Nexus - 1006 - New Times Magazine-pages

Page Content (OCR)

transfer 50 tonnes of gold bullion to Switzerland via two chartered was J. P. Morgan. In third place was Citibank. Meanwhile, 747 aircraft. These were arranged by an individual using the Citibank's largest stockholder was J. P. Morgan, which in name Ron Lusk, who had been retained by Ver to deliver the gold December 2000 merged with Chase Manhattan to form the all- to Bankers Trust, Zurich.” powerful J. P. Morgan Chase.” Bankers Trust was a J. P. Morgan Bankers Trust is of considerable interest for other reasons, too. creation from day one. Firstly, readers will recall that Dan Hughes caused two sight * White & Case: No doubt by sheer coincidence alone, the drafts to be issued in favour of Bankers Trust for the collateral Marcos account held by Roberto Benedicto at Southeast Bank commitment relative to the Chase and Citibank debenture instru- was a White & Case Trust account (number 018-410191). ments—an activity which, as we have already seen, caused It may also have been mere coincidence that Peter Seaman's General Erle Cocke to believe kicked off the Project Hammer pro- and Stuart Root's attorney, Kenneth C. Ellis—who was the regis- gramme in a big way. tered addressee at Southeast Bank building for the Bowery Secondly, the lawyers and investigators who were building a Advisors Subsidiary Corporation—is also listed on the White & lawsuit for Dan Hughes and other clients cheated out of their Case website as a partner of that firm, who specialises in financial money were quietly negotiating with the Central Intelligence matters and who now works out of its Singapore office. Agency in an attempt to settle privately and quietly out of court. ¢ UBS, Lugano: One of the more flamboyant financiers of According to Dan Hughes, these negotiations were taking place recent decades undoubtedly is the Italian, Florio Fiorini, the for- with the office of Buzzy Krongard, the then No. 3 man in the CIA mer finance director of the Italian state-owned oil company, ENI. hierarchy. Fiorini is best known for his failed attempt to rescue Roberto By profession, Krongard is a banker and formerly was the Calvi's bankrupt private bank, Banco Ambrosiano—an affair that Chairman and CEO of investment bank Alex. Brown, Inc. In also involved Mafia financier Michele Sindona and, of course, September 1997, Krongard engineered the merger of Alex. Brown Licio Gelli, the Grandmaster of the secret masonic lodge, P2, that with Bankers Trust and became the Vice Chairman of the board __ was a parallel de facto government of Italy. of directors of Bankers Trust. A Unlike others, Fiorini spilled the few months later, in January 1998, eans, and he did so in two books he was recruited as a "counsellor" that he wrote while in Champ-Dollon to CIA boss George Tenet. In prison, Switzerland, for "fraudulent March 2001, he was ted t i H ankruptcy". Of the many secrets h Executive Ditector, making. him the The fact Is that when it comes revealed, one of the most explosive No. 2 man of the spy agency. to the fraternity of banking, was the now infamous conto pro - But the strange coincidences A tezione (protection account), used to don't end there. South African one can often disregard the launder profits derived from myriad intelligence operatives Rolf van rlV. Ir h I I insider-dealing activities by some of g P' g y Rooyen and Riaan Stander,*” who the largest and most prestigious are both deeply enmeshed in the to exist, because incestuous banks and transnational corporations Project Hammer story, were work- relationships are commonplace. in Europe. ing closely with Gregory Serras, the A significant slice of the profits President/CEO of the San Diego was paid to what Fiorini amusingly brokerage firm, Vanguard Capital. described as "the starving of the par- This involved discussions for ties". In plain words, these alloca- Vanguard to act on their behalf in tions were kickbacks paid to the vari- the private placement of Argentinian government—approved ous political parties. debenture instruments that formed part of a trading programme The administrator of the secret kickback account (number that van Rooyen and Stander had been working on. In a signed 633369) was a member of P2 and also a former Minister of letter, Serras—acting on behalf of his bank, Morgan Stanley & Justice of disgraced Prime Minister Bettino Craxi, who went by Co.—requested confirmation that the debentures in question were the name of Claudius Hammerings—and if one deletes the last "legal securities authorized and approved by the government of __ four letters of his name, coincidence throws up the word Argentina..." "Hammer". Readers will by now have guessed that the account Vanguard appears to change its banking relationships from time was held at UBS, Lugano. to time. In the period that Serras was in contact with van Rooyen, Fiorini's name also appears prominently in the story of the loot- its relationship was with Morgan Stanley & Co. Today it is with ing of MGM, the famous Hollywood film studio, by Italian Mafia the Bank of New York, Inc.—itself no stranger to front-page "thug" Giancarlo Paretti. The MGM affair was an event that scandals, such as those involving money-laundering activities for | almost brought France's state-owned bank, Credit Lyonnais, Russian crime syndicates and political figures." Of interest is the crashing to its knees. Without intervention and an infusion of fact that Vanguard was earlier affiliated with Buzzy Krongard's considerable sums of money from the French taxpayer, France's old firm, Alex. Brown, which, following the takeover of Bankers once proud bank would have folded. Trust by Germany's Deutsche Bank, changed its name to This is not the place to recount the MGM/Credit Lyonnais Deutsche Banc Alex. Brown, Inc. story, but it is of passing interest only to note that Credit Lyonnais The fact is that when it comes to the fraternity of banking, one _ recruited attorney Charles Meeker to join MGM as president, to can often disregard the supposed rivalry that is said to exist, handle negotiations with Paretti. Prior to joining MGM, Meeker because incestuous relationships are commonplace. In the past, at was with the law firm of White & Case.“ Following a warrant least, the big banks owned significant chunks of each other's issued by France, Paretti was eventually arrested and cuffed by stock, whereas nowadays they just tend to merge. Take, for US federal agents in a conference room in the downtown Los example, the Bank of America, whose second-largest stockholder Angeles office of White & Case. to the fraternity of banking, one can often disregard the supposed rivalry that is said to exist, because incestuous relationships are commonplace. ous political parties. The administrator of the secret kickback account (number 633369) was a member of P2 and also a former Minister of Justice of disgraced Prime Minister Bettino Craxi, who went by the name of Claudius Hammerings—and if one deletes the last four letters of his name, coincidence throws up the word "Hammer". Readers will by now have guessed that the account was held at UBS, Lugano. Fiorini's name also appears prominently in the story of the loot- ing of MGM, the famous Hollywood film studio, by Italian Mafia "thug" Giancarlo Paretti. The MGM affair was an event that almost brought France's state-owned bank, Credit Lyonnais, crashing to its knees. Without intervention and an infusion of considerable sums of money from the French taxpayer, France's once proud bank would have folded. This is not the place to recount the MGM/Credit Lyonnais story, but it is of passing interest only to note that Credit Lyonnais recruited attorney Charles Meeker to join MGM as president, to handle negotiations with Paretti. Prior to joining MGM, Meeker was with the law firm of White & Case.“ Following a warrant issued by France, Paretti was eventually arrested and cuffed by US federal agents in a conference room in the downtown Los Angeles office of White & Case. 32 = NEXUS The fact is that when it comes www.nexusmagazine.com OCTOBER — NOVEMBER 2003