#magnitsky act
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A Break from TV to Review Some Books!
A Break from TV to Review Some Books!
It has been a really long time since I reviewed any books so here are a few that I have read in the last year including a couple that were only released in the last two or three weeks. All of these books are good and worth reading. Many are worthy Book Club additions.
Freezing Order: A True Story of Money Laundering, Murder and Surviving Vladimir Putin’s Wrath by Bill Browder ****1/2
This…
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#All the Light We Cannot See#Amor Towles#Anthony Doerr#Bill Browder#Chris Bohjalian#Cloud Cuckoo Land#Dianna Gabaldon#Educated#Freezing Order#Gentleman in Moscow#Go Tell the Bees I&039;m Gone#Hamlet#Hamnet#Maggie O&039;Farrell#Magnitsky Act#Matt Haig#Mormons#Outlander#Red Notice#Shakespeare#Tara Westover#The Lincoln Highway#The Lioness#The Midnight LIbrary
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Over the past week Justin Trudeau and his liberal cabinent have evoked Emergency powers so as to crush the peaceful Freedom Convoy demonstrators and confiscate their bank accounts without any court orders.
These are demonstrators who after agreeing to Leave their ambassador bridge protest hugged the Police officers who saw them off and had broken up the remainder of the border protests without incident before the emergencies act even took effect, and even after this weekend which saw Officers trample a elderly disabled indigenous woman under horse, and after police had beaten protestors, and seemingly purposefully fired teargas canisters into the legs of attending reporters, The protestors still joined in chants of “We love you” directed at the cops in an attempt to deescalate and appeal to their better nature.
An attempt met repeatedly with flash-bangs and rubber bullets.
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Many Canadians and Americans have wondered what they can do to resist the seeming death of protest rights in Canada. What can you do when the banks themselves are confiscating perfectly legal donations to peaceful protests and legal defence funds? What can you do when voicing your opinion or merely having made a legal donation can be declared retroactively illegal and you can have your bank account frozen as a result, without even a court order?
The Magnitsky Act was designed to allow the US government more options in dealing with human rights abuses and the silencing of opposition by abusive regimes, by allowing the US government to sanction individual government figures and politically connected individuals directly. Freezing their bank accounts, locking them out of international finance, barring their entry to the US and preventing US firms from doing business with them.
The Magnitsky act was criticized at the time: Why these human rights abuses? Why target Russia? Saudi Arabia keeps 51% percent of its population in a state of apartheid, unable to work, leave the country, or even show their face with out a husband’s permission... why focus on a country which has been considered for admission to NATO, and as recently as the early 2000s the US recognized as democratic?
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The Magnitsky act is not made for the worst human rights abusers, it is made for democracies that are sliding. The status of Democracy is not an award where you win it , and then like so many Oscar winning actors, you get to coast and make bad comedies for decades on end. Democracy is a standard of liberty and open debate that a country has to maintain every single day. The US was right to recognize that when someone is commiting criminal acts or abusing political connections to deprive people of their democratic rights, the democracies of the world should call that individual out and use what economic power they have to stop it.
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Maybe to staid Canadian courts will act but observers can conclude what is obvious: this was an illegal power grab by Trudeau meant to retroactively declare legal donations and legal peaceful protests illegal, and to punish both Canadians, and Americans with canadian bank-accounts, by seizing their money without a court order, using information illegally hacked from an American company and distributed by state run media at the CBC, so as to punish dissidents for mere political disagreement. shutting them out of the financial system, unable to buy food or pay rent, in the depths of the Canadian winter.
And not a single Executive or Board member from a Canadian big 5 bank has spoken out about this or raised a legal challenge to this illegal violation of their customer’s liberty and property, which they themselves, the banks, are being asked to enforce. The positions of banker is a sacred trusts. Millions have trusted these people with their money on the basis of their presumed character and their strong institutional ethics, a banker should be happily willing to go to jail for years rather than betray his customers to an illegal order, and when he is being asked to do this without even a court order, we’d expect him to be screaming from the rooftops. Canadian bankers instead are gladly accepting the horrifying power Trudeau has given them, and see no problem with betraying decades long customers for the crime of donating to a charity or legal defence fund.
For this reason I believe the US government should Sanction the executives and board members of the big 5 Canadian banks: TD (Toronto Dominion), CIBC (Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce), Scotiabank, RBC (Royal Bank of Canada), and BMO (Bank of Montreal).
