Corruption is Everywhere > Music Star, Shakira, in Spain; Major Swiss Bank hid Billions from IRS

 

Shakira reaches a deal with Spanish prosecutors

on the first day of tax fraud trial

By 

Associated Press

Published Nov. 20, 2023, 6:47 a.m. ET

Shakira reaches a deal with Spanish prosecutors on the first day of tax fraud trial

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Pop star Shakira agreed to a deal with Spanish authorities on the first day of a tax fraud trial in Barcelona on Monday, avoiding the risk of a prison sentence.

Shakira told the presiding magistrate, José Manuel del Amo, that she accepted the agreement reached with prosecutors.

She answered “yes” to confirm her acknowledgment of six counts of failing to pay the Spanish government about $15.8 million in taxes between 2012 and 2014.

Under the deal, Shakira is to receive a suspended three-year sentence and a fine of $7.6 million.

The trial, which would have included more than 100 witnesses over the following weeks, was instead called off after just eight minutes.

Prosecutors said in July that they would seek a prison sentence of eight years and two months and a fine of $26 million for the singer, who has won over fans worldwide for her hits in Spanish and English in different musical genres.

The case hinged on where Shakira, now 46, lived during that period. Prosecutors in Barcelona have alleged that the Colombian singer spent more than half of that period in Spain and therefore should have paid taxes on her worldwide income in the country even though her official residence was still in the Bahamas. Tax rates are much lower in the Bahamas than in Spain.

Major Swiss bank admits to helping U.S. taxpayers 

hide billions from IRS

By Darryl Coote

 

The Justice Department on Monday said Swiss bank Banque Pictet has agreed to pay $122.9 million to the U.S. Treasury in a deferred prosecution agreement concerning charges it helped taxpayers hide money from the Internal Revenue Service. Photo courtesy of Pictet Group/Website

Dec. 5 (UPI) -- Major Swiss bank Banque Pictet has admitted to helping U.S. taxpayers hide billions of taxable funds from the Internal Review Service with the use of secret accounts, the Justice Department said.

Federal prosecutors on Monday said that between 2008 and 2014, Banque Pictet, the private banking division of the nearly 218-year-old Pictet Group, held approximately $5.6 billion in 1,637 accounts for U.S. taxpayers, helping them evade paying the IRS some $50.6 million in taxes.

As part of the deferred prosecution agreement announced Monday by the Justice Department, Banque Pictet agrees to pay some $122.9 million to the U.S. Treasury and to continue cooperating with the federal government.

"This case should provide a clear message to others who try to hide their assets and income offshore," IRS Criminal Investigation Chief Jim Lee said in a statement.

"Offshore tax evasion is a priority for IRS Criminal Investigation, and today's deferred prosecution agreement with Bank Pictet collects more than $120 million owed to the U.S. government."

Prosecutors said the Pictet Group specifically helped its clients evade paying U.S. taxes by opening and maintaining undeclared accounts. The bank was also found to have maintained accounts of certain U.S.-taxpayer clients within its group that allowed further concealment of undeclared accounts, and that its employees either knew or should have known some of their clients where sidestepping their responsibilities to the U.S. federal government.

"In every instance, managing partners approved the opening of new private client relationships and were informed of the closing of U.S. taxpayer-clients' accounts, which included some undeclared accounts," the Justice Department said Monday.

Of the money Banque Pictet has agreed to pay the United States, more than $52 million represents gross fees it earned on its undeclared accounts, nearly $32 million in restitution to the IRS in unpaid taxes resulting from its participation in the conspiracy and a penalty of nearly $39 million.

If Banque Pictet continues to comply with the agreement, prosecutors agree to defer its prosecution for three years, after which it will seek to dismiss the criminal charges against the bank, the federal department explained.

In a statement, Banque Pictet said the amount it agreed to pay will come from its general provisions and profits.

"This resolution follows Pictet's extensive cooperation with the U.S. authorities, in full compliance with Swiss law," it said.

"Pictet is pleased to have resolved this matter and will continue to take steps to ensure its clients meet their tax obligations."

Corruption is Everywhere > Mexican Madness; Russian Justice; FIFA and Swiss Bank; US Gets Oil From Iran Despite Own Sanctions

..

Mexican election candidate SHOT DEAD shortly after going LIVE on Facebook

to ask locals to join her at rally

26 May, 2021 11:38

(L) A screenshot - ¡Vecinos de La Manguita, el Ombligo y Pico de Pájaro! Estamos en la calle Pedro Guzmán con Circuito Moroleón, aquí los espero para platicarles mis propuestas y convivir con ustedes. © Facebook / Alma Barragán; (R) © Getty Images / Caspar Benson

A local elections candidate in Mexico has been gunned down in the middle of a campaign event and just after going live on Facebook, becoming the latest victim in a string of murders of politicians ahead of the June vote.

