Turkey names banker US convicted of Iran sanctions-dodging
as head of STOCK EXCHANGE
© Reuters / Murad Sezer
A Turkish banker convicted of helping Iran avoid US sanctions has been named head of the Turkish stock exchange in a defiant gesture to Washington as US President Donald Trump threatens Ankara with its own sanctions.
Hakan Atilla has been appointed general manager of Borsa Istanbul, Turkish Finance Minister Berat Albayrak announced on Monday. Atilla, a former deputy general manager at Turkish state-owned Halkbank, returned to Turkey in July after serving part of a 32-month prison sentence. He was convicted in 2018 of five counts of conspiracy and bank fraud related to his alleged involvement in a multibillion-dollar sanctions dodging scheme, but Turkey maintained his innocence throughout the trial proceedings, slamming the guilty verdict as “scandalous.”
Halkbank itself was hit with a six-count indictment for fraud, money laundering, and sanctions offenses last week centering on the transfer of some $20 billion in Iranian oil and gas profits between 2012 and 2016. Meanwhile, Trump has promised a 50-percent tariff on Turkish steel and cancelled a $100 billion trade deal over Turkey’s anti-terror operation in northeast Syria, while the Pentagon has called on Ankara’s NATO allies to sanction the country. Should Turkey misbehave in some way, Trump warned repeatedly, he would “destroy Turkey’s economy.”
Congress has also begun the process of sanctioning Turkey over its activity in Syria, which is aimed at carving out a safe zone some 30km from the Turkish border to prevent attacks from Kurdish militias Ankara considers terrorists.
Giuliani's greasy fingers?
Accused of devising a system to smuggle billions of dollars in Iranian funds through US financial institutions, Attila was fingered in 2016 by gold trader Reza Zarrab, who turned state’s witness and worked with the US government to ensnare the banker when he came to the US on a business trip. While Zarrab admitted to lying to federal agents, netting $150 million in profits from the scheme, and bribing Turkish co-conspirators, it was Atilla - who was on a plane with no cellphone service when he was supposedly making the calls that proved his involvement in the setup - who ended up taking the fall.
Zarrab was insulated from the fallout from his own misdeeds by his relationship with former New York mayor and current Trump advisor Rudy Giuliani, who pressed the president to drop the charges against the gold trader.
Bangladeshi MP expelled from uni for hiring EIGHT LOOKALIKES to take exams for her
Woman posing as Bangladeshi MP Tamanna Nusrat / Tamanna Nusrat herself
© Nagorik TV / Tamanna Nusrat's Twitter page
A Bangladeshi politician has been expelled from university after reportedly hiring a small ‘class’ of her impersonators to take exams on her behalf.
Apparently being unable to tackle the challenge of combining parliamentary work and university study, Tamanna Nusrat from the ruling Awami League party found at least eight female students who looked like her and paid them to pass her university tests. The fraud had been successful for some time. Nusrat - or those acting in her name - managed to pass as many as 13 exams.
The scheme was revealed when local broadcaster Nagorik TV entered a test hall and confronted one of the women posing as Nusrat, turning a personal cheating fail into a TV scandal.
Nusrat, who became a member of parliament last year, was studying for a Bachelor of Arts degree with the Bangladesh Open University. Vice Chancellor of the University has commented on the case, ruling out any exceptions for the MP: “We expelled her because she has committed a crime. A crime is a crime. She will never be able to get admitted here again.”
It is still unclear if Nusrat is to keep her parliamentary seat after a senior lawyer of the Supreme Court suggested, according to local media, the authorities to amend the existing law by including a provision to expel a lawmaker for “this type of immoral acts”.
Test fraud is a common problem in Bangladesh with a history of government addressing the problem at a law enforcement level. Country’s police intercepted a ring of professional exam cheaters in Dhaka in 2012. They facilitated successful test results by sending answers to mobile phones disguised as wrist watches.
So, it's not just rich Americans cheating on entrance exams. Corruption is Everywhere! Is it just me or do rich people seem like the least likely to deserve being wealthy? Probably just me!
4 more USA parents pleading guilty in college admissions scandal
by COLLIN BINKLEY AP 
FILE - In this April 3, 2019, file photo, Manuel and Elizabeth Henriquez arrive at federal court in Boston to face charges in a nationwide college admissions bribery scandal. The couple are scheduled to plead guilty on Monday, Oct. 21. (AP Photo/Steven Senne, File)
Parent Douglas Hodge entered his guilty plea in Boston's federal court Monday after previously pleading not guilty in April. Also scheduled to reverse their pleas on Monday are parents Michelle Janavs, Manuel Henriquez and Elizabeth Henriquez. Each faces charges of fraud and money laundering.
Martin Fox, the president of a private tennis club in Houston, also agreed to plead guilty in a deal that prosecutors announced Monday. He is charged with a single count of racketeering.
Authorities say Fox brokered bribes to help wealthy parents cheat on their children's college entrance exams at a Houston testing site. He's also accused of arranging bribes to get two students admitted to the University of San Diego as recruited athletes, and one student to the University of Texas. He will return the $245,000 he received through the scheme, according to his plea deal.
