As regulators ramp up their global investigation into the manipulation of interest rates, the Justice Department has identified potential criminal wrongdoing by big banks and individuals at the center of the scandal.
The department’s criminal division is building cases against several financial institutions and their employees, including traders at Barclays, the British bank, according to government officials close to the case who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the investigation is continuing. The authorities expect to file charges against at least one bank later this year, one of the officials said.
The prospect of criminal cases is expected to rattle the banking world and provide a new impetus for financial institutions to settle with the authorities. The Justice Department investigation comes on top of private investor lawsuits and a sweeping regulatory inquiry led by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Collectively, the civil and criminal actions could cost the banking industry tens of billions of dollars.
Authorities around the globe are examining whether financial firms manipulated interest rates before and after the financial crisis to improve their profits and deflect scrutiny about their health. Investigators in Washington and London sent a warning shot to the industry last month, striking a $450 million settlement with Barclays in a rate-rigging case. The deal does not shield Barclays employees from criminal prosecution.
Embroiled in another financial scandal pertaining to the laundering of money, the Vatican bank has been called by Forbe’s “the most secret bank in the world” and faces international scrutiny in its highly secretive banking model. Although details are limited to the public, it is clear that the Vatican bank is facing pressure from Italian and European officials over its innerworkings. In short, the bank has laundered billions of dollars. It has had help of course, in the deeply interwoven network of high finance, and none other than US bank JPMorgan abetted highly suspicious transactions, although the bank has yet to be accused of laundering itself. Though, this is a no-brainer considering the accounts the bank hosted for the Vatican.
This part of the story begins when Gottii Tedeschi, now former head of Vatican bank, was relieved when four men waiting for him in the street while he was on his way to work were not hit men. They were investigators with the Carabinieri, Italy’s national military police force. Before he had reached his car, they had served him a search warrant. They escorted him back to his house, where they for many hours searched through his home office. Simultaneously, the military police force was searching through Gotti Tedeschi’s office in Milan. They confiscated two computers, two cabinets’ full of binders, a planner and his briefcase. The documents confiscated from Gotti Tadeschi, who was once a confidant of the pope, “provided Italian law-enforcement officials insight into the innermost workings of the Vatican bank.” According to Germany’s Der Spiegel:
The secret dossier includes references to anonymous numbered accounts and questionable transactions as well as written and electronic communications reportedly showing how Church banking officials circumvented European regulations aimed at combating money-laundering.
NEW YORK — The harsh light of the Libor rate-fixing scandal has crossed the Atlantic, with both Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase saying regulators and investigators have requested information from them in a so-far preliminary probe of the case.
Share prices for both — as well as Bank of America, which has not said if it was asked for information — have fallen sharply this week amid worries they could be in line for the type of heavy fines laid on Britain’s Barclays Bank, at the center of the scandal.
Barclays has been fined $452 million (360 million euros) by British and US regulators for attempted manipulation of the markets for Libor and Eurobor benchmark interest rates between 2005 and 2009.
Three top Barclays executives have resigned and on Friday Britain’s Serious Fraud Office said it would formally investigate the case, which has dented London’s reputation as a top financial center.
But speculation runs to other banks because the Libor rate is set based on information from 16 international banks, and many think that manipulating it would take more than one bank.
The issue affects not just banks but commercial and retail borrowers around the world — in the United States, the payments of a floating rate home mortgage loan are often tied to the Libor base rate.
As has been reported for god-knows-how long by Max Keiser, CFTC, and other precious metals commentators, the Silver market is one of the most manipulated commodities markets in the world. JP Morgan, long rumored to have a paper short position on Silver larger than the total annual tonnage produced in a year’s time, is now openly manipulating said sector.
Here are some of my articles related to this issue, but first please venture over to Silver Doctor’s for the whole scoop:
LONDON—Barclays PLC said Monday it would launch an independently led audit of its business practices as Chairman Marcus Agius confirmed he would resign, taking responsibility for last week’s $453 million settlement of an interest-rate manipulation probe.
As both chairman of Barclays and the trade association that oversee the interbank lending rate, Mr. Agius has been the focus of much criticism from investors and politicians over the past week. On Monday, Mr. Agius sought to deflect pressure from bank Chief Executive Robert Diamond, saying that the “buck stops with me.” He also stepped down as chairman of the British Bankers’ Association, the trade body runs the Libor rate.
“Last week’s events, evidencing as they do unacceptable standards of behaviour within the bank, have dealt a devastating blow to Barclays’ reputation,” Mr. Agius said in a statement Monday. “As chairman, I am the ultimate guardian of the bank’s reputation.
