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
independent.ie
2Colleagues 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
94Lowry 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
1Treasury 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
68Undeclared rental income targeted in Revenue crackdown
Landlords responsible for €42 million in upaid tax last year, records show read full article
76McNulty 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
55Tough 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 –.
Misebogland
The secret is out
Can you trust International Banking?
Judge for yourself
Just a quick look at recent developments
7/8
Standard Chartered accused of exposing the US to terrorists, drug dealers, and weapon dealers by hiding $250 billion of transactions with the Iranian government.
31/7
Deutsche Bank admits Libor involvement.
Germany’s biggest bank faces regulatory action after admitting complicity in rate-fixing scandal along with Barclays.
17/7
HSBC ‘allowed drug cartels to launder money’
Early July –details of Barclay’s bank/ *Libor’s scandal started to emerge (rate fixing)
The governing bank of England was also aware of this illegal manipulation.
In Canada – participants in the Libor scandel include the Canadian branches of the Royal Bank of Scotland, HSBC, Deutsche Bank, JP Morgan Bank, and Citibank, as well as ICAP (Intercapital), an interdealer broker.
USA- In the USA regulators were focusing on Bank of America Corp., Citigroup Inc. and UBS AG in their probe of Libor’s rate manipulation.
Goldman Sachs has not yet faced the music for cooking the books of Greece.
This manipulation allowed the Greeks to falsely comply with the requirements for Euro zone admission.
Will they ever be sanctioned and if not why?
What you will understand from the above is all the major banks are involved in illegal rate fixing.
Rate fixing means, you Johnny Citizen gets cheated out of money and the bankers get fat bonus payments
* the London inter-bank offered rate
The Fraudulent Traveller
Healy Eames
This rather silly senator appears to be hell-bent on setting a senate record for difficulties with the law. Let us have a look at her track- record. She took her plumber take her to court rather than pay him what he was owed. Had planning permission for a two-story garage refused? She went ahead and built it regardless of the law. Officials recommended demolition of the building due to blatant flaunting of the planning process. However, a “higher” up “official” granted her retention. I wonder if this could be maybe a close by senior say like in Mayo. In early July, this woman received a fine for not having road tax on her Merc c180. She stated that this was an oversight on her part. In Late July fined €100 for not having a train ticket. The very same senator receives €2,424 a month in travel and accommodation expenses. One might say a nice little earner when you do not pay your road tax or train fares. Jesus’ lads but you cannot beat the old gravy train. Some neck on this woman but then again, rules and regulations only apply to the serfs. It might be interesting to check out her overnight accommodation expenses to see how they stack up. Between oversights, lack of foresight and poor visual vision one wonders how this woman can even find her way to the senate let alone claim expenses.
To compound all this nonsense Fine Gael issued this gobbledygook as a damage limitation exercise.
Senator Healy Eames boarded the 6.50am train to Dublin in a rush, at Athenry station yesterday morning (Thursday). She did so on the understanding that she would be able to purchase a ticket on board, as she had previously done on recent occasions. An officer approached her from the revenue protection unit on board who asked her for ID. She produced her Seanad ID card. She offered to buy a ticket as normal. He told her she could not buy a ticket from him and fined her €100.
It appears the true heirs to the Feeling small party are well and truly on board the gravy train.
Skippy Quinn
Daddy says Skippy won’t be going back” to face the prospect of jail in the Republic. Daddy says he has no chance of getting “fair play or justice” because of the corrupt way the authorities have handled the Quinn case. Daddy says Young Skippy is under a lot of pressure, and he deserves our sympathy. If daddy Quinn has evidence of “the corrupt way the authorities handled the case,” then perhaps he might share the information with the Gardai. Let us all remind Daddy Quinn that the entire nation witnessed dear little Skippy on video lying through his teeth. Let’s jog the memory of the old Quinn a little further and say “Sir” you son was given every chance to comply with the law but failed to do so. He skipped court and did a runner. The sheer arrogance and smug self-righteousness by the Quinn family of their wrongdoing defies belief. Hopefully at the end of the day they will all end in Jail. —————————————————————————————————————————-
Are you Ready to be a Bonded Serf?
What the major political parties will not tell you is there is no way forward from the current economic crisis except a doomsday scenario. Are they preparing for it? Yes is the answer. The current system is to be replaced by the new political credo of “Economic serfdom” which means welcome to P.I.G.S. party feudalism. The middle classes and working classes will shortly cease to exist. What this means is that 95% of the population will become bonded serfs to the privileged. Future generations will be born into economic slavery to serve the Elites. They will be controlled by the enforcers of the vested interests until released by death from exhaustion having procreated to keep the supply system going. The Royalty of Banks, the Royalty of Global Business, and the Royalty of Unelected Leaders are now your governors such is your destiny.
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The billion barrel oil find off the Cork coast
Hurray, hurrah we are rich once again. Twenty-five per cent of the corporate profit is our cut, however; there are two points to note. They can write off exploration costs against tax. The twenty-five per cent can increase to forty depending on the profitability of the field. This is a red herring, as the number crunchers will ensure this never happens. I guaranteed we will get **** yet once again. It looks like we are destined to remain Kings of the Sardine industry. Now that chap Chavez begins to look rather interesting. Just how did he do it, perhaps time for a government junket to Venezuela?
