Depardieu questioned about new sex allegations
29 April, 2024
The 75-year-old French actor Gérard Depardieu was summoned to a Paris police station for questioning.
He is being questioned over two separate allegations brought by two women who worked with Depardieu on film sets in 2014 and 2021.
“He grabbed her, trapped her between his legs and touched her body up to her breasts.
“She felt completely powerless, incapable of escaping this trap.”
Prosecutors in Paris told the BBC: “We have no information to share or confirm until we have assessed any potential charges and directions to pursue.”
[February 26 2021 Depardieu 2018 rape charge a “non-event” ]
The two met when Depardieu led a master class at her school. On the record, the young actress accused Gérard Depardieu at the end of August 2018 of two rapes and sexual assaults which allegedly took place at the star’s Parisian home, a mansion in the 6th arrondissement, on August 7 and 13, 2018. AFP
[February 23 2021]
Depardieu was accused of raping a 22-year-old actor in his Paris home in 2018, an allegation Depardieu has denied. Specifically she was abused in Depardieu’s Parisian mansion flat between August 7 and 13.. Herve Temime, counsel for Depardieu, “was not informed” of the reopening of the investigation, and called it a “non-event” and “automatic decision” based on French law.
A lawyer for the woman in question: “She renews her confidence in the courts, at whose disposal she stands.”
[March7 2019 Jacqueline Bisset in Backstabbing for Beginners (2018) ]
DirecTV Cinema
[ May 21 2018]
a steely Jacqueline Bisset
Backstabbing for Beginners (2018) The true story detailed in Michael Soussan’s memoir of the same name. The movie co-stars Jacqueline Bisset and Sir Ben Kingsley as Sullivan’s corrupt boss. A pacy, borderline noirish thriller — available via DirecTV a month before its April 27 theatrical release…U.N. rival Christine Du Pre (a steely Jacqueline Bisset) “Backstabbing for Beginners” is Bisset’s 81st film in a career that has spanned six decades. “I don’t call people in advance to let them know I’m coming so I can be surprised when the photographer turns up. I’m able to have a pretty reasonable life.” Video Release: April 24th, 2018 by Lionsgate Home Entertainment Distributed by: A24, DirecTV Cinema
[Jily 24 2017 “l’amant double” ]
l’amant double
‘L’amant double’
Reviewed at Cannes Film Festival (competing), May 25, 2017
It practically goes without saying that the French have different standards when it comes to kink. As Chloe’s affair with Louis heats up, she’s compelled to dig deeper into Paul’s personal history, which brings her face-to-face with a classic sex symbol, Jacqueline Bisset, who plays an important character from his past — or is it hers?
[May 24 2015 The Last Film Festival. a Kickstarter project ]
Jacqueline Bisset in The Last Film Festival
The Last Film Festival: Jacqueline Bisset and Dennis Hopper
The budget was a few hundred thousand at most, the actors were paid under a SAG Ultra Low Budget contract.
All that exists of this movie is a few various edits, a poorly maintained Facebook page and website. I doubt it will ever see the light of day, though i do encourage the filmmakers to release it onto the internet to honor the work of Dennis Hopper and the others who put their time, energy and talent into the movie
kickstarter.com The Last Film Festival: Dennis Hopper’s Unseen Final Film 506 backers pledged $109,202 to help bring this project to life.
The making of The Last Film Festival was a group effort by cast and crew. Everyone had busy schedules and the only way we could do it was if we all got together and worked for little, well actually at times, no money at all.We were able to recruit a very talented cast including Jacqueline Bisset, Joseph Cross, JoBeth Williams, Donnell Rawlings, Chris Kattan, Katrina Bowden and Leelee Sobieski and the film just took off!
[March 27 Welcome to New York released by IFC Films in US]
Wild Bunch, the film’s global distributor has created an edited version of the movie for release in the U.S. and other countries around the world
On March 27th, on VOD and in select theaters a version of Welcome to New York will be released by IFC Films. Abel Ferrara is alleging that his right to final cut has been violated by Wild Bunch, the film’s global distributor, which has created an edited version of the movie for release in the U.S. and other countries around the world. For its part, Wild Bunch contends that Ferrara was contractually obligated to provide Wild Bunch, which helped finance the film, an R-rated version. “It was something he accepted originally in order to finance the film,” said Wild Bunch head Vincent Maraval. Maraval also said that Wild Bunch offered to let Ferrara make the changes to the film himself, but that Ferrara refused and so Wild Bunch went ahead and created its own R-rated version.
more about the film
[February 11
Jacqueline Bisset in Peter and John
View here
learn more
earlier entry
[May 18 2014 Jacqueline Bisset in Cannes for the premiere of “Welcome to New York”]
British actress Jacqueline Bisset leaves the set of the French tv channel Canal Plus on the sidelines of the 67th edition of the Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, southern France, on May 17, 2014.
Gérard Depardieu and Jacqueline Bisset Saturday night May 17 in Cannes for the premiere of “Welcome to New York”, the film by Abel Ferrara thrown out selection
Industry, press and public watched the picture at the Star cinema as well as in a makeshift theatre on the Carlton’s Nikki Beach, before heading to party where guests were frisked by fake NYPD cops on entering and goodie bags stuffed with white bath robes, whips, masks and handcuffs were handed out.
Simultaneously, the film also went up live on a dozen VOD sites in France, including Wild Bunch’s platform FilmoTV, as well as in Germany, Spain and Italy.
[May 12]
Bisset plays Simone/Sinclair with the inner sadness of a woman whose marriage is based on some combination of genuine affection and social strategizing, who has too long stood by idly while her s.o. has sabotaged her plans (for both him and herself), and who can no longer recognize what she ever loved or cared for in this great, sagging hulk of a man. And at the center of it all is Depardieu, who gives the sort of performance that calls to mind Jean-Luc Godard’s famous observation that every fiction film is also a documentary of its actors. New York rolls out digitally in France and other select territories on May 17th, alongside a special market screening organized in Cannes (from whose Official Selection the film is conspicuously absent). A U.S. release by IFC is likely.
more welcome
[April 29]
Location crew out on the Nantucket Moors. “Peter and John,” is a feature film collaboration by 20 professionals and 30 students starring Jacqueline Bisset
Golden Globe winner Jacqueline Bisset has joined the cast of Jay Craven’s new film, “Peter and John,” which is now in production around Nantucket Island, Massachusetts.
Peter and John tells the story of Peter Roland, a sensitive and sober town doctor in his early 30s. Peter takes pleasure from a cozy relationship with his striking mother, Louise.
“Peter and John,” is a feature film collaboration by 20 professionals and 30 students starring Jacqueline Bisset and Christian Coulson. Peter and John is slated for production from April 3rd to May 7th. This project will only be funded if at least $55,500 is pledged by Thu, May 1 2014 8:00 PM EDT.
[January 13]
Golden Globe Nomination, Best Supporting: Dancing on the Edge (2013)
Best Supporting Actress in a series, mini-series, or TV movie
Jacqueline Bisset, Dancing on the Edge
And veteran Jacqueline Bisset earned her first Globe, winning the best supporting actress trophy for the miniseries “Dancing on the Edge.”
[May 2]
Smack
Gérard Depardieu with co-star Jacqueline Bisset in Tribeca. NYC
flats
Gerard Depardieu vehicle about Dominique Strauss-Kahn finishes principal photography in New York City
[April 23]
[May 11]
Gerard Depardieu starts filming DSK docudrama
Tweetpic of film set
[April 15]
Gerard Depardieu and daughter Roxanne
Gerard Depardieu and his 20-year old daughter return to U.S. and stroll about on April 13. The DSK film is not ready to shoot but he has other projects. Le Père Noël est africain , Release date unknown, Directed by Karine Silla With Gérard Depardieu, Vincent Perez; Affaires étrangères (2013), Thriller, Director: Ziad Doueiri, stars: Gérard Depardieu; F2013, Director: Frédéric Auburtin, stars: Gérard Depardieu, etc.
[April 11]
Depardieu with daughter Roxanne in New York April 5 2013
Roxanne’s mother Karine Silla with younger Depardieu
Gerard Depardieu’s hearing before a court in Paris for causing a motorcycle accident while drunk driving last November was delayed Friday until May 24, because the controversial French actor is in New York shooting a film about Dominique Strauss-Kahn. Star punishable by law 4500 euro fine and a sentence of up to two years in prison, Gerard Depardieu’s hearing before a court in Paris for causing a motorcycle accident while drunk driving last November was delayed Friday until May 24, because the controversial French actor is in New York shooting a film about Dominique Strauss-Kahn.
Asked about the presence of the actor in court on May 24, his lawyer said he would present “if it corresponds to his work schedule.”
[April 6]
In the streets of New York, recently naturalized Russian star has indeed been spotted strolling with his daughter Roxane (20 years). Glasses on his nose and jacket tracksuit, Gérard Depardieu seemed in great shape and had a great accord with the young woman, laughing repeatedly. Like real New Yorkers, the actor and his daughter even took a taxi to go out to eat Korean Kunjip. Roxane was born of the past relationship with Gérard Depardieu director Karine Silla . Apparently he is due back in France and was seen entering a limo with baggage.
French actor Gerard Depardieu, who was granted Russian citizenship
Gerard Depardieu has failed to show up in a French court to face charges of drink-driving because he was filming a movie in New York. It was the second time Depardieu had not appeared for the case, after failing to answer a previous summons in January. If convicted Depardieu could face up to two years in prison and a €4,500 ($3,800) fine, according to the Paris prosecutor’s office.
The 64-year-old actor, who is in the US to make a film about the life of scandal-hit former International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn, has recently threatened to renounce his French citizenship, becoming a Russian citizen and taking up residency a few hundred metres from the French border in Belgium – a move that the local mayor said was aimed to avoid paying rising French taxes.
Depardieu months ago got into a public war of words with Socialist prime minister Jean-Marc Ayrault, who called the actor pathetic. Depardieu responded in an open letter in mid-December, saying the country he loved was no longer his home.
A fire broke out at a five-star hotel in the capital of Chechnya on Wednesday, damaging nearly every floor of the 35-story building—including an apartment owned by French tax-dodger Gerard Depardieu. Russian tabloids are reporting that one of the apartments on the 27th floor of the Grozny skyscraper belongs to the actor, who was granted”honorable resident” status (and a Russian passport) after fleeing France to avoid higher taxes.
[January 8]
Gerard Depardieu failed to turn up in court yesterday to face a drink driving charge because he was preparing to play the role of a French public figure even more controversial than himself.
According to his lawyer, Eric de Caumont, the actor was too busy to come to Paris because he was in Montenegro holding “urgent” talks about his next film — an account of the disgrace of the former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn.
[January 6]
French actor Gerard Depardieu, who was granted Russian citizenship by President Vladimir Putin, has arrived in Kyiv.
He is expected to attend the French Phoenix circus show and a private party. The actor has recently visited a winery in Kherson region.
Depardieu had recently announced he would give up his French passport after the government had decided to impose 75% super-tax on annual earnings above one million euros. Putin signed the decree granting Russian citizenship to Depardieu on January 3. Depardieu to play DSK in new film
[December 19]
With Obamas while heading up IMF in Washington, D.C.
Carlton Lille: Justice confirms indictment of DSK
Counsel for the former IMF chief took note of the decision of the investigating chamber and will form an appeal. Other lawyers indicted in the case refused to speak as they did not read the judgment.
In this case, nine people were indicted for aggravated pimping organized gang, and for some, for fraud, misuse of corporate assets and the misuse of corporate assets. DSK said he was unaware that women present at the parties in which he participated, particularly in Paris and Washington, were prostitutes.
One of the Belgian sex workers, known as Marion, who was allegedly paid €2,300 to travel to the U.S. for sex parties with the former IMF chief, claimed, according to leaks reported by French media, that she had sex once with Strauss-Kahn after dinner in a suite she shared with her colleague Estelle. But Marion reportedly claims that she said no to a second round of relations with Strauss-Kahn to no avail.
“I tried to free myself, but it was complicated, because he was on top of me, and he is very heavy,” Marion claimed, according the French daily Le Monde. “I kept saying that I didn’t want to … I didn’t yell, but I said it clearly … several times out loud … I tried to get away … But Dominique Strauss-Kahn held me with his weight,” she claimed, according to the heavily truncated leaked testimony published by Le Monde Monday. Marion allegedly testified that a Strauss-Kahn associate—who, according to the same reports, told police he had consumed champagne, Red Bull, and half a tablet of Viagra after aperitifs and wine over dinner—held the woman’s wrists while encouraging Strauss-Kahn to continue.
13
[December 18]
what is striking is that of 8 indicted, 6 are Freemasons.
