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[newswavesblogs]

‘Russian Spy Bank’ Prepares for Awkward Birthday Celebrations

In the ever-evolving landscape of global finance, historical legacies often cast long shadows over institutions striving for modernity. This is particularly evident in the case of the International Investment Bank (IIB), an entity with roots deeply entrenched in the bygone era of the Soviet Union.

The former development bank of the Soviet Union is betting on “Europeanization” as it attempts to ditch its legacy of KGB connections and allay international concerns over Russian dominance.

However, the International Investment Bank (IIB) — founded by the former communist economic bloc Comecon in 1970 — is still at the centre of Cold War-era espionage fears, with tension between its chequered history and the new European image it is trying to forge set to sharpen ahead of September celebrations to mark its fiftieth anniversary.

“Of course, we would like to get rid of this Comecon heritage and legacy,” Imre Laszlóczki, deputy chair of the IIB’s management board, told The Moscow Times. “But history is history, and you cannot change what has happened.”

“My big aim is to make the bank more European. It was always a goal, but now we have a real chance, being in Europe. The next strategy will be all about Europeanization.”

But Europeanization brings increased European scrutiny. IIB’s relocation from Moscow to Budapest, completed last year, was met with uproar from the Hungarian opposition and civil society, while the generous immunities Hungarian President Viktor Orban awarded the bank — diplomatic passports for top staff, full immunity from prosecutorial, financial and regulatory oversight, and guaranteed entry to the EU for an unlimited number of IIB guests — have prompted security fears in Brussels and Washington.

“Imagine an unlimited number of guests with an unlimited number of vehicles and full immunity,” said Hungarian professor András Rácz of the German Council on Foreign Relations. “If I were an intelligence agency operating outside the EU, this is the kind of entry vehicle I’d be dreaming of.”

The U.S. State Department warned the relocation could help Russia “expand its malign influence in Hungary and across the region,” the Financial Times reported last year, and concerns were also raised by British and Canadian officials, said Peter Kreko of Hungarian think tank Political Capital.

Links between the IIB and intelligence agencies were rife throughout the Cold War. The first head of Russia’s Central Bank after the fall of the Soviet Union, Georgy Matyukhin, wrote in his memoirs that he used the IIB as a front organization when he was a KGB operative in the 1970s.

The bank’s current chairman, Nikolai Kosov, who was appointed to revive and Europeanize the IIB in 2012 after it had been left idle since the fall of the Soviet Union, has also been linked to Russian intelligence services.

Expansion plans The IIB itself has been bullish in pushing back against what it calls “unfounded allegations.” In an interview in the Bank’s newly-downsized Moscow office, Laszlóczki said he found the media coverage “boring.”

Instead, he pointed to the overhaul of its governance structures since 2012, which the World Bank helped with, as evidence that it is serious about becoming an established multinational development bank by 2032. Russia has also reduced its control of the IIB, cutting its shareholding to 43%, while EU members — Hungary, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Romania and Slovakia — hold 53% combined. The IIB says this proves its European credentials, while critics point to a voting system which means any one shareholder with more than 25% can veto decisions. The transformation has won support from ratings agencies and investors, who have bought up bonds issued by the IIB in Europe at tight spreads — a signal of strong demand.

“They’ve moved away from being a more Russian-centric institution to becoming a more European institution. With the relocation, the whole culture and base of the organization has shifted to Europe” said Tony Stringer, managing director of global sovereigns and supranationals at Fitch Ratings.

“They’ve made some positive steps in the area of governance and this is an area that since the relaunch they’ve really focused on improving … meaning the bank’s governance structure is now more aligned with international best practice.”

As part of the Europeanization strategy, Russia’s share is expected to decline further. The bank also plans to bring in new countries to add to the current Cold War hangover of nine that includes five former communist EU countries, along with Russia, Cuba, Vietnam and Mongolia. Laszlóczki says there have been preliminary talks with a potential new member in Asia and with unnamed medium-sized European economies.

