wrong?
Labels: Barack Hussein Obama, Campaign 2012, Iran sanctions regime, money laundering
Why Hezbullah is in 'dire financial straits'? Why is this man smiling?
You will recall that ten days ago, I reported that Hezbullah is in
dire financial straits. Perhaps
this has something to do with the reason why.
Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah is worth some $250 million, a Saudi newspaper reported recently, quoting American intelligence officials.
According to the report, the fortune of Nasrallah's deputy, Sheikh Naim Qassem, and other senior organization members amounts to as much as $2 billion.
The anonymous intelligence sources believe the funds have been deposited in hundreds of bank accounts across the world, including in Europe, using fabricated or fake names.
Two Western sources are quoted as saying that the Hezbollah leaders from time to time channel millions of dollars from their bank accounts or their wives' bank accounts to senior members of the Revolutionary Guards in Iran, who are responsible for transferring money to the Shiite organization from the office of Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
According to the report, Iranian parliament members are aware of this corruption, are unhappy with it but are avoiding discussing it.
Read the whole thing.
They learned well from Arafat, didn't they?
By the way, just last week, Hezbullah was
indicted in the US for money laundering.
Labels: Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbullah, money laundering
US sanctions Lebanese bank for laundering money for Hezbullah
The United States has
sanctioned Lebanese Canadian bank SAL for laundering money for drug traffickers and supporting Hezbullah (Hat Tip: Ya Libnan).
The U.S. Treasury Department on Thursday designated Lebanese Canadian Bank SAL as a "primary money laundering concern" under Patriot Act provisions aimed at curbing terrorism finance.
Treasury and U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration officials alleged that hundreds of millions of dollars in drug proceeds were laundered through accounts at the lender.
In a statement, the bank denied "knowledge of any involvement in any manner whatsoever in illicit transactions or wrongdoing." The bank said it was "committed to fully cooperate and coordinate with the relevant regulatory authorities in an effort to demonstrate the integrity and transparency of its operations."
Last month, Treasury officials made an initial move against the laundering network by designating its alleged leader, Ayman Joumaa, as a drug kingpin and seeking to seize assets belonging to him and associates. The DEA says the Joumaa network moves as much as $200 million per month through various conduits, including bulk-cash smuggling, deposits in Lebanese exchange houses and shipments of consumer goods.
Stuart Levey, undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said the action was intended to "protect the U.S. financial system from illicit proceeds flowing through LCB" and to deprive the Joumaa network from access to the legitimate financial system. Investigators leading the probe believe Lebanese Canadian Bank managers "are complicit in the network's money-laundering activities," Mr. Levey said.
U.S. officials said they advised Canadian officials of their actions but that the alleged offenses didn't occur in Canada. The Lebanese Embassy in Washington didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
In a related move Thursday, Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, known as FinCen, proposed measures that, if approved, would largely prohibit U.S. financial institutions from doing business with the Lebanese bank.
Probably just the tip of the iceberg....
Labels: drug running, Hezbullah fundraising, Lebanese Canadian Bank, money laundering
Sheets aren't the only thing Hamas is laundering
The good terrorists from Fatah claim that the bad terrorists from Hamas aren't just laundering sheets. They're also
laundering money.
The Al-Kupia Faras internet site, which identifies with the Fatah faction headed by Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, accused Hamas Tuesday of laundering money on a big scale via big fees for importing goods into Gaza. The website says Hamas authorities have reached an agreement with merchants traveling to China that the terrorist organization gets a payment for Chinese goods entering Gaza while Hamas makes the needed payments abroad.
The website says Hamas has brought in millions of counterfeit dollars from Iran with which to pay its local government workers. It adds that the Hamas government has established a committee to check the possibility of putting the counterfeit money into the local monetary system.
Hmmm.
Labels: Fatah, Hamas, money laundering
