Fausta's Blog

American and Latin American Politics, Society, and Culture

November 16, 2016 By Fausta

Panama Papers: Stiglitz and Pieth issue their own report

Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz and Swiss anti-corruption expert Mark Pieth, who last August quit the Panamanian government committee investigating the Panama Papers, have issued their own report, 


The 25-page report, “Overcoming the Shadow Economy,” argues that, as “economic leaders,” the U.S. and the European Union “have an obligation to force financial centers to comply with global transparency standards.”

. . .

Stiglitz and Pieth resigned from the Panamanian government committee in August, saying that government officials had refused to assure the panel it had full independence to investigate and make its findings public. The government blamed their resignations over “internal differences” on the committee.

They recommend,

  • Every country should establish a searchable public registry that identifies the directors and actual owners of all companies, trusts and foundations incorporated within its borders.
  • Governments should hand out stiff punishments to lawyers and other middlemen who knowingly register a corporation or trust “whose primary purpose is to evade or avoid taxes or to engage in money laundering.”
  • Governments should discourage money laundering through real estate by requiring the disclosure of the real owners for all large real estate cash transactions.

You can read their full report here.

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Filed Under: corruption, Panama Tagged With: Joseph Stiglitz, Panama Papers, pieth

October 27, 2016 By Fausta

Panama: New tax-avoidance laws

The WSJ reports that Panama Signs Up to International Tax Avoidance Agreement

The move signals a change of approach for the Central American financial center, and comes ahead of a July 2017 deadline set by the Group of 20 largest economies for compliance with international rules on sharing tax information.

In signing up to the Convention on Mutual Assistance in Tax Matters, the Panamanian government has committed to provide information to the other 104 signatories, which would allow them to identify individuals who are using shell companies or offshore accounts in the country to avoid paying tax.

As you may recall, six months ago the Panama Papers Revealed Clinton’s Kremlin Connection, John Podesta’s lobbying firm.

Prior Panama Papers posts here.

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Filed Under: Panama Tagged With: Fausta's blog, Panama Papers

August 15, 2016 By Fausta

The #Rio2016 Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean, week 2

While the pools turn green, the athletes are breaking records and earning medals, even if some (like Ryan Lochte and four teammates) get mugged at gunpoint by men in police uniforms.

ARGENTINA
Theresa May reaches out to Argentina with ‘mutual respect’ as she works to ease restrictions on the Falkland Islanders exploiting their oil reserves

BOLIVIA
Evo Morales Confirms Bolivia’s Economic Downturn

BRAZIL
Brazil Mourns Olympics Guardsman Shot in Ambush.Out-of-town officer was part of large security contingent deployed to Rio for Games

Israeli Wrestler Takes Olympic Gold Without Winning Single Match After All Muslim Opponents Forfeit‘

NBC PANIC: RIO RATINGS HIT LOW…

From green pool to missing pontoon, problems won’t go away…

At The Economist, they’re not into records:

Why few records will be broken in Rio: The human body may have reached its limits
The factors fuelling America’s dominance of gymnastics
Why Pacific-island nations are so good at rugby
Olympians have discovered new fads and superstitions

CHILE
Chile’s privatized social security system, beloved by U.S. conservatives, is falling apart

COLOMBIA
Good luck with that: Colombia wants involvement of pope and UN in post-conflict courts.

CUBA
The fruits of “smart diplomacy”: Fidel Castro Lambasts US And Obama On 90th Birthday. The veteran Communist firebrand mocks attempts by America to kill him during Havana’s long Cold War stand-off with Washington.

Judicial Watch Investigates Starwood’s Hotel Deal With Cuban Military

MEXICO
Jorge Ramos Moves Towards Hitting Campaign Trail for Hillary. He will continue to call himself a “journalist,” which brings to mind this,

Mexico’s President Faces New Scrutiny. President Enrique Peña Nieto, whose past two years in office have been shadowed by a conflict-of-interest scandal linked to a Mexico City mansion, is facing new scrutiny linked to the first family’s use of a luxury apartment in Miami.

Ricardo Pierdant, a Miami-based businessman, in 2013 paid close to $30,000 in property taxes on behalf of first lady Angélica Rivera for an apartment she owns in Miami, according to tax records seen by The Wall Street Journal. Mr. Pierdant is a close friend of Mexico´s first family, according to Mr. Peña Nieto´s office.

The first lady purchased her apartment in the wealthy island enclave of Key Biscayne in 2005.

Mr. Pierdant subsequently purchased another apartment directly above Ms. Rivera’s, according to Miami property records.