Similarly Trudeau and His cabinet should be sanctioned. Just as they have frozen Canadians assets for peaceful protests, the US should use the Magnitsky act to Freeze their assets for their abuses and bar them from US travel just as they had barred truckers from returning to their own country. Sparing of course back bencher Liberal MPs such as Joel Lighbound who have been horrified and vocal in opposition to their own party’s abuses, even before the emergencies act was declared.
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The free spread of ideas and donations for non-partisan, non-election related, advocacy and support across international borders is the backbone of any free and open society, whether it be Amnesty international or the Jesuits, philosophical and political advocacy of all kinds has been international since the 18th century. Crystia Freeland herself was a Canadian doing journalism and political advocacy for a US media company in Ukraine and spent decades in US politics, Trudeau himself consistently criticized President Trump and used Canadian tax dollars to fund media that was equally critical and presumably had some influence on US politics.
But now that ordinary Americans are expressing equal interest in Canadian politics Trudeau and perhaps the most internationally affiliated cabinet of any country in the world, that have spent collective centuries outside Canada and advocating politics in other countries, they want to retreat into nationalist chauvinism and issolationism... No.
Trudeau wants to freeze bank accounts for donating to a cause he merely accuses of supporting the previous elected American president, without a court order, he wants to freeze bank accounts quite possibly held by American Citizens or dual nationals, at Banks such as TD or Scotiabank, banks many ordinary Americans use, as his justice minister confirms that “Trump Supporters” quote “Should be worried”.
Trudeau doesn’t get to pretend this is something where Americans should mind their own business, this concerns Americans greatly.
Biden is has been prominently siding with Trudeau in this, but Americans should be calling on their Republican Governors, Senators, and congressmen, people like Ron Desantis, Rand Paul, Ted Cruz and others who have been deeply critical of Trudeau to Openly demand the use of the Magnitsky Act.
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12 years ago : The Magnitsky Case
Magnitsky was a Moscow lawyer who uncovered the largest tax fraud in Russian history. He was detained without trial, tortured and consequently died in a Moscow prison on November 16, 2009;
No thorough, independent and objective investigation has been conducted by Russian authorities into the detention, torture and death of Sergei Magnitsky, nor have the individuals responsible been brought to…
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The United States Treasury has confirmed the removal of sanction imposed in 2003 through the publication of the final rule to remove the Zimbabwe Sanctions Regulations.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control (Ofac) issued the final rule to remove the Zimbabwe Sanctions Regulations from the Code of Federal Regulations yesterday.
Last month, US President Joe Biden issued an executive order repealing the first order issued in March 2003 which blocked property of several political leaders in Zimbabwe for “undermining democratic processes or institutions in Zimbabwe.”
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Ofac last month designated 11 individuals, including Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa, and three entities for their involvement in corruption or serious human rights abuse pursuant to executive order 13818, which builds upon and implements the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act.
Mnangagwa last month became the first sitting head of State to be designated by the US under its Global Magnitsky Programme alongside wife Auxillia and Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga.
Others are Defence minister Oppah Muchinguri, Midlands Provincial Affairs minister Owen Ncube, Central Intelligence Organisation deputy director Walter Tapfumaneyi, businessman Obey Chimuka and tycoon Kudakwashe Tagwirei as well as his wife Sandra.
Sakunda and Fossil Group, companies that are linked to Tagwirei and Chimuka, were also put on the new list.
17/04/2024
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This is utterly devastating to see.
The same thing happened for Boris Nemtsov, murdered 9 years ago in this very month. The same thing for Anna Politkovskaya, murdered on Putin's birthday in October 2006. The same thing for Alexander Litvinenko, murdered in November 2006. The same thing for Yushenkov, Shechochichkin, Markelov, Magnitsky, and so many others.
Russia is in a state of deep moral disgrace. The murder of Alexei Navalny is the last straw. The world must act decisively to punish Putin's terror state for this crime.