It remains unclear whether an expansion will materialize. Political Capital’s Kreko said it “would have very bad optics” if another EU member joined the bank, adding that “the Czech Republic is seriously considering abandoning the IIB for security reasons.”

Czech investigative journalists reported that Prague considered pulling out in 2014 but feared losing money it had invested — as was the case when Poland withdrew in 2000.

Relations with Slovakia are also strained after the government vetoed a potential headquarters in Bratislava, refusing to grant the bank the sweeping diplomatic immunities it sought.

Small balance sheet Without bringing in new members, or securing a significant increase in support from existing ones, the IIB is likely to stay on the margins of international finance, analysts say. By banking standards, it is a tiny player, with 100 employees and a project portfolio of €1 billion, compared to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development's (EBRD) 2,500 staff and €30 billion.

“The ‘public mandate’ angle — which effectively means how big a player are they, what role they play in the market and how important are they to the shareholders — is a relative weakness,” said Fitch’s Stringer.

“But, they do appear to be punching above their weight. They are the only multinational development bank headquartered in central and eastern Europe, and with this rapid expansion they appear to have become quite a dynamic institution … they are developing a name for themselves in the market.”

Laszlóczki joked that the fears surrounding the IIB’s relocation to Hungary could even have helped raise its profile — putting the bank on the radar of those who would otherwise not have heard of it. But asked whether the IIB can effectively support SMEs, infrastructure and green energy projects, as its mandate stipulates, with such meagre resources, he hesitated.

“It’s the right question. But the most important thing for us now is stability. And then growth. We’re a boutique bank. We will grow, because we want to widen our opportunities and possibilities. But we are going to go step by step.”

An unholy alliance It was the bank’s “miniscule” size that fuelled concerns over last year’s relocation, with analysts seeing the move not as an economic tie-up, but “as further evidence of an unholy alliance between Putin and Orban,” said Hungarian political analyst Gabor Gyori.

“The problem is, the Hungarian government has cordoned off all of its activities. It is known for its lack of transparency, which leads analysts and journalists down this realm of conspiracy theories. If you don’t have specific information, you need to give your own narratives about what’s happening,” he added.

Expert Russian spy-watcher Mark Galeotti also said the espionage concerns were “overblown,” and that since the relocation last year, he has not heard anything more about them.

Nevertheless, as the bank continues to grow and Europeanize, the scrutiny will remain. Last year several European lawmakers (MEPs) lodged questions in Brussels asking the EU to keep a close eye on the IIB’s activities.

“There is no smoking gun,” says Kreko. “But the circumstantial risks that we are talking about should be taken very seriously.”

As the IIB navigates the complex terrain of international finance and geopolitical skepticism, its efforts towards Europeanization will be closely watched. The journey from its Cold War origins to a modern, transparent institution is fraught with challenges, but it also represents a significant opportunity for transformation and integration into the European financial system. Only time will tell if the IIB can successfully shed its controversial past and emerge as a credible player on the global stage.

[newswavesblogs]

Crackdown on Corporate Corruption: Recent Cases Highlight Integrity Challenges

Recent events have once again brought to the forefront the issue of financial integrity and corporate accountability. These incidents underline the critical need for robust regulatory measures and ethical conduct within businesses to safeguard against corruption and malpractice.

A Chief Executive Officer (CEO) with the title ‘Datuk’ and a telecommunications company director were detained yesterday for allegedly falsifying claims involving more than RM1.8 million.

Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) investigation director Datuk Mohd Jamidan Abdullah said the duo, a man and a woman, were expected to be charged separately at the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court next week.

“The CEO, who heads a Kuala Lumpur-based supplier company, was alleged to have made false claims of more than RM1 million in relation to a contract involving the Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2, while the woman director of the telecommunications company had allegedly made false claims involving more than RM800,000,” he told the authorities yesterday.

He said MACC rarely received cases involving women. “This is the first time we are looking into a case where a high-ranking female official is involved with corruption of such a massive amount.”

