Blog Archives
Politics and Money – Irish Style
Reilly faces new day in court over nursing home deal gone sour
HEALTH Minister James Reilly faces another court date next week over an investment that went sour and saw him named on a debt defaulters’ list. read full article
Colleagues fear Perry finished in Dail after €2.5m judgment
JUNIOR Minister John Perry’s allies in Fine Gael believe that he is doomed politically, due to the judgment of almost €2.5m against him. read full article
Lowry furious after Revenue sends 15 officials to raid home
THE Revenue sent 15 officials accompanied by a garda and a locksmith to carry out a raid at former Fine Gael minister Michael Lowry‘s home. read full article
Treasury Holdings’ co-founders in line to get €5million in NAMA deal
PROPERTY developers Johnny Ronan and Richard Barrett are in line to get almost €5m each in cash under a complex deal with the tax payer-owend National Asset Management Agency and liquid read full article
Revenue inquiry on Irish clients of HSBC with Swiss accounts
Tax authority has collected €30 million from individuals linked to offshore activity read full article
Undeclared rental income targeted in Revenue crackdown
Landlords responsible for €42 million in upaid tax last year, records show read full article
McNulty liable for €90m to Nama
Businessman advances what judge describes as mostly ‘technical’ defences to Nama claim for judgment read full article
Cut number of TDs to 100 and save €15m a year – Independent.ie
* ‘Quality in preference to quantity’ and ‘evidence of value for money’ must be the two ‘vitals’ for a reformed new government. read full article
Tough Budget looms as Central Bank says: stick to austerity path
MORE hairshirt budgets are in prospect after the Central Bank urged the Government not to let up on austerity and Finance Minister Michael Noonan admitted next year’s cuts and taxes wil read full article
McGeever back in prison as judge refuses to reduce bail
BUSINESSMAN Kevin McGeever has been told to go to the High Court if he wants his €12,500 bail terms reduced. read full article
Spanish court refuses extradition request against HSBC whistleblower Falciani
Spain’s High Court has turned down Switzerland’s request to extradite Hervé Falciani, the former HSBC Private Bank employee whose tax-evasion whistleblowing activities have become a cause célèbre. The French–Italian computer expert, who in 2008 made off with files detailing 130,000 of the Geneva-based bank’s clients, will not be required to return to Switzerland to face four charges relating to his data grab.
The court ruled that the principle of “double incrimination” is not satisfied in this case, meaning that the offenses of which Falciani is accused are not listed as such in Spanish criminal law. The Monaco-born IT expert was arrested in Switzerland – where he is accused of financial espionage, violation of the bank secrecy law, revealing commercial secrets and stealing clients’ private data – but he left the country, finally being arrested again in Spain last July.
The High Court in Madrid also considered that the information Falciani had facilitated to the tax authorities in France, Spain, Germany, Italy and the United States was related to criminal activities that are “in no way eligible for legitimate protection.”
Falciani, who had been released on bail for by the Spanish courts before his April 15 extradition hearing, is now free to travel outside Spain. Had the court ruled in favor of the Swiss request, the Spanish government would have had the last word on the extradition process.
Information released by the former bank employee has allowed the Spanish state to recover more than 300 million euros of lost taxes between 2010 and 2011, with further related investigations still in progress.
via Spanish court refuses extradition request against HSBC whistleblower Falciani | In English | EL PAÍS.
via Spanish court refuses extradition request against HSBC whistleblower Falciani | In English | EL PAÍS.
Can you Trust big business? Walmart And Company Bribing Their Way Through Latin America –
SANTIAGO – The recent corruption scandal involving Walmart in Mexico has coincided with the last corruption ranking by Transparency International.
The giant American retailer, which also has stores in Brazil, Argentina, Chile and several Central American countries, has been accused of systematically paying bribes in Mexico that total more than $24 million over the course of several years. The bribes were used to get permission to build in places where it is illegal to do so.
There is ample evidence that Walmart was not forced to pay bribes to do business, but rather that the company actively encouraged corruption in the country by establishing an aggressive policy of offering bribes to Mexican officials who broke the laws and regulations of the country.
The case is being investigated in the United States and Mexico, and the company is facing several lawsuits from pension funds that have invested in the company’s stock. The eventual sentences and fines could have a major impact not just on Walmart but also on Mexico – the company is Mexico’s largest private employer, with 2,275 stores and 221,000 employees.
An internal investigation by Walmart of its 27 international subsidiaries seems to have revealed evidence of bribes by Walmart in Brazil as well as China and India.
Walmart is not unique. British bank HSBC helped launder money for Mexican drug cartels for years. And people still remember the case of IBM in Argentina 15 years ago, when IBM paid officials at the state-owned Banco Nacion a total of $37 million in exchange for a contract to renovate the bank’s computer systems.
All of these cases – and hundreds of others with less publicity – hurt not only the companies involved but also the image of the region. The last Transparency International report only ranked three Latin American countries – Chile, Uruguay and Costa Rica – above the world average for corruption. All of the other countries are perceived as having high corruption problems, and Venezuela is one of the worst of in the world, ranked 165 out of 176 countries.
Subverting the system
The development of a country depends on governments that establish and enforce rules and regulations that are the same for everyone, as well as a free-market system where all of the competitors play by the rules. When you can get an advantage by paying bribes, that system is subverted. And when the person who gets that advantage is Walmart, the victims are numerous, starting with their direct local competitors and including other potential international investors, who might think twice about investing in the market.
When a giant like HSBC is laundering drug money, it distorts the financial markets and subverts the democratic system.
The United States has taken a step in the right direction by legally punishing companies that commit bribery abroad. The situation would be even better if all countries adopted similar legislation.
The so-called multi-Latinos, the select club of Latin American multinationals, have the task of being agents of change, and should explicitly state a commitment to fight corruption in their statutes. These statutes should also include ethical standards to abide by when doing business throughout Latin America.
Latin American governments should establish an agreement to standardize corruption laws and penalties.
International development banks, like the World Bank and the Interamerican Development Bank, have taken a step in the right direction. Since a couple of years ago, any company that is guilty of corruption is barred from participating in projects financed by either bank.
The task sounds complicated and difficult, but it is worth it. Many studies have found a clear relationship between corruption, poverty and under-development – equal to the distortions produced in the way resources are distributed. It is obvious that corruption hurts countries where it takes place, and we need political will, both on the part of governments and business people, to get rid of this scourge.
via Walmart And Company Bribing Their Way Through Latin America –.
via Walmart And Company Bribing Their Way Through Latin America –.