Tag: All Regions
Corporate home buyouts: homelessness, mortgage & rent crisis rising
Firms now control a significant portion of the rental market in the United States and Canada, raising rents in the service of turning profits. They also continue to receive tax breaks and subsidies. When the US federal government forecloses on homes due to residents’ inability to pay their mortgage, for instance, the homes are then resold to investment firms at big discounts. The corporate landlords then either resell or rent those homes. “With help from the federal government, institutional investors…
SEC Charges 8 in Cross-Border Penny Stock Fraud Scheme
Securities and Exchange Commission v. Ronald Bauer et al. Case No. 1:22-cv-03089 (S.D.N.Y. filed April 14, 2022) SEC announced charges against eight individuals for participating in a long-running fraudulent scheme that generated over $145 million from unlawful sales of penny stocks and caused significant harm to retail investors in the United States and around the world. Defendants. UK-resident Ronald Bauer and various combinations of his associates, Craig James Auringer, Adam Christopher Kambeitz, Alon Friedlander, Massimiliano (“Max”) Pozzoni, Daniel Mark Ferris,…
Congressman Mo Brooks casually explains political corruption on camera
“Elect me, I will charge you less.” “You have to do what the special interest groups require.” Lauren Windsor of The Undercurrent caught GOP Rep Mo Brooks on video saying that says prime committee chairmanships cost a minimum of $1 million and are paid by special interest groups as “a quid pro quo” for favored legislation. NEW: GOP Rep Mo Brooks says prime committee chairmanships cost a minimum of $1 million and are paid by special interest groups as "a…
Pandemic Corruption: McSwane exposes government corruption involving AirBoss and other contractors
From Amy Goodman, Democracy Now – 12 Apr 2022 In Pandemic, Inc.: Chasing the Capitalists and Thieves Who Got Rich While We Got Sick, ProPublica investigative reporter J. David McSwane tracks pandemic federal relief funds and finds many contracts to acquire critical supplies were wrapped up in unprecedented fraud schemes that left the U.S. government with subpar and unusable equipment. He says an array of contractors were “trying to take advantage of our national emergency,” and calls the book “a blueprint…
Monero defies crypto market slump, steals show #XMR #newsSummary
Positive content published on the private Monero / XMR cryptocurrency was once hard to come by, what with all the focus on crime and money laundering. It’s worth noting that Monero is a private currency for regular people who value the fundamental right to privacy. We archived some of the positive sources, as such articles tend to disappear shortly after publishing. Even the Wayback Machine failed to archive one of these. XMR Crypto Prices Spike as Monero Bulls Coordinate Mass…
Former Goldman Banker Ng Found Guilty in 1MDB Fraud Scheme
Roger Ng convicted on all three counts: The jury convicted Ng of two counts of conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) through bribery and circumvention of Goldman’s internal accounting controls, as well as one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.
ExxonMobil suspends Russian Far East LNG project, Interfax reports
ExxonMobil (XOM.N) has suspended its liquefied natural gas project in Russia’s Far East, Interfax news agency quoted a Russian governor as saying on Monday, after the firm announced plans to quit the country following Western sanctions. ExxonMobil said last month it would exit its Russian oil and gas operations, which it had valued at more than $4 billion, and halt new investment due to sanctions on Russia over Ukraine. read more The decision would see Exxon pull out of managing…
#S&P Global transacted with sanctioned #Rosneft, took 82k payment & settled for 78k with #OFAC
S&P Global Inc violated Russian sanctions (E.O. 13662) by receiving payment from sanctioned Russian Rosneft. S&P didn’t voluntarily disclose the violation and received $82,500. They settled with OFAC for $78,750. Here’s the press release.
Hydra market taken down by German police and sanctioned by U.S.
Germany shuts down servers for Russian darknet marketplace Hydra and seizes $25.2 million USD in Bitcoin. (WAPO) The illegal marketplace was a Russian-language Darknet platform that had been accessible via the Tor network since at least 2015. Their focus was on trading in illegal narcotics. In addition, data spied out worldwide, forged documents and digital services were offered profitably via the platform. (theRecord) Hydra also offered stolen databases, forged documents, and hacking for hire services—including murder, apparently. (see for instance…
Australia applies Magnitsky sanctions for first time
On 29 March 2022, Australia’s Minister for Foreign Affairs (the Minister) designated 39 individuals, including a number of Russian individuals engaged in serious corruption and human rights abuses, using the new powers set out in the Magnitsky sanctions amendments. Targeted financial sanctions and travel bans will apply to these persons from 30 March 2022. This is the first time the Australian Government has implemented sanctions under its Magnitsky-style (or thematic sanctions) laws, which were introduced in December 2021. These…
U.S. Nuclear Weapons in Europe
History Nuclear weapons owned by the United States have been deployed in Europe since the mid-1950s, when President Dwight D. Eisenhower authorized their storage at allied North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) bases on the continent for use against the Soviet Union. Though NATO officially declares itself a “nuclear alliance,” it does not own any nuclear weapons. Historically, the United States has deployed both nuclear bombs and nuclear-armed missiles to allied European states, including Greece and the United Kingdom, but since…
New Interpol boss Nasser Al-Raisi investigated in France for ‘torture’ and ‘barbarism’
The new president of Interpol has been placed under investigation in France over allegations of “torture” and “acts of barbarism”. Ahmed Nasser Al-Raisi has been accused by an NGO of mistreating one of the main opponents of the Emirati regime. France’s anti-terrorism prosecutor’s office (Pnat) has opened a preliminary investigation, AFP sources reported on Friday. Al-Raisi was only appointed Interpol’s president in November, despite backlash from several human rights groups that he undermined the organisation’s mission. He has also served…
FCC adds Russia’s Kaspersky & China telecom firms to national security threat list
– Summary – Sanctioned by FCC March 25, 2022: AO Kaspersky Lab, China Telecom (Americas) Corp [0728.HK], China Mobile International USA [0941.HK] Previously Sanctioned by FCC: Huawei Technologies Co [HWT.UL], ZTE Corp [000063.SZ], China Telecom Americas (U.S. auth revoked in October 2021), Pacific Networks (U.S. auth revoked Mar 17, 2022), ComNet (U.S. auth revoked Mar 17, 2022), China Unicom [0762.HK] (Jan 2022) The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has added Russia’s AO Kaspersky Lab, China Telecom (Americas) Corp (0728.HK) and China…
Young Ukrainian escapes war with USB stick holding 40% of life savings in #Crypto
As the Russian invasion of Ukraine nears its fifth week, it has been shown that cryptocurrencies have helped Ukrainian refugees in more than one way after being forced from their homes. Crypto has made it possible for donations worth tens of millions of dollars to pour into the country while allowing some Ukrainians to take a portion of their life savings with them as they flee across the border. One of them is a 20-year-old man identified by the pseudonym…