#alexei navalny#rest in peace#may god rest his soul#navalny#hero#russia#russian#russian terrorism#russia without putin#putin is a terrorist#punish putin#criminal#sad#boris nemtsov#anna politkovskaya#alexander litvinenko#russian dissidents#russia blog
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Vladimir Kara-Murza delivered these remarks on Monday at the closing session of his trial in Moscow:
Members of the court: I was sure, after two decades spent in Russian politics, after all that I have seen and experienced, that nothing can surprise me anymore. I must admit that I was wrong. I’ve been surprised by the extent to which my trial, in its secrecy and its contempt for legal norms, has surpassed even the “trials” of Soviet dissidents in the 1960s and ’70s. And that’s not even to mention the harshness of the sentence requested by the prosecution or the talk of “enemies of the state.” In this respect, we’ve gone beyond the 1970s — all the way back to the 1930s. For me, as a historian, this is an occasion for reflection.
At one point during my testimony, the presiding judge reminded me that one of the extenuating circumstances was “remorse for what [the accused] has done.” And although there is little that’s amusing about my present situation, I could not help smiling: The criminal, of course, must repent of his deeds. I’m in jail for my political views. For speaking out against the war in Ukraine. For many years of struggle against Vladimir Putin’s dictatorship. For facilitating the adoption of personal international sanctions under the Magnitsky Act against human rights violators.
Not only do I not repent of any of this, I am proud of it. I am proud that Boris Nemtsov brought me into politics. And I hope that he is not ashamed of me. I subscribe to every word that I have spoken and every word of which I have been accused by this court. I blame myself for only one thing: that over the years of my political activity I have not managed to convince enough of my compatriots and enough politicians in the democratic countries of the danger that the current regime in the Kremlin poses for Russia and for the world. Today this is obvious to everyone, but at a terrible price — the price of war.
In their last statements to the court, defendants usually ask for an acquittal. For a person who has not committed any crimes, acquittal would be the only fair verdict. But I do not ask this court for anything. I know the verdict. I knew it a year ago when I saw people in black uniforms and black masks running after my car in the rearview mirror. But I also know that the day will come when the darkness over our country will dissipate. When black will be called black and white will be called white; when at the official level it will be recognized that two times two is still four; when a war will be called a war, and a usurper a usurper; and when those who kindled and unleashed this war, rather than those who tried to stop it, will be recognized as criminals. This day will come as inevitably as spring follows even the coldest winter. And then our society will open its eyes and be horrified by what terrible crimes were committed on its behalf.
From this realization, from this reflection, the long, difficult but vital path toward the recovery and restoration of Russia, its return to the community of civilized countries, will begin.Even today, even in the darkness surrounding us, even sitting in this cage, I love my country and believe in our people. I believe that we can walk this path.
[Opinion:: Vladimir Kara-Murza’s last statement to Russian court: A reckoning will come ::: WAPO]
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The two opposing blocs in Bulgaria’s coalition government – GERB/United Democratic Forces and We Continue the Change / Democratic Bulgaria – appear at a dead end amid a tense government rotation.
On Thursday, GERB leader Boyko Borissov said his party would give its partners one more day to accept its ministerial list which was announced on Tuesday. Also on Thursday, WCC/DB demanded that GERB come up with a new “plan, adequate to the crisis you’ve created”.
Bulgaria is in the midst of a planned power rotation after the parties in power agreed on a strategy that would see the first nine months governed by Nikolai Denkov of We Continue the Change with GERB’s Mariya Gabriel acting as vice PM.
The two would then switch positions in March. But the transfer of power has triggered a series of clashes, more noticeable since Monday, when GERB received a mandate from President Rumen Radev.
GERB has been criticised for announcing a line of ministers not coordinated with WCC and DB despite long discussions. WCC leader Kiril Petkov claimed Borissov is not even answering his calls. “I then left him a message saying fear is not a good advisor,” he said in a TV interview on Wednesday.
WCC has hinted that GERB is also clearly reluctant to discuss further measures around Bulgaria’s judicial reform. “After all, a working judicial system would see Borissov arrested,” Venezia Nemsova of WCC said on Wednesday.
Developments have caused a fresh row with designated PM Gabriel. So far, she has acted as a mediator between the blocs and had a good working relationship with outgoing PM Denkov. But last week, Gabriel changed her tone. GERB’s draft of the cabinet would see Gabriel acting as PM while retaining the post of Foreign Minister – which WCC and DB find controversial.