Jamidan said the anti-graft body would also take action against a CEO of a shipping company who had allegedly committed criminal breach of trust (CBT) involving more than RM5 million.On Thursday, a former finance manager of Pelangi shipping Sdn Bhd and a head of management and services department at Petronas ICT Sdn Bhd were separately charged at the Sessions Court here with seven counts of making false claims of more than RM1.8 million.

Marzulhisham Zulkifli, 36, and Syed Hamid Khalid Rashid, 40, claimed trial to providing false claims in relation to customs duty and for seminars which never took place. They were granted RM40,000 and RM30,000 bail respectively, and their cases will be up for mention on Dec 8 and 11.

Reports indicate that MACC has intensified its focus on private corporations following successful operations targeting government departments in recent months.

It is believed that the commission is scrutinizing several individuals from private corporations allegedly involved in making false claims amounting to millions of ringgit. Entities currently under investigation include government-linked companies, main power supply companies, the oil and gas industry, and a local bank.

Meanwhile, a former legal firm company clerk was charged at the Sessions Court yesterday with 260 charges of CBT and theft involving more than RM1.1 million.

P. Kalaiselvi, 44, claimed trial to 126 counts of misappropriating of more than RM1 million from her employer. She also faced another 134 counts of stealing RM171,490.48 by using 160 cheques.

These incidents underscore the imperative for stringent oversight and ethical conduct in both public and private sectors. Upholding integrity and transparency remains paramount to ensure the trust and stability of Malaysia's business environment.

[newswavesblogs]

Charges of Financial Misconduct: Cases Highlighting Integrity Concerns

Recent cases of alleged financial misconduct have surfaced, shedding light on the importance of transparency and integrity in business dealings. Such incidents not only undermine trust in the corporate sector but also highlight the necessity for stringent measures to prevent fraudulent activities.

A former finance manager of a shipping company was charged at the Sessions Court here with four counts of using false claims involving over RM3.8 million in 2004.

Marzulhisham Zulkifli, 36, who is now self-employed claimed trial to three counts of providing three documents containing false details to executive logistics agent at the Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB), Al-Mohafan Mohamed.

He was alleged with making the claims through three invoices amounting to RM3,093,787.06 in relation to customs duty in which the duties were actually exempted.

Mazrulhisham who was a former emplyee at Pelangi Shipping Sdn Bhd was also charged with another count of providing a false claim to the same agent through an invoice in relation to customs duty claiming for a RM728,302.68 amount while the original amount was RM63,440.99. He allegedly committed the offences at a TNB office in Jalan Bangsar here between Jan 19 and July 30,2004. Malaysian Anti-corruption commission (MACC) deputy public prosecutor Afifah Yusof proposed for RM60,000 bail for all charges.

In mitingating, Marzulhisham's counsel Kamarudin Abdullah said since 2004, his client has given full coorperation to the MACC and was present at any time needed for investigation.

"My client is a man who obeys the law. I also plead for a RM30,000 bail to be imposed on him," he said.

Judge Mohd Nasir Nordin set bail at RM40,000 for all charges and ordered for the accused to surrender his passport to the court.

He fixed Dec 8 for mention.

Meanwhile in another Sessions Court, a former head of management and services department of Petronas ICT Sdn Bhd was charged with three counts of using three false documents involving RM98,000.

Syed Hamid Khalid Rashid, 40, who was also an agent at iPerintis Sdn Bhd claimed trial to the charge that was read to him in English before judge Rosbiahanin Arifin.

Syed was alleged with using three K-Pintar Sdn Bhd company invoices for a Managing Flow-Team Dynamics course.

The seminars which were alleged to have been held at Maybank Academy and Petronas Leadership Centre both located in Bangi never took place.

The father of four allegedly committed the offences at iPerintis Sdn Bhd, Menara Perak in Jalan Perak here between Dec 31,2012, and Sept 9, 2013.

Afifah submitted for a RM45,000 bail.

Syed's counsel M.Mahendra mitigated that his client had given full coorperation during investigation and had quit his job about two weeks ago.

