Larisa Alexandrovna: Of Slush Fund, Insider Trading, and Terra Threats

[kpete]

Larisa Alexandrovna

06.25.2006
Of Slush Fund, Insider Trading, and Terra Threats

Yes, I know, seven people were arrested - five Americans - in a strange thought crime - plot to bomb the Sears Tower.

In other news, the Bush administration has apparently been doing more illegal domestic surveillance, this time of banking records.

Is it a coincidence that news of the first supposed terra-folks located within the United States since the attacks of 2001 would come on the same day as this damning story?

Perhaps, but this is after all an administration that writes its own news and disseminates it. While it is easy to dismiss such questioning as simply cynicism, the reality is far too ugly to ignore - namely, that people who have already violated Federal and international law and repeatedly lied despite evidence contrary to their assertions would abuse their powers yet again for such an obvious and naked ploy.

According to a ten page article in the New York Times this past Thursday, in case you missed it due to the lack of a functioning and independent fourth estate, the Bush administration is using the Treasury Department and the CIA to mine American banking records, all in an effort to find the next terra cell, which by the way they just happened to do the very day this news broke.

much more at:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/larisa-alexandrovna/of-slush-fund-insider-tr_b_23739.html

[lala_rawraw]

1. not a single comment?

oy... thanks Kpete:)

[H2O Man]

2. This is very important.

I nominated this thread, because I think it is very important for people to become familiar with the issues at hand. Right now, the corporate media in the vast wasteland of television continues to focus on "has the newspaper gone too far in reporting, allowing the terrorists to know the government is watching them?" And that is not the question, at all.

As others have stated, the type of intelligence needed to make these transactions requires that one is smart enough to be aware, especially after 9-11, that the US government is watching financial transactions. Hence, it seems to me that the administration is more upset that the public is finding out to what extent the federal government is spying on its own citizens.

This well-written article takes it a step farther, and examines what the nature of some of the financial transactions that members of the elite, ruling class have taken. Many of these transactions are used to promote the schemes that these folks use to line their pockets, and further their criminal, neoconservative agenda.

[teryang]

8. I don't believe for a second that the surveillance of transactions

...isn't realtime.

[stepnw1f]

3. Absolutely Sliding Towards a Dictatorship

Oh I wish our forefathers would rise up to overthrow these bastards, so I guess we'll have to do it ourselves.

[teryang]

4. Why didn't they use this to identify the put options buyers who...

profited on 911? These profits were in the hundreds of millions, if not billions, made by those with foreknowledge about 911.

[Swede]

5. The Times sat on this story for weeks as administration officials

tried to persuade them to eat it. So Bush new exactly when it was gonna come out.

[elehhhhna]

6. If they'd analyze all the offshore tranfers (Caymans, etc.)

they'd open a can that would shake this country to the core.

[postulater]

7. Thanks for this insight

[SeattleRob]

9. Great Article

She is getting into the untold story of the Iraq Debacle: Missing billions and money laundering.

[AuntiBush]

10. Good Post & Link, kpete!

Again, Larisa points everything out for all to comprehend. This is a disgrace. What they are doing to Americans should be done to them, as well! And, why haven't they found those put-options on 9/10/01?

[specimenfred1984]

11. Excellent Article and Great Questions

for example:

"Forgive me if this is an ignorant question, but why is a man who approves access to 21 sensitive and unprotected points of interest in the United States for the very people who helped fund the 911 hijackers given carte blanche to look for terrorists in our bank records? Am I missing something here?"

My guess at an answer is that Snow is looking for people who would thwart the "terrorists" getting their money -- in other words Snow is a pure traitor to the U.S..

[DemReadingDU]

12. I was listening to BBC news on my local NPR station

Friday 6/23/06
There was a point made that within the 1st 6 months of 9/11, spying on the bank records was absolutely necessary to see where the money was going. BUT, the bad guys now use different methods and Operation Swift wasn't catching much nowadays.

So why is Bush administration still spying on our bank records?


Maybe someone else heard this same program and can elaborate.