Electoral candidate Alma Barragán was shot to death on Tuesday afternoon in the Mexican town of Moroleón in the central state of Guanajuato as she was taking part in a campaign event. According to local media, a group of armed men arrived at the spot where Barragán was holding a rally and opened fire. Two others have been reported injured.

Shortly before the attack Barragán had gone live on her Facebook page telling the audience where she was and inviting local residents to join her: “Hello, how are you? I am here in La Manguita with Pedro Guzmán. If you want to accompany me, come and listen to my proposals and socialize. Thank you very much, I am waiting for you here.”

Barragán was the candidate for the town mayor from the opposition Citizens’ Movement (Movimiento Ciudadano). The campaign that leads to local elections in Mexico which are to be held on June 6 has been marred by violence. Earlier this month another candidate from the Citizens’ Movement, Abel Murrieta, was shot dead while handing out flyers in a busy street in the northwestern Cajeme municipality.

Since the start of the electoral process in September, more than 80 politicians have been murdered, most of them gunned down. Between February and April this year, more than 50 elected officials, members of political parties and candidates were killed, which is around 40% more than before the 2018 elections, Mexican consulting firm Integralia reports.

More than 60 candidates for mayor are reported to have withdrawn from the campaign across Mexico amid the spiraling violence, which has been blamed on gang crime.

The narco-state is falling more and more into the hands of drug lords. Anyone attempting to clean it up is murdered. Any politician who is alive is a good bet for being under the control of the drug lords.

Russian court sentences ex-police officers to up to 12 years behind bars

for planting drugs in attempt to frame Meduza journalist

28 May, 2021 15:44

Journalist Ivan Golunov (R) at the meeting of the Moscow City Court, where the verdict of former police officers

in the case of his illegal detention is being announced. © RIA

Five former detectives have been handed lengthy jail terms in Russia for their roles in fabricating evidence against a reporter (2nd story on link) in a case that sparked outrage across the country, with President Vladimir Putin wading into the row.

Moscow City Court passed down the judgement on Friday, sentencing Igor Lyakhovets, the former deputy head of the drugs division in the west of the capital, to a 12-year spell in prison. His then-subordinates Akbar Sergaliev, Roman Feofanov and Maxim Umetbaev received eight years each, while a fifth, Denis Konovalov, took a deal to plead guilty and received a five-year term. Each was fined one million rubles ($13,600 USD), stripped of their ranks and given bans from holding public service roles.

The ex-officers arrested Ivan Golunov in June 2019, claiming he had been in possession of the recreational drug mephedrone while he was working as a correspondent for Meduza, a Latvia-based news site registered as a ‘foreign agent’ by Russia’s Ministry of Justice over links to overseas funding.

However, the reporter was released only five days later, after a large-scale public outcry that saw Russian news outlets rally together to protest his innocence. Hundreds even took to the streets to demonstrate against the arrest in Moscow and cities across the country. Several leading newspapers also published identical front pages to show solidarity with the detained journalist.

Last year, Golunov's lawyer Sergey Badamshin revealed that police had officially recognized him as a "victim” in the case, and in January he was summoned for questioning about the conduct of the arresting officers, who were detained days later.

Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke out about the case at the time, saying that it showed there was accountability in the justice system, as well as ordering the dismissal of two high-ranking Interior Ministry officials over the case. “[The] intervention of the people makes a difference in today's Russia,” Putin said. “If anything, this is good… the situation is taking its natural course. Law enforcement agencies are looking into the matter. Some have been fired, some detained.”

Would there have been any accountability had there not been an uproar? Or, is it only those who get caught out in their corruption that have to face justice?

Swiss bank to pay almost $80MN fine after admitting to money

laundering charges linked to bribery scheme of FIFA officials

29 May, 2021 11:53

Swiss bank Julius Bar has been fined © Arnd Wiegmann / Reuters | © Action Images / Paul Childs via Reuters

Julius Baer, the third largest bank in Switzerland, has been ordered to pay a fine of more than $40 million and forfeit another $36 million after being found to have laundered money which was paid as bribes to football officials.

The financial settlement comes amid an investigation by the US Department of Justice and is part of a deferred prosecution agreement with federal prosecutors after the DOJ said that the bank purposefully laundered cash through the US "to conceal the true nature of the payments and promote the fraud".

The scheme saw illegal payments issued by sports marketers to officials from both FIFA and South American governing body CONMEBOL in return for rights to broadcast football matches.

"Bank Julius Baer pursued the profit it could make laundering corrupt funds derived from a criminal scheme run by powerful FIFA officials," William F Sweeney Jr, of the FBI's New York office, said in a statement.

"Their behavior has earned them the equivalent of a red card, and the money the bank now owes the US government is more than double what it admits to laundering."

Bank Julius Baer had engaged with the DOJ investigation since 2015 and, according to Reuters, reached an agreement to pay the financial settlement last November. The settlement fee also comes with a five percent reduction from what might have been expected under federal rules after the bank was given "some credit for its significant effort to remediate its compliance program."

