Hunter Biden Charged With Evading Taxes on Millions From Foreign Firms

THE NEW YORK TIMES: The Justice Department charged President Biden’s son after a long-running and wide-ranging investigation with substantial political repercussions.

Hunter Biden, the son of President Biden, had already been charged with three federal weapons felonies in September. | Kenny Holston/The New York Times
A federal grand jury charged Hunter Biden on Thursday with a scheme to evade federal taxes on millions in income from foreign businesses, the second indictment against him this year and a major new development in a case Republicans have made the cornerstone of a possible impeachment of President Biden.

Mr. Biden, the president’s son, faces three counts each of evasion of a tax assessment, failure to file and pay taxes, and filing a false or fraudulent tax return, according to the 56-page indictment — a withering play-by-play of personal indulgence with potentially enormous political costs for his father.

The charges, filed in California, came five months after he appeared to be on the verge of a plea deal that would have avoided jail time and potentially granted him broad immunity from future prosecution stemming from his business dealings. But the agreement collapsed, and in September, he was indicted in Delaware on three charges stemming from his illegal purchase of a handgun in 2018, a period when he used drugs heavily and was prohibited from owning a firearm.

The tax charges have always been the more serious element of the inquiry by the special counsel, David C. Weiss, who began investigating the president’s son five years ago as the Trump-appointed U.S. attorney for Delaware. Mr. Weiss was retained when President Biden took office in 2021. » | Glenn Thrush and Michael S. Schmidt | Reporting from Washington | Thursday, Dece,ber 7, 2023


Is every sod at the top corrupt? Isn't there even one honest broker amonst the SOBs? All American politicians invoke God. They can't get by without mentioning Gods name. The bloody hypocrites. For Christ's sake, leave God out of the equation and start behaving honestly and responsibly. The bloody lot of you are a disgrace. – © Mark Alexander

Michael Lambert: Staggering Waste of Public Money by Inept Government

Aug 19, 2023 | The government is in chaos as the British economy continues to suffer the after effects of Brexit . The Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is hopeless and weak. He continues to obsess about stopping small boats crossing the Channel whilst other problems continue to mount.

In the meantime, the vast expense of the Covid19 Test & Trace programme overseen by Dido Harding is being totally forgotten despite costing almost £30 billion. The further write off of £15bn of PPE purchased often through companies without any experience of buying PPE and yet who knew certain Tory politicians who were able to arrange contracts resulted in these companies making huge fortunes.

The government claims to be paying £6 million per day to house 47,500 asylum seekers who are mostly sharing rooms amounts, but the cost is still between £250 and £400 per room per night. In addition, Rishi Sunak's bounce back loan scheme whilst he was Chancellor of the Exchequer has resulted in £17 billion being written off. All in all the government appear to have wasted as much as £60 billion.


Thanks for this, Mr. Lambert. This extraordinary waste of taxpayers' money needs to be drawn to people's attention. The people at the Telegraph also need to be reminded of this extraordinary waste of taxpayers' money and the corruption in this government at the highest level. The Telegraph has recently been running articles about the dreadful cost of the state pension and that the government, one day, is going to have to put a stop to paying it! The UK can no longer afford to pay a state pension, they say. Of course, this is absurd. But when I hear you, Mr. Lambert, pointing out just how much this government has been paying out to its donors and cronies for corrupt contracts related to the pandemic, it makes me very angry when I read these nonsense articles in the Conservative press about not being able to afford a basic living for the vast majority of Brits, when the one percenters are living in the lap of luxury. – © Mark Alexander

The Brexit Scandal | Corruption in the UK | Documentary | British Political System

Aug 7, 2023 | The Brexit Scandal - What if Brexit was ultimately not about the “will of the people” at all, but about the interests of a small British elite?

The Brexit Scandal (2021) Director: Tom Costello
Genre: Documentary
Country: Germany
Language: English
Also Known As: Power, Profit and Populism: The Battle for Hard Brexit
Release Date: 2021 Germany (Raindance Film Festival)

Synopsis: Brexit was presented as a populist revolution against the elite. But in the years since the referendum, a group of men deep in the heart of the British establishment have been carrying out a coup of a different kind – using Brexit to try and turn Britain into a low-tax, low regulation, high finance utopia. This revolution is funded by dark money – cash from unknown sources – which has been flooding into the British political system through mysterious front groups, opaque offshore firms, clandestine digital campaigns and corporate lobbyists in disguise.