The case of Carlton Lille soon closed? Dominique Strauss-Kahn will know December 19 if the French part of his legal saga may be closed and his indictment lifted in the case of pandering after the end of the proceedings against him in the United States.
The investigating chamber of the Court of Appeal of Douai (Nord), which was originally scheduled to make its decision on November 28 , decides on requests for annulment filed by lawyers for the former head of the IMF and other protagonists of this file.
[Decemcer 10]
http://youtu.be/4-5kzEdydVw
Dominique Strauss-Kahn settles in New York, prior to December 19 French hearing
Dominique Strauss-Kahn and the hotel housekeeper who accused him of sexually assaulting her last year have agreed to settle her lawsuit stemming from their sexual encounter, a judge said on December 10.
The settlement, whose terms were not disclosed, was announced at a hearing in State Supreme Court in the Bronx,.
Justice Douglas E. McKeon entered the courtroom at 2:15 p.m., and said a deal had been finalized in his presence about 10 minutes earlier. Both sides agreed that the settlement would be confidential. Still active is a proceeding before the investigating chamber of the Court of Appeal of Douai
[December 5]
Dominique Strauss-Kahn, recent candidate for President of France
A hearing in the civil case of disgraced former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn has been set for December 10, after reports he will settle with the hotel maid who accused him of sexual assault.
“If the case is settled, this will be announced in open court on that day,” Bronx Supreme Court Justice Douglas McKeon anounced December 3
The hearing is set for 2:00 p.m. McKeon said he expects the maid, Nafissatou Diallo, to be present, and for Strauss-Kahn to skip the proceedings.
[November 30]
Dominique Strauss-Kahn
The investigating chamber of the Court of Appeal of Douai postponed to December 19 its decision on the motion to dismiss filed by the lawyers of Dominique Strauss-Kahn and others indicted for procuring in “the Carlton Affair,” said the prosecutor’s office, Nov. 28.
Advocates of the former IMF chief and others called for the dismissal of the whole procedure, including the cancellation of indictments for aggravated pimping their customers in organized parties with prostitutes. They question the impartiality of judges, whom they accuse of not having submitted all the documents.
At the end of September, the Prosecutor General of Douai dismissed these motions, noting that the indictments were “justified” by “serious indications or consistent behavior” . He described as “inadmissible” because of a deadline, another motion to quash filed by the former public relations officer of the hotel Carlton Lille , René Kojfer.
Dominique Strauss-Kahn said he was unaware that the women present at the parties in which he participated, in Paris and Washington, were prostitutes.
[November 30]
Lawyers for Strauss-Kahn and the housekeeper, Nafissatou Diallo, made an as-yet-unsigned agreement within recent days, with Bronx Supreme Court Justice Douglas McKeon facilitating that and a separate agreement to end another lawsuit Diallo filed against the New York Post,
[August 23,’11]
A state judge dismissed criminal sexual-assault charges against former International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn on Tuesday, ending a case that damaged his political aspirations. The appellate division’s ruling was expected to set the stage for Mr. Strauss-Kahn’s eventual return to France, where he is a leading figure in the Socialist Party and had been considered a top candidate for the French presidency. Update, 1:46 EDT: A state appellate court has denied Diallo’s request to appoint a special prosecutor. DSK’s total liberation now appears imminent.
The last page of the medical report includes a diagram of the vaginal area of the victim, a standard forms of this type.The lower part of the vagina of the patient, the “finger post” is shaded in pencil to mark the site of trauma. Right on the page, the practitioner has entered the red pen “on the red range.” . Between “5 and 7 o’clock,” as the face of a clock.The rest of the sheet is occupied by a “checklist” of the vaginal area of Nafissatou Diallo, required for all rape victims. Single line devoted to the “finger post” has a comment: “Trauma” (trauma).
“Diagnosis: aggression. Cause of injury: assault. Rape.”
here
Moscow Isis-K raiders all from Tajikistan…9 arrested there
27 April, 2024
Dzhumokhon Kurbonov, a citizen of Tajikistan, is accused of providing the attackers with means of communication and financing.
[April 1 2024 ]
The Federal Security Service, or FSB, said that on Sunday it detained four suspected members of the cell in the Russian province of Dagestan in the North Caucasus.
The agency alleged that the suspects detained in Dagestan were involved in channeling funds and providing weapons to the gunmen who attacked the concert hall on Moscow’s western edge on March 22, killing 144 people in the deadliest attack on Russian soil in two decades.
[March 30 2024 ]
The State Department later on March 29 emphasized that Washington had “shared clear and timely information with Russian authorities to help prevent the attack and save innocent lives.” Spokesman Matthew Miller said Russia’s attempts to shift the blame to others are “absurd.”
[12:07 edt ]
Nine people were arrested Friday by Tajikistan’s state security service in connection to the terror attack at a Moscow concert hall
[March 28 2024 …FSB in hall? ]
At the beginning of 2024, two Tajik suicide bombers killed almost 100 people in Iran when they blew themselves up at a memorial service in a cemetery.
[March 26 2024 [
The men, all of whom are citizens of Tajikistan. [Guardian 24 Mar 2024 18.42 EDT. ] Tajikistan has the weakest economy anywhere in the former Soviet Union. Joblessness is rife. Remittances sent home by migrant laborers account for around four-fifths of the economy. Tajiks do not need visas to enter Russia. In 2023, around 1.3 million Tajiks lived in Russia.
Unnamed officials and Telegram channels known for links to security services suggested that several of the attackers may have been Tajik, or Russian citizens with Tajik background. The reports prompted pushback from Tajikistan’s Foreign Ministry, which denied the reports and published detailed information on several of the men whose names were circulating. Russia had in decades past dealt with religiously inspired militancy, including in Chechnya and Dagestan.
[March 22 2024 Russia raids islamists, Moscow Picnik rock concert targeted, ISIS-K claims ]
Islamic State Khorasan (ISIS-K), named after an old term for the region that included parts of Iran, Turkmenistan and Afghanistan.
[March 22 2024 ]
The ISIS terror group has claimed responsibility for the attack in Russia.
Gunmen in combat fatigues opened fire and detonated explosives in a big concert hall in the outskirts of Moscow which has a maximum capacity of more than 9,000 people.. Russian authorities had recently carried out a series of raids against armed Islamist militants in the region of Ingushetia, Earlier this month, western countries led by the United States had issued terror warnings and told their citizens not to join public gatherings in Russia. On 8 March, the embassy wrote it was “monitoring reports that extremists have imminent plans to target large gatherings in Moscow, to include concerts, and U.S. citizens should be advised to avoid large gatherings over the next 48 hours.” Picnic (Russian: Пикник) is a Russian rock band known for its unique style which is a mixture of art rock, progressive rock and original Russian rock
Kirby said the U.S. did not have prior knowledge and that he believes the previous warning from the embassy was not related to Friday’s attack. Putin addressed the warnings a couple weeks later, criticizing the warning three days ago as “provocative
[September 20 2023 Armenia: no change to Eagle Partner 2023 ]
There had been no change to the 10-day Eagle Partner 2023 exercise involving 85 US soldiers and 175 Armenians, despite Azerbaijan’s launch of what it called an “antiterrorist” operation in the Nagorno-Karabakh region
[September 19 2023 Azerbaijan: drive out Armenian military formations ]
BAKU, Sept 19 (Reuters) – Azerbaijan launched military action in the Nagorno-Karabakh region, a step that could presage a new war in the volatile area but which Baku said was necessary to restore constitutional order and drive out Armenian military formations.
Karabakh is internationally recognised as Azerbaijani territory but part of it is run by breakaway ethnic Armenian authorities who say the area is their ancestral homeland. It has been at the centre of two wars – the latest in 2020
[September 11 2023 Kansas National Guard in Armenia for ‘Eagle Partner’, – “unfriendly step” – Russia ]
The 10-day “Eagle Partner” exercise has begun. It involves 85 U.S. and 175 Armenian soldiers and is designed to prepare the Armenians to take part in international peacekeeping missions. It is taking place at two training grounds near the capital Yerevan.
[September 8 2023 ]
He said Moscow, distracted by its war with Ukraine, had been unable to deliver and was winding down its role in the South Caucasus.
Moscow responded by insisting that it intended to remain the principal guarantor of security in the Caucasus, which also includes Azerbaijan and Georgia. Russia on Friday summoned the Armenian ambassador for a “harsh” protest about a list of what it termed “unfriendly steps”, decisions to sign up to the International Criminal Court and to host a military exercise with the United States, as well as a visit to Ukraine by the Armenian prime minister’s wife to deliver humanitarian aid.
[September 6 2023 ]
A US military spokesperson said 85 American soldiers and 175 Armenians would take part in September 11-20 Eagle Partner 2023 drills with Armenia. He said the Americans – including members of the Kansas National Guard which has a 20-year-old training partnership with Armenia – would be armed with rifles and would not be using heavy weaponry.
Russia has a military base in Armenia and sees itself as the pre-eminent power in the South Caucasus region, which until 1991 was part of the Soviet Union. It maintains a peacekeeping force in the region to uphold an agreement that ended a war between Armenia and Azerbaijan in 2020, the second they have fought since the Soviet collapse.
“Philadelphia-based Republic First Bank (doing business as Republic Bank) was closed today by the Pennsylvania Department of Banking and Securities, which appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) as receiver. To protect depositors, the FDIC entered into an agreement with Fulton Bank, National Association of Lancaster, Pennsylvania to assume substantially all of the deposits and purchase substantially all of the assets of Republic Bank,” the FDIC said in a statement.
[May 1 2023 FDIC takes over First Republic Bank, JPMorganChase “steps up” [
The California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) said on Monday it had closed First Republic Bank and agreed a deal to sell its assets to JPMorgan Chase & Co and National Association.
DFPI appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) as receiver of First Republic and said it accepted a bid from JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association, Columbus, Ohio, to assume all deposits.
“Our government invited us and others to step up, and we did,” said Jamie Dimon, Chairman and CEO of JPMorgan Chase.
https://www.fdic.gov/news/press-releases/2023/pr23034.html
[April 30 2023]
April 29 2023]
A group of 11 banks that deposited $30 billion into First Republic last month – giving it time to find a private-sector solution – have proved reluctant to band together on making a joint investment.
Washington, DC — The following statement was released by Secretary of the Treasury Janet L. Yellen, Federal Reserve Board Chair Jerome H. Powell, FDIC Chairman Martin J. Gruenberg, and Acting Comptroller of the Currency Michael J. Hsu:
Today, 11 banks announced $30 billion in deposits into First Republic Bank. This show of support by a group of large banks is most welcome, and demonstrates the resilience of the banking system.
First Republic reported that over $100 billion of deposits walked out the door in the first quarter, or a net of around $71 billion once accounting for emergency inflows from JPMorgan and other large banks.
https://www.fdic.gov/news/press-releases/2023/pr23020.html
First Republic Bank (FRC) will be placed under the receivership of the U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation imminently, according to a report.
Reuters reported on Friday that the FDIC has decided that the regional bank’s position has deteriorated, leaving no more time to go after a private sector rescue, a source told the outlet.
€1.3 billion ($1.4 billion) to shareholders of Postbank AG?
26 April, 2024
The Higher Regional Court of Cologne had on Friday assessed the claims of certain former Postbank shareholders that a higher offer price should have been paid for the 2010 takeover.
“During the hearing, the Court indicated that it may find elements of these claims valid in a later ruling,” the bank wrote.
“While Deutsche Bank continues to disagree strongly with this assessment, the court’s statements will impact Deutsche Bank’s estimation of the probability of a future outflow, resulting in a legal provision in the second quarter of 2024.” It may have to pay as much as €1.3 billion ($1.4 billion) to shareholders of Postbank AG.
May 31 2019 Trump Acquisition, Corp, others, sue Deutsche Bank -intervention, injunction,lifted,appealed,stayed, expedited ]
_____________________________
ORDER
Docket No. 19-1540 The parties jointly move the Court to expedite this appeal. They propose that the appeal proceed as follows: Appellants’ opening brief and the appendix will be filed by June 18, 2019; Appellees’ response briefs will be filed by July 11, 2019; and Appellants’ reply brief will be filed by July 18, 2019. IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the joint motion is GRANTED. The Clerk is directed to calendar argument in this matter for the earliest possible sitting week after briefing is completed.
[May 26 2019]
An agreement to stay enforcement of the subpoenas for Trump’s financial records between Trump’s attorneys, the banks and the House Intelligence and the Financial Services Committees was filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York following an appeal submitted on May 24 2019 by Trump and his affiliates against an existing order from a federal judge allowing the banks to hand over financial records to Democratic lawmakers.