"I plead for a lower bail as my client also has four kids aged between eight and four months old. Most of them are in school," he said.

Rosbiahanin set bail at RM30,000 for all charges and fixed Dec 11 for mention.

These cases underscore the need for robust regulatory frameworks and diligent oversight to safeguard against financial irregularities, ensuring accountability and maintaining the trust of stakeholders.

[newswavesblogs]

Prominent Conn. man tangled in sex extortion case

The women called him "master." He called them his "slaves."

But the women Greenwich, Conn., financial titan Stephen Dent met online clearly were the ones with the power.

They used that power to extract more than $200,000, which Dent gave them voluntarily in exchange for both online companionship and sex.

Then, they tried to get more.

At least three of the women or their associates have tried to blackmail Dent, 54, a Harvard-educated multimillionaire, DuPont heir and successful entrepreneur who lives on a private street in Riverside, Conn. Two of those cases have resulted in FBI-Greenwich Police Department investigations, and extortion charges.

All of the extortion attempts came as a result of relationships Dent formed by trolling the Web site SeekingArrangement.com. Police records indicate Dent visited the site habitually for at least two years, looking for women to chat with and, in some instances, to meet for sex. He paid women he met on the site as much as $15,000 for sex, according to police reports released recently in response to a public-records request from Greenwich Time, the Greenwich newspaper.

SeekingArrangement.com caters to older, wealthy men, or "sugar daddies," willing to pay young women, or "sugar babies," for their companionship. The site, based in Nevada, brands itself "a match making Web site for wealthy benefactors, and attractive guys and gals" and was recently profiled in The New York Times Magazine.

The owner of the Web site, Brandon Wey, denied the site was connected with extortion or prostitution and said no one else has encountered problems as Dent did.

"He is obviously doing something wrong because no one else is having this problem," said Wey.

On Aug. 2, 2007, Dent's activities first became a law-enforcement matter when Greenwich Police Detective Robert A. Brown Jr. got a phone call from a private investigator in Arizona. The investigator told Brown his client, Dent, was being blackmailed -- possibly by the Russian Mafia.

Dent later told his story to Brown and the FBI.

According to the initial report Brown wrote on the case, Dent "stated that he had solicited the services of women through SeekingArrangement, for both e-mail correspondence and sexual liaisons," often at a Greenwich hotel.

According to the report, Dent told police he paid "approximately $15,000" for one sexual encounter. He also told police that in the first eight months of 2007, he "spent approximately $200,000 on women that he has either had sex with or just met online." The report said that he gave some of the money to women he didn't have sex with because "they were down on their luck," giving it "out of the goodness of his heart."

With Dent's cooperation, the FBI and Greenwich police made a plan to trap the extortionist, who falsely claimed to be a member of the Russian Mafia and demanded $40,000. Dent set up a meeting and police arrested Roy Sipel, a Queens, N.Y., man who claimed the millionaire had paid Sipel's girlfriend to perform sex acts described by Sipel's attorney as "vile and vulgar."

In a plea agreement, Sipel was sentenced to 16 months in prison in March 2008. Sipel's lawyer at the time, Robert Bello, of Stamford, told the judge that Sipel had become angry after learning that his girlfriend engaged in sex acts with Dent. "He heard what she went through, and he was going to be her avenging angel," Bello told the judge.

A new extortion case

On Jan. 28, 2009, the FBI called Greenwich police to inform them of another apparent plot to extort Dent.

After talking to a different private detective hired by Dent, police found that just months after Sipel's sentencing, Dent was back on SeekingArrangement.com again, this time with a new account, but still corresponding with the same women. "He closed his previous account and began to use a different e-mail address but the same screen name to correspond with his women friends," police documents state.