"Bank Julius Baer aided corrupt FIFA officials in laundering over $36 million," added Special Agent Ryan L Korner, of the IRS' Criminal Investigation division. "Banking officials that are a conduit for criminal activity undermine their own profession and the health of our financial system."

Reports of the financial settlement come after several previous probes which also saw former Julius Baer banker Jorge Luis Arzuaga convicted of related conspiracy charges.

Julius Baer, meanwhile, also issued a statement saying they are pleased with the outcome of the investigation and will continue to work with relevant authorities.

"Julius Baer welcomes the final resolution of this legacy matter," they told Newsweek. "This marks another step in Julius Baer's continued efforts to pursue the closure of remaining regulatory and legal matters in cooperation with the relevant authorities."

US reports it has imported sanctioned oil from Iran, a first after 30 years of sanctions

29 May, 2021 10:52

© Getty Images / tropicalpixsingapore

Despite the severe sanctions imposed on Iran's energy sector by the White House, the US nonetheless imported a substantial batch of crude from the Islamic Republic for the first time in 30 years, its Department of Energy reports.

The department did not provide information on how the Iranian imports showed up on its log, despite current US restrictions banning any nation from purchasing oil from Iran.

The US reportedly imported an estimated 36,000 barrels per day in October 2020, according to data tracked by the US Energy Information Administration (EIA). In March, the import volumes of Iranian crude reportedly totaled 33,000 barrels per day.

That marks the first delivery of Iranian crude to the US since 1991, when the country was shipping up to 64,000 barrels per day.

However, the US energy department recorded another delivery of Iranian crude in 2020. In August, Washington confiscated 1.16 million barrels of Iranian-sourced oil aboard four tankers that were allegedly transporting the fuel to Venezuela.

So, who was paid for all this oil? Is anyone going to find out? Who did the USA buy it from, and who profited from bringing it to American shores. I'm willing to guess that all of it was stolen! Can anyone prove otherwise?

The US has imposed sanctions against Iran since 1984, banning all arms sales and American aid to the nation. A new round of penalties against Tehran was introduced later, shortly after former US President Donald Trump initiated a withdrawal from the JCPOA nuclear deal signed under the Obama administration.

Trump’s decisions reflected the US' campaign of ‘maximum pressure’ against the Islamic Republic, measures aimed at forcing it to give up its nuclear ambitions.

The latest steps taken by the current US administration, with a view to easing tensions between the parties, reportedly may lead to a complete or a partial lifting of anti-Iran sanctions, and Washington and Tehran are currently in talks.

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Ex-Credit Suisse Bankers Arrested on US Charges Over $2bn Fraud Scheme

Corruption is Everywhere - but in a Swiss Bank? Say it ain't so!

The Credit Suisse logo in Geneva © Reuters / Denis Balibouse

Three former bankers of the second-largest bank in Switzerland, Credit Suisse Group AG, were arrested in London over an alleged connection to a $2bn Mozambique fraud scheme, according to US justice authorities cited by media.

The three suspects – former managing directors Andrew Pears and Surjan Singh, as well as the vice president in the global financing unit, Detelina Subeva – were charged with conspiring to violate US anti-bribery law, money laundering, and securities fraud in an indictment issued in a federal court in Brooklyn, New York, Reuters reported.

The three men were released on bail after their arrest in the British capital on Thursday but may face extradition to the US.

The bank itself was spared of the charges and says it was kept in the dark by its own staff.

“The indictment alleges that the former employees worked to defeat the bank’s internal controls, acted out of a motive of personal profit, and sought to hide these activities from the bank,” Credit Suisse said in a statement.

The arrests of the three former Credit Suisse employees came less than a week after the former finance minister of Mozambique was arrested in South Africa as part of the same case. Manuel Chang is now fighting extradition to the US. A fifth suspect was also arrested earlier this week.

Between 2013 and 2016, Credit Suisse and other banks arranged $2 billion loans for Mozambique state-owned companies. The loans were initially aimed at maritime projects and coastline protection in one of the poorest countries in the world, but instead were plundered, with at least $200 million diverted for bribes and kickbacks. The companies created to operate planned maritime projects were a cover for the suspects to enrich themselves.

The loans were partly concealed from international donors and creditors, including the International Monetary Fund. After they were disclosed in 2016, international aid was withdrawn, sending the nation into crisis. The state-owned companies missed more than $700 million in loan payments after defaulting in 2016 and 2017, according to the indictment.

A similar case has recently been brought against Wall Street giant Goldman Sachs. In December, Malaysia filed criminal charges against the US bank and two of its key bankers over its role in the multi-billion dollar scandal with 1MDB state fund. Kuala Lumpur wants $7.5 billion in reparations from Goldman Sachs, which it claims covered up the looting of the fund.