Today dark money and shadowy influence operations continue to push an agenda that is anything but popular, and is deeply undemocratic.

In this film, we follow the dark money trails to find out: who are the men who bought Brexit, and what is their vision for Britain’s future?

Mick Lynch Rails against "Oligarch" Tories Destroying the Country

Jul 5, 2023 | General Secretary of the RMT has said the government are running the country's public services into the ground. Speaking to PoliticsJOE on Wednesday, Mick Lynch said plans to close ticket offices were a prime example of the Tories' raging war on the United Kingdom, to the detriment of the people living there.

What have I been saying all along? That this country is rotten and corrupt at its very core. The Tories have a lot to answer for. And please do not think that I am a socialist; I am most certainly not. I have never voted socialist in my life. In fact, all my life, I have been a dyed-in-the-wool Conservative voter. But that all changed with that ridiculous Brexit. I shall never vote Conservative again. But I should add not only because of Brexit at this time; but also because the Conservative Party is no longer what it used to be: it cannot be trusted. Modern Conservatives have TRASHED this country. Moreover, they are continuing to trash it. Further, the country is no longer run for the benefit of ALL people, the many; rather, it is run for the benefit of the few – the very rich few. The 0.0001%. As far as the Tories are concerned, the rest of the people can eat the crumbs that fall under their tables. – © Mark Alexander

Germany Issues Arrest Warrant for Lebanese Central Bank Boss | DW News

May 24, 2023 | Germany has issued an arrest warrant for Lebanese Central Bank Governor, Riad Salameh, on allegations of corruption including forgery, money laundering, and embezzlement. The 72-year-old is accused of misappropriating millions from Lebanon's central bank. This follows a similar warrant from France and an Interpol Red Notice after his no-show at a Paris court hearing. Despite these charges, Salameh denies all wrongdoing. DW spoke to Anne Kirstine Rønn from the London School of Economics’ Middle East Center.

Michael Lambert: 'Global Britain' Sinks as Tory Cronies Enjoy the Fortunes of Covid

Apr 15, 2023

Brexit Britain reminds me of the Titanic: The superrich keep on partying and indulging themselves on caviar and champagne even as the ship is sinking! © Mark Alexander

Cash from Qatar? European Parliament Rocked by Corruption Scandal • FRANCE 24 English

Dec 12, 2022 | Just when the on-field drama of the football finally seemed to be eclipsing all else coming out of Qatar, the World Cup hosts back in the headlines for all the wrong reasons: Doha denies any part in the piles of cash uncovered by Belgian police or the arrests that include a vice-president of the European parliament. The greasing of the wheels came as the EU started to ponder visa-free travel to Qatari citizens. Why would the Gulf emirate even want the waiver?

Eva Kaili Removed from Office after Corruption Allegations | DW News

Dec 13, 2022 | An overwhelming majority of European Parliament members voted to strip Eva Kaili of her position as the body's vice president on Tuesday. The motion to end her term early was backed by 625 MEPs, while one voted against and two abstained. A two-thirds majority was required for her to cease being one of the body's 14 vice presidents. The 44-year-old Greek Social Democrat was arrested in Belgium on Friday over allegations she was part of a group accepting bribes from Qatar in exchange for promoting policies friendly to the Gulf state.

Related links here, here and here.

Greek MEP Stripped of EU Vice-President Role amid Qatar Scandal

THE GUARDIAN: Parliament’s senior leaders agree to remove Eva Kaili, a decision that will later be voted on by all 705 MEPs

Eva Kaili is one of four people charged but has not been officially named. Photograph: Eric Vidal/European parliament/AFP/Getty Images
The European parliament has voted to strip a Greek MEP implicated in a bribery and corruption scandal of her role as one of the body’s vice-presidents.

MEPs voted by 625 votes to one against, with two abstentions, to remove Eva Kaili as one of the parliament’s 14 vice-presidents, following a decision in favour of the move by the assembly’s senior leaders.