[im10ashus]

13. K&R!

When I posted the NY Times story on Thursday and wondered how coincidental the timing was in relation to the "terra" arrests in Florida, the thread sunk like a rock. As I said then, THIS is the real story. Smoke and mirrors per usual with this administration.

:kick:

[kpete]

14. im10ashus

I believe it was you who once made me realize that I needed to slow down every once in a while and take a deep breath.

This is for you..........





I have not said hello for some time,

So, hello, and Peace to you and yours!

[Kurovski]

15. K&R

Outrageous. I refuse to become complacent about BushCo's ongoing shredding of our rights.

Let's keep contacting our reps. Keep speaking up, keep on making trouble for the maladministration.

[Joanne98]

16. SWIFT was the most interesting part. The PEOPLE of Europe

citizens of the EU should be furious about this. I remember when the EU was being formed, there were people who didn't want to give Brussels all that power. They didn't know if they could be trusted. Well GUESS WHAT! The Brussel bankers CAN'T be trusted. They went behind everyones back and helped BUSH spy on the European people. I hope the French get out in the street and tell Brussels they want to pull out of the EU. It's really a joke when the EU leaders act like they don't like Bush, when they're IN BUSINESS TOGETHER!

[dogday]

17. That story did it's job

they all make me :puke:

[bloom]

18. kick

[druidity33]

19. K&R n/t

[seemslikeadream]

20. Riggs Bank = Jonathan Bush

BANKING

The Bush-Riggs Connection

The decision last week by federal regulators to fine Riggs Bank $25 million for a "willful, systemic" violation of anti-money-laundering laws is raising new questions about whether the Bush administration's ties to powerful moneyed interests is unduly influencing U.S. foreign and national security policy. Riggs Bank is headed by longtime Bush family friend Joe Allbritton, employs President Bush's uncle Jonathan as a top executive, and other executives have been financial donors to the Bush campaign. The bank is at the center of a controversy, according to the Wall Street Journal, for failing to monitor "tens of millions of dollars in cash withdrawals from accounts related to the Saudi Arabian and Equatorial Guinean embassy," including "suspicious incidents involving dozens of sequentially numbered cashier's checks and international drafts written by Saudi officials, including Saudi Ambassador Prince Bandar bin Sultan." Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA) "said members of the bank's board of directors should be held to account for failing to exercise their watchdog role over Riggs's operations" and said refusal to follow money laundering laws "allows terrorists to funnel their blood money through the system."

CONNECTION – JONATHAN BUSH AND RIGGS: Jonathan Bush, President Bush's uncle, was appointed CEO of Riggs Bank's investment arm in May of 2000, just months after his nephew secured the nomination for the presidency. At the time of the appointment, Jonathan Bush had already become a major financial backer of his nephew, rising to "Bush Pioneer" status by raising more than $100,000 for his nephew in 2000. The move solidified the relationship between Jonathan Bush and Riggs, which was originally initiated in 1997 when, according to American Banker newsletter, Riggs paid Bush $5.5 million for his smaller investment firm. That transaction, according to the NYT, "deepened links to the Bushes." While Riggs denies any connection between Bush and the accounts being investigated in the money laundering probe, Riggs President Timothy Lex told the Washington Times in 1997 that "there's a blurring of distinctions between banks, mutual-fund families, broker dealers and everything else across the board."

CONNECTION - ALLBRITTON-BUSH LINK: Allbritton, who said during the federal probe that he was stepping down from Riggs's board, also was close to the Bush family. As the NYT reported, he (along with Riggs client Saudi Prince Bandar) was a financial backer of the George Bush Presidential Library and Museum, with National Journal noting he contributed between $100,000 - $250,000 to the project. And there also appears to be a personal bond with the current President Bush: As the 2/15/01 WP noted, "When President Bush climbed out of his limousine on Inauguration Day at the corner of 15th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, he spotted Allbritton, waved and said, 'Hey Joe, how are you doing?'" That might have something to do with the fact that, according to the 11/7/2000 Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Allbritton-owned TV station KATV in Little Rock broke 39 years of precedent and publicly endorsed Bush in the 2000 presidential election. The station, which is the biggest in the state, proceeded to air its endorsement 10 times throughout Arkansas, and refused to give equal time to Democrats "who asked for the time to present an alternative to the station's endorsement."

