Corruption is Everywhere > Would you believe Credit-Suisse? How about the King of Jordan? Swiss could be blacklisted by EU

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Credit Suisse faces charges in cocaine trafficking trial

The drug money laundering case centers on the bank’s ties with a criminal ring

© Getty Images / Medioimages

A Swiss criminal court opened trial proceedings on Monday against Credit Suisse, accusing the bank of failing to do enough to stop money laundering linked to drug trafficking by a Bulgarian criminal organization. Associated Press reports that the gang employed a wrestler who once hauled millions in currency by car to Switzerland.

The names of the defendants have not been made public, to protect their privacy, but Swiss prosecutors identified Credit Suisse by name in an indictment announced in December 2020.

The charge, which centers on a former manager at the Swiss bank and two members of the criminal ring, follows a years-long investigation into allegations of wrongdoing that apparently took place between 2004 and 2008.

According to AP, the case against the bank revolves around charges that it “did not take all necessary measures to halt the infraction of money laundering” by one of its employees.

Credit Suisse has denied any wrongdoing, saying during the hearing on Monday that it “unreservedly rejects as meritless all allegations in this legacy matter raised against it and is convinced that its former employee is innocent.” The bank added that it “will defend itself vigorously in court.”

The Swiss attorney general’s office said that, after the fall of communism, top-level athletes in Bulgaria “turned towards other sources of income, and numerous wrestlers received approaches from mafia clans.” Thus, one unnamed wrestler aimed to cash in by trafficking tons of cocaine through “mules” from South America to Europe by air and sea and then laundering the profits.

The proceeds from the drug sales entered Swiss bank accounts from 2004 to at least 2007 and were used to buy real estate in Bulgaria and Switzerland in particular, court proceedings show.

Prosecutors said that the wrestler’s “main offense was committed in February 2006, when he transported the equivalent of more than four million Swiss francs (over $4 million) in small denomination notes hidden in his car from Barcelona to Switzerland.”

They also said that a former Credit Suisse executive in charge of business relations with the criminal organization carried out transactions for the ring despite “strong indications that the funds were of criminal origin.”

The executive is accused of preventing the identification of the origin of the funds, which ultimately involved transactions of more than 140 million Swiss francs (about $150 million).

Credit Suisse has consistently rejected the allegations and has said the court could order the “disgorgement of profits” and a maximum fine of about $5 million.

Credit Suisse ignored murders while laundering cocaine cash,

banker testifies

Bank management accused at trial of knowingly accepting money from criminal activities

© Getty Images / Michaela Begsteiger

A former Credit Suisse banker, who had been previously accused of money laundering, has reportedly told a Swiss court that top management at the bank knew about murders and cocaine smuggling connected to a Bulgarian gang, but continued managing cash that is now at the center of a criminal trial.

The Zurich-based banking giant and one of its former employees are facing charges for failing to tackle money-laundering practices connected to drug trafficking by a Bulgarian criminal syndicate. The gang allegedly managed to launder millions of euros, with some of it delivered to the bank in suitcases stuffed with cash.

Credit Suisse has denied any wrongdoing and stood by its former bankers accused. The trial began last week and is scheduled to end in early March.

The case hinges on illegal relations established between Switzerland’s second-largest bank and former Bulgarian wrestler Evelin Banev and multiple associates, two of whom are also charged in the case. The Bulgarian cocaine trafficking gang allegedly employed Banev, who is accused of hauling millions in currency by car to Switzerland. The events reportedly unfolded between 2004 and 2008.

In an email from June 2005 read out in court last week, the banker played down press reports linking the murder of one of Banev’s associates a month earlier with drug trafficking.

“After the homicide we have decided to continue the business relationships,” the banker wrote in the email. “The said (short and imprecise) article linking the murder to Spanish cocaine… has not been confirmed.”

Last week, Banev’s attorney said in Sofia that his client denied any involvement in laundering money from drug trafficking through Credit Suisse. Meanwhile, the former wrestler was convicted of drug trafficking in Italy in 2017 and money laundering in Bulgaria in 2018. Banev was detained in September in Ukraine after Bulgaria and Romania sought his arrest.