“The group chairs in the European parliament unanimously voted for the removal of vice-president Kaili” tweeted the German MEP Terry Reintke, co-president of the Green group, ahead of the vote. “We also agreed to a full inquiry into the matter and taking further preventative measures.” » | Jennifer Rankin in Brussels and Helena Smith in Athens | Tuesday, December 13, 2022

Qatar Bribery Probe Rocks EU Parliament | DW News

Dec 12, 2022 | A vice president of the European Parliament has been charged with corruption over allegations that World Cup host Qatar paid huge bribes to influence EU policy. Eva Kaili has been stripped of her powers after investigators reportedly found bags of cash in her home. She's one of four people arrested so far in connection with the scandal.

Une eurodéputée accusée d’avoir reçu des valises de billets du Qatar

Dec 12, 2022 | Dans une intervention devant les députés le 20 novembre 2022, la vice-présidente du Parlement européen défendait vigoureusement le Qatar. Elle a depuis été incarcérée en Belgique pour corruption et est soupçonnée d’avoir reçu de l’argent de la part de l’émirat.

Elle vantait un pays « à la pointe en matière de droits du travail, abolissant la kafala [un système de tutelle des employeurs sur les travailleurs] ». Des ONG alertent pourtant depuis plusieurs années sur la situation des travailleurs migrants au Qatar. Le 2 novembre dernier, le ministre du travail qatari, Ali Ben Samikh Al-Marri, avait rejeté l’appel de plusieurs ONG à créer un fonds d’indemnisation pour les travailleurs migrants tués ou blessés sur les chantiers de construction des infrastructures du tournoi, dénonçant un « coup de communication ».

Dimanche, les enquêteurs ont saisi plusieurs centaines de milliers d’euros chez Eva Kaili et son compagnon et assistant parlementaire, Pier Antonio Panzeri.

What Does the Case Say about the European Parliament At Large? | DW News

Dec 11, 2022 | Four people who have been arrested by Belgian police as part of a corruption investigation involving the EU Parliament have now been charged with criminal offenses. These include: participating in a criminal organization, corruption and money laundering. In total, six people have been arrested, including MEP Eva Kaili who was a Vice President of the Parliament.

How Russia‘s Corrupt 'Police State‘ Sells Its Own Spies | Conflict Zone

Nov 9, 2022 | If you really want to know about war, who’s murdering and torturing, who’s giving the orders and which weapons are being used, much of it is out there on the internet. There is still cause for hope, at least that's what Eliot Higgins the founder of the open-cource research orgnization, Bellingcat, believes.

Speaking to DW's Tim Sebastian, Higgins said Ukraine might be the best hope of achieving accountability and the internet is providing the means to build the case files.

Bellingcat has exposed Russian spies and assassins, now it is collecting the evidence of war crimes in Ukraine. The British founder of the group has been mining that raw data and incriminating the brutal and powerful.

In Ukraine his investigators are poring over evidence of Russian war crimes but he’s not averse to looking at Western actions elsewhere. "While I think we do have a reputation for focussing a lot on Russia….it gives us a lot more to write about.” Higgins doesn’t flinch from naming names, but he fights on an information battlefield – where facts – however detailed– are routinely contested and dismissed as fake news. Is truth already a devalued currency?

Iran: The Dark Money behind the Regime's Tools of Repression | Business Special

Oct 28, 2022 | The Iranian regime has been brutally cracking down on protests in the wake of the killing of 22-year-old Jina Mahsa Amini by the country's 'morality police'. But there's more to Iran's political security force behind the brutality, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, than the supression of demonstrations. It's the hub of a shadow economy, using front businesses to generate money for corrupt payoffs and even funding terrorist activities abroad.

In this edition of DW Business Special, our anchor Daniel Winter speaks with Kasra Aarabi, Iran Programme Lead at the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, who gives a damning indictment of Iran's ruling elite and the lengths it will go to support its violent ideology.

Boris Johnson Took Accommodation Worth £10,000 from Tory Donor’s Wife

THE GUARDIAN: Register of MPs’ interests shows ex-PM accepted gift from Lady Carole Bamford, wife of JCB chairman, Lord Anthony Bamford

Lady Carole Bamford and Lord Bamford at an event in 2020. Boris and Carrie Johnson’s wedding reception in the grounds of the Bamfords’ 18th-century mansion, Daylesford House in the Cotswolds, in July, is said to have included a steel band, rum punch, Abba songs and a conga.Photograph: David M Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Images for Positive Luxury
Boris Johnson accepted free accommodation worth £10,000 from the wife of the leading Tory donor who hosted his wedding party this summer, it has emerged.