[May 22 2019]
Trump, his adult children, Donald Jr., Eric and Ivanka, and the Trump Organization sought a preliminary injunction to prevent Deutsche Bank complying with the subpoenas from the House Financial Services Committee and the House Intelligence Committee, and Capital One from complying with a subpoena from the Financial Services Committee. U.S. District Judge Edgardo Ramos ruled at a court hearing in New York that Congress has the legal authority to demand the records, Ramos was appointed by President Obama.
[ May 4 2019 ]
Two committees of the Democrat-controlled U.S. House of Representatives on May 3 2019 asked to intervene in a lawsuit filed by President Donald Trump, his three oldest children and the Trump Organization seeking to block House subpoenas seeking financial records from Deutsche Bank AG and Capital One Financial Corp.
Trump’s lawsuit may slow down the congressional investigations but is unlikely to stop them in the long run, says Laurie Levenson, a professor at Loyola Law School.
“I think the president is fully aware that down the road, the court will allow some of these subpoenas, especially the ones that focus on him and his transactions,” she says.
[May 1 2019 ]
COMPLAINT against Deutsche Bank, AG, Capital One Financial Corp.. (Filing Fee $ 400.00, Receipt Number ANYSDC-16789203)Document filed by The Trump Organization, Inc., Trump Acquisition, Corp., Eric Trump, Trump Organization LLC, DJT Holdings Managing Member LLC, Donald J. Trump, Jr, DJT Holdings LLC, Donald J. Trump, Ivanka Trump, Trump Acquisition LLC, The Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust.(Strawbridge, Patrick)
New York Southern District Court
Case #: 1:19-cv-03826
Nature of Suit 890 Other Statutes – Other Statutory Actions
Cause 12:3410 Right to Financial Privacy: Customer Challenges
Case Filed: Apr 29, 2019
http://prod-upp-image-read.ft.com/9ee796f6-6af0-11e9-a9a5-351eeaef6d84
Attorneys for President Trump said in a court filing May 1 2019 that Deutsche Bank and Capital One have agreed not to produce any financial records requested under congressional subpoenas until after a federal judge rules on whether to issue a preliminary injunction in the case.
During an explosive public hearing in February, Cohen disclosed copies of Trump’s financial statements which he said were turned over to Deutsche Bank as Trump was seeking a loan to place a bid on an NFL team, the Buffalo Bills. Those statements, according to Cohen, contained false information.
The committee has requested similar records from Capital One, which asked for a “friendly” subpoena before it could comply.
On Capitol Hill, Republicans have rushed to Trump’s defense amid the onslaught of investigations and subpoenas, claiming Democrats are abusing their authority to take down the president and eventually impeach him.
[Febtuary 3 2019 Deutsche Bank: international, national security nexus? ]
‘At no time was any money needed to finance the purchase or the refurbishment of Trump Turnberry.’
Amanda Miller never explicitly addressed whether the Trump Organization asked Deutsche Bank for a loan.The bank declined to comment.
“The bank has received a request from the House Financial Services and Intelligence Committees,” said a spokesman for Deutsche Bank on January 24 2019 in Frankfurt. “The Bank is engaged in constructive dialogue with these committees to best assist them in their oversight functions. We will continue to provide the information we need during all official investigations. “
“The interesting thing about Deutsche Bank is they seem to be pretty much the only entity out there willing to lend to The Trump Organization,” Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.), a member of both committees, said. For the Intelligence Committee, “there has to be some sort of international, national security nexus” such as Russian involvement.
[December 2 2018 money laundering via BVI? ]
DECEMBER 1, 2018 “It’s about two employees who, at the time, helped to work through everything surrounding the issue of the Panama Papers. Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE) is not at risk of a takeover, said Christian Sewing, its chief executive.
[November 29 2018]
Deutsche Bank confirmed that police had raided several locations in Germany. In 2016 alone, more than 900 customers were served by a Deutsche Bank subsidiary registered in the British Virgin Islands, generating a volume of €311m, the prosecutors allege.
The investigation was sparked by revelations in the 2016 “Panama Papers” – an enormous amount of information leaked from a Panamanian law firm called Mossack Fonseca.
Paul Manafort : to pay $3.2 million to settle federal charges
[ June 21 2018 “jamming the fix” at Deutsche Bank ]
John Cryan is out and Christian Sewing is in as CEO of Deutsche Bank
Certain Deutsche Bank traders involved accumulating a large trading position and then using the position to make aggressive trades just before and during the fix window, with the intention of moving the ultimate fix price in a desired direction, up or down – known as “jamming the fix.”
This technique involved accumulating a large trading position, and then using the position to make aggressive trades just before and during the fix window, with the intention of moving the ultimate fix price in a desired direction, up or down (known as“jamming the fix”). Certain Deutsche Bank traders boosted the potential impact of this strategy by using multi-bank chats to share sensitive and confidential client information. This allowed them to learn, for example, whether other traders had large positions in the opposite direction, so that they could attempt to coordinate trading strategies and achieve maximum influence on the published fix rate. The DFS investigation found that it appeared to be understood by other Deutsche Bank traders that the New York foreign exchange spot desk welcomed fix business, in part because of profits generated through manipulation. Deutsche Bank foreign exchange staff were also willing to assist customers who also sought to manipulate fix business. Deutsche Bank AG has agreed to pay a fine of $205 million as part of a consent order with the New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) for violations of New York banking law, including efforts to improperly coordinate trading activity through online chat rooms, improperly sharing confidential customer information, trading aggressively to skew prices, and misleading customers. https://www.dfs.ny.gov/about/ea/ea180620.pdf
Traders at Deutsche Bank’s US unit suffered losses 12 times larger than its risk projections estimate could occur in one day. On 19 June, the day before news of the trading losses emerged, Deutsche bank let go of five emerging market traders.
[June 2 S&P downgrades Deutsche Bank, Aussie cartel charges filed ]
ANZ treasurer, Rick Moscati
Credit reporting agency Moody’s Investors Service says criminal cartel proceedings against the ANZ Bank are credit negative.
ANZ, its head of treasury, investment banks Citigroup and Deutsche Bank and several other individuals face criminal cartel charges. The ASIC [Australian Competition and Consumer Commission ] investigation centres on whether [Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited] ANZ’s announcement of August 7, 2015 should have stated the joint lead managers took up approximately 25.5 million shares of the placement.
The shortfall in finding buyers left the underwriters with around $790 million worth of unsold shares. An ANZ statement issued the day after the institutional share sale said the deal had been completed, but made no mention of stock retained by the underwriters and whether there were any plans to dispose of it.
On Thursday, May 31, rating agency S&P downgraded its view of Deutsche Bank’s financial stability, down from A- to BBB+. The agency attributed its decision on Germany’s largest lender to the fact that it believes the bank’s latest restructuring is riskier than had been expected.
That news came at the same time as Deutsche Bank’s US subsidiary was added to the US Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s list of “problem banks.”
Deutsche Bank’s shares fell hard on Thursday, May 31, down by 7.2 percent on Frankfurt’s DAX exchange, hitting their lowest ever level in the process. In early trade on Friday, Jume 1, they have recovered somewhat, up by around 1.7 percent.
[ 25 % cut in trading jobs at Deutsche Bank NYC & London ]
60 Wall Street
Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE) said global headcount would fall to well below 90,000 from 97,000, with a 25 percent cut in equities sales and trading jobs, which are mainly in New York and London and where it has been losing ground to U.S. rivals. It was aiming to axe 10,000 positions.
“We remain committed to our Corporate & Investment Bank and our international presence – we are unwavering in that,” said Christian Sewing, Chairman of the Management Board. €1,050 billion euros of leverage exposure, the ratio of assets to capital on the bank’s balance sheet, was reported at the end of the first quarter of 2018, including derivatives, securities financing transactions (SFTs).
[ Punishment in U.S. over Libor for Societe Generale ]
Didier Valet, right
France is no longer cooperating with U.S. information requests, a decision shaped in part by the monster fines levied on BNP Paribas SA for violating U.S. sanctions. Didier Valet, Societe Generale SA’s deputy CEO, has left without severance pay after a “divergence of approaches” at the bank on how to settle the Justice Department’s probe into whether traders manipulated benchmark interest rates. Is he leaving as a sacrificial offering to the authorities? If that’s the case, the punishment over Libor could be harsher for Societe Generale than for other big banks.
[ July 28 2017 Libor out; SONIA in? ]
Andrew Bailey, chief executive of the Financial Conduct Authority, says that work must “begin in earnest” on shifting to an alternative index to Libor, saying the end of 2021 would offer time to ensure a smooth transition.The BoE has already been refining its overnight sterling funding rate SONIA, which is based on actual transactions, and which the central bank administers itself, as the substitute for Libor. At least six bankers on both sides of the Atlantic have been sent to prison for manipulating Libor, although some in the United States are still awaiting sentencing.
[July 22 Deutsche Bank and JPMorgan Chase settle yen Libor and Euroyen Tibor cases; “London Whale”; charges dropped ]
U.S. prosecutors have decided to drop criminal charges against two former JPMorgan Chase & Co derivatives traders implicated in the “London Whale” trading scandal that caused $6.2 billion of losses in 2012.
In seeking the dismissal of charges against Javier Martin-Artajo and Julien Grout, the Department of Justice said it “no longer believes that it can rely on the testimony” of Bruno Iksil, a cooperating witness who had been dubbed the London Whale, based on recent statements he made that hurt the case.
Prosecutors also said efforts to extradite Martin-Artajo and Grout, respectively citizens of Spain and France, to face the charges have been “unsuccessful or deemed futile.”
Acting U.S. Attorney Joon Kim in Manhattan asked a federal judge for permission to drop charges that included securities fraud, wire fraud and falsifying records. Martin-Artajo and Grout were indicted in September 2013.
–
Deutsche Bank AG (DBKGn.DE) and JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) have agreed to pay a combined $148 million to end private U.S. antitrust litigation claiming they conspired with other banks to manipulate the yen Libor and Euroyen Tibor benchmark interest rates.
The preliminary settlements, totaling $77 million for Deutsche Bank and $71 million for JPMorgan, were detailed in filings late Friday July 21 in the U.S. District Court in Manhattan, and require a judge’s approval.
They followed similar settlements last year with Citigroup Inc (C.N) and HSBC Holdings Plc (HSBA.L) totaling $23 million and $35 million, respectively.
January 17 U.S. Libor antitrust actions may proceed ]
The U.S. Supreme Court on January 17 allowed private antitrust lawsuits brought by investors including big U.S. cities accusing major banks of conspiring to manipulate the pivotal Libor benchmark interest rate to move forward. The justices rejected an appeal filed by a group of banks including Bank of America Corp(BAC.N), Deutsche Bank AG(DBKGn.DE), UBS AG(UBSG.S) and JPMorgan Chase & Co(JPM.N) of a May 2016 ruling by the New York-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that allowed various lawsuits against them to proceed. The appeals court reversed a lower court judge’s dismissal of investors’ antitrust claims against the banks. The private litigation is separate from Libor rigging probes that have resulted in roughly $9 billion of sanctions worldwide, including $2.5 billion against Deutsche Bank in April 2015. Several bank affiliates have pleaded guilty to criminal charges, and more than 20 people have been criminally charged.
[May 3 2016 Alaska Electrical”banging the close” case settled ]
Alleged illegal activity including the execution of rapid trades just before the rate was set each day, called “banging the close,” causing the British brokerage ICAP Plc (IAP.L) to delay trades until they moved ISDAfix where they wanted, and posting rates that did not reflect market activity. Settled is a private U.S. lawsuit accusing them of rigging an interest rate benchmark used in the $553 trillion derivatives market.
Under the settlement, payments would include $52 million from JPMorgan; $50 million each from Bank of America, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank and RBS; $42 million from Citigroup and $30 million from Barclays.
Alaska Electrical Pension Fund et al v. Bank of America Corp et al, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 14-07126. The settlement made public on May 3, which requires court approval, resolves antitrust claims against Bank of America Corp (BAC.N), Barclays Plc (BARC.L), Citigroup Inc (C.N), Credit Suisse Group AG (CSGN.S), Deutsche Bank AG (DBKGn.DE), JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) and Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc (RBS.L).
[April 15 Deutsche Bank AG settles London Gold Fixing conspiracy ]
John Cryan, the British former chief financial officer of UBS
April 14 Deutsche Bank AG agreed to settle U.S. lawsuits accusing it of conspiring with other banks to manipulate gold and silver prices at investors’ expense, court papers show.
The settlements were disclosed in letters filed in Manhattan federal court by lawyers representing investors and traders who accused Deutsche Bank of violating U.S. antitrust law.
Terms were not disclosed, but both settlements will include monetary payments by the German bank. Deutsche Bank also agreed to help the plaintiffs pursue claims against other defendants.The plaintiffs accused Deutsche Bank of conspiring with Bank of Nova Scotia, Barclays Plc, HSBC Holdings Plc and Societe Generale to manipulate prices of gold, gold futures and options, and gold derivatives through twice-a-day meetings to set the so-called London Gold Fixing.
