Grabfest

There’s a Good Chance Your Bank Is Committing a Major Crime Right Now

"You probably will be very surprised to learn who aided and abetted the drug operation: it was US banking giant Wachovia. After an investigation that took years, Wells Fargo, which now owns Wachovia, paid a $160 million fine to settle the case. You might also be surprised to hear that Wachovia’s fine wasn’t an isolated case. Citibank was caught laundering money for a Mexican drug kingpin in 2001. American Express Bank admitted to laundering $55 million in drug money in 2007. And the FBI accused Bank of America of helping a Mexican drug cartel hide money in 2012. You’ve probably never heard these stories before. The big banks pay a lot of money to keep it that way." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThere’s a Good Chance Your Bank Is Committing a Major Crime Right Now

Robbing Peter

"Spain may defend its decision by pointing out that it has one of the lowest tax takes in the European Union, which is true. However, what should be the issue here is not the amount of tax being imposed, but the principle upon which the tax is being taken. Let there be no doubt about this bail-in or any other—it is pure theft. The measure in Spain is also an advance on the concept that, as long as an emergency is perceived to exist, confiscation is justified. In Spain, no emergency situation is being pretended; they simply want the money and have decided to take it." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingRobbing Peter

Spain Issues Retroactive 0.03% Tax on Bank Deposits

"Spain will retroactively tax bank deposits to January 1, 2014 stating the move will boost growth and job creation. Guru Huky correctly labeled the tax for what it is 'More than a tax, this looks like a mini seizure of deposits. Someone likely needs a few million and to balance the books.' The notion that a tax increase will boost the economy is of course absurd. But don't worry, it's only 0.03%, nudge nudge, wink wink ... for now." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSpain Issues Retroactive 0.03% Tax on Bank Deposits

U.S. Regulators Mull Yanking Access To USD As Punishment For Banks

"BNP Paribas is expected to plead guilty in the coming weeks to charges that it processed payments for companies and countries that were subject to United States sanctions. BNP Paribas is also expected to pay financial penalties of about $8 billion, which would leave a sizable, though manageable, dent on its balance sheet. Despite those potential punishments, some regulators want to do more. Specifically, Benjamin M. Lawsky, New York State’s top financial regulator, is considering whether to temporarily suspend BNP Paribas’s ability to process dollar payments, according to people briefed on the settlement talks." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingU.S. Regulators Mull Yanking Access To USD As Punishment For Banks

77,000 Foreign Banks To Share Account Info With IRS

"Nearly 70 countries have agreed to share information from their banks as part of a U.S. law that targets Americans' assets overseas. Starting in March 2015, these financial institutions have agreed to supply the IRS with names, account numbers and balances for accounts controlled by U.S. taxpayers. The law requires American banks to withhold 30 percent of certain payments to foreign banks that don't participate in the program — a significant price for access to the world's largest economy. The withholding applies to stocks and bonds, including U.S. Treasurys. Some previously owned securities would be exempt from the withholding, but in general, previously owned stocks would not." Continue reading →

Continue Reading77,000 Foreign Banks To Share Account Info With IRS

U.S. Gov. Gets $2.6 Billion In Credit Suisse ‘Money Laundering’ Case

"Credit Suisse is the largest financial company to plead guilty to the non-crime of 'money laundering' in 20 years. The plea marks the end of an era. One of the shell entities implicated, according to the government, dated back a century – or just after the creation of the federal tax code and the income tax. Of the $2.6 billion fine, The Department of Justice will receive $1.8 billion and New York State's top financial regulator, Benjamin Lawsky, will receive $715 million of the stolen loot. With the FATCA coming into full effect on January 1, 2016, and the US government actively prosecuting banks, only savvy Americans will be able to find financial institutions abroad to service them." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingU.S. Gov. Gets $2.6 Billion In Credit Suisse ‘Money Laundering’ Case

Bigger than Libor? Forex probe hangs over banks

"A global investigation into the setting of the London interbank lending rate, and related global benchmarks, has so far yielded about $3.6 billion in fines. Penalties for some of the biggest players are still to come. Traders have also faced criminal charges. As the extent of damage caused by Libor-rigging is revealed, lawyers say the probe into fixing currency rates could unfold in a similar way, and rival its impact. London is the center of the loosely regulated foreign exchange market, the biggest in the world's financial system with average daily turnover of $5.3 trillion. Proven abuse in this market would have a significant ripple effect, exposing offending firms to a host of legal action." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBigger than Libor? Forex probe hangs over banks

U.S. Deal With JPMorgan Followed a Crucial Call To Justice Department

"On Sept. 24, four hours before the Justice Department was planning to hold a news conference to announce civil charges against the bank over its sale of troubled mortgage investments, Mr. Dimon personally called one of Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr.’s top lieutenants to reopen settlement talks, people briefed on the talks said. The rare outreach from a Wall Street C.E.O. scuttled the news conference and set in motion weeks of negotiations that have culminated in a tentative $13 billion deal. An account of the negotiations pulls back a curtain on the private wrangling to illuminate how the bank and the government managed to negotiate what would be a record deal." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingU.S. Deal With JPMorgan Followed a Crucial Call To Justice Department

Alexis Breaks Down The $13 Billion Chase Settlement

"Today, we'll be talking about the Department of Justice's proposed settlement with JP Morgan Chase for $13 Billion. This settlement is about making a number of open investigations and lawsuits go away. Now the good news is the settlement does NOT immunize JPMorgan from future criminal charges, but you should know that Jamie Dimon, the CEO of JPMorgan Chase has been getting really cozy with US Attorney General Eric Holder. He's been hacing personal phone calls with Holder and staff at the Justice Department since as early as July, negotiating his own settlement, as the NYTimes reported." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAlexis Breaks Down The $13 Billion Chase Settlement

A Confiscation Tax is Headed Your Way …

"Scariest of all in the IMF’s assessment is the phrase: 'If it is implemented before avoidance is possible.' The IMF reflexively recognizes that the medicine it prescribes will not go down without force, and that those of us who can will rapidly seek ways to keep the government’s greedy paws away from our personal wealth. To counter that, the IMF implicitly advocates a blitzkrieg approach to governmental thievery. Imagine waking up some random Monday to find that the federal government has imposed a week-long 'bank holiday' that limits your access to your own money to maybe $200 a day through an ATM, and that the government is imposing a new 'wealth tax'. Can’t happen here in America?" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingA Confiscation Tax is Headed Your Way …