WCC co-leader Assen Vassilev called Gabriel “the beautiful new face of the mafia”: “We never left the negotiation table, it was GERB who did this … and announced a cabinet without the people on the list knowing that they will be nominated as ministers; I honestly could not believe what was happening,” Vassilev said in a TV interview on Wednesday.
Although the ministerial offerings are not that different from those who have served since June, a major sticking point between the parties is that GERB wants the pro-Western, pro-Ukraine Defence Minister Todor Tagarev of WCC replaced.
GERB has not explained why it is eager to oust Tagarev, or why it is putting upfront a rather unknown figure, Hristo Gadjev, who has been climbing the party ranks since 2007 and was previously a secretary in the Defence Ministry (2010-2013).
GERB member Vladislav Goranov, who in 2023 was sanctioned under the Global Magnitsky Act, told Bulgarian National Radio on Thursday that “it’s unlikely that talks will continue”.
But if the current mandate is returned unfulfilled, it will be then handed to WCC and DB, which would have no chance of parliamentary support and that would lead to snap elections.
A 2021-2023 stalemate yielded five general elections in Bulgaria, with different parties matching the nation’s thirst for change after GERB’s long dominance of politics since 2008.
The stalemate has produced new fixtures, with pro-Russia Revival improving its turnout in every election, and newcomers There’s Such a Nation winning the popular vote in July 2021, before then fading.
Pro-Western reformist parties We Continue the Change and Democratic Bulgaria found increased public trust and won elections at the end of 2021 only to be ousted by the GERB-led opposition in 2022 and, in order to break the cycle, reluctantly siding with GERB in 2023.
This has led to the reinvention of GERB, while strongman Borissov has given way to new players like Gabriel. GERB returned to power last June when a coalition was established between GERB/UDF and WCC/DB, under the leadership of WCC’s Denkov over shared ambitions for Eurozone and Schengen area entrance.
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At the conclusion of his trial in Moscow, the Russian opposition politician Vladimir Kara-Murza addressed the court, declining to express “remorse for his misdeeds” or to plead with the judges for mercy. The anti-Putin dissident is charged with disinformation about the Russian military, complicity with an undesirable organization (a charge connected to the political foundation Open Russia), and, finally, with high treason. Based on the accumulated charges, the prosecution has asked the court for a 25-year sentence, despite the fact that, after surviving two poisoning attempts, Kara-Murza suffers from lower-body polyneuropathy, listed as one of the conditions that should legally preclude a person from serving a prison sentence. The politician has been in custody since April 2022. This is the full text of his courtroom statement.
I’d been convinced that, after two decades in Russian politics, and after all I’d seen and experienced myself, nothing could surprise me anymore. I must admit I was wrong. I have been surprised to see that, in the degree of opacity and discrimination against the defense, my 2023 trial leaves the Soviet dissident trials of the 1960s and 1970s in the dust. The requested sentence and the use of words like “enemy” are redolent not of the 1970s, but of the 1930s. As a historian, I see this as a cause for reflection.
At the stage of the defendant’s testimony, the moderator reminded me that expressing “remorse” for my “misdeeds” would be considered an extenuating factor. Although I’m rarely amused these days, I couldn’t help smiling at this. Criminals can express remorse for their misdeeds, but I am in jail because of my political views. I’m here because I’ve spoken against the war in Ukraine; because of my many years of struggling against Putin’s dictatorship; because of my contribution to effecting personal international sanctions against human rights violators under the Magnitsky Act. Not only do I not feel remorseful about any of it, I’m proud of what I’ve done. I’m proud of having come to politics thanks to Boris Nemtsov. I’d like to hope that he isn’t ashamed of me.
I would sign under every word that I’ve ever said and that’s now being used against me. I have only one cause for remorse: that in all my years in politics, I haven’t been able to persuade enough of my compatriots and politicians from democratic countries of the danger presented by the current Kremlin regime to both Russia and the rest of the world. It’s become self-evident by now, but at a terrible price that is war.
An allocution statement is usually a time to plead for an acquittal. For someone who committed no crime, an acquittal is the only lawful outcome in a trial. But I ask this court for nothing. I know my verdict; I knew it even a year ago, when I looked in my rear-view mirror and saw the men in black running after my car. This is the price of non-silence in Russia at present.