SNIP...

ACTION - HIDING INFORMATION THAT COULD BE DAMAGING TO RIGGS: Newsweek reported that checks to "two Saudi students in the United States who provided assistance to two of the September 11 hijackers" may have come "from an account at Washington's Riggs Bank in the name of Princess Haifa Al-Faisal, the wife of Saudi Ambassador to the United States, Prince Bandar bin Sultan." This, and other details, were reportedly part of the bipartisan House-Senate Intelligence Committee investigation into the Saudi money flow after 9/11. Yet, instead of allowing the committee's final report to be published in full, "Bush administration officials, led by Attorney General John Ashcroft and FBI Director Robert Mueller, have adamantly refused to declassify the evidence" surrounding the transactions.

ACTION – RESUMING RELATIONS WITH SORDID RIGGS CLIENT: Riggs's fines were also in relation to its business with Equatorial Guinea – the oil-rich West African country headed by brutal dictator Gen. Teodoro Obiang. As the LA Times notes, though the country's offshore oil fields "generate hundreds of millions of dollars, there are few signs of the petroleum boom" there, and the Guinean ambassador admits "the country's oil funds are held in an account at Riggs Bank" controlled by the dictator. But while the IMF and other international institutions have refused to do business with the regime until it accounts for its country's financial resources, the Bush administration "initiated a political thaw with the Obiang regime" in late 2001, "authorizing the reopening of the U.S. Embassy in Equatorial Guinea, which had been closed six years earlier, in large part due to the country's horrific human rights record." The move came even though "there's been little, if any, improvement" on human rights.

CONTINUED (with lots o' links from the above)...
http://www.americanprogress.org/site/pp.asp?c=biJRJ8OVF&b=78928



Treason's illegal?

Bandar's wife withdrew money from Riggs that went to 9-11 hijackers.
(*Editors Note | "Other sources describe the financial records as "explosive" and say the information has spurred an intense, behind-the-scenes battle between congressional leaders and the Bush administration over whether evidence highly embarrassing to the Saudi government should be publicly disclosed--especially at a time that the White House is aggressively seeking Saudi support for a possible war against Iraq." Read that again, for it is the most important part of the story below. The Saudis were in 9/11 up to their eyeballs, and yet we ignore them because the Bush administration needs them to declare war on Iraq. Raise your hand if you sense a perversion of priorities here. -- wrp)

9-11 Hijackers: A Saudi Money Trail?

The Feds probe a possible new Saudi link to Al Qaeda

By Michael Isikoff
NewsWeek
Friday, 22 November, 2002

The FBI is investigating whether the Saudi Arabian government--using the bank account of the wife of a senior Saudi diplomat--sent tens of thousands of dollars to two Saudi students in the United States who provided assistance to two of the September 11 hijackers, according to law-enforcement sources.

The bureau, they say, has uncovered financial records showing a steady stream of payments to the family of one of the students, Omar Al Bayoumi. The money moved into the family's bank account beginning in early 2000, just a few months after hijackers Khalid Almidhar and Nawaf Alhazmi arrived in Los Angeles from an Al Qaeda planning summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, according to the sources. Within days of the terrorists' arrival in the United State, Al Bayoumi befriended the two men who would eventually hijack American Flight 77, throwing them a welcoming party in San Diego and guaranteeing their lease on an apartment next door to his own. Al Bayoumi also paid $1,500 to cover the first two months of rent for Al Midhar and Alhazmi, although officials said it is possible that the hijackers later repaid the money.

Sources familiar with the evidence say the payments--amounting to about $3,500 a month--came from an account at Washington's Riggs Bank in the name of Princess Haifa Al-Faisal, the wife of Saudi Ambassador to the United States, Prince Bandar bin Sultan, and the daughter of the late Saudi King Faisal. After Al Bayoumi left the country in July 2001--two months before the September 11 terror attacks--payments for roughly the same amount began flowing every month to Osama Basnan, a close associate of Al Bayoumi's who also befriended the hijackers. A federal law-enforcement source told NEWSWEEK that Basnan--who was recently convicted of visa fraud and is awaiting deportation--was a known "Al Qaeda sympathizer" who "celebrated the heroes of September 11" at a party after the attacks and openly talked about "what a wonderful, glorious day it had been."