Dent's Internet chats once again turned ugly when Dawn Jessop, 28, of Ohio, allegedly began blackmailing Dent in November 2008, threatening to release their correspondence and expose Dent to the community for his alleged role in "patronizing prostitutes," according to police documents. Dent then wired two $25,000 payments to Jessop and her mother, and another $50,000 to her husband, Christopher Jessop. It was not until the FBI began to survey Dent's arrangements to drop $50,000 in the Jessops' account in January 2009 that Greenwich police were called to intervene, according to the warrant.

The Jessops currently face charges of first-degree larceny by extortion and first-degree conspiracy to commit larceny. Dawn Jessop was released on bond last week but her husband is being held on $300,000 bond at the Bridgeport Correctional Center.

According to police documents, Dent was also blackmailed for $9,000 by a third woman, but no charges have been filed in that case.

In the 2007 police report, police reference a copy of an e-mail they describe as "a standard form letter" which Dent would send to prospective companions. That letter was initially withheld, but received by Greenwich Time upon a second request, albeit in redacted form. Despite much of the detail being blacked out, it does shed light on some details of Dent's arrangements:

"I can only meet during the weekdays around midday. In general I am not available at night or during the weekends. Furthermore, we would need to meet only when my wife is away. Since I don't really travel, for the most part the meetings would have to be out here in the Greenwich-Stamford area.

"Regarding your financial assistance, my initial thoughts are cash compensation in the range of $2,000 to $3,000 per meeting, assuming that we meet about twice a month, plus expenses. If there is anything of an impersonal nature (such as electronics items) that you would like me to purchase for you online and have shipped to your home, I'd be happy to do this. If you are interested in relocating, I will pay for your moving expenses and switch you over to a monthly allowance which would cover your expenses. If you have other financial needs, I'd be happy to discuss them. I am flexible on this whole subject, and am even willing to wire money directly to your checking account if needed."

No charges against Dent

Despite that written evidence of Dent's offer to pay money for sex, Greenwich police elected not to charge him with a crime.

"The decision was made in 2007 not to pursue the comments that he made about prior activity," said Detective Lt. Mark Marino, head of the department's Criminal Investigations Division. "At the time we were pursuing that case, we were treating him as a victim and pursuing a more serious offense with regards to the extortion."

When asked if police gave Dent preferential treatment because of his status in the community, Marino replied, "Absolutely not."

He added that the decision not to investigate Dent also partly rested on the fact that police did not want to deter other victims of extortion from coming forward.

A difficult period in his life'

Dent's attorney, Steven Frederick of Stamford, Conn., did not comment on the statements in the police report, but said he wished to point out that his client was "going through a difficult period in his life" when these events occurred. "He made some terrible mistakes and he fully regrets those mistakes," said Frederick, who added that Dent "is being treated for the issues relating to his past conduct."

Mark Sherman, the Stamford attorney representing Christopher Jessop, declined to comment on how Dent's other activities and the other extortion cases might be useful to his client's defense.

"Obviously, information about any of these individuals in this case, including my client, is helpful to the defense," he said. "Whether it can be used at trial is a completely separate issue." Greenwich Attorney Mickey Sherman, who is representing Dawn Jessop, declined comment.

The FBI declined comment on the case, although an FBI agent in New Haven who formerly worked in an anti-cybercrime unit said the scenario of a person being extorted multiple times through an online dating site is rare.

"Based upon my experience. I haven't seen it very often here in Connecticut," said Special Agent Jane Domboski.

Net worth: about $100 million

According to town records, Dent resides on a private street in a gated house near the Cos Cob Harbor assessed at $4.5 million and owns his own investment firm, although he recently closed the doors of his office in Old Greenwich, in the same complex as the Greenwich Time office. Dent, who told police in 2007 that his net worth is approximately $100 million, is also the founding funder of the Greenwich Science Center, a nonprofit educational organization based in Stamford, which is now defunct.

Frederick said Dent is moving forward with support from his family and hopes his story will be a warning for others.

"He is fortunate to be able to rely on the tremendous support he has received from his wife and family and from his close friends," Frederick said. "He further hopes the publicity this matter has received will be useful in teaching the public the dangers of Internet crime."