The banker accused of helping conceal the criminal origins of the money, totaling more than 146 million Swiss francs in transactions, appeared in Federal Criminal Court in Bellinzona with her managers, who gave evidence. The banker’s identity cannot be reported under Swiss privacy rules.

Credit Suisse disputes the illegal origin of the money, according to a source close to the bank quoted by Reuters. The source also claims that Banev and his circle operated legitimate businesses in construction, leasing, and hotels.

King hid personal wealth in Credit Suisse accounts – media

Leaked data from the Swiss bank show King of Jordan Abdullah II

placed his personal funds in at least six accounts

Jordan's King Abdullah II attends the State opening of the Parliament. © Jordan Pix / Getty Images

Jordan’s monarch, King Abdullah II, has been named in the leaked trove of data from Credit Suisse bank, as the holder of at least six accounts where he has housed millions of dollars in personal wealth, The Guardian reported on Monday. Alongside Abdullah’s own accounts, his wife, Queen Rania, allegedly had another.

The leaked data about the Credit Suisse accounts comes months after the monarch was featured in the Pandora papers, another leak of data which revealed King Abdullah’s property portfolio, including premises in California and central London.

A spokesperson for Jordan’s king and queen stated there has been no wrongdoing on behalf of the pair, claiming that the source of their funds was entirely compliant with the relevant tax legislation. Under Jordanian law, King Abdullah is exempt from paying taxes.

According to the monarch’s lawyers, a large proportion of the funds held within his Credit Suisse accounts were derived from the inheritance he received from his father, King Hussein. The law in Jordan exempts the king from paying inheritance tax as well.

During the release of the Pandora papers, the UK media claimed that Jordanian intelligence forces had sought to block access to online stories about the monarch’s wealth. King Abdullah’s lawyers have denied this suggestion. It is not known if any similar attempts have or are set to be made in the wake of the latest revelations.

King Abdullah’s lawyers stated that only one of the monarch’s Credit Suisse accounts remains open, comprising investment companies established to serve as a trust fund for their children, as well as using the bank to hold proceeds from the sale of a “large wide body aircraft.”

Switzerland could be blacklisted as money-laundering state

The financial hub is dealing with the fallout from a huge leak

of Credit Suisse banking data

© Getty Images / Matthias Kulka

The European People’s Party (EPP), the largest political grouping in the European Parliament, called for a review of Switzerland’s banking practices on Monday, and for the country to be included on the EU’s dirty-money blacklist after leaked Credit Suisse documents revealed the bank’s dealings with shady clientele.

The Swiss banking giant has reportedly served a motley client roster for decades, which included heads of state and spy chiefs, as well as human rights abusers and sanctioned individuals.

“The ‘Swiss Secrets’ findings point to massive shortcomings of Swiss banks when it comes to the prevention of money laundering,” the EPP’s coordinator on economic affairs Markus Ferber said, adding: “When Swiss banks fail to apply international anti-money-laundering standards properly, Switzerland itself becomes a high-risk jurisdiction.”

The EPP released the proposal following media reports on Monday on the results of investigations into the leak of data on thousands of accounts held at the bank during recent decades. The investigation, called Suisse Secrets, identified clients of the Swiss bank who had been involved in torture, drug trafficking, money laundering, corruption, and other serious crimes.

Credit Suisse has strongly rejected any allegations of wrongdoing, saying that the media reports were based on “selective information taken out of context, resulting in tendentious interpretations of the bank’s business conduct.”

If Switzerland is added to the blacklist, it would face the kind of enhanced due diligence applied to transactions linked to nations including Iran, Myanmar, Syria and North Korea. The EU money-laundering blacklist currently comprises 21 countries, none of which are European.

Switzerland is not part of the EU.

Media is the Message - MSNBC Had List of Democratic Candidates Who Were Blacklisted

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Former MSNBC producer claims her show had blacklist that included Andrew Yang & ‘several other’ candidates

23 Nov, 2020 00:33 

FILE PHOTO: Former Democratic 2020 U.S. presidential candidate and entrepreneur Andrew Yang

© REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

Former MSNBC producer Ariana Pekary has claimed that she was told by the bosses not to interview former Democratic presidential hopeful Andrew Yang and “several others” as the race for the nomination was heating up.