They also accused Deutsche Bank, HSBC and ScotiaBank of a similar conspiracy to manipulate silver prices by rigging the daily Silver Fix.
UBS AG was also accused in both lawsuits of conspiring to exploit metals prices.The cases are In re: Commodity Exchange Inc Gold Futures and Options Trading Litigation, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 14-md-02548; and In re: London Silver Fixing Ltd Antitrust Litigation in the same court, No. 14-md-02573.
[June 2015 John Cryan, British former chief financial officer of UBS CEO of Deutsche Bank ]
“It is categorically false that pressure from regulators [known as BaFin,] was a factor in the decision of the co-C.E.O.s to step down early,” Michael Golden, the spokesman, said in an email. He pointed out that Mr. Jain would not receive about 15 million euros in pay he would have been entitled to if he had been fired. Mr. Jain will leave at the end of June while Mr. Fitschen will remain another year.
Sunday 7 June 2015 14.36 EDT Anshu Jain will leave Deutsche Bank at the end of this month, with Jürgen Fitschen staying on until the bank’s annual meeting in 2016. The surprise move of the joint chief executives of Deutsche Bank came just over a month after Deutsche was fined a record $2.5bn (£1.7bn) for rigging Libor, ordered to fire seven employees and was accused of being obstructive towards regulators in their investigations into the global manipulation of the benchmark rate. John Cryan, the British former chief financial officer of UBS, will replace Jain as co-chief executive. When Fitschen departs he will not be replaced, leaving the 54-year-old Briton in sole charge.
[June 5 Deutsche Bank AG and its role in Ruble flight]
Deutsche Bank CEO Juergen Fitschen dances with Friederike Lohse
Transactions involving stocks bought by Russian clients in rubles through Deutsche Bank, and simultaneous trades through London in which the bank bought the same securities for similar amounts in U.S. dollars allowed Russian clients to move funds out of Russia “without properly alerting the authorities,” Deutsche Bank AG ithinks this may have involved about $6 billion over more than four years.
The Bank of Russia approached Deutsche Bank in October asking the firm to examine the stock-trading activities of some clients in the country, said one person, who asked not to be identified because the discussions are private. The German lender is analyzing data from 2011 through early 2015, and has alerted Britain’s Financial Conduct Authority, the European Central Bank and Germany’s Bafin of the investigation.
Since 2006, , Russian individuals have sent nearly $200 billion out of the country—or more than 10 percent of the country’s gross domestic product for 2013. And the flow of cash accelerated, up from $5.9 billion in the first quarter of 2013 to $13.4 billion in the third quarter of 2014.
[April 23 Germany’s largest lender by assets will book a profit and “near record revenues” for the first quarter, despite LIBOR fine]
Deutsche Bank AG’s alleged involvement in rigging of foreign-exchange markets, is likely to involve an even higher fine than the Libor investigations. Deutsche Bank is also being probed for alleged violations of U.S. sanctions on countries such as Iran and over high-frequency trading.
Deutsche Bank will agree to plead guilty to manipulation and acknowledge that its internal monitoring systems were insufficient to prevent the manipulation of Libor. Deutsche Bank is nearing a settlement fine of more than $2.15 billion with British and American regulatory authorities. The bank is subject to 180 regulatory investigations and faces 1,000 lawsuits with a claim value of more than €100,000 each, Deutsche Bank has paid more than €5 billion over the past two years for settlements and fines stemming mostly from the financial crisis. Annual revenue 2014 $47.30 B
[November 17 2014 JPM legal costs reserve $5.9 billion: possible 2006 Mortgage Operations problem]
Mortgage operations post-election caper ot DOJ?
“The $9 Billion Witness: Meet JPMorgan Chase’s Worst Nightmare”
Back in 2006, as a deal manager at the gigantic bank, Fleischmann first witnessed, then tried to stop, what she describes as “massive criminal securities fraud” in the bank’s mortgage operations.
Thanks to a confidentiality agreement, she’s kept her mouth shut since then
Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/the-9-billion-witness-20141106#ixzz3IOZStO6H
President and chief executive officer of JPMorgan Chase, James “Jamie” Dimon
Justice Department is conducting a criminal investigation into foreign exchange trading by JPMorgan Chase & Co. JPMorgan’s filing came on the same day that HSBC set aside $1.6 billion for legal costs, some of which is earmarked for an ongoing investigation into that bank’s foreign exchange trading business by U.K. regulators. JPM might need as much as $5.9 billion to cover losses beyond reserves for legal matters, up $1.3 billion from the end of June, and the most since since mid-2013. In October, Citigroup — another bank in settlement talks with regulators — slashed its previously-reported third-quarter profits in order to factor in an additional $600 million in legal costs. Large banks, especially in Europe, have taken billions of dollars worth of hits to their profits in the third quarter to deal with expected legal costs stemming from investigations into foreign exchange manipulation. RBS set aside $640 million, Deutsche Bank has had a $1.1 billion legal charge, and Barclays has had a $800 million charge.
“Credit Default Swaps Investigations and Litigation. In July 2013, the European Commission (the “EC”) filed a Statement of Objections against the Firm (including various subsidiaries) and other industry members in connection with its ongoing investigation into the credit default swaps (“CDS”) marketplace. The EC asserts that between 2006 and 2009, a number of investment banks acted collectively through the International Swaps and Derivatives Association (“ISDA”) and Markit Group Limited (“Markit”) to foreclose exchanges from the potential market for exchange-traded credit derivatives. The Firm submitted a response to the Statement of Objections in January 2014, and the EC held a hearing in May 2014. The U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) also has an ongoing investigation into the CDS marketplace, which was initiated in July 2009.
Separately, the Firm and other industry members are defendants in a consolidated purported class action filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York on behalf of purchasers and sellers of CDS. The complaint refers to the ongoing investigations by the EC and DOJ into the CDS market, and alleges that the defendant investment banks and dealers, including the Firm, as well as Markit and/or ISDA, collectively prevented new entrants into the market for exchange-traded CDS products. Defendants moved to dismiss this action, and in September 2014, the Court granted defendants’ motion in part, dismissing claims for damages based on transactions effected before the Autumn of 2008, as well as certain other claims.
Foreign Exchange Investigations and Litigation. DOJ is conducting a criminal investigation, and various regulatory and civil enforcement authorities, including U.S. banking regulators, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”), the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority (the “FCA”) and other foreign government authorities, are conducting civil investigations, regarding the Firm’s foreign exchange (“FX”) trading business. These investigations are focused on the Firm’s spot FX trading activities as well as controls applicable to those activities. The Firm continues to cooperate with these investigations and is currently engaged in discussions with DOJ, and various regulatory and civil enforcement authorities, about resolving their respective investigations with respect to the Firm. There is no assurance that such discussions will result in settlements.”
In 2013, JPMorgan paid over $20 billion in settlements, fines, and compensation to settle investigations into mortgage securities trading, its massive “London Whale” derivatives loss, and its relationship with Bernie Madoff. JPMorgan’s lawyers accepted the $1.7 billion penalty, stemming from two felony violations of the Bank Secrecy Act for turning a blind eye to the Ponzi scheme run by Bernard L. Madoff. The bank also agreed to pay $350 million to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, accepting the agency’s only offer,
[October 31 $6.5 to $35B may be collected from banks in forex investigation]
Major U.S. and European investment banks this month boosted to as much as $6.5 billion their collective war chest/reserves for settling with global regulators who are investigating allegations of collusion and manipulation in the of the $5 trillion-a-day foreign exchange market. Earlier this year, banking research firm Autonomous put the worldwide total at around $35 billion.
October 8 U.S. prosecutors expect Banging the close action soon]
U.S. prosecutors are pressing to bring charges against a bank for currency-rate rigging by the end of the year, and actions against individuals will probably follow in 2015, according to people familiar with the probe. are looking into allegations that traders shared data about orders with people at other firms using instant-message groups with names such as `The Cartel` and `The Bandits Club.`
One focus is whether dealers sought to move the WM/Reuters benchmark rate in their favor by pushing through trades before and during the 60-second windows when the benchmark is set at 4 p.m. in London each day, a process known in the industry as âbanging the close.â
[March 14 European Commission fines over banging the close]
https://screen.yahoo.com/new-york-times/currency-fix-banging-close-065950331.html
[December 4 2013]
A record total of 1.71 billion euros ($2.3 billion) on December 4 was awarded for rigging financial benchmarks. The penalty is the biggest yet to be handed down to banks for rigging the benchmarks used to determine the cost of lending, one of the most brazen violations of conduct since the financial crisis. It is also the highest antitrust penalty ever imposed by the Commission, the EU’s competition regulator. The other banks penalized are Societe Generale, JPMorgan and brokerage RP Martin. Deutsche Bank received the biggest fine of 725.36 million euros. The European Commission said it would continue to investigate Credit Agricole, HSBC, JPMorgan and brokerage ICAP for similar offences.
[Earlier] Standard Chartered has put one of its senior forex traders, Matt Gardiner on leave. Richard Usher,J P Morgan chief currency dealer in London, and Citi’s Rohan Ramchandani also went on leave after regulators probing forex manipulation started investigating traders’ use of an instant-message group. [October 29] The U.S. Justice Department is investigating the manipulation of foreign exchange rates, a top federal prosecutor said on October 29, in the first public acknowledgement of such a probe in the United States. Criminal and antitrust authorities have an “active, ongoing investigation” into the possible manipulation, Mythili Raman, the acting head of the department’s criminal division, said. [October 7] Swiss authorities said they were investigating whether financial institutions had colluded to manipulate foreign exchange markets. Traders could potentially influence exchange rates by pushing through large orders exactly at the right time. If those suspicions are proved correct, it could result in yet another embarrassing reputational scandal, not just for individual banks but also for the integrity of the global financial sector. The $4.7-trillion-a-day (CHF4.2 trillion) currency market, the biggest in the financial system, is also one of the least regulated, according to experts. Even the smallest movement in exchange rates could affect the value of investments made by institutional investors, including pension funds. Finma, said it was investigating several Swiss banks but did not name them. The agency also said it was cooperating with authorities in other countries and that banks outside the country were also suspected. UBS is fourth among global banks in currency trading, according to Euromoney. Credit Suisse is a relatively minor player, with 3.7 percent of the currency market vs. 10.1 percent for U.B.S. The largest currency trader globally is Deutsche Bank in Frankfurt, with 15.2 percent of the market. The probes come after reports that dealers at banks pooled information through instant messages and used client orders to move benchmark currency rates. Britain’s Financial Conduct Authority said that month it was reviewing the allegations. The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission has also been reviewing potential violations of the law with regards to foreign currency markets, according to a person familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified. Authorities around the world are investigating the alleged abuse of financial benchmarks by the firms that play a central role in setting them. [August 28] In the space of 20 minutes on the last Friday in June, the value of the U.S. dollar jumped 0.57 percent against its Canadian counterpart, the biggest move in a month. Within an hour, two-thirds of that gain had melted away. The same pattern — a sudden surge minutes before 4 p.m. in London on the last trading day of the month, followed by a quick reversal — occurred 31 percent of the time across 14 currency pairs over two years. For the most frequently traded pairs, such as euro-dollar, it happened about half the time, the data show. The recurring spikes take place at the same time financial benchmarks known as the WM/Reuters rates are set based on those trades. Fund managers and scholars say the patterns look like an attempt by currency dealers to manipulate the rates, distorting the value of trillions of dollars of investments in funds that track global indexes. The recurring spikes take place at the same time financial benchmarks known as the WM/Reuters (TRI) rates are set based on those trades. Now fund managers and scholars say the patterns look like an attempt by currency dealers to manipulate the rates, distorting the value of trillions of dollars of investments in funds that track global indexes. In June that dealers shared information and used client orders to move the rates to boost trading profit. The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority is reviewing the allegations, a spokesman said. “We see enormous spikes,” said Michael DuCharme, head of foreign exchange at Seattle-based Russell Investments, which traded $420 billion of foreign currency last year for its own funds and institutional investors. “Then, shortly after 4 p.m., it just reverts back to what seems to have been the market rate. It adds to the suspicion that things aren’t right.” Authorities around the world are investigating the abuse of financial benchmarks by large banks that play a central role in setting them. Barclays Plc (BARC), Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc and UBS AG (UBSN) were fined a combined $2.5 billion for rigging the London interbank offered rate, or Libor, used to price $300 trillion of securities from student loans to mortgages. More than a dozen banks have been subpoenaed by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission over allegations traders worked with brokers at ICAP Plc (IAP) to manipulate ISDAfix, a benchmark used in interest-rate derivatives. ICAP Chief Executive Officer Michael Spencer said in May that an internal probe found no evidence of wrongdoing. Dralers at banks, which dominate the $4.7 trillion-a-day currency market, may be executing a large number of trades over a short period to move the rate to their advantage, a practice known as banging the close. Because the 4 p.m. benchmark determines how much profit dealers make on the positions they’ve taken in the preceding hour, there’s an incentive to influence the rate, DuCharme said. Dealers say they have to trade during the window to meet client demand and minimize their own risk. [April 2013] The Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) recommended April 25 in its latest annual report to Congress that policymakers “promptly” identify other interest rate benchmarks that could replace the London Interbank Offered Rate, which the council said was “unsustainable in the long run.” The lending gauge, known as Libor, comprises a set of rates used to price financial instruments worldwide and is based on self-reported borrowing costs for unsecured loans between banks. The regulators’ call to move from a regime in which banks self-report their borrowing costs to one anchored in actual, observable transactions would shake up the current underpinnings of the financial system. The recommendation is the first of its kind for FSOC, a collection of regulators ranging from the Federal Reserve to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau that was formed after the financial crisis to spot risks. [March 23] Bank of America Corporation; Bank of America,N.A.; Barclays Bank PLC; British Bankers Association; BBA Enterprises, Ltd.; BBA LIBOR, Ltd; Citigroup, Inc.; Citibank, N.A.; Cooperative Centrale Raiffeissenboerenleenbank,B.A.; Credit Suisse Group AG; Credit Suisse International; Deutsche Bank AG; HSBC Holdings PLC; HSBC Bank USA,N.A.; J.P.Morgan Chase & Co.; J.P. Morgan Chase,N.A.; Lloyds Banking Group,PLC; HBOS PLC; The Norinchukin Bank; Royal Bank of Canada; The Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC; The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC; The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd; UBS Ltd; Westlb AG; and Portigon AG. read more
Ukraine: replenishment Patriot missiles
26 April, 2024
The U.S. will provide Ukraine additional Patriot missiles for its air defense systems as part of a massive $6 billion additional aid package, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced Friday.