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Mario Draghi President of the European Central Bank
Mario Draghi the man who pulls the fiscal strings in Europe. Does he represent the people of Europe? Not on your life, he has one interest and that is to take care of his friends in Banking. Consider the following.
1. Unelected
2. Worked for Goldman Sucks
3. Former Governor of the Bank of Italy
4. Worked for Italian Treasury
5. Worked for the Bank of International Settlements
6. Worked for the World Bank
Does this look like the CV of a trustworthy man? Be assured he will not work in your interest but he knows how to stir it up. Yes the very same man who insisted we pay penal interest rates for the bailout. 
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€6000.00 per head per month to the Quinn family
children while people on the Dole starve
The High Court has approved the payment of monthly living expenses €30,000 to the five adult children of bankrupt executive Sean Quinn and three spouses. Well now, you know if your low income nobody gives a toss about you. No social welfare means test for the boys as you can see the elite look after the elk.
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WANTED Peter Darragh Quinn If you know the whereabouts of this man please inform the Gardai. Do not approach this man as he is carrying a large amount of lethal coinage
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Sean Quinn: Well-known figures who rallied to support
bankrupt tycoon run for cover
PROMINENT figures from GAA and television yesterday ducked for cover when asked to comment on their involvement in a rally supporting fallen tycoon Sean Quinn.
They included Tyrone manager Mickey Harte, left, and former Meath star Colm O’Rourke, right, in the middle is that insufferable clown father Brian D’arsey. These three were among those who marched in Ballyconnell, Co Cavan in support of the Quinn’s. One wonders if the these three attention seekers ever gave a thought to the poor tax payer
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Former Bank Chairman arrested on Fraud Charges
Sean Fitzpatrick made “no comment” when he was charged with 16 counts contrary to Section 60 of the Companies Act. The charges allege that before it became nationalized, he permitted the bank to “give unlawful financial assistance” to 16 named individuals for the purpose of or in connection with a purchase by the same people of shares in the then Anglo Irish Bank Corporation Plc. It is claimed the alleged unlawful financial help to buy shares was given between July 10 and July 17, 2008 to 15 people. These include the so-called “Maple Ten” group of Irish Investors and several members of Sean Quinn’s family – and from July 17 until July 30, of the same year, to Patricia Quinn, the wife of now bankrupt quarry tycoon Sean. Among the names on the charges is Sean Quinn Junior, jailed last week by the High Court for contempt of court for hiding €500m of property assets from Anglo, now called the IBRC. Also included in the names of people who allegedly got financial assistance to buy shares in the bank are: Colette Marie Quinn, Aoife Quinn, Ciara Quinn, Brenda Quinn, property developer Patrick McKillen, Seamus Ross, Brian O’Farrell, John McCabe, Gerard Maguire, Patrick Kearney, Gerard Gannon, Gerard Conlon, Sean Reilly and Joseph O’Reilly.
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Still At Large
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Editorial comment
The Bankers Story
The capital of Rotten Island Bud Nil was an ancient and revered city. However, in keeping with the wealth and affluence of the times the city councillors renamed the city “Wonderland.” Somewhere between Never Neverland (North side”) and the inner sanctum of Wonderland there is a sector called” Forever Wonderland’.” This neighbourhood is the financial heart of the nation. In this district, lived a wealthy young banker. His notable attributes were a craving for attention, a bad memory, and a chequered career. He treasured the radiance of other inducements and was a frequent visitor to Feckerland the area of dance, revelry, alcohol, and Chateaubriand. Parochially, friends and acquaintances, knew him as “Disney” Fitzfiddle. Men did travel across the length and breadth of the land to win the friendship of “Disney.” He loved a good story from waiting recipients of fiscal credits, borrowers, whose habitual wrongdoing he totally ignored. In his own words, he stated, I was big. Some came and said “Disney” can you lend me 10 million quid, and I’d say. Sure, no problem at all, we can do it without recourse to Peter and Paul for you know I am a man who can lend without rancour. Let us go for a ride in the Bentley and lunch at the “Incidentally” and later tarry awhile in Dick Gentlys (a well-known brothel). Alas, the good days, now I am but the evil pantomime villain, who only borrowed a handy hundred million. Look at who elevated me, aren’t we all cronies of the Dons of the Feeling Smallers. Why did you know? I even had the occasional game of golf, with the nation’s esteemed Boss, the great incompetent Mr. Buttocks, the pillar of lies and good-byes. Agreed, I may have moved a few loans around a bit, temporarily mislaid them, perhaps duped an auditor or two. Had an odd incriminating letter gone missing here and there? Aha, but my God, me self and “The Little Drummer Boy” good times we had. Now they say I am bankrupt with only three million quid to live on. Understand lads; for me, the attraction was the crack of the fiscal flimflam. Never mind we can bank on ‘Sinister House’ to direct the department of “Fiscal Make Believe” to clear up this Disney quicksand No, no regrets, sure was the problem not global, in all sincerity nothing to do with me.
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In the next issue of “Misebogland” the truth behind the
Bailout
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– Finally some information concerning Misebogland is the leading newspaper on the Island of Rotten Island. For those of you who are unaware Rotten Island is a mirror image of the Island of Ireland that happens to exists in a parallel universe. However, as you become familiar with the Misebogland, you will note and observe that there are subtle differences due to mutations that have occurred over the course of time. For example, the Irish Language has disappeared. The current Prime Minister Dame Enda is an outrageous transsexual.