Pekary, who left the liberal cable news network in August, dropped the bombshell about her former employer’s alleged election bias in a series of tweets on Sunday, after Yang teased her appearance on his podcast.

“Actually, I just reviewed my journal. On 4/25/19, I was told that we were never to pursue Andrew for an interview on our show (along with several others),” Pekary tweeted, adding that the names of welcome and unwelcome guests were “dictated” from above without any explanation given.

The list of candidates was dictated, but the reasons for allowing them or not were not explained

The same day Pekary claimed she was given the message Joe Biden announced his run for presidency.

I'm sure that was just a coincidence! Pfft!

Pekary further explained that she couldn't speak for the whole network, saying that “the list was unique to The Last Word" (The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell show) and, presumably, did not come from MSNBC’s higher-ups.

Falling short of disclosing other names on the approved list of guests, Pekary said that she was “somewhat surprised” as to who had made it and who turned out to be personae non gratae.

“And looking back, I’m somewhat surprised by the list - who was in, who was out (“somewhat” but not entirely). Some “friends” of the show were out, others were in," she tweeted.

Pekary’s admission has sparked a guessing game as to who else might have been barred from appearing on the show, and whether the same rules applied to the network as a whole.

“Are you legally bound around this stuff, or can you post a bunch of screenshots for us?” one asked.

“Do you know if other shows on MSNBC had similar lists? Was it common to not invite presidential contenders on the network?” another tweeted. 

Yang, who now works for CNN as a political commentator, appeared to be taken aback by the revelation.

While the show or the network itself has yet to comment on Pekary’s claim, it’s not the first time the cable channel faces accusations of muting non-mainstream political voices.

Late newsman Ed Schultz, who worked for MSNBC before joining RT America, claimed in a 2018 interview that he was barred from covering Bernie Sanders’ presidential bid announcement five minutes before he was to come on air. Schultz said that he received a last-minute call from then-president of the network, Phil Griffin, who told him he was not “covering this.”

MSNBC’s sister channel, CNBC, raised eyebrows earlier this year after they replaced Yang’s face with that of a similarly-named businessman, and the face of another Democratic presidential hopeful Tulsi Gabbard with that of New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand during their segment on election fundraising. The channel eventually apologized for the mistake.

Diversity of Thought and Reporting Disappearing from MainStream Media - Vox Co-founder Abandons His Own Journal

Veteran Reporter Quits NBC with Biting Critique of Corporate Newsroom

Canada Now Dominates World Bank Corruption List, Thanks to SNC-Lavalin

Out of the more than 250 companies year to date on the World Bank's running list of firms blacklisted from bidding on its global projects under its fraud and corruption policy, 117 are from Canada — with SNC-Lavalin and its affiliates representing 115 of those entries

The next worst country is the USA with 44 and some of them are SNC-Lavalin associates

The risk of SNC-Lavalin being barred from bidding on Canadian Federal projects is threatening the probability of the Very Liberal Government being reelected this fall, and has already cost the government two of its best ministers, its top civil servant, and the Prime Minister's top adviser. It's also revealed the shallowness of the PM's claim to be a feminist and a friend to the Indigenous.

John Mahoney/Postmedia News files

Armina Ligaya, Financial Post

Canada’s corporate image isn’t looking so squeaky-clean in the World Bank’s books — all thanks to SNC-Lavalin.

”Corruption’s double standard:

It’s time to punish countries whose officials accept bribes” 

Out of the more than 250 companies year to date on the World Bank’s running list of firms blacklisted from bidding on its global projects under its fraud and corruption policy, 117 are from Canada — with SNC-Lavalin and its affiliates representing 115 of those entries, the World Bank said.

“As it stands today, the World Bank debarment list includes a high number of Canadian companies, the majority of which are affiliates to SNC Lavalin Inc.,” said the bank’s manager of investigations, James David Fielder.

“This is the outcome of a World Bank investigation relating the Padma Bridge project in Bangladesh where World Bank investigators closely cooperated with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in an effort to promote collective action against corruption.”