Texas Family Among Those Kidnapped by Los Zetas Cartel in Mexico

NICARAGUA
Nicaragua’s president makes a farce of democracy

Nicaragua’s Daniel Ortega shows his true colors. Since taking office in 2007, the president has concentrated power in his family’s hands

PANAMA
IDEAS PANAMA PAPERS Joseph E. Stiglitz and Mark Pieth: Why We Left the Panama Commission

PARAGUAY
Murders Add to Fears of Narco War in Eastern Paraguay

Paraguay recalls ambassador in diplomatic dispute with Venezuela

Earlier this week, socialist Maduro accused Paraguay of being part of “an extreme right wing alliance” aimed at blocking Venezuela from assuming its role as head of Mercosur as scheduled during the second half of the year.

PERU
PPK works out: Peru’s 77-year-old new president isn’t acting his age. And Peruvians love it.

PUERTO RICO
1 in 4 Puerto Ricans will have Zika by end of year…

URUGUAY
Montevideo Is Considering Joining The Pacific Alliance Trade Bloc, since Peru and Colombia issued an invitation.

VENEZUELA
Again, Venezuelans cross into Colombia after border is reopened

Invictus, via Miguel Octavio,



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Filed Under: Argentina, Barack Obama, Bolivia, Brazil, Carnival of Latin America, Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Daniel Ortega, Fidel Castro, Latin America, Mexico, Nicaragua, Pacific Alliance, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Uruguay, Venezuela Tagged With: #Rio2016, Enrique Peña Nieto, Fausta's blog, Jorge Ramos, Panama Papers, Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, Ricardo Pierdant, Starwood Hotels, Theresa May, Zika virus

June 8, 2016 By Fausta

Cuba: Russia, North Korea, tax havens in Panama

All in the week’s news,

First, the tax havens:
The Miami Herald reports,
Panama Papers show Cuba used offshore firms to thwart embargo

Highlights:
At least 25 companies in tax havens had Cuban links

A brother of Raul Castro’s son-in-law appears in the leaked documents

Cuba was at the heart of a deal to export Russian oil that involves a Lebanese company

But wait, there’s more! Russia-Lebanon-Havana connection

One of the more intriguing schemes mentioned in the documents puts Cuba at the heart of a deal to sell Russian oil to Latin America through a company registered in Panama by the Bassatne family. The family controls BB Energy, a conglomerate founded in Lebanon in 1937 that buys and sells 16 million metric tons of crude and derivatives each year. One Bloomberg report showed BB Energy had $10 billion in revenues in 2012.

Read the whole thing.

—————————————

Rep. Joe Pitts writes about Russian ports and NATO:

. . . Russia’s best option was, and has been, to borrow from other countries and use their warm water ports to extend its global reach.

Cuba is one of the most obvious examples. Even though it’s not on the Mediterranean, it demonstrates how enlarged Russia’s scope is with the gain of Cuba’s friendly warm water ports. Russian vessels have utilized Cuba’s installations, along with Nicaragua and Venezuela’s, to reach west across the North Atlantic. As a result, Russia announced in 2014 that it would be reopening an “eavesdropping base” 150 miles away from U.S. soil: In Cuba. Through the access to these strategic ports, Russia’s reach handily extended across the Atlantic.

I had posted about the port.

—————————————

Via Capitol Hill Cubans, The North Korea-Cuba Connection. Havana’s continued cooperation with Pyongyang is an alarming blow to the normalization process.

How Illegal Trade Persists Between Cuba and North Korea

Despite the immense international controversy resulting from Cuba’s 2013 arms sales to North Korea, sporadic trade linkages between the two countries have continued largely unhindered. In January 2016, Cuba and North Korea developed a barter trade system, which officially involved transactions of sugar and railway equipment.

According to Curtis Melvin, an expert at the Washington D.C.-based U.S. Korea Institute, barter trade is an effective way for Cuba and North Korea to evade international sanctions without depleting their hard currency reserves. Cuba’s use of sugar as a medium of bilateral trade has close parallels with Myanmar’s historical use of rice in exchange for North Korean military technology assistance. This form of trade has been vital for the North Korean regime’s survival in wake of the Soviet collapse and more inconsistent patronage from China.

Bottom line:

While the Obama administration has removed Cuba from the state sponsors of terrorism list and taken a big stride toward lifting the Kennedy-era embargo on Cuba, Havana’s continued cooperation with Pyongyang is an alarming blow to the normalization process.

Smart diplomacy!

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Filed Under: Cuba, North Korea, Russia Tagged With: BB Naft, Fausta' blog, Panama Papers, smart diplomacy

May 9, 2016 By Fausta

The Chanel show Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean

The ultimate Potemkin village show went to Cuba, obscene as it could get, which inspired Juan Abreu’s NSFW Ayer soñé con el culo de Lagerfeld (H/T Babalú). Hollywood Stars Cavort in Cuba while Arrests of Dissidents Hit New High

ARGENTINA
Lord Price said UK and Argentina at the start of a new era of bilateral relations

President calls to fight poor quality, ‘useless’ jobs

BOLIVIA
Bolivia natural gas exports fall sharply in first quarter to $594.4 mn

BRAZIL
Brazil Senate’s Impeachment Committee Votes to Try RousseffPresident could be forced to step down next week

