Once known for investigating government corruption and airing opposition views that were never allowed on state television, Ren TV over time became noticeably less critical.
“The first goal was political control of the media,” said Roman Pivovarov, a leading analyst of the Russian media landscape. “But that was achieved relatively early on. So this was as much about money. The picture today is clear, in that the big media belongs to the small circle of people who control not only the politics but the economics of Russia.”
.. Cyprus is one of the world’s busiest offshore financial-service centers, with one of Europe’s lowest corporate tax rates and laws that enable foreigners to incorporate companies within days. Nearly 270,000 companies are registered there, and many are shells created to shelter income while obscuring the real owners.
.. A partner there, Makis Chrysomilas, said his firm typically uses its own address or those of employees when establishing residence for shell companies. “We are lawyers for 4,000 or 5,000 corporations,” he said. Coming up with names for them can be a challenge, he explained. So he has taken names from a book listing the thoroughbred horses auctioned in the United States. He also has named companies after streets in London and other European cities.
.. As for Bank Rossiya, he went on: “As far as I recall, this is a medium-sized bank. Personally, I did not have an account there, but I will definitely open one on Monday.” He later directed the presidential administration to begin depositing his official salary — roughly $7,500 a month — into a Bank Rossiya account.
Why Didn’t Eric Holder Go After the Bankers?
In the statement of facts accompanying the settlement, the bank acknowledged that, on a number of occasions, its employees told investors that the home loans underpinning its mortgage securities complied with underwriting guidelines. The statement went on: “JPMorgan employees knew that the loans in question did not comply with those guidelines and were not otherwise appropriate for securitization, but they allowed the loans to be securitized—and those securities to be sold—without disclosing this information to investors.”
.. This sort of behavior goes well beyond the incentive problems and the “rational irrationality” I describe in my book. It sounds a lot like securities fraud, which is a criminal offense. But rather than seek to prosecute those responsible—and their superiors, if they knew what was going on—the Justice Department settled for cash.
Proving intent remained a big issue. But Holder and Breuer have publicly stated that another factor also played a role: the fear that bringing criminal charges against a big financial firm might cause it to collapse. Appearing on Capitol Hill last year, Holder said, “I am concerned that the size of some of these institutions becomes so large that it does become difficult to prosecute them.”
.. If the government can bring criminal charges against Credit Suisse and BNP Paribas for violating American laws, why can’t it mete out the same treatment to JPMorgan and Bank of America, or to some of their employees? Perhaps Holder will address that question in his memoirs.
Miss a Payment? Good Luck Moving That Car
Lenders using Spireon’s software can create “geo-fences” that alert them if borrowers are no longer traveling to their regular place of employment — a development that could affect a person’s ability to repay the loan.
DOJ Prosecutions of the Banks: 2008 Financial Crisis
Part of the problem of prosecuting wrongdoing during the financial crisis was that the Justice Department tried to go after the institutions, and then found it didn’t want to threaten the charter of these institutions, out of concerns for the potential effect on the economy. Previous prosecutions went after the individuals.