As a result of the misconduct found during the probe, the Montreal-based engineering and construction firm, and its affiliates as per World Bank policy, were debarred in April 2013 for 10 years, as part of a settlement with SNC-Lavalin. And in one fell swoop, 115 Canadian firms were blacklisted by the World Bank, making Canada seemingly look like the worst offending country.

It’s quite the jump from 2012, when no Canadian companies were barred.

The long list of debarments mainly stems from just one large Canadian firm, but it still prompted some headlines around the world to point to Canada as being home to the most corrupt companies in the world.

“It is a little surprising,” said Tim Coleman, a global investigations partner at law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in New York. “Because you do expect that the companies that are going to be highest up on the list, are going to be companies that have a reputation of corruption. And Canada is not one of those countries.”

Overall, Canada had 119 total companies on the list (including two permanently debarred since 1999). United States had the second largest number, with 44 companies on the debarment list (among which are several SNC-Lavalin companies), and Indonesia came in third with 43.

SNC-Lavalin did not respond to a request for comment.

The World Bank has been stepping up its fraud investigations in recent years, with four times more debarments than in 2012, and compared to the past seven years combined, said Mr. Coleman.

Canadian firms may be at higher risk of being sanctioned by the World Bank, he added, because Canadian authorities have not been as aggressively enforcing its anti-corruption laws as its U.S. counterparts.

“The result of that is that Canadian companies may have been lulled into a false sense of security, because their own national authorities were not closely scrutinizing their global operations, that nobody else would either,” he said.

There were 89 SNC-Lavalin affiliates, however, that were instead given a conditional non-debarment by the World Bank for 10 years. This is essentially a probation of sorts that requires these companies to adhere to compliance standards, but are still allowed to bid on the World Bank’s development projects around the world.

These sanctions were handed down instead of debarment, in part, because these companies had come forward to the bank had demonstrated concrete steps towards anti-corruption practices, said a World Bank spokesperson.

That is a sign that SNC-Lavalin has begun taking compliance more seriously. said Milos Barutciski, Bennett Jones senior partner and co-chair of the firm’s international trade and investment practoce.

“The fact that it didn’t [debar] the whole group is also, I think, an indication of what I believe is that SNC-Lavalin, by the time it resolved the case last spring, had started to take the issues and the investigation seriously. I don’t think SNC’s then leadership, corporate and board, were taking the matter nearly as seriously two years ago.”

@Sweden Twitter Account Blocking 14k Users, Nasties Like Bill Gates

Free speech is a cornerstone of a free and healthy society. It is, however, not highly regarded by politically correct liberals who have no place for open-minded debate

The Swedish public and activists are outraged over the blocking of some 14,000 Twitter users by the country's official account over alleged hate speech. Those blacklisted included top Israeli politicians and Noam Chomsky.

An initiative of the Swedish Institute, the @Sweden Twitter account is run by a different person each week - either someone located in Sweden (who may or may not be a Swedish national) or a Swedish citizen abroad. It is used to promote the country around the world.

Its official rules and guidelines say the account is a "platform that supports the idea of free speech and democracy" and "invites opinions and debates." However, some 14,000 users were shocked to find they were on the account's block list, entirely unable to participate in the very benefits its boasts.

The blocking happened between May 8 and May 14, when the account was curated by Vian Tahir, an online security expert who helps protect people against online bullying and trolls. She claims those she blocked were either involved in "threats against migrants, women, and LGBTQ people," or were suspected of right-wing extremism or neo-Nazi links, The Local reported.

“At first I thought that this was Sweden being a typical politically correct [self], but then I started to see my very liberal friends like Tim Pool [award-winning journalist and VR filmmaker] on the watchlist...You see weird names popping up, like, Noam Chomsky, why is he on this list?...It makes no sense, and I think the list is ridiculous to have in the first place," Lauren Southern, a political author, commentator, and Twitter user with 272,000 followers - who was among those blocked.

While fury raged among those who realized they were on the blacklist, the Swedish Institute stood by Tahir, saying it was going to keep the list of blocked users, in order to tackle a recent surge in racist and sexist abuse.

Many took offense, as many hadn't taken part in any such abuse. In fact, the list included members of the Swedish parliament, the Israeli ambassador to Sweden and even Bill Gates.

