Business partners of Egypt’s ruling party have started to take their money out of the country, according to Bloomberg. Ethiopia’s super rich who are looting the country in partnership with the Woyanne ruling junta have been doing that for a while now. We have previously reported (read here) about one of them, Samuel Tafesse, who has recently built a $5-million mansion in a suburb of Washington DC. Most of the Woyanne leaders are currently on a property buying frenzy in the U.S. and Europe.
Egypt’s Super-Rich Begin Moving Their Money To Switzerland
(Bloomberg) — Egypt’s rich are considering taking money out of the country as violent protests against President Hosni Mubarak enter a 10th day, and Switzerland is a popular destination, a Swiss-based Arab banker said today.
“We’ve been getting inquiries about moving money” from Egypt to the Alpine nation, said Karim al-Korey, an associate director at Arab Bank (Switzerland) Ltd. “I have two or three clients who could transfer 10 to 15 million dollars each.”
Two Arab Bank (Switzerland) executives sent an emailed statement disputing al-Korey’s comments after they were published, saying he was not authorized to speak publicly for the firm.
His comments as published do “not represent the official position of the bank,” wrote Alain Dargham, the head of investment advisory, and Jean Kamitsis, head of wealth management. “We formally deny the content.”
Protests against Mubarak have left about 300 people dead and hundreds more injured in the past two weeks. Egypt’s ruler has replaced ministers and promised free elections before stepping down in September. That hasn’t calmed protesters who say his 30-year presidency must end immediately.
“Everything in Egypt is now closed but we think banks could start to reopen on Sunday. If this is the case, we expect funds to come in,” al-Korey told Bloomberg by telephone from his Geneva office. If Mubarak goes, “people all over the region will get scared and start transferring money.”
Frozen Assets
Switzerland on Jan. 19 froze any assets belonging to Tunisia’s ousted President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and his entourage. Ben Ali fled to Saudi Arabia after a popular revolt ended his 23-year rule.
Most Egyptians close to Mubarak aren’t worried that their funds will be seized abroad and still see Switzerland as the safest haven, al-Korey said.
“There is a fear but only for a very few people,” the banker said. “You are talking about Mubarak, his sons, and Ahmed Ezz, the richest man in Egypt, as well as maybe 10 or 15 of the top businessmen.”
Ezz, chairman of Ezz Steel, was among the businessmen ousted from cabinet and ruling party positions yesterday. UBS AG and Credit Suisse Group AG, Switzerland’s biggest banks, declined to comment on possible movements of funds from Egypt.
9 thoughts on “Egypt’s super-rich take their money out of the country”
It is sad that Obama is plotting with Mubarak and trying to sale a false reform to the Egyptian public. Obama’s envoy to Cairo today said Mubarak should stay till September so that Egypt becomes stable. Even-though the State Department says the statement is his personal opinion and not the US policy, this gaffe is indicative of the true color of the US administration. It is unbelievable to see the US in the side of dictator than pro-democracy activists.
To Tedi
Wake up! Smell the coffe. Are you a visitor from Mars? Do you know the saying “He may be SOB but He is our SOB.
You guys are funny and good explanations of why our country is the way it is. Don’t buy every thing you hear and watch on the screen or TV. Identify what is provided for public consumption from the real story.
Tedi my brother, American leaders always come up with aligator tears.war or terror and spreading democracy is the biggest scam ever in order to control every country behind the scene and America never like any nationalist movement to be in power because they can not play their dirty game through IMF and world bank,this two American puppet international organization who have the power to trap any nation with a massive debt to steal every available natural resource including fertile land grab,it doesn’t matter who leased or bought the farm land in our country Ethiopia, india,dubai or saudi… what ever the case be this corporations have some connection with IMF,world bank,cia,mi5,mi6 and wall street and every crop,oil seeds… will not go to Ethiopian market but American and European market and the most shocking of all this farm land will be used to grow bio fuel seeds for European and Usa market to run industrial machinery and cars… when our people have hard time to eat once a day,it’s very sad,now days our only hope is that almighty GOD will intervene. we don’t trust each other in a bigger scale so our enemies see a good opportunity to kill us slowly.