The missiles will be used to replenish previously supplied Patriot systems. The package also includes more munitions for the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems, or NASAMS, and additional gear to integrate Western air defense launchers, missiles and radars into Ukraine’s existing weaponry, much of which still dates back to the Soviet era.
[April 1 2022 Starstreak mpad downs helo ]
A British anti-aircraft missile has been used to shoot down a Russian helicopter in Ukraine for the first time, according to a report.
The Starstreak high-velocity missile system was supplied to Ukraine by Britain in March along with a further shipment of Next Generation Light Anti-tank Weapons (NLAWs).
A Starstreak attack on a Russian aircraft in the Luhansk region that was caught on camera has been verified, The Times reported.
[February 25 2022 RQ-4 Global Hawk overflying Ukraine ]
Two remotely piloted Global Hawks were seen on publicly accessible aviation trackers over Ukrainian airspace February 23 2022 and 24th before the country restricted civilian flights. At times, the two planes – under the call signs Forte10, Forte11 and Forte12 – have been the only active aircraft publicly visible over eastern Ukraine. Aviation watchers have taken note, speculating that the United States is making its presence known in a show of force.
[November 1 2021 RQ-180: reconnaissance in highly defended enemy air space ]
The RQ-180, which reportedly is a Northrop Grumman product, meets an obvious need on the part of the U.S. Air Force for long-range, penetrating aerial reconnaissance in highly defended enemy air space.
[October 17 2014 Orbital spy plane is back from space ]
Ability to reconfigure the robotic spacecraft makes the X-37B cheaper and more flexible than a satellite
The Boeing-built X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle landed at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California,after a record-setting 674 days in orbit. putting an end to the program’s third flight. There are no details on what the plane may have been doing during its time in space. it’s probably no coincidence that the X-37B’s orbit takes it over North Korea, Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and China.
The Boeing X-37, also known as the X-37 Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV), is an American reusable unmanned spacecraft. It is boosted into space by a rocket, then re-enters Earth’s atmosphere and lands as a spaceplane. The X-37 is operated by the United States Air Force for orbital spaceflight missions intended to demonstrate reusable space technologies. X-37B carries “specialized” sensors packages that can be reconfigured as needed for each mission when the aircraft returns to Earth. That ability to reconfigure the robotic spacecraft makes the X-37B cheaper and more flexible than a satellite—which goes up once with one package of sensors and is eventually discarded. Satellites can often cost billions of dollars and cannot reconfigured or reused, unlike the X-37B.
Ukraine loses 5 Abrams tanks to drones
26 April, 2024
WASHINGTON (AP) — Ukraine has sidelined U.S.-provided Abrams M1A1 battle tanks for now in its fight against Russia, in part because Russian drone warfare has made it too difficult for them to operate without detection or coming under attack, two U.S. military officials told The Associated Press.
The U.S. agreed to send 31 Abrams to Ukraine in January 2023 after an aggressive monthslong campaign by Kyiv arguing that the tanks, which cost about $10 million apiece, were vital to its ability to breach Russian lines.
But the battlefield has changed substantially since then, notably by the ubiquitous use of Russian surveillance drones and hunter-killer drones. Those weapons have made it more difficult for Ukraine to protect the tanks when they are quickly detected and hunted by Russian drones or rounds.
Five of the 31 tanks have already been lost to Russian attacks.
[May 30 2023 Second thought on F-16s ]
U.S. could grow more comfortable with the idea of sending F-16s to Ukraine if Kyiv fails to make significant gains in its upcoming offensive. F-16s delivered to Ukraine will most certainly not be the latest versions but rather older versions from the Belgian, Dutch, Danish or Norwegian military reserves. These planes would be carrying bombs, missiles and shells. Current stocks are not very high. The F-16s will have absolutely no value if they don’t have weapons to go with them. The UK, which doesn’t operate F-16s, has aggressively canvassed to arm Ukraine with F-16s. The European countries, however, are waiting for the US to take the lead on the matter.
Russia: Sergei Shoigu v.Viktor Zolotov: Ivanov arrested
26 April, 2024
Deputy defense minister Timur Ivanov was arrested immediately after a meeting with Defense Ministry colleagues—including Ivanov’s protector, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu — on April 23 and charged with taking bribes. Notable is the distinct lack of regard for the opinion of the president, who is clearly favorably disposed to the defense minister right now. Ivanov is a prominent representative of an influential clan. That clan includes Shoigu himself; Gennady Timchenko, a businessman close to Putin; Federation Council deputy speaker Yury Vorobyov and his son, Moscow region governor Andrei Vorobyov; Shoigu’s nemesis is considered to be Viktor Zolotov, the head of Russia’s National Guard (Rosgvardiya).
[February 21 2024 Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov ]
The Russian Ministry of Defense Telegram channel posted video on Wednesday that purported to show Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov visiting troops in Ukraine and distributing medals for “the liberation of Avdiivka.”
The news that Gerasimov has resurfaced should finally put the conjecture that he had been killed by a Jan. 8 missile strike on a Russian command post in occupied Crimea to bed.
[January 6 2024 ]
The head of Ukrainian military intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov, has not yet confirmed that Gerasimov had been killed following AFU strikes on military facilities in Russia-occupied Crimea, amid rumors of Gerasimov’s passing.
[January 5 2024 ]
“media information about the command post in Crimea being hit was true but that the death of the head of the General Staff is 99 percent fake.”
Rumors are circulating that Russia’s top general, Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov, was killed in an attack on annexed Crimea by Ukrainian forces on Thursday. There is no concrete evidence to suggest that Gerasimov has been killed, nor is there evidence that Gerasimov was in Crimea at the time of the attack.
[July 10 2023 ]
MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russia’s top general, Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov, was shown ordering subordinates to destroy Ukrainian missile sites in a video released on Monday, his first appearance in public since a failed June 24 mercenary mutiny.
The footage indicates that President Vladimir Putin has for now kept his two most powerful military men, Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and Gerasimov, in their posts despite demands from mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin to sack them
[July 9 2023 Colonel-General Mikhail Teplinskiy in, General Valery Gerasimov not out ]
General Valery Gerasimov, 67, has not been ousted as conflict commander less than six months after he was appointed. He has been replaced by Colonel-General Mikhail Teplinskiy, according to Russian media.
The move by Putin has not officially been confirmed –
Harvey Weinstein: New Trial ->New York Court of Appeals
25 April, 2024
Weinstein, 72, will remain in prison for a separate conviction for rape.
The court reached a 4-3 ruling on Thursday, stating that the trial “erroneously admitted testimony of uncharged, alleged prior sexual acts against persons other than the complainants of the underlying crimes.”
The decision also said the trial judge compounded the error by letting Weinstein be cross-examined in a way that portrayed him in a “highly prejudicial” light.
“The remedy for these egregious errors is a new trial.”
[February 15 2024 ]
Working in Weinstein’s favor is that the politics of the New York Court of Appeals have measurably shifted in recent years. After the ouster of Gov. Andrew Cuomo, facing his own allegations of sexual harassment, in 2021, Gov. Kathy Hochul took the reins of New York’s Executive Chamber. Under Cuomo, the court, led by Chief Judge Janet DiFiore, ran a noted conservative streak.
[February 14 2024 ]
In their appeal, Weinstein’s lawyers argued that Burke swayed the trial’s outcome with repeated rulings favorable to prosecutors, including decisions that “overwhelmed” the trial with “excessive, random, and highly dubious prior bad act evidence.” Burke’s term expired at the end of 2022. He was not reappointed and is no longer a judge.
[February 13 2024 ]
As Weinstein, 71, serves out his 23-year-sentence at an upstate prison, his lawyer will claim to New York’s highest appeals court Wednesday that the trial court’s decision to include extensive testimony about Weinstein’s prior “bad acts” was an “unprecedented” move that interfered with the film producer’s rights.
“The trial judge allowed the #MeToo movement to get into the courtroom,” Weinstein’s lawyer, Arthur Aidala.
[December 18 2021 NY Appellate Hearing ]
“What did leaving his employee on the side of the road in a foreign country have anything to do with this sex crime case?” Justuce Manzanet-Daniels asked. “Other than, ‘Let’s put in as much as we can to show that guy is a terrible guy.’”
At a hearing before the Appellate Division, First Judicial Department, New York Appellate judges grilled the District Attorney prosecuting Harvey Weinstein so intently this week that it appears they are poised to overturn his criminal conviction.
Prosecutors are supposed to prove the crimes they have charged, using evidence that shows the defendant committed the crime at issue. It is a well-established legal principle that prosecutors are not supposed to use the defendants’ character or character traits to prove that they committed the crime they are being tried for.
Weinstein’s appellate attorney is Barry Kamins
[February 24 2021 NY trial: not predator ]
Harvey Weinstein’s defense attorneys are following a classic strategy, seizing on what they say are prosecutorial missteps and misguided judicial rulings to build a case for a potential appeal after the Hollywood producer’s rape trial.
Donna Rotunno, defense attorney, said Harvey Weinstein was having heart palpitations and was admitted to the hospital.
https://twitter.com/redcarlisle/status/1232090139729551361
Marianne Bertuna
Not guilty on sexual predator charges one and three.
[February 21 2020 deadlocked ” not uncommon” says Judge ]
Jurors in the trial against Harvey Weinstein were deadlocked. The jury is hung on the first and third charges — of predatory sexual assault — and unanimous on the other three charges. To convict Weinstein of predatory sexual assault, the jury must be convinced that he committed a first-degree sexual offense against Annabella Sciorra and either Miriam Haley or Jessica Mann, or both.
There are a variety of ways in which the jury is limited as to possible outcomes. They will present their decision under the form of a verdict sheet, which comes with instructions. Jurors are supposed to begin by deciding on the predatory sexual assault counts – the very ones they seemed to struggle with this Friday – before tackling or skipping the other three. The verdict sheet forbids certain combinations, too – finding Weinstein not guilty on a specific count would mean issuing an identical verdict on another count, etc.
The prosecution issued their disapproval. The Weinstein legal team said they would accept a partial verdict.
“It is not uncommon for a jury to believe they will never reach a unanimous verdict but on further deliberation, they are often able to reach a unanimous verdict,” Burke told the courtroom.
[February 11 2020 Defense rests ]
Outside the presence of the jury, one of Weinstein’s lawyers told Justice James Burke that Weinstein would not be taking the stand.
“That’s correct,” Weinstein confirmed when asked by the judge.
The defense rested its case shortly after this exchange
[January 23 2020 Annabella Sciorra the prosecution’s second witness ]
Annabella Sciorra took the stand on the morning of January 23 2020— as the prosecution’s second witness — to testify about the night in the winter of 1993 or 1994 when she claims that Harvey Weinstein raped her after an industry dinner.