But the names on the list aren't the only surprise revelation, according to Southern. The very fact that the list even exists is "absolutely shocking," she said.

“I’ve been put on the government watchlist by the Swedish government, for allegedly inciting hate against migrants, women, and the LGBT community, and I have a few questions for the Sweden government: why does the government need to be making this list in the first place? What is its purpose? How do they determine whose opinions are (and are not) objectionable?” Southern said.

Southern, who admitted she is right-wing and protests mass immigration, stressed that while she doesn't believe in the idea of "hate speech," she doesn't fit into the government's definition of it, either.

"I’ve never done such a thing! I've always been for peaceful protests, peaceful criticism, and I think that discussion should be allowed freely,” Southern said.

“I think it's very scary that Sweden is putting people on the list who want to simply have a discussion about it, because a lot of people do feel concerned about it.”

Another commentator, journalist and Twitter user with thousands of followers, Chang Frick, said that in his work, he “revealed racists and anti-Semites," so the list “has nothing to do with hate speech.”

Obviously, their filters can't discern between good guys and bad guys.

“There are famous, international journalists, members of the Swedish parliament on the list, and the last time I checked, there weren’t any real Nazis there. The list is very arbitrary.”

Frick also said that one of his friends [who prefers to remain anonymous] “went to the Swedish Institute and demanded to get the list immediately.” With him, went a person “who has been working with the Swedish authorities and knows law," and [the Swedish Institute] “panicked.” So they “managed to get it in .pdf.” As a result, Frick compiled an online list for everyone to see if they are “on the official Swedish shamelist," as he put it.

Frick said he found the situation ironic.

“Some people are laughing about it, because, you know, the Swedish Institute’s purpose is to make the image of Sweden in other countries. So it’s very ironic, all of this.”

Also, “a lot of people are comparing it to a totalitarian state,” and it seems the Swedish Institute could be covering the situation up, as “many people were trying to get the list, emailing the Institute," while the Institute replied that they had stopped blocking people which “is also illegal” as one can’t destroy any given government document, Frick underlined.

Although the Swedish Institute initially claimed the blocks had, as a whole, "contributed to increased safety on the account" and led to and improved climate of talks, it did a U-turn on Wednesday, when it said it had decided to unblock all 14,000 users. 

"SI (Swedish Institute) has been contacted by a number of people who are upset because they feel they were blocked by @sweden on false grounds. We need to take a step back in order to more carefully review our blocking criteria," Jenny Ljung, head of the Brand Sweden Unit at the Swedish Institute, said.

"We truly apologize to anyone who felt blocked without cause."

6 Blacklisted Hate Preachers ‘Not Welcome’ in Denmark

& Study by Statistics Denmark reveals the 20% of Danes will be foreign-born or descendants of immigrants by 2060 

© nyidanmark.dk

Denmark has banned the entry of six foreign preachers for at least two years, following the publication of a blacklist of those it says have spread hate speech.

The blacklist, consisting of just six people, is dominated by controversial Muslim preachers and also features the Evangelical Florida pastor Terry Jones, who gained notoriety for burning copies of the Koran.

The list comprises Saudis Salman al-Ouda and Muhammad Al-Arifi, Americans Kamal El-Mekki and Jones, Syrian Mohammed Rateb al-Nabulsi and Canadian Bilal Philips.

The Danish Immigration and Integration Ministry believes that the blacklist "sends a clear signal that travelling fanatical religious preachers who try to undermine our democracy and fundamental values of freedom and human rights are not welcome in Denmark."

Immigration and Integration Minister Inger Støjberg echoed these sentiments.

“The government won’t accept hate preachers coming to Denmark to preach hate against Danish society and indoctrinate listeners to commit violence against women and children, spread ideas of a caliphate and undermine our founding values,” the Copenhagen Post cites her as saying.

“So I am naturally very pleased that it’s now clear to everyone that these people are not welcome in Denmark,” she added.

“There’s a matter of principle in saying that there are people we don’t want on Danish soil, coming here and preaching hate. We do not want people here if they are coming to incite terror or to incite assault or violence against Jews and homosexuals,” Støjberg told broadcaster DR.