The updated register of MPs’ interests shows that the former prime minister accepted a £10,000 gift from Lady Carole Bamford, for “concessionary use of accommodation for me and my family in September”.

Lord Anthony Bamford, a pro-Brexit Conservative peer who is chairman of construction equipment manufacturer JCB, has been a major Tory donor for decades. The billionaire entrepreneur, who supported Johnson’s successful leadership bid in 2019, has given more than £10m in donations and gifts to the party since 2001.

The latest register of MPs’ interests data published this week shows Liz Truss also accepted an £8,000 donation from Bamford, to cover “transport” during her leadership campaign.

It comes after the register showed that the prime minister was given more than £500,000 for her leadership campaign. Around half of that came from donors linked to hedge fund bosses, venture capitalists and other City financiers. » | Alexandra Topping | Friday, October 7, 2022

It just goes to show what the Tories are about! Greasing palms and corruption comes as standard to these people. Little wonder that we, the ordinary citizens of the UK–sorry! subjects of His Majesty–lost all our European citizens' rights during that farcical, but extremely sad, Brexit referendum. – © Mark Alexander

LBC Caller Slams 'Most Arrogant, Complacent, Corrupt, Dishonest and Incompetent' Govt. in Lifetime

Aug 8, 2022 This LBC caller says which government is the "most arrogant, complacent, corrupt, dishonest and incompetent" in his lifetime.

Whoever this caller is, he is absolutely right. We need a change of administration now. The Tories have been in office for far too long. When any government is in office as long as the Tories have been, it is never healthy, regardless of their political persuasion. And as for Thatcherism, that is the last thing this country needs in the mess we're in. Thatcherism was great for its time: the Eighties. It might well be good for another time in the future. But it is NOT GOOD for these times we are now living in. We've had forty plus years of the politics of greed. It is now high time that we get a dose of the politics of compassion. And that ain't Thatcherism! – © Mark Alexander

Boris Johnson’s CORRUPT Plan to Pack Lords

The World's Biggest Meat Company Is Built on Corruption and It's Growing in Australia | Four Corners

Apr 25, 2022 • You may not have heard of them, but JBS is the biggest meat company in the world. It controls a lot of the food you buy in the supermarket including beef, pork, lamb and salmon.

You'll even find their meat between your burger buns at McDonald's.

But despite its size and reach, JBS is a company built on corruption and bribery; tainted by charges and accusations of malpractice and environmental crimes.

While some foreign governments are holding the company to account, Australian politicians have given JBS the green light to grow

Why?

When Ukraine Needed US Backing, All They Got Was Donald Trump's Corruption

Mar 9, 2022 • Ali Velshi looks at how Donald Trump's personal abuse of the U.S. relationship with Ukraine contributed to Ukraine's vulnerability to Russian aggression, and talks with Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman (ret.), formerly a Ukraine expert on the National Security Council who testified in Donald Trump's first impeachment.

Trump was and remains a fool! A dangerous fool at that. How Americans can be taken in by that clown is beyond my comprehension. He has done so much damage to the stability of the world, including the stability of the European Union, for it was he who was four-square behind Brexit, which was the UK’s biggest mistake: it weakened the UK and it certainly weakened the EU,too; and at the very time both the UK and the EU need to be as strong as they can be. If Americans re-elect that clown, they will deserve all they get! The path ahead will be clear for China to ascend to pole position. Then, we will all have to pay the price of that! – © Mark

Donald Trump’s power is fading: Trumpism is the clear and present danger now: While the ex-president is beset by legal and financial troubles, his awful doctrine remains a malign and vigorous force in US politics »

Leak Shows Credit Suisse Has Handled Dirty Money for Decades | DW News

Feb 21, 2022 • Credit Suisse is facing allegations that it has been handling dirty money for decades. An investigation led by German daily the Süddeutsche Zeitung has revealed that Switzerland's second-biggest lender knowingly managed hundreds of millions of dollars for suspected war criminals, corrupt autocrats and drug dealers. That's according to an investigation by a consortium of over 40 media organizations worldwide. The Swiss bank says it rejects the insinuations about its purported practices.

Related links.