Some Pigs Money Launderers Are More Equal Than Other Pigs Money Launderers
Treasury is going to ratchet up sanctions against Iran today, designating it as a primary money laundering concern.
he Treasury Department plans to designate Iran as an area of “primary money laundering concern” on Monday, a U.S. official said, a move allowing it to take steps to further isolate the Iranian financial sector.
[snip]
The decision — which the official said was to be announced by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on Monday — appeared designed as a warning about the risks of dealing with Iran’s financial institutions.
Maybe if the government would actually punish those who traded with Iran–like JP Morgan Chase–rather than imposing fines but then funneling them more money than the fines, it would have an effect on entities dealing with Iran’s financial institutions?
More importantly, the Treasury Department must think “money launderer” means something different than I understand it to mean. Because these guys are still operating as a favored financial jurisdiction for Americans and American companies.
A small group of Cayman Islands “jumbo directors” are sitting on the boards of hundreds of hedge funds as demand for independent directors booms in the Caribbean tax haven.
At least four individuals hold more than 100 non-executive directorships each, and 14 have more than 70 – each worth as much as $30,000 a year.
One has been listed as on the boards of 567 Cayman entities, almost all of which were hedge funds.
So long as we allow Cayman Islands and the hedgies to set up a kind of dangerous hybrid, where the hedgies themselves get to make sure the Cayman banks operate “ethically” as they launder the hedgies money, whatever concern we try to muster about Iran will ring false.
But I guess that’s increasingly par for the course.
How does one go about getting one of those directors’ jobs? It seems pretty much like there’s no f’g way anyone would be able to exercise director-like duties while sitting on that many boards, so it pretty much comes down to a no-show, all-pay job.
Seems like a pretty good gig….
It is a place where those who actually made their money the hard way, send their children who could not balance a checkbook.
“I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around [the banks] will deprive the people of all property until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered. The issuing power should be taken from the banks and restored to the people, to whom it properly belongs.” Seems this American founder is spot on?
http://www.quotationspage.com/quote/37700.html
Between fleecing banks, pig money launderers, and energy corps America is in servitude to corporations…..
Servitude to corporate sucks……….
This is just more kabuki that won’t affect the big oil companies one iota. Hell, back in the 1990s Clinton issued an Executive Order forbidding US companies from doing business with Iran, but that never stopped Dick Cheney’s Halliburton or even put a slight hitch in its giddy-up.
@scribe: Didn’t mob soldiers use to have those kind of jobs?
We’ll know when the Government starts to follow the money that they are serious about solving major issues and not just initiating another ‘War on Symptoms’.
They have known since they brought Al Capone down for tax evasion that following the money is the most powerful strategy available against all forms of illegal behaviour.
Banking secrecy is the single enabling factor that needs to be addressed to expose not just greed but all corruption. Dictators, Drug Lords, War Lords, Porn and Prostitution Slave Kings, Tax Cheats, ALL, will be exposed when Banking secrecy is no longer seen as legitimate.
The world needs many more Rudolph Elmers and organisations like WikiLeaks and the Tax Justice Network.
Or, I don’t know. Maybe go after the US bankers that have knowingly laundered billions in drug cartel money?
But I guess that’s not sexy enough for them.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/apr/03/us-bank-mexico-drug-gangs
@ack: What a great article, greatly depressing as well.
And that is just the drug cartels. The dictators that have raped African countries of their wealth apparently have laundered the money through various banks and have then used it to purchase assets around the world. In some cases even buying up the infrastructure of the very countries they are meant to be leading but instead are raping.
As a thought, the OWS movement might change their strategy from removing corporate influence on government to demanding financial transparency of corporations/trusts including banks. It would achieve the current strategic outcome and a whole lot more.
But as the article you linked to says, “The DEA is focused on drug trafficking rather than money laundering. You get a quicker result that way – they want to get the traffickers and seize their assets. But this is like treating a sick plant by cutting off a few branches – it just grows new ones. Going after the big money is cutting down the plant – it’s a harder door to knock on, it’s a longer haul, and it won’t get you the short-term riches.”
And while doing so you’ll be public enemy number one for tryin to expose the corruption.
Have there been a lot of funds recently moved off-shore? I wouldn’t be surprised. There’s some talk about a tax holiday where offshore funds can be brought back at a low low rate — which Dubya did.
It isn’t going to happen now.
There may be tax reform, but nobody gets off light by using tricks.