money

I never knew how screwed up global banking was until I started my own bank

"You can imagine my surprise when I found out that SWIFT runs on Windows Vista - an obsolete operating system that Microsoft no longer supports. When my bank received its SWIFT code, we were told that we had to have a computer running Vista in the office in order to connect to SWIFT. It was such an absurd exercise to find an obsolete computer running an obsolete operating system to connect to the supposedly most advanced and important international payment network in the world. Unsurprisingly, SWIFT has been hacked numerous times, both by the NSA as well as private hackers who have stolen a great deal of money from their victims." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingI never knew how screwed up global banking was until I started my own bank

IRS deliberately targeted innocents for civil forfeiture program

"The Treasury Inspector General released a report this month that reveals that the IRS deliberately targeted people they knew were not engaged in structuring for millions of dollars' worth of seizures, such that 91% of seizures were made in error, taking money away from people engaged in lawful activity. These seizures were 'quick hits' that allowed IRS enforcers the rack up impressive resolution stats because the victims were happy to negotiate a settlement, as opposed to actual criminal acts. The result: for the IRS, depositing $10,000 or more was an inherently suspicious act; but so was depositing $10,000 or less." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIRS deliberately targeted innocents for civil forfeiture program

IRS Seized $17 Million From Innocent Business Owners Using Asset Forfeiture

"The full scope of the cash seizures—and the overwhelming amount of cases involving innocent people—have not been revealed until now. The inspector general found money seized and forfeited by the IRS was legally obtained in 91 percent of a sample of 278 structuring investigations it reviewed occurring between fiscal years 2012 and 2014. Altogether, those funds totalled $17.1 million and involved 231 cases." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIRS Seized $17 Million From Innocent Business Owners Using Asset Forfeiture

How can anyone trust banks?

"What I’m about to tell you is a true story. And by the end of it, I hope it will be pretty clear that we’ve been programmed to put far, far too much trust in the banking system. As my story will show you, they act with a sanctimonious sense of self-entitlement… that it’s no longer YOUR money in the bank. It’s their money. And they’re going to do whatever they damn well please with it." Continue reading →

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Hackers steal 2 billion rubles at Russia’s central bank

"The central bank did not say when the heist occurred or how hackers moved the funds. But so far, the attack bears some similarity to a recent string of heists that has targeted the worldwide financial system. In January 2015, hackers got a hold of an Ecuadorian bank's codes for using SWIFT, the worldwide interbank communication network that settles transactions. In October, hackers used the same technique to slip into a bank in the Philippines. Two months later, hackers tried to make fraudulent requests at a commercial bank in Vietnam. They were stopped. This past February, computer hackers stole $101 million from Bangladesh's central bank -- also by gaining access to SWIFT." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHackers steal 2 billion rubles at Russia’s central bank

India Bank Adviser Proposes Regular, ‘Surprise’ Cash Bans

If these academics have their way, government-backed paper money will further approach its intrinsic value - zero. They hope that this will drive cash-based savings into bank deposits, which generate fee revenue and a source of leverage for the banks while at the same time supplying governments with taxes and police oversight of citizens' financial lives. However, governments attempting to eliminate cash usage risk destroying trust in the 'coin of the realm', leading to cash-based savings being moved into assets such as real estate, precious metals, and cryptocurrencies instead of bank deposits. Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIndia Bank Adviser Proposes Regular, ‘Surprise’ Cash Bans

India’s Cash Ban Leaves At Least 47 Dead, So Far

"Eight days into demonetisation, the death toll has reached 47. These are confirmed deaths reported in the national media. The number of unreported deaths may be higher. While most deaths are of the elderly waiting in long bank queues, there are quite a few suicides, especially of housewives." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIndia’s Cash Ban Leaves At Least 47 Dead, So Far