The money is gone: Pak people own the loans & Citibank knew where it was:
Saturday August 8, 2009
GEO TV: For the first time in YEARS, on Pakistan mainstream TV network, Dr. Shahid Masood in his “Mere Mutabiq” program reveals the facts that money from Pakistans treasury was taken by Asif Ali Zardari, the CURRENT President of Pakistan, and laundered through the Cayman Islands, finally winding up at Citibank Switzerland. Also named in the charges is former Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz (who now lives in London).
Dr. Shahid Masood reports, “As the Pakistani Army and people fight terrorists in the country, we have financial terrorists attacking in Pakistan, and present a much greater threat to the country.” (Translation).
Oil companies who have recently collected 7 billion rupees in carbon taxes (ordered by Zardari), have yet to pay a single rupee in taxes to the Pakistan treasury.
Nothing yet in print media; but here are two articles from Pakistani online news back in 2007.
http://www.chowk.com/ilogs/64304/44106
Shaukat Aziz and Citibank’s Laundering of Asif Zardari’s Money
Posted: Nov 22, 2007 Thu 12:00 am
How Citibank Laundered Asif Zardari’s Money, provides a case history excerpted from a US Congress Subcommittee’s investigation of moneylaundering by private banking groups within US banks during the 1990s. The present post reproduces an interesting document, “List of meetings between Mr. Zardari and Citibank personnel, provided by Citibank,” being document “h” of a list of “Documents relating to Asif Ali Zardari” appended to the Report.
As part of its investigation, the subcommittee asked Citibank to provide a written record of meetings held between Citibank officials and four high profile Citibank account holders, including Mr. Asif Ali Zardari. Unlike the other cases, in which the names of relatively low level Citibank private banking group staff emerges in the records provided, the names of Citibank staff involved in the case of Benazir Bhutto and Asif Ali Zardari consists of men who have gone on to play a prominent role in Pakistan:
Shaukat Aziz, Until recently Prime Minister of Pakistan (close ties to CIA
Shaukat Tarin, Chairman, Board of Directors, Karachi Stock Exchange
Sajjad Rizvi
Nadeem Hussain, CEO, Tameer Bank & President, Tameer Foundation
The statement provided by Citibank lists date, participants, location, and summary of contacts between Citibank staff and the Bhuttos. This statement is reproduced below, interspersed with important events in the more detailed Asif Zardari case summary [see here] provided in the House Sub-Committee Report, inserted chronologically:
[START]
Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations
Exhibit # 31h.
Meetings, Events, or Functions at which Benazir Bhutto, Asif Ali Zardari, or Both Were Present
Date: Late January/Early February 1994
Participants: William Rhodes, Shaukat Aziz, Benazir Bhutto, Asif Ali Zardari, and others
Location: Davos, Switzerland
Summary: William Rhodes and Shaukat Aziz attend Davos economic conference. During conference, they are guests at a dinner hosted by Benazir Bhutto and attended by approximately 150 others.
Date: February 1994
Participants: John Reed, Paul Collins, Shaukat Tarin, Benazir Bhutto, and Asif Ali Zardari
Location: Islamabad
Summary: Discussion of Pakistani and world affairs
NOTES on the Citibanksters:
William Rhodes:William R. “Bill” Rhodes Rhodes is the Senior Vice Chairman of Citigroup Inc. and the Chairman of Citigroup and Citibank. He is also Chairman of the Board of both the Americas Society and its affiliate, the Council of the Americas, which were originally founded by David Rockefeller in 1965, and is a board member of the Group of Thirty.
Rhodes was educated at Northfield Mount Hermon, a college preparatory school, and Brown University; he joined Citibank in 1957. As the Senior International Officer for Citigroup, Mr. Rhodes has specific responsibilities for client relationships in emerging markets worldwide, relationships with governments and other official institutions and appointments of Citibank’s senior country officers outside the U.S.
John Shepard Reed [/b] (born 1939) is the former Chairman of the New York Stock Exchange. He previously served as Chairman and CEO of Citicorp, Citibank, and post-merger, Citigroup.was asked to be interim CEO of the New York Stock Exchange after the Richard Grasso over-compensation scandal. He accepted the job for a $1 salary and set up new governance rules as the NYSE became a public corporation. Reed is on the board of directors at Altria Group.
Paul J. Collins became a director of the [Enstar Group Ltd.] on January 31, 2007 in connection with the completion of the Merger. Mr. Collins served as a director of The Enstar Group, Inc. from May 2004 through the Merger. Mr. Collins retired as a Vice Chairman and member of the Management Committee of Citigroup Inc. in September 2000. From 1985 to 2000, Mr. Collins served as a director of Citicorp and its principal subsidiary, Citibank; from 1988 to 1998, he also served as Vice Chairman of those entities. Mr. Collins currently serves as chairman of the University of Wisconsin Foundation and a trustee of the Glyndebourne Arts Trust. He is also a member of the Advisory Board of Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe, a private equity firm. He was previously a director of Kimberly Clark Corporation, Nokia Corporation and BG Group and a member of the supervisory board of Actis Capital LLP.