But I also know the day will come when the darkness that’s enveloped our country will be dispelled; when people will see something that’s black and call it black, and when they call what’s white white; when it’s officially recognized that two times two equals four; when a war is called a war, and an impostor an impostor; when those who started this war will be called criminals, instead of those who tried to stop it. That day will come just as inevitably as the spring that follows even the most ferocious winter. On that day, our society will open its eyes and stand in horror of the crimes committed in its name. This realization, this consciousness will be the beginning of a long and difficult journey to Russia’s recovery and its return into the company of civilized countries.
Even today, in the darkness that surrounds us, and even sitting in this cage, I love my country and believe in our people. I believe that we can make this journey.
This is the bravest motherfucker on the planet.
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"EU's Digital Services Act requires respect of media freedom and fundamental rights," said Jourova. "This is reinforced under our #MediaFreedomAct. @elonmusk should be aware of that."
"There are red lines. And sanctions, soon," she added.
elon musk (already deservedly paranoid) about to get hit with a hefty serving of magnitsky
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WASHINGTON -- The Treasury Department on Friday announced sanctions on five current and former Bulgarian officials, as well as five entities accused of illicit personal gain, undermining the country’s democratic institutions and perpetuating “corrosive dependence on Russian energy sources.”
Brian Nelson, treasury’s undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said the U.S. “supports our NATO ally Bulgaria in its fight against both entrenched corruption and Russian influence, which undermine democratic institutions.”
“Corruption robs the Bulgarian people of hundreds of millions of dollars and hinders investment and economic growth in the country,” he said.
Those sanctioned include Rumen Stoyanov Ovcharov, a Bulgarian member of parliament; Vladislav Ivanov Goranov, a former Bulgarian politician; Aleksandar Hristov Nikolov, a former CEO and deputy director of Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant, Bulgaria’s sole nuclear power plant owned by the government, and Ivan Kirov Genov, a former CEO of KNPP and former Bulgarian politician.
In addition, the State Department also imposed visa restrictions on Ovcharov, Nikolov and Goranov for involvement in significant corruption, which will impact their immediate family members making them ineligible for entry into the United States.
The Biden administration relies on sanctions authority from a Donald Trump-era executive order that implements the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act that “targets perpetrators of serious human rights abuse and corruption around the world.”
#nunyas news#don't recognize any of those names#not that I know a whole lot of their names to begin with#still know a few tho
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Aleksei Navalny [4 June 1976 – 16 February 2024] pictured in 2013 while contesting the election for Mayor of Moscow. Navalny honed his political ideas and activism as an anticorruption campaigner, and steadily rose to become Russia’s most prominent opposition leader and critic of President Vladimir Putin.
(Photo: Sergey Ponomarev/The New York Times)
A portrait of Aleksei Navalny on Friday at a monument honoring victims of political repression in St. Petersburg, Russia.
(Photo: Reuters)
The IK-3 "Polar Wolf" Arctic penal colony, where Aleksei Navalny served his prison term, in the settlement of Kharp, in Russia’s Yamal-Nenets region. (Photo: Reuters)
Navalny was one of scores imprisoned for their political beliefs, rights group says.
Aleksei A. Navalny may have been Russia’s best-known opposition figure, but hundreds of people are imprisoned for their political beliefs in Russia, according to Memorial, the Nobel-winning human rights organization, which is banned in Russia. A number of them are politicians and activists.
By Valerie Hopkins and Gaya Gupta
The New York Times - February 16, 2024
Russian opposition politician, Vladimir Kara-Murza, pictured while visiting America in 2016.
(Photo: Al Drago/The New York Times)
Vladimir Kara-Murza, 42, is a longtime opposition politician, independent journalist and historian who comes from a well-known family of Soviet dissidents. He has long campaigned for a democratic Russia, running for election to the Russian Parliament and serving as a deputy leader of the People’s Freedom Party. He was arrested in Moscow in April 2022 and accused of treason for condemning Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in the news media and to American lawmakers.
Mr. Kara-Murza obtained British citizenship as a teenager and played an important role in lobbying Washington more than a decade ago for the Magnitsky Act, which punished officials deemed responsible for the death of a tax lawyer in a Russian jail. Mr. Kara-Murza is believed to have been poisoned twice, in 2015 and 2017.
Still, like Mr. Navalny, he returned to Russia in 2022, saying he believed it was important to protest the invasion of Ukraine.
He was arrested that April on charges of disobeying police orders and was later charged with “spreading false information about the Russian military.”