The four parents join 15 others who have pleaded guilty in the case, while 15 other parents are fighting the charges. Out of 10 parents sentenced so far, nine have been dealt prison time, with terms ranging from two weeks to five months.
Hodge, of Laguna Beach, California, was accused of paying more than $500,000 in bribes to get two of his children into the University of Southern California. Authorities say he paid $200,000 to get his daughter admitted as a soccer recruit in 2013, and $325,000 to get his son in as a football recruit in 2015. Neither played on those sports teams.
Hodge, a former CEO of the Pacific Investment Management Company, is scheduled to be sentenced in January 2020. He apologized in a statement Monday, saying he takes full responsibility for his conduct.
"I have always prided myself on leading by example, and I am ashamed of the decisions I made," he said. "I acted out of love for my children, but I know that this explanation for my actions is not an excuse."
Janavs, of Newport Coast, California, is accused of paying $400,000 to get her son admitted to Georgetown University as a fake tennis recruit in 2017. She separately paid $100,000 to help two of her daughters cheat on the ACT exam in 2017 and 2019, prosecutors said.
Janavs is a former executive of Chef America Inc., a food producer that created the Hot Pocket frozen snack.
Manuel and Elizabeth Henriquez, of Atherton, California, are accused of paying $400,000 in bribes to get their oldest daughter into Georgetown as a fake tennis recruit in 2016. They're also accused of paying to help two of their daughters cheat on college entrance exams a total of four times.
Manuel Henriquez is the founder and former CEO of Hercules Capital, a finance firm in Palo Alto, California.
Lori Loughlin faces new charges in
college admissions scandal
The Associated Press Full House actress Lori Loughlin, her fashion designer husband, Mossimo Giannulli, and nine other parents were indicted Tuesday on new federal charges as prosecutors pressure them to admit guilt in a college admissions bribery scheme.
A grand jury in Boston indicted the parents on charges of conspiracy to commit federal program bribery. The count accuses the parents of attempting to bribe officials at an organization that receives at least $10,000 in federal funding.
The bribery charges carry a possible sentence of up to ten years incarceration along with a fine of up to $100,000, though all of the sentences already handed down in relation to the case have been for far less than that.
All eleven named in the new indictments have previously pleaded not guilty to other charges in the scheme.
It's the second time prosecutors have added new charges for parents pleading not guilty in the case. In April, they added money laundering to the initial charges of fraud and conspiracy.
U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling in Boston said the latest charges stem from an ongoing investigation. The charges will further his goal of holding the defendants "fully accountable for corrupting the college admissions process through cheating, bribery and fraud," he said in a written statement.
Lawyers for Loughlin and Giannulli did not immediately respond to the charges. The couple are accused of paying $500,000 to get their two daughters admitted to the University of Southern California as recruits on the crew team, even though neither participated in the sport. Loughlin and Giannulli have pleaded not guilty.
Others indicted on the new charge include William McGlashan, who co-founded an investment fund with U2's Bono in 2017, and Robert Zangrillo, a prominent Miami real estate developer.
South Korean court to review arrest warrant for ex-minister's wife over college admission
By Yonhap News AgencySEOUL, (UPI) -- A Seoul court is expected to decide whether to arrest the wife of ex-Justice Minister Cho Kuk this week over charges related to her daughter's college admission and a private equity fund investment.
The Seoul Central District Court is scheduled to review the arrest warrant request made by the prosecution Wednesday morning. Prosecutors have been investigating Cho's wife, Chung Kyung-sim, for two months regarding the college admission process and an $853,970 PEF investment.
This is not the first time the prosecution has requested an arrest warrant for a member of the former justice minister's family.
Earlier this month, the prosecution sought an arrest warrant for Cho's younger brother on allegations of dereliction of duty. The court, however, rejected the request, citing the quantity of evidence and his medical condition.
Eyes are on whether Chung's health will also affect the court's decision. Citing MRI test results, her legal representatives said she has recently been diagnosed with a brain tumor and cerebral infarction.
The latest developments come a week after Cho abruptly resigned amid controversy about whether he was suitable for the Cabinet post.
A key architect for President Moon Jae-in's drive to reform the prosecution, Cho was appointed on Sept. 9 despite objections from opposition parties.
For about two months, protesters staged street rallies for and against his appointment and prosecution reform measures.
Supporters of Cho called for thorough reform of the elite investigative agency and branded the prosecution's probe into his family a politically charged one.
Florida Mayor Arrested Just 3 Weeks After Taking Over for Florida Mayor Who was Arrested
Benjamin Sutton, News Breaking
A second mayor has been arrested in Port Richey, Florida, 20 days after taking over for the previous mayor, who had been arrested.
This was the second time in 20 days that a mayor had been arrested in the Florida town, the first being Dale Massad, 68, who is accused of firing at a Pasco sheriff’s SWAT team that was arresting him on allegations that he was practicing medicine without a license.
You can find our coverage of that story here.
Rowe was acting mayor after Governor DeSantis suspended Massad from office. Authorities say that Rowe’s arrest is an off-shoot of Massad’s arrest, but did not elaborate.
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