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/annabella-sciorra-testifies-harvey-weinstein-raped-her-1272310
[July 11 2019 his two new female attorneys, Marianne Bertuna and Diana Fabi Samson ]
his two new female attorneys, Marianne Bertuna, New York Law School, and Diana Fabi Samson, Villanova University School of Law
Judge approved a new Weinstein legal team. After approving Baez’s request to withdraw from the case, Burke called him to the bench for a one-on-one chat that lasted about five minutes with no court reporter to transcribe the conversation.
Harvey Weinstein’s sex assault trial delayed, is now set for Sept. 9. Weinstein lawyer Marianne Bertuna argued that news coverage could influence potential jurors and that “the court cannot be complicit with the press in denying the defendant’s right to a fair trial.”
[June 11 2010 opens film in China ]
Shanghai, John Cusack, Chow Yun-Fat
“Shanghai” is the first fruit of a $285 million Weinstein Co. fund announced in August 2007, which planned to produce two dozen films over six years.
The film screens Friday in Hong Kong and at the Shanghai International Film Festival on June 13.
SHANGHAI
SYNOPSIS
The story of an American spy who arrives in Shanghai during the winter of 1941 to discover his friend has been killed. Driven to investigate the murder, he is drawn into an ever increasing web of mystery, conspiracy and deceit.
CAST
John Cusack, Chow Yun-Fat
Jacob Zuma v Cyril Ramaphosa
22 April, 2024
The governing ANC had argued that uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK), headed by ex-President Jacob Zuma, had breached trademark law.
But the Durban High Court disagreed, allowing the use of the name, which translates as Spear of the Nation.
It is a significant victory for MK ahead the 29 May general election.
[February 20 2024 ]
Former President Jacob Zuma has been barred from running in South Africa’s general election in May. The country’s electoral commission, or IEC, has not given a reason. However, his 2021 conviction, and jailing, for contempt of court would appear to disqualify him.
[February 28 2024 ]
South Africa’s governing African National Congress (ANC) has failed in a legal bid to stop a newly formed party, backed by ex-President Jacob Zuma, from running in May’s general election.
The uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK) party takes its name from the now-disbanded armed wing of the ANC.
It is thought that Mr Zuma’s backing of the MK could affect the ANC’s support.
The electoral court rejected the ANC’s argument that the party had not met the official registration criteria.
Supporters of MK, dressed in green, danced in celebration outside the court after the ruling was read out.
The ANC has said it accepts the decision and will comply with it.
[February 20 2024 ]
Speaking for the May elections at a stadium in the city of Durban, with the crowd decked out in the ANC’s black, green and gold, President Ramaphosa promised that “we will do better”. “South Africans are more educated, empowered and healthier than they were under apartheid,” he said,
[February 20 2024 ]
DURBAN – With less than three months since its official launch, the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party, which is backed by former President Jacob Zuma, has come out as one of the top performers in this week’s by-elections in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN).
The by-elections, which took place in northern KZN’s Abaqulusi local municipality on Wednesday, saw the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) growing its support from 35 to 47%, the African National Congress (ANC) up from 15% to 31%, while the MK party, which made its debut, clinched 19% of the votes, pushing the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) to fourth place. Zuma arose largely from conflict between nationalist supporters of the then Xhosa-dominated ANC and supporters of the Zulu nationalist Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP).
Several polls predict the African National Congress party, ANC, may dip below 50% of the vote in this year’s national election, which would be a landmark moment in South African politics. If the ANC loses its majority, it would need to go into coalition to remain in government and keep President Cyril Ramaphosa in office for a second and final five-year term. South Africa’s main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance, is exploring the possibility of its own coalition agreement with numerous other smaller parties, hoping it might force the ANC out of government completely.
[February 17 2024 ]
During the 2019 elections, the Democratic Alliance received just over 20% of the national vote to remain the second-biggest party in the country after the ANC. The party is now exploring the the possibility of forming a governing coalition with several other opposition parties in order to remove the ANC from power if they together win more than 50% of the national vote.
[December 17 2023 ]
Former South African president Jacob Zuma says he will not vote for the African National Congress (ANC) and is creating a new political party.
Mr Zuma was the country’s president between 2009 and 2018.
He said it “would be a betrayal” to campaign for the ANC of current President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Mr Zuma’s new party is named uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK), meaning spear of the nation, which is the same name as the former armed wing of the ANC.
He was jailed in 2021 for contempt of court after refusing to testify before a panel probing financial sleaze and cronyism under his presidency. His jailing sparked protests and riots that left more than 350 people dead.
He spent two months in prison before being released on medical grounds. That release was later ruled illegal, but he did not return to prison due to overcrowding in the system.
The ANC faces national elections next year viewed by many as the most competitive since it came to power in 1994.
[August 11 2023 ]
Former South African President Jacob Zuma was taken back to prison on Friday after his parole was ruled invalid, only to be released again within two hours under a new program to reduce overcrowding in jails.
[August 2 2023 ]
South Africa’s former President Jacob Zuma has returned from Russia where he has been receiving medical treatment.
“The check-up and observations went well,”
The Constitutional Court had ruled in 2021 that Zuma had been granted medical parole unlawfully.
The prisons department has now given the 81-year-old until Friday to submit reasons why he should not serve out the rest of his 15-month sentence.
[July 14 2023 ]
South Africa’s ex-President Jacob Zuma travelled to Russia last week for health reasons, his foundation says.
“He will be returning to the country once his doctors have completed their treatment,” its statement said.
The announcement comes a day after the Constitutional Court upheld a ruling that Zuma was granted medical parole unlawfully in September 2021.
At the end of last week, Zuma was in Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe, attending a conference on carbon credits where he represented a Belarusian company.
South African president cleared of wrongdoing in scandal over $580,000 in cash stolen from his farm
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has been cleared of wrongdoing by a public watchdog over a scandal involving the theft of more than half a million dollars in U.S. currency that had been stashed in a sofa at his farm.
[March 12 2023 ]
South Africa’s anti-corruption watchdog says there is no evidence of wrongdoing by President Cyril Ramaphosa linked to the theft of $580,000 (£482,000) – possibly more – in cash from his farm.
[December 31 2022]
[December 19 2022]
The South African president, Cyril Ramaphosa, has been re-elected as leader of the ruling African National Congress (ANC) for a second five-year term in a party leadership contest.
Votes casts by delegates at the party conference gave Ramaphosa a clear victory over his rival, Zweli Mkhize, a former party treasurer and health minister.
[November 22 2022 ]
Zuma still has the option of approaching the Constitutional Court, the highest judicial instance in the land, to appeal the latest ruling.
[November 21 2023
Former South African President Jacob Zuma, according to the law, has not completed serving his sentence,” the Supreme Court of Appeal has said in a unanimous ruling that the former president be returned to prison in Estcourt, in the state of KwaZulu-Natal.
[June 2 2022]
Arthur Fraser said the case related to the alleged attempted theft of $4m (£3.2m) in 2020 at one of the president’s properties and the alleged efforts to conceal what happened.
Arthur Fraser, who ran the country’s State Security Agency (SSA) between 2016 and 2018, has said he has handed photographs, bank account details and video footage over to the police.
In a statement, he alleged that criminals broke into a farm in Limpopo province in February 2020 to steal more than $4m. They were then detained and interrogated on the property and paid to keep quiet about what had happened, the statement alleges.
Before he became deputy president in 2014, Mr Ramaphosa was a prominent businessman with stakes in mining, telecoms, media, beverage and fast food companies.
In 2014, he declared to parliament that he owned $5m in shares as well as 30 townhouses. But it is widely believed that his wealth is greater than that.
Mr Ramaphosa said “there is no basis for the claims of criminal conduct”.
Mr Fraser is seen by some as an ally of former President Jacob Zuma.
Some believe the allegations could be linked to wrangles within the ruling African National Congress (ANC) ahead of a leadership race in December.
[Apeil 10 2022]
Last month the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) torpedoed Zuma’s latest bid to have lead prosecutor Billy Downer taken off the case after accusing him of bias and leaking of confidential information to a journalist in contravention of the national prosecution act, among other complaints.
The SCA dismissed the application for leave to appeal on the grounds that there is no reasonable prospect of success and there is no other compelling reason why an appeal should be heard.
The spokesman of the Jacob Zuma Foundation, Mzwanele Manyi told a press briefing that Zuma’s instructions to his legal team to institute private prosecution “will now be put into operation in the next few days”.
[March 10 2022]
Judge Raymond Zondo, who found evidence of corruption under South Africa’s previous administration, will become the country’s next Chief Justice.
[February 5 2022 ]
Zuma’s lawyers are appealing the court’s rejection of his application for prosecutor Billy Downer to be removed, saying he is biased and unfit to lead the prosecution.
[December 15 2021]
The High Court in Pretoria ruled that the decision by the head of the correctional service Arthur Fraser, a known ally of Zuma, to release the former leader on medical parole was “reviewed, declared unlawful, and set aside”.
Lawyers representing Zuma have appealed against the court order, so there is no immediate prospect of him returning to prison.
[November 7 2021]
On November 7 2021, ANC members gathered at the Moses Mabhida regional offices in Pietermaritzburg to protest President Cyril Ramaphosa’s leadership.
[November 4 2021]
African National Congress got less than 50 percent of ballots cast in local government elections. The ANC won 46 percent of the vote, down from 54 percent in the last municipal elections five years ago. The ANC lost a majority in eThekwini metro, in former President Jacob Zuma’s stronghold province of KwaZulu-Natal. The local polls may set the stage for the country’s evolution into a richer multiparty democracy, moving past the dream of a “rainbow nation” and into the reality of balancing myriad competing interests.
[October 27 2021]
South Africa’s ex-president Jacob Zuma made his first public appearance to lay charges against a chief state prosecutor. Zuma is accused of pocketing bribes from French defence giant Thales and faces 16 charges of fraud, graft and racketeering. The next hearing is set for October 26.
[October 14 2021]
Zuma addressed his supporters through an audio message at a prayer event in Durban, where many of his supporters arrived in packed buses.
[October 2 2021]
JOHANNESBURG: The corruption trial of South Africa’s jailed ex-president Jacob Zuma resumes on October 4 2021.
Zuma faces 16 charges of fraud, graft and racketeering related to a 1999 purchase of fighter jets, patrol boats and military gear from five European arms firms when he was South Africa’s deputy president.
He is accused of pocketing four million rand ($277,000) in bribes from one of the firms, French defense giant Thales, which has been charged with corruption and money laundering.
[September 14 2021]
Former South African President Jacob Zuma is back home after he was discharged from hospital, local media report, where he is expected to serve the rest of his jail term for contempt of court.
He spent his first night at his Nkandla home in KwaZulu-Natal after his release from the hospital in Gauteng.
[September 7 2021]
In a majority 7-2 decision, the Constitutional Court dismissed his arguments as “litigious skullduggery” as Zuma sought to have his prison term set aside. The sentence was handed down in June after the former South African leader failed to testify at an inquiry probing corruption during his nine-year rule
“The majority emphatically reject any suggestion that litigants can be allowed to butcher of their own will a judicial process which in all respects has been carried out with the utmost degree of regularity, only to later plead the absent victim,” Justice Sisi Khampepe said.
[September 14 2021]
The Democratic Alliance will apply to the court to overturn and set aside Correctional Services National Commissioner Arthur Fraser’s decision to grant corruption-accused former president Jacob Zuma medical parole after the Medical Parole Advisory Board advised against it.
It emerged on September 6 2021 that Zuma, serving a 15-month sentence for contempt of court, was granted medical parole. Fraser admitted earlier this week that he overruled the Medical Parole Advisory Board.
[September 5 2021]
Jacob Zuma, 79, who had surgery in hospital for an unspecified problem in August, was given medical parole following a report by the South African Department of Correctional Services, it said in a statement. It did not say anything about what Zuma was suffering from and if his health had worsened since surgery on August 6. Zuma still faces a court case on September 9, pending a medical report on his health, to answer for 16 counts of fraud, graft and racketeering during a 1999 arms deal.
[September 4 2021]
Former president Jacob Zuma has refused to be examined by National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) appointed doctors because he is tired of his claims of ill-health being treated with distrust, his foundation says.
Earlier this month, and with the full agreement of Zuma’s advocate Dali Mpofu, KwaZulu-Natal High Court in Pietermaritzburg Judge Piet Koen ordered that the State “may grant a medical practitioner of its choice to examine Mr Zuma to assess his ability to stand trial for corruption and for that doctor to be a witness, if necessary”.
[August 17 2021 ]
Jacob Zuma Foundation spokesperson Mzwanele Manyi has taken a swipe at the NPA for asking that the former President be taken for a second medical observation.