Uh, oh! Mexico’s Top Broadcasters Forgo Airing Rio Olympics. Televisa’s coverage of 2012 London games pushed up costs without generating additional revenue growth

CHILE
Experts Blame El Niño For Dead Sea Creatures on Chile’s Beaches

Food Crisis as Fishermen Block Access to Island in Chile

COLOMBIA
Colombia to send jets against criminal gangs

Ingrid Betancourt Returns to Colombia with Call for Unity

ECUADOR
UN reports quake death toll hits 660; donor response poor

IMMIGRATION
Mexico Will Issue Birth Certificates to Illegal Immigrants in United States. Amendment Could Provide Birth Certificates to 2 Million Mexicans

JAMAICA
Church group says darkness of evil over Jamaica

MEXICO
Ex-Mexican President Vicente Fox trolls Trump about his ties, which are made in China.

Mexico: the most dangerous country in the Americas for journalists. Five reporters have been killed in 2016 so far, according to an NGO

PANAMA
Panama Papers source ‘John Doe’ sends manifesto to explain data-release actions

PERU
Quad/Graphics Discloses Peru Foreign Bribery Investigation

PUERTO RICO
Puerto Rico Governor Warns of Another Default. Puerto Rican Gov. Alejandro García Padilla said the territory won’t make a roughly $800 million payment due in July on its most senior bonds, a move that would accelerate the island’s debt crisis.

Say it, Louis!

VENEZUELA
Germán Malvare Venezuelan Opposition Leader Fatally Shot

Lights out

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Filed Under: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Carnival of Latin America, Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Ingrid Betancourt, Jamaica, Latin America, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Puerto Rico, Venezuela Tagged With: Donald Trump, Fausta's blog, Panama Papers

April 8, 2016 By Fausta

Panama Papers: The Clintons?

I blame Putinophobia,
Panama Papers Reveal Clinton’s Kremlin Connection. John and Tony Podesta aren’t fooling anyone

Almost lost among the many revelations is the fact that Russia’s biggest bank usesThe Podesta Group as its lobbyist in Washington, D.C. Though hardly a household name, this firm is well known inside the Beltway, not least because its CEO is Tony Podesta, one of the best-connected Democratic machers in the country. He founded the firm in 1998 with his brother John, formerly chief of staff to President Bill Clinton, then counselor to President Barack Obama, Mr. Podesta is the very definition of a Democratic insider. Outsiders engage the Podestas and their well-connected lobbying firm to improve their image and get access to Democratic bigwigs.

Which is exactly what Sberbank, Russia’s biggest financial institution, did this spring. As reported at the end of March, the Podesta Group registered with the U.S. Government as a lobbyist for Sberbank, as required by law, naming three Podesta Group staffers: Tony Podesta plus Stephen Rademaker and David Adams, the last two former assistant secretaries of state. It should be noted that Tony Podesta is a big-money bundler for the Hillary Clinton presidential campaign while his brother John is the chairman of that campaign, the chief architect of her plans to take the White House this November.

Read the whole thing.

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Filed Under: Democrats, Hillary Clinton, Panama Tagged With: Fausta's blog, Panama Papers

April 7, 2016 By Fausta

Panama Papers on Cuba’s control of Venezuela’s passport system

Via Babalu,
Panama Papers Reveal That Cuba Controls the Passport System in Venezuela

The leaked document clarifies that “all licenses for the use of computer applications” which are described as “specifications for the software, the hardware and the licenses,” would be transferred to the Cuban party involved in the contract, in this case Banco Financiero Internacional SA of the Republic of Cuba, known as “Banco de Albet” in the text.
. . . Documents from the Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca reveal other details of the framework of the Venezuelan passports, which use a German-made technology hidden through various companies owned by the Peruvian Banker Francisco Pardo Mesones.

The technology of the polycarbonate laminates of the Venezuelan documents was fabricated about ten years ago by the German company Bundesdrukerie, which feared that doing business directly with Cuba or Venezuela would damage its reputation. The company used a network whose major beneficiary is Pardo Mesones, recognized for his strong defense of private property but who earned huge sums of money as the owner of Billingsley Global Corp and other offshore companies, which served as a vehicle for Havana to resell the Venezuelan passport technology through Caracas .

Read the article. It raises a lot of questions.

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Filed Under: Communism, Cuba, Venezuela Tagged With: Fausta's blog, Panama Papers

April 6, 2016 By Fausta

The Panama Papers’ lesson

The fatal flaw of the ICIJ investigation is the theft of confidential material. The assumption that all listed are guilty is anti-democratic; the onus falls on each country’s government to be competitive in the tax treatment of its citizens and businesses, fight corruption, and administer justice so the rule of law applies to all.

Read my article, The Panama Papers’ lesson.



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Filed Under: business Tagged With: Da Tech Guy Blog, Fausta' blog, Panama Papers

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