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Dawnstar France



dawn star wrote:
> 
> Some news for the interested, others delete now.
> 
> Trust your banker! Drugs & Moneylaundering in Switzerland. The 'Money &
> Markets business section front page in Monday Dec 21 1998 Wall Street
> Journal Europe reports "Swiss and U.S. Agree to Split Druglord's Cash"
> (Michael Allen)
> Its about some $180m "seized from a Comumbian narcotics trafficker's
> Swiss bank accounts, a record forfeiture of drug cash that highlights
> improved cooperation between the two countries in money-laundering
> investigations." The story later says, "The time when people arrived in
> Switzerland with suitcases full of banknotes is over,"says Jacques
> Antenen, a prosecutor in Lausanne, Switzerland, who handled part of the
> case." Now comes the clincher.  "Joseph Oberholzer, the UBS ofcial who
> handled the account, was cleared of money-laundering charges by a Swiss
> court on the grounds that he misunderstood the changaed Swiss laws.
> Swiss authorities have appealed the decision.Swiss investigators say Mr.
> Oberholzer was also a party to a banking transaction (scam, sic)
> involving Raul Salinas de Gortari, the brother of former president of
> Mexico, whom Swiss authorities have accused to an unrelated case of
> running a drug-protection racket in Mexico..." Isn't that cute, take the
> money, free the banker, and screw the dealer and send his wife to prison
> for twelve years. Banking is such an honorable business... Did you catch
> the Citibank moneylaundering story last week in the WSJ. They excused
> the scams, saying that it somehow missed their controls or some other
> garbage like they had not yet effected their controls etc etc.
> Well, we need banks, but they aren't virgins.
> 
> Another story, Tuesday's Financial Times (UK) prints another column by
> France's Dominique Moisi (Paris based deputy director of the Institut
> Francais des relations internationales) with a picture of Saddam and the
> caption 'Still standing: France feels US policy towards Saddam has
> failed') Meanwhile today's Liberation daily publishes how since late
> 1996 France has been feeding recon photos of Iraq to US military and
> actively participated in recent raids doing same recon photo assistance.
> The FT story 'France's special relationship, Iraq has played a central
> part in France's attempt to create a global political role for itself,
> says Dominque Moisi, writes, "...the so-called 'Arab policy of France'
> has played a vial role in rench foreign relations. It was perceived as a
> special -- if not an ideal -- partner for France". It is very odd that
> Moisi misses a crucial point here. In blithely refering to oil politics
> -he could have picked up today's Liberation and found the full page
> TotalFina ad declaring itself as the world's fifth largest oil company
> with 69 000 worldwide employees and inviting shareholders to a meeting
> January 14 at Espace Havas at Ten am (Havas is owned by Alcatel, Serge
> Tchuruk's company, formerly Total CEO before M. Desmarest). Not a word
> in the Moisi FT story on Total, or Total's oil plans in Iraq. Very odd
> indeed, given the fact, published in the last Total annual report, that
> Total, in 1927, when the company was called Compagnie FRAncaise des
> Petroles, discovered oil nar Kirkuk, Iraq. For those who dont know,
> Total became a registered company name in 1954. In 1992, when Tchuruk
> was still there doing business with the drug junta in Burma, the french
> state reduced its stake in Total from 31.7 percent to 5.4 percent, and
> holds now .9 percent with a state rep on the board, and more influence
> through sundry equity companies, like Cogema, the world's largest
> processor of nuclear fuels. Yes, Total holds a chunk of Cogema too.
> 
> Also from FT today, Total is France's second largest company in the Uk,
> behind Elf, its oil and gas sister rival. The FT reports the UK oil
> exploration and production sector the worst performer (percentage change
> in FTSE sectors relative to the FTSE AllShare Index), down 61.21
> percent.
> 
> So when you hear about that 120 billion US dollars of lost oil revenue
> that 8 years of UN sanctions against Iraq, think about Total. It wants
> Iraqi oil and feels entitled to it by France's "special relationship".
> 
> Yesterday's FT wrote about the French bank Credit Lyonnais, which has so
> far cost French taxpayers some 20 billion dollars in foregone reveune.
> Now the current CL president, Jean Yves Haberer is alleged to hafe
> provided false financial accounts and information to a judge. The judge
> returned last Thursday to the bank and seized documents from the 1990 to
> 1994 period. Credit Lyonnais is in Burma, one of the few french banks
> there.
> Does anyone know the exact number of french banks now in Burma? CL was
> also a significant shareholder in Total, then transferred to the CDR
> during the investigations of those lost, missing or stolen billions.
> 
> Further, yes in the FT today, a story "Foreign oilmen find tensions
> cloud Iranian paradise island". Its all about Total, but you wouldnt
> know it unless you read closer."Sirri conjures up heavenly visions to
> barred US groups. But Total and Elf tell a different tale. (Robert
> Cozine) Total took over Conoco's foreign offshore project prohibited by
> Washington sanctions on US companies in Iran. 'US congressional attempts
> to use unilateral sanctions to stop the project failed, and earlier this
> year President Clinton issued a waiver to Total."
> 
> 
> 
> a suggestion, has anyone opened up a human rights foundation investing
> in internet stocks. I would like to do it. Any of you want to join in?
> Imagine if we had put 5 000 US dollars in Amazon last January. It would
> be worth some $300 000. We could do a lot with that for the Free Burma
> movement, n'est-ce pas?
> 
> dawn star
> end