This is something that has been waiting to happen. There are business sharks everywhere, they make a deal with a dictator and get advantageous policy for investing in a dictatorship. Take Al Amoudi Mohammad for example, he is investing in Ethiopia without any difficulties, the people he employed do not have union and in fact they are prohibited to form a union, they have no medical or any form of insurance, they can get fired for no reason. They have no rights as to how many hours they should work, if they refuse to work more than ten hours per day, they can be let go and they cannot sue Al amoudi’s company. If one is hurt at work s/he is let go and cannot get any form of medical attention. The level of stress working for Al Amoudi is impossible to last more than a year, People are asked to vote for Meles party and if they voted for anyone else the next day they will be sent home. These are only the tip of the iceberg.
The Afghan Bank Heist
SoHo nonprofit teaching activists how to create a digital revolution
By ISABEL VINCENT and MELISSA KLEIN
February 6, 2011 New York Post
It’s Revolution U.
A SoHo-based nonprofit is fomenting revolt in Egypt and turning Third World activists into tech-savvy rebels by teaching them to use social media to peacefully overthrow corrupt regimes.
The Alliance for Youth Movements is run by 20- and 30-something Internet execs and has already held three international conferences to arm these cyber Che Guevaras, including members of the Egyptian opposition. And the US and British governments — as well as Pepsi — are footing the bill, The Post has learned. The State Department kicked in $220,000 toward the group in 2009, the UK gave $350,000, and Pepsi gave $20,000, according to the organization’s tax filings. The money went to organize conferences where hundreds of activists from around the globe networked and got tips on how to use the Internet to get their messages across. Among those invited to the group’s 2008 conference at Columbia University was a member of Egypt’s April 6 group, which is at the forefront of the current protests. The unidentified activist reported discussing with other activists there how “April 6 members could more effectively evade harassment and surveillance . . . with technical upgrades such as consistently alternating computer SIM cards,” according to a WikiLeaks diplomatic cable released last month. The organization’s Movements.org Web site offers tips on staying connected to the Internet if the government shuts it off, organizing protests using cellphone apps, and expanding a movement’s Facebook base. There is a Twitter feed with updates from Egypt and links to protest organizations. “We believe that technology empowers unlikely leaders to do amazing things,” said Jason Liebman, 35, a founder of the Alliance who also co-founded HowCast Media, a Web site of how-to videos. “Today, with only a laptop computer or a mobile phone, people can connect, organize and share at unprecedented levels.” Liebman started the alliance in 2008. It is run out of offices on Broadway, but he did not want to identify which building because of security concerns.
[email protected]
Annals of Political Terror: Burying the Martyrs
Surge of immigrants from India baffles border officials in Texas
By Richard Marosi and Andrew Becker
February 6, 2011 Los Angeles Times
Thousands of immigrants from India have crossed into the United States illegally at the southern tip of Texas in the last year, part of a mysterious and rapidly growing human-smuggling pipeline that is backing up court dockets, filling detention centers and triggering investigations. The immigrants, mostly young men from poor villages, say they are fleeing religious and political persecution. More than 1,600 Indians have been caught since the influx began here early last year, while an undetermined number, perhaps thousands, are believed to have sneaked through undetected, according to U.S. border authorities. Hundreds have been released on their own recognizance or after posting bond. They catch buses or go to local Indian-run motels before flying north for the final leg of their months-long journeys. “It was long … dangerous, very dangerous,” said one young man wearing a turban outside the bus station in the Rio Grande Valley town of Harlingen. The Indian migration in some ways mirrors the journeys of previous waves of immigrants from far-flung places, such as China and Brazil, who have illegally crossed the U.S. border here. But the suddenness and still-undetermined cause of the Indian migration baffles many border authorities and judges. The trend has caught the attention of anti-terrorism officials because of the pipeline’s efficiency in delivering to America’s doorstep large numbers of people from a troubled region. Authorities interview the immigrants, most of whom arrive with no documents, to ensure that people from neighboring Pakistan