Administration officials stressed repeatedly in interviews that they do not know the purpose of the payments from Princess Haifa's account. It is also uncertain whether the money was given to the hijackers by Al Bayoumi or Basman. White House sources also raised a number of other cautionary notes, saying that it was not uncommon for wealthy Saudis to provide financial assistance to struggling Saudi families in the United States. "The facts are unclear, and there's no need to rush to judgment," said one administration official.

CONTINUED...

http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/11.26A.newswk.911.htm




Bank with close ties to Bush administration engulfed in scandal
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=775366

NEW details of Thatcher coup plot: London Evening Standard
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=777970

SEC probes Marathon Oil payments in Equitorial Guinea (and HQ burns down)
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=728495

Du Toit admits meeting Thatcher
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=775274

Terrorist Stocks?
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=775943

'Petroleum lures dogs of war to Africa'
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=775315

BBC News: Thatcher charged
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=775499

Margaret Thatcher's Son Released on Coup Plot Charges (Update2
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=775803

Exiled leader in Spain denies any link to coup attempt
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=780228

Scorpions say have more info on Equatorial Guinea coup
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=781763

Financiers conspired to overthrow oil-flush African government
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=771532

Mark Thatcher: The money trail
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=780222

Thatcher case twist as list of alleged coup backers vanishes
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=779708

Thatcher: Spain 'secretly backed coup by sending warships'
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=780346

WaPo: Allbritton Loses Riggs Bank (front page, day 3)
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=691609

E Guinea 'coup plot' verdict due + update/result
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=1023049

I feel like a corpse in a river, says Mark Thatcher as he faces court...
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=1020857

Thatcher to face coup questions
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=1018687

Phone links Thatcher to alleged plot

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=1008002
There was no coup plot, says Du Toit
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=997545

Thatcher to ask Britain to help halt extradition
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=1005084

Thatcher charged over coup plot
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=1001670

Thatcher to be tried in absentia
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=994305

Britain knew in advance of Equatorial Guinea coup plot: report
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=987556

Tories Demand Answers on 'Coup Plot'
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=991361

Mandelson faces questioning over 'link' to coup plot
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=975777

Legal Woes Cut Into Bottom Line at Riggs
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=974861

Mugabe flies to Equatorial Guinea (coup plot latest)
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=964525

Despots, Deposits & Directors - Riggs Bank
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=924033

SABC asks to broadcast Thatcher court case
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=926588

Spain calls on EU to warn Equatorial Guinea - Riggs Bank
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=916444

Raids 'break up' £20m theft gang
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=906579

Thatcher coup plot: Mandelson, CIA & State Department named
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=900168

Archer 'link to coup plot'
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=899574

Britain accused of failing to investigate Africa coup
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=901850

Pentagon link to Guinea coup plot
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=867591

[lukery]

21. dead

there's a comment from some winger at huffo: "If you are dead,what good is your bank account to you?"

oy. i think we all agree that you can't take it with you ;-)

[leveymg]

22. Not the first terra cell busted since 9/11. There was the "paintball

Jihadists" in Virginia, the upstate NY cell, and the "treetrunk shooters" in Oregon - just off the top of my head. None of them seemed to have any real wherewithal to actually carry out a terrorist attack. All were Islamic or Islamic-like and had been infiltrated by FBI double-agents. John Mohammed and Lee Boyd Malvow were the exception to that pattern - a real, lethal threat but no FBI agents running the show.

[Blue Velvet]

23. Recommended. The key paragraph in the article, to me, is:

"What the NYT describes can only be seen as illegal and far-reaching, leaving any reasonable person laughing in horror at the idea of John Snow and Porter Goss -- or now General Hayden -- working together to sift through our finances, all looking for the ghost of Osama Bin Laden. Chances are that looking for the actual Osama might yield better results, but this is not an administration searching for Osama, when the myth of him is so much more politically potent."


Yup. That about sums it up.