Date: August 1994
Participants: Sajjad Rizvi, Paul Collins, Shaukat Tarin, Benazir Bhutto, and others
Location: Prime Minister’s Residence, Islamabad
Summary: General courtesy call, discussion of Citibank, macroeconomics and socio-political issues.
[Oct 1994 Mr. Zardari’s relationship with Citibank begins, with an account opened for Capricorn Trading, S.A. a British Virgin Island company, reportedly “through the services of Kamran Amouzegar, a private banker at Citibank private bank in Switzerland, and Jens Schlegelmilch, a Swiss lawyer who was the Bhutto family’s attorney in Europe and close personal friend for more than 20 years.”]
[5-6 Oct 1994 ARY International Exchange, a Dubai company owned by Abdul Razzak Yakub, alleged to have been given a gold import monopoly by Benazir Bhutto, deposits $5 million into the Capricorn Trading account on 5 Oct 1994; and another $5 million on 6 October 1994.]
Date: December 1994
Participants: Shaukat Aziz, Benazir Bhutto, Asif Ali Zardari, Benazir Bhutto’s economics advisor, Pkistani ambassador to Washington and others
Location: Prime Minister’s Residence, Islamabad
Summary: Discussion of Pakistani economy during a dinner meeting
[25 Feb 1994 A 3rd deposit, this time of $8 million, is made to the Capricorn trading account. Citibank says it does not know the source of this deposit.]
[27 Feb 1995 “Mr. Schlegelmilch, working with Mr. Amouzegar, opened three accounts at the Citibank Switzerland private bank. The accounts were opened in the name of M.S. Capricorn Trading, which already had an account at Citibank’s Dubai branch, aswell as Marvel and Bomer Finance, two other British Virgin Island PICs established by Mr. Schlegelmilch, according to Citibank. Each private bank account listed Mr. Schlegelmilch as the account contact and signatory. Citibank informed the Subcommittee that the Swiss Form A, a government-required beneficial owner identification form, identified Mr. Zardari as the beneficial owner of each PIC.”
[6 March 1995 $8.1 million, routed through Citibank, NY, transferred from Dubai to Swiss account.]
Date: March 7-10, 1995
Participants: Shaukat Aziz, William Rhodes, Benazir Bhutto, Asif Ali Zardari and others
Location: Singapore
Summary: During a state visit to Singapore by Benazir Bhutto, William Rhodes and Shaukat Aziz meet with Benazir Bhutto and her advisors in Benazir Bhutto’s hotel suite to discuss the Pakistani economy. At several official events
during this state visit, Shaukat Aziz exchanges greetings with Benazir Bhutto and Asif Ali Zardari
Date: March 7-10, 1995
Participants: Shaukat Aziz, William Rhodes, Benazir Bhutto, Asif Ali Zardari and others
Location: Singapore, Dinner hosted by the Pakistani Ambassador
Summary: Shaukat Aziz exchanges greetings with Benazir Bhutto and Asif Ali Zardari. Benazir Bhutto’s economic advisor asked Benazir Bhutto if she had ever visited Shaukat Aziz’s home in Singapore. She replied that she has never been invited. Shaukat Aziz stated that the Prime Minister was welcome.
Date: March 7-10, 1995
Participants: Shaukat Aziz, Shaukat Aziz’s wife, Benazir Bhutto, Asif Ali Zardari, protocol chiefs for Pakistan and Singapore, the Pakistani Ambassador, and numerous aides and security officials
Location: Shaukat Aziz’s home in Singapore
Summary: During state visit to Singapore Benazir Bhutto makes a surprise visit to Shaukat Aziz’s home. The Benazir Bhutto party remains for approximately one hour.
5 May 1995 $10.2 million, routed through Citibank, NY, transferred from Dubai to Swiss account. Shortly thereafter, Capricorn Trading’s Dubai account was closed. “Citibank has indicated that significant amounts of other funds were also deposited into the Swiss accounts. As described below, the $40 million cap was reached, and millions of additional dollars also passed through those accounts. However, Swiss bank secrecy law has prevented the Subcommittee from obtaining the details on the transactions in the Zardari accounts.”]
Date: July 1995
Participants: Shaukat Aziz, Benazir Bhutto, Asif Ali Zardari and others
Location: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Summary: Shaukat Aziz exchanges greetings with Asif Ali Zardari and Benazir Bhutto at a lunch given by Malaysian foreign minister in connection with benazir Bhutto’s state visit to Malaysia. Shaukat Aziz may also have exchanged greetings with Benazir Bhutto and Asif Ali Zardari at other events during the visit.
Date: Sometime during Benazir Bhutto’s second term as Prime Minister
Participants: Shaukat Aziz, Shaukat Tarin, Asif Ali Zardari and others
Location: Prime Minister’s Residence, Islamabad
Summary: Shaukat Aziz, Shaukat Tarin meet, perhaps on two different occasions, with Asif Ali Zardari and his aides for informal discussions about the Pakistani economy.
Date: September or October 1995
Participants: Sajjad Rizvi, Paul Collins, Shaukat Tarin, Benazir Bhutto and others
Location: Prime Minister’s Residence, Islamabad
Summary: General courtesy call, discussion of Citibank, macroeconomics and socio-political issues.