President Zuma is not in some spaza shop medical environment. He is in a government run hospital. We cannot have a situation in this country where a hospital that is state run, when it pronounces that somebody is not well, some private individual who’s got some mysterious agenda to come and second guess that, is insulting the professional integrity of the doctors that are dealing with President Zuma.’
Africa-Press – South-Africa. Johan van der Walt, the main witness and author of the forensic report in the corruption trial against former president Jacob Zuma, has died. He was listed as the main witness in Zuma’s corruption trial which is expected to commence in the Pietermaritzburg High Court. Jacob Zuma, who early this month was moved from prison to a health facility, has undergone surgery and will stay in hospital for further procedures.
“Mr Zuma underwent a surgical procedure on Saturday, 14 August 2021, with other procedures scheduled for the coming days,” the correctional services department announced in a statement, saying it could not predict a discharge date at yet.
[August 10 2021]
High Court Judge Piet Koen granted the postponement to September 9 but ordered Zuma’s team to produce a medical report by August 20. He was moved to a hospital for medical observation. Prison officials did not provide details on his condition.
[August 6 2921]
A routine checkup indicated that Zuma should be admitted to hospital less than a week before he is due in court for a separate graft trial.
The Department of Correctional Services “can confirm that former president Jacob Zuma has today, 6 August 2021, been admitted to an outside hospital for medical observation,” it said in a statement.
Zuma, 79, is scheduled to attend the resumption of a long-running corruption trial on Aug. 10.
The hearing will include a plea to drop 16 charges of fraud, graft and racketeering against him related to the 1999 purchase of fighter jets, patrol boats and equipment from five European arms firms when he was deputy president.
He is accused of taking bribes from one of the firms, French defense giant Thales, which has been charged with corruption and money laundering.
Proceedings have been repeatedly postponed for more than a decade, sparking accusations of delaying tactics.
[July 22 2021]
Former President Jacob Zuma was granted compassionate leave to attend the funeral of his younger brother.
He was back in prison by the afternoon.
[July 20 2021]
Jacob Zuma’s corruption trial in South Africa for an arms deal made in the 1990s has been postponed until 10 August.
[July 19 2021]
Former South African president Jacob Zuma appeared by video link in court to seek a further delay in his corruption trial. Zuma’s lawyers sought to have the case postponed by up to three weeks because of the unrest and pandemic, giving time for the trial to resume physically. Judge Piet Koen adjourned the case and said he would make a ruling on Tuesday at 0800 GMT.
[8:22 am]
The trial of former South African president Jacob Zuma is set to continue in virtual session. .The hearing will focus on Zuma attorneys’ push to recuse chief prosecutor Billy Downer for allegedly leaking information to the media.
The prosecutors “will argue vigorously for the application to be dismissed,”
Zuma’s trial started in May following numerous postponements and delays by his legal team to have the charges dropped.
The 79-year-old Zuma appeared in person for the opening and said he was innocent. Thales also denied any wrongdoing, and the next hearing was set for July 19.
[July 17 2021]
There are two clear and opposing forces in the ANC. One is headed by President Ramaphosa, who his supporters say is slowly rebuilding state institutions and accountability after a decade of corruption and looting during the Zuma administration. The other, known as the RET faction, is sympathetic and fiercely loyal to the former president. They were perhaps beneficiaries of this “state capture” and feel cornered by the momentum gained by the Ramaphosa faction. They want a change of guard, urgently and so stand to benefit if the current president is weakened.
[July 15 2021]
Minister of Defence and Military Veterans Ms Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula and Chief of the South African National Defence Force General Rudzani Maphwanya briefed the leaders of political parties on the deployment of the SANDF at key commercial centres in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng.
Defence Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula said she had submitted a request for the deployment of 25,000 soldiers to the two provinces hit by violence – KwaZulu-Natal, where Durban is located, and Gauteng, which includes Johannesburg.
[July 15 2021]
South African Police Minister Bheki Cele vowed to curb the continuing violence that erupted over the weekend.
“We cannot allow anyone to make a mockery of our democratic state'”
[July 13 2021]
President Cyril Ramaphosa addressed the nation on Monday evening, July 12 2021; and called on communities to remain calm and to stop undermining the rule of law.
President Cyril Ramaphosa called for calm July 11 2021, urging protesters to demonstrate peacefully.
“People have been intimidated and threatened, and some have even been hurt,” Ramaphosa said.
Unrest began last week after Zuma handed himself in to begin a 15-month sentence. Several people have been killed and dozens arrested.
Zuma is seeking immediate release from Estcourt prison, pending the court’s final decision in the case of rescission he brought in a bid to reverse the court’s finding against him.
The court began hearing arguments for and against rescinding its order of Tuesday June 29. All 11 judges who presided over that matter found Zuma in contempt of court. The majority sentenced him to 15 months in prison.
Advocate Tembeka Ngcukaitobi, representing the commission , said there was no apology or remorse from Zuma. “He has told you many times he will not appear before a biased chairperson,” said Ngcukaitobi. You are told to revisit your order. No contrition, no apology, nothing. Just brazen contempt,” Ngcukaitobi concluded, highlighting a degree of urgency in deciding the matter and providing certainty in the dispute.”
[July 7 2021 Arrested ]
Zuma turned himself in: his lawyers asked the acting chief justice to issue directives stopping the police from arresting him, claiming there would be a “prejudice to his life.”
The top court met late Wednesday, according to local reports, but apparently rejected the request.
[ July 12 –into jail? rescission? ]
Police Minister Bheki Cele told South African news website News24 he believed the police were being thrown under the bus by South Africa’s courts, and that they had “muddied” a “very clear” judgement by allowing Mr Zuma’s legal bids to continue. Appeals to Constitutional Court judgements are not normally allowed.
His spokesman added on July 7 2021: “If we don’t hear anything from the Constitutional Court – which we haven’t heard so far – we have until midnight tonight to execute the order.”
05/07/2021 Jacob Zuma, the former South African president, failed to turn himself in before an arrest deadline. The judge presiding over his case said that he would announce a decision on July 9 2021 about whether to grant the interdict.
[July 3 2021]
South Africa’s constitutional court has agreed to hear former President Jacob Zuma’s challenge to rescind an order sentencing him to jail for 15 months on contempt charges.
The constitutional court sentenced Zuma to 15 months in jail on Tuesday for failing to appear at the corruption inquiry led by Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo in February.
.
On July 3 2021, many marched alongside Zuma in his hometown of Nkandla.
“They can give Zuma 15 months … or 100 months. He’s not going to serve even one day or one minute of that,” his son Edward Zuma told the news agency Reuters at the gathering. “They would have to kill me before they put their hands on him.”
Zuma, who did not speak to his supporters but is expected to address them on Sunday, wore a black and gold tropical shirt as he walked through the crowd, but no mask. He was guarded by men dressed as traditional warriors from his Zulu nation, wearing leopard skins and holding spears with oval ox-hide shields.
[July 1 2021]
Two independent sources have confirmed that Zuma has briefed Dali Mpofu SC and that he would be filing his papers to the highest court today – an application for rescission of judgment, said one source.
[July 1 2021 : to hand himself ]
It was a quiet day outside the Nkandla homestead of convicted former president Jacob Zuma. MKMVA[Umkhonto we Sizwe Military Veterans’ Association] base commander Mfanfuti Gumede gave a media briefing but would not divulge Zuma’s whereabouts.
When asked if the MKMVA would defend Zuma from being arrested by police, he said: “We will see when we get there. We will see what they want to do.”
[June 29 2021 5 days ]
South Africa’s former President Jacob Zuma has been sentenced to 15 months in jail by the country’s highest court.
He has been given five days to hand himself in to police. Failing that, the police minister must order his arrest.
The sentence comes after the Constitutional Court found him guilty of contempt for defying its order to appear at an inquiry into corruption while he was president.
The former president was not in court to hear the majority ruling and has repeatedly declared that he was the victim of a giant political conspiracy.
In a separate legal matter, Mr Zuma pleaded not guilty last month in his corruption trial involving a $5bn (£3bn) arms deal from the 1990s.
[June 6 2021 to plead June 26 ]
JOHANNESBURG – Former President Jacob Zuma’s trial has been postponed until the 26 May in order for a plea to be recorded.
Judge Piet Koen has granted Zuma’s new lawyers time to file his plea.
Zuma and French company Thales made a short appearance in the Pietermaritzburg High Court on charges of corruption, racketeering and money laundering stemming from the 1999 Arms deal
His legal counsel Advocate Thabani Masuku said his client was ready for the trial.
“The client has been ready to proceed with the trial to the extent that you’d want a witness in the box to return on a specific date.”
[May 16 2021
The National Prosecuting Authority says it remains ready to start the corruption trial of former President Jacob Zuma on May 17.
Former President Jacob Zuma will return to the Pietermaritzburg High Court on May 17 2021 for what is said to be the start of his corruption trial.
Zuma will most likely seek a postponement in order to get a new legal team after parting ways with his lawyers in April.
[May 10 2021 trial May 17 -postponement sought ]
Zuma and his co-accused French arms manufacturer Thales face multiple charges of fraud, corruption and racketeering in connection with South Africa’s multi-billion rand arms deal of the 1990s.
Kgoroeadira did not give a reason for their withdrawal when asked: “I am not going to discuss the reasons for the withdrawal.”
This is the third law firm to have parted ways with Zuma recently.
Lugisani Mantsha Attorneys terminated its mandate last October.
Just recently, Eric Mabuza Attorneys also withdraw their services in Zuma’s upcoming fraud and corruption trial set to be heard this month.
[April 28 2021]
South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa is testifying as a witness before a long-running inquiry into allegations of corruption under his predecessor Jacob Zuma as head of the ANC. His testimony is due to last two days.
The State Capture Commission of inquiry was set up in 2018 to investigate corruption in state institutions.
[April 24 2021]
Lawyers acting for former president Jacob Zuma in the corruption trial due to start in May filed a formal notice of withdrawal in the Pietermaritzburg High Court on April 21 2021
Eric Mabuza filed the notice as Zuma’s attorney of record, but did not provide reasons for the withdrawal.
The Supreme Court of Appeal ruled he was not entitled to state funds for his corruption trial legal costs, and ordered him to pay back R25m already incurred during the legal proceedings.
The trial was set down from May 17 to June 30 and is expected to be lengthy as there are more than 200 witnesses on the state’s list.
Zuma is accused of receiving an annual bribe of R500,000 from Thales for protection from an investigation into the controversial arms deal. The alleged bribe was facilitated by Schabir Shaik, who was Zuma’s former financial adviser.
Largest cash burglary in LA – $30m in cash missing
20 April, 2024
Workers at GardaWorld, a nondescript warehouse in Sylmar, a sleepy, suburban area of the San Fernando Valley, entered the safe to find $30m in cash missing.The thieves had been able to breach the warehouse, apparently through the roof but perhaps through a hole cut in the side of the building, break into the safe and swipe the cash without triggering security systems. Police received a call for service at 4.30am on Easter Sunday, but by then the largest cash burglary in city history was already executed.
The opportunity for big cash thefts such as the Easter LA heist have been given an unlikely boost thanks to the legalization of cannabis in most US states. Most banks (those insured by the government) cannot deal with the cannabis industry, valued at $57bn in the US this year, leading to a boom in cash storage and the transportation business.
GardaWorld has carved itself out as significant player in the cannabis industry, where security costs are a significant expense. It employs more than 132,000 globally, operating in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, in addition to North America.
[February 7 2024 Canada $20 m Brinks gold heist ]
In Federal Court filings that claim breach of contract and millions of dollars in damages, Brinks said an “unidentified individual” gained access to the airline’s cargo warehouse and presented a “fraudulent” waybill shortly after an Air Canada flight from Zurich landed at Pearson.
The statement of the claim says the staff then handed over 400 kilograms of gold in the form of 24 bars plus nearly $2 million in cash to the thief, who promptly “absconded with the cargo.”
Air Canada employee Parmpal Sidhu, 54, from Brampton, Ontario, jewelry store owner Ali Raza, 37, from Toronto, Amit Jalota, 40, a Oakville, Ontario resident, Ammad Chaudhary, 43, from Georgetown, Ontario and Prasath Paramalingam, 35, from Brampton are among those that have been arrested. Mavity said they have been released on bail conditions and will be in court at a later date.
Mavity said the truck driver that allegedly picked up the gold, Durante King-Mclean, a 25-year-old from Brampton, is currently in custody in the U.S. on firearms and trafficking related charges.
Police are searching for former Air Canada manager Simran Preet Panesar, 31, from Brampton as well as Archit Grover, 36, from Brampton and Arsalan Chaudhary, 42, from Mississauga Ontario.