In April 2023, he was sentenced to 25 years in a penal colony on that charge and for being affiliated with an “undesirable” organization. It was the longest sentence given to any opposition politician in modern Russia.
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Trump Presidency a Mortal Hazard to Every Living American
It is shocking that this late in the 2024 presidential election cycle that I have to write these words: if Donald Trump can't even meet in his own competitors in the G.O.P. face-to-face in a public debate before a national audience, you can pretty much bet he's not going to have the backbone to face off America's most serious enemies.
He has invited violence upon The American Republic
During his presidency from 2017 - 2021, Donald Trump on numerous occasions invited violence upon elected public officials across the spectrum -- culminating of course in the January 6th riots, in which he, our sitting command-in-chief, did nothing while a mob sacked The Capitol.
Voters need to think about this. If in 2021, Donald Trump invited violence upon the 2nd highest elected official -- Vice President Mike Pence -- where would he stop in a 2nd term?
This isn't matter of Christians versus Pagans, or lies versus the truth. This is a matter of personal safety for every American.
Largest European war in 100 years, but Trump is pro-Putin
Vladimir Putin and his allies have made explicit nuclear threats against western interests, including American. Voters need to take stock of these threats: a nuclear attack on America -- on any place -- would be a catastrophic happening. And yet, during his presidency, Donald Trump made intentional efforts to align his decisions with President Putin's: dissolve NATO, disentangle America from Europe, roll back the Magnitsky act.
It would be one thing if Russia were a peaceful cohort angling to influence progress. As I write, the Russian military is firing missiles at hospitals, playgrounds, and churches in Ukraine.
And we want Donald Trump to be president a 2nd term?
This is not outlandish. It is despicable.
Top secret document that President Trump took home
Most Americans will never know what top secret documents Donald Trump took home -- the reason: because some of the them were absolutely top-top secret. Voters must assume the worse: that President Trump took home America's dearest nuclear secrets with nefarious intentions. What were those?
Voters -- but especially Republicans -- need to answer this question. If our national secrets were not safe in the hands of President Donald Trump during a first term, would they possibly be safer in his hands during a 2nd term?
It is, in my opinion, almost insane that I have to write this. Why is this guy anywhere near the 2024 presidential ballot?
CIA and FBI will suffer under a 2nd term
Our national buffer against threats, foreign and at home, has always been our intelligence services: the FBI and CIA. Under a 2nd Trump presidency, they would fall sharply under assault of an executive who is full of vengeance -- especially, I should emphasize, the FBI. This cannot possibly make America safer.
Again, it is shocking I have to write any of this. The people writing and speaking all of this should, at a minimum, be the people running against Donald Trump.
January 11, 2024
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US Takes Bold Steps on International Anti-Corruption Day
Welcome to a pivotal moment in the fight against corruption. On International Anti-Corruption Day, the US government launched a series of actions to promote accountability and combat corruption worldwide.
A Comprehensive Approach to Combating Corruption
In a significant move, over 30 individuals, including foreign officials and their family members, have been designated as ineligible for entry into the US due to their involvement in significant corruption. This action is reinforced by the Department of the Treasury’s designations under the Global Magnitsky sanctions program.
Focusing on Afghan and Global Corruption
The US targeted corrupt actors in Afghanistan, designating two former government officials and 44 associated entities for transnational corruption. These measures showcase the US's commitment to global accountability.
The Broader Impact of US Anti-Corruption Efforts
In 2023 alone, the US designated more than 200 individuals and entities for acts related to corruption. These actions are part of a broader strategy to use all available tools to address corruption and promote accountability.
Coordinated International Efforts
The US continues to coordinate with allies and partners, demonstrating a unified front against corruption. These efforts emphasize the importance of global cooperation in combating corrupt practices.
In summary, the US's actions on International Anti-Corruption Day highlight a significant commitment to promoting accountability and fighting corruption at all levels. This comprehensive approach serves as a beacon for other nations in upholding transparency and ethical governance.
Sources: THX News & US Department of State.
Read the full article
#AccountabilityforCorruptActors#ComprehensiveEffortagainstCorruption#DepartmentofTreasuryDesignations#GlobalMagnitskySanctions#InternationalAnti-CorruptionDay#PresidentialProclamationonCorruption#SignificantCorruptionDesignations#StateDepartmentVisaRestrictions#UNConventionagainstCorruption#USAnti-CorruptionMeasures
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Has the West’s grip on international finance slipped?