Date: December 1995
Participants: Shaukat Aziz, Paul Collins, Asif Ali Zardari and 1,500 others
Location: Karachi
Summary: Asif Ali Zardari is a guest at the wedding of Shaukat Aziz’s daughter
Date: During Benazir Bhutto’s second terms as prime minister
Participants: Shaukat Aziz and representatives of various banks
Location: Karachi
Summary: Asif Ali Zardari arrives at the end of dinner gathering of bank representatives in Karachi
Date: Late in Benazir Bhutto’s second terms as prime minister
Participants: Shaukat Aziz, Benazir Bhutto, Benazir Bhutto’s Finance Secretary and other economic advisors
Location: Prime Minister’s Residence, Islamabad
Summary: Discussion of Pakistani economy
Date: February 1996
Participants: Nadeem Hussain, Shaukat Tarin, Asif Ali Zardari and Javed Pasha
Location: Prime Minister’s Residence, Islamabad
Summary: Courtesy meeting to introduce Hussain as Citibank’s new consumer bank head in Pakistan
Date: March 1996
Participants: Sajjad Rizvi, possibly Shaukat Tarin, Margaret Thatcher, Benazir Bhutto and others
Location: Prime Minister’s Residence, Islamabad
Summary: Courtesy call with Lady Thatcher, whose speaking tour was sponsored by Citibank.
Mar/Apr 1996 “Mr. Amouzegar asked that the overall limit on the Zardari accounts be increased from $40 million to $60 million, apparently because the accounts had reached the previously imposed limit of $40 million. Citibank told the Subcommittee staff that Mr. Holderbeke considered the request, but declined to increase the $40 million limit.
June 1996 UK press reports that Mr. Zardari had purchased real estate in London. Citibank claims that an internal review was done, but Mr. Schlegelmilch allegedly indicated the funds had come from the sale of some sugar mills and were legitimate,” which Citibank accepted.
Date: August 1996
Participants: Paul Collins, Citibank Country Corporate Officer for Pakistan and Benazir Bhutto
Location: Probably Islamabad
Summary: Discussion regarding Citibank, the Pakistani economy, and regional economic and political developments.
Date: Fall 1996
Participants: Shaukat Aziz, Benazir Bhutto, Nusrat Bhutto, Sanam Bhutto, Dr. Bunyad Haider and others
Location: Waldorf Astoria, New York City
Summary: Discussion of Pakistani economy. Shaukat Aziz expressed condolences regarding the death of Benazir Bhutto’s brother. Following this meeting, Shaukat Aziz,
Benazir Bhutto and 20 others have dinner at the hotel.
[Nov 1996 Zardari arrested, for the second time, on charges of corruption.]
[Jan 1997 Citibank closed the Zardari accounts.
8 Sep 1997 Swiss government issued orders freezing the Zardari and Bhutto accounts at Citibank and three other banks in Switzerland, at the request of the Pakistani government.
5 Dec 1997 Citibank prepared a Suspicious Activity Report on the Zardari accounts and filed it with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network at the U.S. Department of Treasury. Note: So Citibank finally ‘notices’ suspicious activity – what took them so long???
Date: 1998
Participants: Shaukat Aziz, Shaukat Aziz’s wife, Benazir Bhutto, Dr. Bunyad Haider and his wife and several other couples
Location: The Haider’s New Jersey home
Summary: Meeting among Pakistanis in the New York area and Benazir Bhutto
[END]
—————————————————————————–
Source: PRIVATE BANKING AND MONEY LAUNDERING: A CASE STUDY OF OPPORTUNITIES AND VULNERABILITIES, Hearings before the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations of the Committee on Governmental Affairs, United States Senate, One Hundred Sixth Congress, First Session, November 9 and 10, 1999. Pages 474-477.
http://www.gpo.gov/congress/senate/senate12sh106.html
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Political language is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give the appearance of solidity to pure wind. – George Orwell
Re: Pakistan’s Looted Treasury: Stashed in Swiss Citibank Accounts
Robberies are commited at different scales. Small roberies are commited by small time hoodlums. Big time roberies are committed by professional thieves. But, nations are stolen by a higher breed of dictatorial scum. Pakistan is one nation, which has been stolen from its rightful owners: its people. How did this happen? It happened because Pakistani people are emotional, gullible, and easily swayed by fire breathing rhetoric. civilian and military dictators are master scam artists. They know how to play on the sentiments of people, who are politically naive. Ayub Khan, Yahya Khan, and Musharraf, used the spring board of Pakistani people’s trust in the armed forces to hijack the nation. Bhutto, a civilian dictator and a control freak, was steeped in arrogance. His personality was uncompromising and stubborn. In his test of wills with another conniving control freak, Mujibur Rahman, a united Pakistan was destroyed. Who can forget “tum wahan, hum yahan?.” One could have asked these blighters, who the hell gave you the right to the ownership of Pakistan. A nation bought with the blood and sacrifices of the Muslims of South Asian Sub-Continent.