The center-right government announced plans last May to create the list, following the airing of a hidden-camera documentary ‘Moskeerne bag sløret’ (The mosques behind the veil) which exposed radical preachers in Danish mosques.

The immigration authority will continuously assess which preachers should be placed on the blacklist.

1 in 5 Danes to be immigrants or immigrant descendants by 2060, statistics show

© Nils Meilvang / Scanpix / Reuters

One-fifth of the Danish population will be either foreign-born or of foreign descent by 2060, according to the latest statistics presented to the Danish parliament.

The figures, compiled by Statistics Denmark (DST) for the Ministry of Refugee, Immigration and Integration Affairs, show that around every eighth person will be from a non-Western country. Currently, immigrants form around 13 percent of the Danish population, with non-Western immigrants forming 8 percent.

One would expect the vast majority of 'non-Western' immigrants are Muslim and the percentage of Muslims in Denmark are certain to increase more rapidly than any other religion or non-religion. Consequently, I expect the percentage of Muslims in Denmark to exceed 15% by 2060.

Is that a bad thing? According to Dr Peter Hammond what often happens in countries where Islam is rising, looks like this:

At this point (5-10%), they will work to get the ruling government to allow them to rule themselves (within their ghettos) under Sharia, the Islamic Law. The ultimate goal of Islamists is to establish Sharia law over the entire world.

When Muslims approach 10% of the population, they tend to increase lawlessness as a means of complaint about their conditions. In Paris , we are already seeing car-burnings. Any non-Muslim action offends Islam, and results in uprisings and threats, such as in Amsterdam , with opposition to Mohammed cartoons and films about Islam. Such tensions are seen daily, particularly in Muslim sections in France and Sweden.


After reaching 20%, nations can expect hair-trigger rioting, jihad militia formations, sporadic killings, and the burnings of Christian churches and Jewish synagogues.

The statistics prompted a variety of reactions from local politicians.

“These are quite dramatic figures that I think should be an eye-opener for everyone,” Dan Jorgensen of the Social Democrats told the newspaper Berlingske. “If we do not bring the numbers down, it will be a completely different Denmark we will be faced with in a very short time.”

“Many of these people have difficulty being integrated into the labor market and live in parallel societies.”

Martin Henriksen of the right-wing Danish People's Party, known for its anti-immigration standpoint, condemned the figures.

"It's appalling. It’s not surprising, but it is appalling that it goes so strongly with population trends in Denmark,” he said.

Some, however, were more positive.

“If the Danes do not start to have more children, they must come from somewhere else,” said Sofie Carsten Nielsen of the center-left Danish Social Liberal Party.

“Now there is potential in the form of the many immigrant children and descendants, who in 2060 will have a great work potential.”

This was a view echoed by Steen Nielsen, the deputy director of the Confederation of Danish Industry, who agreed that immigrants will be needed to make up for the gradually shrinking labor pool.

“As I look ahead, we will increasingly need foreign employees, because it does not look like Danish labor will increase,” Nielsen told Berlingske.

While the DST noted that population projections are not an exact science and make many assumptions about future birth and death rates, experts warned Berlingske that changing demographics could cause social, cultural and economic tensions in Denmark. For example, immigrants who fail to find a job have to be supported by benefits, while culture clashes over issues like segregated swimming lessons will rise. Currently, the Ministry of Finance estimates non-Western immigration costs the Danish treasury 33 billion kroner (around US$4.8 billion) a year, while Western immigration generates a profit.

However, many of these immigrants are currently children who cannot contribute to the economy until they grow up, so better integration of immigrants and their descendants in the future may avoid the worst of these consequences.

“Statements testify that there is a huge integration task ahead of us, if not we will have a society with greater inequality and more segregation,” said Rose Skaksen, research director at the Rockwool Foundation think tank.

Even in spite of these possible changes, however, Denmark’s foreign-born population will still be lower than in some other Western countries such as Switzerland and Australia, in both of which foreigners already form around a quarter of the population. The United Arab Emirates has one of the highest foreign-born populations in the world, with almost 90 percent of its residents hailing from another country.