Peel Regional Deputy Chief Nick Milinovich said only CA$90,000 ($65,000) of the more than CA$20 million has been recovered.
[February 7 2024 Brain Errol H V caught in €70 m diamonds theft at Schiphol airport in 2005 ]
Errol H V, the man said to be one of the brains behind the theft of €70 million worth of diamonds at Schiphol airport in 2005 has been arrested on the Spanish island of Ibiza, the Telegraaf reported on Wednesday.
Errol H V was jailed for 9.5 years in absentia in 2021 for his role in the biggest heist in Dutch history by appeal court judges. He had disappeared in 2020 after he was released from jail to wait for his appeal.
Sources close to H V told the paper he had been picked up on the island where he had been living for some time by Spanish police, although this has not been officially confirmed. Nor has an extradition date been set.
Seven people were arrested in Spain and Amsterdam in 2017 in connection with the heist after a long undercover operation. Two years later, four were jailed, two were found not guilty and one had died.
HV was given a seven-year jail term but in 2020 he and the other gang members were released from jail and allowed to wait for their appeals in freedom.
Part of the diamond haul was recovered from a getaway car but the majority of the gems are still missing.
[November 11 2020 Germany: heist of ‘safe bags’ ]
Police on November 11 2020 released several grainy CCTV shots of one suspect dressed in black, appealing to the public for information and offering a six-figure reward,
On Nov. 1 at the customs building in Emmerich am Rhein at around 6 a.m, three darkly-dressed men with black caps loaded a white van for nearly five hours. The three had drilled through a cellar wall in the customs office from the neighboring building and were able to make off with the money, which was stored in so-called safe bags. The group of burglars made off with 6.5 million euros ($7.7 million).
[ August 27 2019 Brussels airport tarmac diamond defendants acquitted – appealed ]
Houssein Bajjadi and the 10 other accused identified by Belgian authorities are due to be retried at the end of 2019 or early 2020 after the prosecution appealed their acquittal last year.
June 26, 2018 brussels – The Public Prosecution Service appeals against the acquittal last month of eighteen suspects of the diamond robbery at Brussels airport in 2013.
Brinks of Belgium truck robbed
BRUSSELS — Five years after a brazen multimillion-dollar diamond heist on the tarmac of Brussels Airport, the Brussels Criminal Court on Thursday, May 17, cited a lack of evidence as it acquitted 18 suspects in the case.“They made a very wide sweep. They focused on some famous names,” said defence lawyer Nathalie Gallant, who claimed the investigators “worked with blinkers” on. She said the verdicts were not a surprise to those in the courtroom.
In its judgment, the Brussels court found that “the elements are not sufficiently precise and concordant to establish the guilt of the defendants,” . It lifted all confiscations of their property which had been seized as a precautionary measure. “The Brussels Criminal Court drew conclusions on a case that began with rumors,” said one of the defense lawyers, Pierre Monville,
[ ‘Dr. Fantástico’ 6 minutes yields $5M in Brink robbery at Brazil airport ]
Criminals stormed into the apron of the International Airport of Viracopos, in Campinas, a city some 100 km from São Paulo, Sunday evening, 9:30 pm local time, said Aeroportos Brasil Viracopos, which controls the airport. The criminals used a Hilux truck
[March 6 ]
The Lufthansa jet landed at Viracopos, Brazil’s largest freight airport, from nearby Guarulhos airport in Sao Paulo. The plane was stopping over before flying to Zurich, Switzerland.
The robbers drove a pickup truck plastered with the logo of a local security company into the airport grounds.
Five of the robbers held up guards from the security company Brinks, loaded the money on the truck and drove off, according to Brazilian newspaper Folha de Sao Paulo.
The heist lasted six minutes and none of the guards were hurt.
earlier Brink Antwerp diamond robbery
[May 15 2015 Cannes robbery yields $20066375.00, €17.5 million (£13 million) worth of jewellery and watches ]
the Cartier jewelery shop on the Croisette in Cannes has been holded up by four armed men who fled with a large amount of jewelry One robber in an old-man mask carrying a pistol burst into a Cartier boutique, letting in two accomplices with scarves around their faces, while a fourth man stood guard outside.
Two employees and a shopper were in the store at the time.
The robbers stuffed jewellery and watches into a leather satchel and jewellery bag. In their rush to make a getaway, they dropped several expensive watches onto the pavement, later recovered by the store.
The thieves made off in a Mercedes reported stolen in March that was later found burned out in a residential part of the town.
The Cartier store lies next to the luxury Carlton hotel – the scene of another daring jewellery raid in July 2013 that saw a lone thief make off with more than €140 million of gems, after breaking into the hotel through a door on the ground floor.
[March 13 Hatton Garden, London: USD $ 298, 570,000.00 in jewels and gold stolen]
Daily Mirror scoop
London Diamond Bourse (LDB) stated that the value of stolen goods has not yet been confirmed, so it will not fuel media speculation by commenting in that respect. London’s media has placed the value of stolen goods at anywhere from $50 million to $300 million.
We are currently one of London’s most successful and leading safe deposit company aiming to provide our clients a secure and cost-effective solution to store and protect important and irreplaceable personal belongings
Over the Easter weekend. burglars used heavy equipment to break into a vault used mainly by jewellers and gold dealers, Hatton Garden Safe Deposit. “The amount of money and the goods that are taken is never fully revealed… and there’s a good chance that not everybody would declare.
“I would not be surprised, given where this one is in Hatton Garden, if £200m is around about the amount stolen.”
In 2003 jewellery, cash and valuables worth an estimated £1.5m were stolen when a criminal, posing as a customer, emptied a number of boxes at the Hatton Garden Safe Deposit company
jewel robbery.
[March 14 9525150 Dollar jewel hijack on French highway]
http://youtu.be/eqMd2u0kBhM
https://twitter.com/ecoregion_bourg/status/575585637203578880
Just after midnight two trucks were passing through a motorway toll at Avallon, in Burgundy, when they were targeted. Four cars surrounded the lorries – laden with valuable goods – as up to 15 robbers wearing balaclavas and brandishing automatic weapons jumped out.
“The trucks were full of jewels and other valuable goods,” said a judicial source involved in the investigation. “They were driven away along with the four cars being used by the robbers.” [March 14 Difficult, however, to know what the robbers can concretely collect for the loot. “The ratio rarely exceeds 40% of the value for concealment. It is rather on the order of 20%. In all cases, in my opinion, having regard to the manner in which the robbery took place, we will not find the loot. »
[May 39 2014 Diamond heisters were expecting to find a large cash shipment instead of diamonds and were unprepared to deal with what they found]
the men were expecting to find a large cash shipment instead of diamonds and were unprepared to deal with what they found
Authorities in Morocco have reported the arrest of four men wanted in connection with a number of armed robberies, including the diamond robbery that took place at Brussels Airport in February of last year.
The four are wanted for “attempted murder, armed robbery at goods transport warehouses, a major jewel theft at a European airport and an armed attack on a Belgian hospital with the intention of helping a prisoner escape.
[January 3 2014]The man thought to be the brains behind the operation, Frenchman Marc Bertoldi, was released on bail last month. No trace of the stolen diamonds has been found, and investigators have speculated that the men were expecting to find a large cash shipment instead of diamonds and were unprepared to deal with what they found.
The latest suspect is a 43-year-old man identified only as Nordine A. He was arrested on 13 December but released after questioning and after giving a DNA sample. He was arrested a second time on 23 December and formally imprisoned the next day, a spokesman for the prosecutor’s office said. The prosecutor would not confirm that the arrest was related to DNA evidence found at the scene of the robbery.
The robbery at Zaventem took place on 18 February 2013, when eight armed and masked men in police uniforms attacked a Swiss airlines flight.
[July 26 2013]
The grouinds for arrest were based “on anything,” according to his Metz lawyer , M e Olivier Rondu. Or more precisely a document fifty pages in which the Moroccan authorities say they have captured a conversation between Marc Bertoldi and his wife established in Casablanca. After connecting on his cell on 18 and 19 February, the masteremind said he had made a big hit, and if she was watching TV she would understand
Marc Bertoldi, the criminal mastermind behind the heist of at least tens of millions of dollars worth of rough diamonds from an airport in Belgium, has been deported to that country to stand trial. The 43-year-old suspect has a lengthy criminal record. Bertoldi is a French citizen and he was captured in France. Bertoldi admitted that he had sold some of the loot. However, he said he did not participate in the robbery. According to a report from Moroccan intelligence services, he called his wife to tell her to watch the news, saying he had done something big. Dimitri de Beco, his lawyer said that his phone had been left off for two days before the robbery, “This report not, more than five pages and is not signed . The Moroccan intelligence report is that he said to his wife, one day before the robbery, he would not be reachable. “these claims are questionable because Moroccan intelligence services do not specify how or where they got this information.”
Moreover, “the investigators of the Belgian police, who went to Casablanca as part of a commission, had never heard of this report,” says the lawyer, who said that “this information can not under no circumstances be used to keep my client in jail.” The judge Marc Bertoldi ruled that Bertoldi is suspected of being the author or, at least, to have participated in the spectacular robbery.
[May 8]
Brink’s of Belgium truck robbed of lots of diamonds
Police in Belgium, Switzerland and France have arrested 31 people in connection with one of the world’s largest robberies of diamonds.
Belgian prosecutors say they have recovered large sums of money and some of the diamonds that were taken in a raid at Brussels airport in February.
Query: why was Brink’s the shipper for a portion of the diamonds going from Antwerp to Switzerland [not the other way around]? Exports of rough diamonds in February fell to 7.49 million carats from 9.10 million carats last year, while declining to US$1.12 billion from US$1.16 billion last year. Global miners such as De Beers and Rio take the entire quantity of rough diamonds directly to major hubs like Belgium, assort them and sell to global processors, to avoid taxes.
Brink’s of Belgium, whose truck was robbed on the airport tarmac of lots of diamonds, has a nasty legal battle with its unions ongoing. An inside job seems likely. They took 120 parcels of diamonds weighing 22lbs . They were uncut, with no certificate. “The perpetrators knew very clearly, ” said Caroline Wolf.
Faced with a complicated labor dispute in 2010, Brink’s cut its losses. Brink’s of Belgium, the cash-delivery business, declared bankruptcy. Its workers were laid off without severance. Brink’s moved management to the Netherlands, while keeping the lucrative Antwerp-based jewelry-delivery business. “We didn’t have a choice, we were losing too much money,” said Mr. Candel.
The unions filed suit in a Belgian court challenging the change in job status and lack of severance. “Brink’s acted as if we wouldn’t be vigilant, but we have lawyers,” said Valerie Van Waregem, a delegate for the socialist union.
Labor experts say Brink’s probably erred in not negotiating a compromise with unions over severance, something that is required in the event of bankruptcy by a 2008 EU directive. “We never refused a dialogue with the unions,” said Mr. Candel. “They refused to work.”
In Europe, “one cannot do what one would be able to do in the United States with a bankruptcy,” said Thomas Kohler, a professor of labor law at Boston College. “In U.S. law, employees are unsecured creditors. It’s a very different situation in Europe.”
The insurance for air transport – handled sometimes by airlines themselves or external insurance companies – is usually relatively cheap because it’s considered to be the safest way of transporting small high value items, logistics experts say.
Exports of rough diamonds in February fell to 7.49 million carats from 9.10 million carats last year, while declining to US$1.12 billion from US$1.16 billion last year. Global miners such as De Beers and Rio take the entire quantity of rough diamonds directly to major hubs like Belgium, assort them and sell to global processors, to avoid taxes.
Brink’s Co., a provider of armored cars to transport valuables, said a diamond robbery at Brussels airport will have a “significant impact” on first-quarter earnings.
A portion of the gems stolen two days ago was being shipped by Brink’s, the Richmond, Virgina-based company said today in a statement.
“The total loss exposure has not been verified, and the loss exposure for Brink’s has not been disclosed,” the company said. Brink’s “has a longstanding insurance program in place to cover its losses.”
Brink’s said that while the loss will hurt first-quarter earnings, the robbery won’t “materially affect” it’s full- year profit forecast.
But a robbery of this size also catches the eyes of people who study the illegal diamond trade. A decade ago, concern over so-called “blood diamonds,” which are diamonds mined in conflict zones, led to industry participation in a regulatory process designed to clarify a precious stone’s place of origin. The goal was to make it harder to use illegal diamond sales to finance armed conflicts.
In effect since 2003, the Kimberley Process is a voluntary system that combines compliance from industry, government, and non-government monitors. This morning’s stolen diamonds should fall under the Kimberly Process rules, which cover “rough” or uncut diamonds, not finished ones. This morning’s stolen diamonds were rough.
If they were going from Belgium to Switzerland, and they were rough, they would have needed a Kimberley certificate
Hue and Cri 