← Autodidact Archive · Original Dissent · weisbrot
Thread ID: 14222 | Posts: 2 | Started: 2004-06-16
2004-06-16 19:08 | User Profile
*Soldiers in Iraq found billions in U.S. currency; somebody has to take the fall. It's a rerun of the BCCI investigation, and the stooges are being maneuvered into place. Take a look at the [URL=http://www.totse.com/en/politics/international_banking_money_laundering/bnldroug.html]testimony [/URL] of poor Christopher Drogoul soon after he was imprisoned for his part in BCCI; not too long after this testimony he helpfully died of "cancer".
A cursory read of the NYT article reveals a Fed that is reveling in its role as the overseer of US-based thugs of international finance. It's amazing- or boring, depending on how much time the reader spends watching the NFL- how each time these manipulations break the surface, there is a quick and simple good wins over evil investigation followed by convictions, imprisonments of low-level officials and public apathy.
The NYT helpfully allows the implication that the Fed was guilty of a mere failure in oversight. Thanks again, tireless media.*
[url]http://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/06/business/yourmoney/06ubs.html?ex=1087532026&ei=1&en=141144a3a0828e04[/url]
THE difficulty of mapping the full journey of the money found in Baghdad last year shows some of the forensic hurdles confronting Fed and Treasury investigators. But the supervision of UBS has shown some of the Fed's regulatory weaknesses.
"The Fed just seemed to take UBS at their word as to where they traded the money," Senator Jim Bunning, Republican of Kentucky, said in a statement two weeks ago. "As long as the bottom line matched up, the Fed didn't seem to worry that much about where the money went. UBS falsified documents, but I do not believe the Fed showed the proper due diligence."
When B.C.C.I.'s problems first spilled into the open more than a decade ago, Fed regulators said that the bank had lied to them and that they therefore could not have detected abuses sooner. That is the same reason they have given recently for being slow to catch problems at UBS.
Senate testimony also suggests that the Fed may have been too credulous in its relationship with UBS.
"Did the Fed ever conduct unannounced audits" of UBS? Senator Shelby asked Mr. Baxter two weeks ago.
Mr. Baxter responded, "I think they always knew we were coming."
Regulators previously walked softly around accusations of money laundering. The two biggest such investigations of the late 1990's, involving Citigroup and the Bank of New York, did not result in any regulatory fines and stalled after investigators hit dead ends in gathering evidence outside the United States.
2004-06-17 05:01 | User Profile
Thanks for the link. Fascinating.
We all know who's running the show, but it's interesting to see "outside" confirmation.