If you listen to the sanctions-led rhetoric in the last eighteen months then you might wonder how Russia is still standing. The whole country has been thrown out of SWIFT, the world’s banking standard of money interchange. And with sweeping embargoes on shipping insurance, foreign-held assets, travel, the list goes on.
The sanctions aren’t universally upheld, with some notable holdouts including Mexico, and the whole of Africa, Middle East, South America. And of course China, India and all bar Singapore and Taiwan are not cutting themselves off from Russia.
So mostly just the US, NATO and most of the EU. But, the sanctions are not new - many of these sanction stretch back over a decade to the Magnitsky Act passed by the US in 2012. So why, after a decade of crippling sanctions is Russia still a world player? Especially as the Ruble’s value on the international stage has fallen 60% since they invaded Crimea first time round in 2014.
Well, SWIFT isn’t the only interbank payment messaging system, China introduced CIPS in 2015 aimed squarely at de-weaponising SWIFT and a drive towards the dedollarisation of the world’s economies. A blockchain second version, called mBridge is coming soon, sponsored by China, Thailand, and UAE. Be assured, the US banking iron-like grip on world trade is shaky at best.
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A Bulgarian tycoon under house arrest, Vassil “The Skull” Bojkov, on Thursday announced a new political project, the “Centre” party, standing in opposition to Bulgaria’s current ruling coalition.
“Bulgaria needs strong people with a sense of mission who can get the country out of its misery and lead it into the new world – something that those thieves can never do,” Bojkov said at the inauguration of the party in Sofia, attacking the current cabinet.
Party member Damyan Kachulski said the project comes at the right time geopolitically, with a “right-wing America, a strong Russia, a wise China, a reasonable Europe [and] a neighbouring strong Turkey” and it will seek the votes of “the silent majority”, referring to the low voter turnout in the 2021-2023 elections in Bulgaria.
Dessislava Kovacheva, film producer and screenwriter of history-themed features, said the party stood against “anti-Bulgarian propaganda”, aims to attract “those who shiver when they hear the national anthem” and will deal with “the traitors who we know by name”.
Bojkov attended the launch event despite being under house arrest following his return to Bulgaria last August after a period of exile in Dubai where he relocated to evade various charges. They included being a leader of an organised crime group, wrongfully obtaining cultural and historical riches, murder threats and orchestrating assassinations.
Since the 1990s, Bojkov has been associated with profitable businesses as well as alleged political influence and ties to organised crime. He started a chain of currency exchange offices and then expanded into the gambling industry in the 1990s, as well as into road construction, football and art collecting.
The tables were turned in 2020, when his profitable lottery business was nationalised. He then became a vocal critic of ex-PM Boyko Borissov and his GERB party, as well as their partners from the Movement for Rights and Freedoms. This was a major change in attitude: before his clashes with the GERB-led cabinet in 2020, Bojkovv had shied away from media attention or comments on political events.
In Dubai, he started a party called Bulgarian Rise, which is now defunct and replaced by his new opposition project.
Both Bojkov and his foes from GERB and Movement for Rights and Freedoms found themselves designated by the Global Magnitsky Act in 2021.
Several tycoons of his generation who amassed wealth and influence in the 1990s have been assassinated in recent years, triggering speculation about a tectonic change in Bulgaria’s criminal underground.
In May last year, Krassimir “Kyro” Kamenov and his wife were shot dead in Cape Town, South Africa. Last August, just before Bojkov’s return, business figure Alexei Petrov was assassinated in Sofia. In an interview in September, Bojkov denied having any major ties to Petrov and Kamenov.
The announcement of the new party comes when relations between the two blocs in Bulgaria’s ruling coalition are tense after just less than a year of rule. The planned rotation of Prime Ministers in March, which is now turning into a fight for power between GERB/UDF and We Continue the Change / Democratic Bulgaria, risks the stability of the cabinet.
“We don’t want another snap election but we won’t allow our alliance to be a cover-up for diverting the coalition’s main priorities,” PM Nikolai Denkov of We Continue the Change said on Thursday. He will file his resignation on March 6 to make way for GERB’s Mariya Gabriel.
On Monday, Denkov met Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv.
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