or Middle Eastern countries are not slipping through. There is no evidence that terrorists are using the smuggling pipeline, FBI and Department of Homeland Security officials said. The influx shows signs of accelerating: About 650 Indians were arrested in southern Texas in the last three months of 2010 alone. Indians are now the largest group of immigrants other than Latin Americans being caught at the Southwest border. The migration is the “most significant” human-smuggling trend being tracked by U.S. authorities, said Kumar Kibble, deputy director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE. In 2009, the Border Patrol arrested only 99 Indians along the entire Southwest border. “It’s a dramatic increase,” Kibble said. “We do want to monitor these pipelines and shut them down because it is a vulnerability. They could either knowingly or unknowingly smuggle people into the U.S. that pose a national security threat.” Most of the immigrants say they are from the Punjab or Gujarat states. They are largely Sikhs who say they face religious persecution, or members of the Bharatiya Janata Party who say they are targeted for beatings by members of the National Congress Party. But analysts and human rights monitors say political conditions in India don’t explain the migration. There is no evidence of the kind of persecution that would prompt a mass exodus, they say, and Sikhs haven’t been targets since the 1980s. The prime minister of India, Manmohan Singh, is a Sikh. “There is no reason to believe these claims have any truth to them,” said Sumit Ganguly, a political science professor and director of the India Studies Program at Indiana University. Some authorities think the immigrants are simply seeking economic opportunities and are willing to pay $12,000 to $20,000 to groups that smuggle them to staging grounds in northern Mexico. Kibble said smugglers may have shifted to the Southwest after ICE dismantled visa fraud rings that brought Indians to the Northeast. Many Indians begin their journey by flying from Mumbai to Dubai, then to South American countries such as Ecuador or Venezuela, according to authorities and immigration attorneys. Guatemala has emerged as the key transit hub into Mexico, they said. The roundabout journeys are necessary because Mexico requires visas for Indians. They sneak across the dangerous Guatemala-Mexico border and take buses or private vehicles to the closest U.S.-Mexico border. Mexican organized crime groups are suspected of being involved either in running the operations or in charging groups tolls to pass through their territory. The Indians usually wade across the Rio Grande, and then are shuttled from stash houses to transportation rings that take them north. David Aguilar, deputy commissioner of Customs and Border Protection, an agency within the Department of Homeland Security, said he believed a high percentage were caught as soon as they crossed the river. “We very intensely interview, look at their backgrounds, check them against any watch list,” Aguilar said, adding that although India is not considered a “special interest” source country for terrorists, the undocumented immigrants are scrutinized as if it were. The detainees eventually claim asylum. In January, immigration court calendars at the area’s two main detention facilities were full of the common Indian surnames Patel and Singh, and attorneys and judges struggled to keep up. Some attorneys had failed to file the necessary forms; interpreters were not always available. Judge Keith Hunsucker said more immigration judges would soon be assigned to handle the increased workload. Many detained immigrants clear the first hurdle toward a full asylum hearing by convincing asylum officers they have a “credible fear” of persecution if they return to India. They can then post a bond and move anywhere in the United States as long as they agree to appear for their next court date. Not all show up, however. “That’s why I won’t take their cases anymore,” said Cathy Potter, a local immigration attorney who helped about 20 Indians get freed on bond last year. “It undermines my credibility. I don’t want anything to do with this.” It is not clear how many Indians have been granted asylum or deported; immigration officials did not fulfill requests for that information. Judges and attorneys appear to be toughening up, however. Bond amounts have risen sharply in recent months, and attorneys say asylum claims are increasingly being rejected. Judge William Peterson raised doubts during a recent hearing when a 27-year-old Punjabi woman said she had been beaten and raped, her sari ripped off by several attackers. The petite woman, her long hair in a ponytail, said she was targeted because her husband was a driver for National Congress Party officials. “I haven’t heard you tell me anything that you did on behalf of the party that would irritate these people,” Peterson said at the hearing held by video conference. “We used to give help to the poor. They did not like that,” she said. Peterson rejected her claim for a finding of “credible fear,” deeming her story inconsistent with statements she had made to an asylum officer. “They’re going to kill me. They’re going to rape me,” she pleaded, wiping away a tear. But hundreds of immigrants have persuaded asylum officers and judges to grant credible-fear findings, clearing the way for bond hearings. Hunsucker, an immigration judge at the Port Isabel Detention Center near Brownsville, set bond amounts ranging from $15,000 to $40,000 for 10 Indians one recent morning. Most said they had relatives or friends in the U.S. willing to sponsor them, though the judge raised concerns about some. In one case, a young man said his sponsor was his cousin, a woman. But the faxed identification document of the cousin showed a picture of a man with a beard. The bond was set at $15,000. Once released, the immigrants are transported to the Greyhound bus station in downtown Harlingen. One recent evening, 10 Indians crowded around pay telephones and the bus counter, struggling with limited English skills to arrange travel. One young man paid for a $204, two-day bus ride to New York City. When the clerk asked his name, he handed over his detention center ID wristband. A young man wearing a turban asked the clerk for information on the next bus to Indiana. He spoke broken English and later tried to provide details about his journey, but other immigrants nudged him to keep quiet. The trip was worth it, he said, adding, “I’m happy, because it’s safe” in the U.S. Outside, motel operators offered to shuttle the men to their nearby quarters. Shoving matches between motel operators have broken out in recent weeks as they compete to fill their $44-per-night rooms with immigrants. The Indians are largely unseen in the towns along the Rio Grande Valley, where they disappear into detention centers, stash houses or motel rooms. Some Sikhs have been confronted by locals alarmed by the sight of people wearing turbans, motel workers say. Federal agents investigating human-smuggling rings have visited at least one motel, America’s Best Value Inn in Raymondville, workers said. General Manager Kevin Patel denied any wrongdoing. He houses about 20 Indians per week, he said, shuttling them to and from the bus station and printing out airline boarding passes. He serves them meals in his motel apartment, often the first Indian food they’ve had in months, he said. One recent guest, Bharat Panchal, 37, said he was released from detention in late January after friends posted his $20,000 bond. India had become dangerous, he said, because of political unrest in his home state of Gujarat. He was flying later that day to Los Angeles to live with a friend, he said. Patel said the sudden appearance of Indian immigrants in southern Texas baffled him. “When they first showed up, I scratched my head a little bit,” Patel said. But he has opened his doors and makes the immigrants feel at home. “They need a place to stay,” he said. “They need food. They speak my language, so of course, as a human being, I can help them out.”
The Seething Pot. – Jer 1:13. “And there came to me the word of Jahveh for the second time, saying, What seest thou? And I said: I see a seething-pot (boiling pot); and it looketh hither from the north. Then said Jahveh to me: From the north will trouble break forth upon all inhabitants of the land. For, behold, I call to all families of the kingdoms towards the north, saith Jahveh; that they come and set each his throne before the gates of Jerusalem, and against all her walls round about, and against all cities of Judah. And I will pronounce judgment against them for all their wickedness, in that they have forsaken me, and have offered odours to other gods, and worshipped the work of their hands.” The Arabian poetical saying: their pot steams or boils, i.e., a war is being prepared by them…. That which is in the pot runs over as the heat increases, and pours itself on the hearth or ground. If the seething contents of the pot represent disaster, their running over will point to its being let loose, its breaking out. The Lord will call to all families of the kingdoms of the north, and they will come. The kingdoms of the north are not merely the kingdoms of Syria, but in general those of Upper Asia; since all armies marching from the Euphrates towards Palestine entered the land from the north… families, are the separate races of nations. We must not conclude from this explanation of the vision seen that the seething pot symbolizes the Chaldeans themselves or the kingdom of Nebuchadnezzar; such a figure would be too unnatural. The seething pot, whose contents boil over, symbolizes the disaster and ruin which the families of the kingdoms of the north will pour out on Judah.