I was having a bit of writer’s block yesterday, actually going so far as to do a 15 minute audio recording last night that I ended up not liking. Fact is, the information seems to be coming so fast now I am just having a delay in processing time as I digest the news. Everyone seems to feel an acceleration, a quickening of events so it’s important to step back and fit the puzzle pieces together. Some call this the “big picture,” and we’ve been hearing some lofty claims of very positive shifts happening…SOON. Turns out I posted an article in haste which has so many gold nuggets buried, it took a day for them to shine through.
At the bottom of this post, Drake has posted a new note regarding the GREENLIGHT he issued which has been discussed since he began giving broadcasts. This was given officially around 8:20 EST Wednesday night, and is posted at his blog American National Militia. Before you read it though, try and keep these key points in mind, as I think they must be telling us something critical.
It’s the economy, silly!
Yesterday I posted an article from Reuters which has been mentioned in many places but didn’t receive quite the attention I thought it should, especially for all those “aware” of the mass arrest scenario. If you haven’t read this article, take 20 minutes and really read it over carefully. It took me 2 or 3 read overs to fully grasp the immensity of what it was suggesting;
Five of the biggest banks in the United States are putting finishing touches on plans for going out of business as part of government-mandated contingency planning that could push them to untangle their complex operations.
The plans, known as living wills, are due to regulators no later than July 1 under provisions of the Dodd-Frank financial reform law designed to end too-big-to-fail bailouts by the government. The living wills could be as long as 4,000 pages
Did I hear that right? End too-big-to-fail bailouts by the government? They continue…
Since the law allows regulators to go so far as to order a bank to divest subsidiaries if it cannot plan an orderly resolution in bankruptcy, the deadline is pushing even healthy institutions to start a multi-year process to untangle their complex global operations, according to industry consultants.
“The resolution process is now going to be part of the cost-benefit analysis on where banks will do business,” said Dan Ryan, leader of the financial services regulatory practice at PricewaterhouseCoopers in New York. “The complexity of the organizations will shrink.“
For those scared of the world bank and the international corporate banking institutions – well – we’ve already had that haven’t we? This is what we want to deconstruct. That’s been the mechanism so far, and here it is in mainstream news that there is some kind of July 1 Deadline, whereby a 4,000 page document is being tendered to shrink the complexity of these organizations. Follow me?
But wait, there’s more…
JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N), Bank of America Corp (BAC.N), Citigroup Inc (C.N), Goldman Sachs & Co (GS.N) and Morgan Stanley (MS.N) are among those submitting the first liquidation scenarios to regulators at the Federal Reserve and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp, according to people familiar with the matter.
The five firms, which declined to discuss their plans for this story, have some of the biggest balance sheets, trading desks and derivatives portfolios of financial institutions in the United States.
This is a stunning statement! The biggest banks on the planet are the first to submit 4,000 page plans for liquidation scenarios but declined to comment on them! Why isn’t CNN, FOX, or MSNBC going crazy over this? I believe Drake said in his broadcast that things will get so immense, “they won’t have a choice.” Alex Jones, Gerald Celente and many others have covered the derivatives mess for years. When it comes to financial tyranny, derivatives are THE WEAPON OF CHOICE for enslavement and takeover – also known as the housing bubble and foreclosure crisis, IMF bank loans et al. Yet in this one article this seems to be addressed:
If the extensive planning and review process works as proponents hope, big banks will become less hazardous to the public and regulators will be more confident that they can let wounded institutions die without wrecking the economy.
In congressional hearings earlier this month, JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon said that the bank’s contingency plan for going out of business would let it fail without cost to taxpayers.
Skip to 5:40 for the quote
I’m no fan of JP Morgan and certainly not Jamie Dimon, but this is a stark contrast to what we heard from similar figureheads in 2008…
The tune has changed. The tables, turned.
PLAN FOR TWO WAYS TO DIE
Under the Dodd-Frank Act, banks and regulators must imagine liquidations in two different ways. The first is through bankruptcy courts with banks negotiating with their creditors. This is the going-out-of-business method planned in the living wills due July 1. The living wills must include how subsidiaries in foreign jurisdictionswill be liquidated.
These gems keep shining through and help corroborate a lot of what Drake has been saying. More specifically, he has said they will be seizing control of the collateral accounts which are the basis upon which the whole fiat debt system has been propagated. These accounts, which are specifically addressed in the Neil Keenan lawsuit are amounts of historic Gold and other “prosperity funds” that were stolen from we the people, and Reuters makes mention of it right here in black and white!
The second way is through a new kind of liquidation process in which the FDIC takes control of putting a financial giant down. This method has more flexibility than is allowed in bankruptcy courts, but still uses critical information collected in the banks’ living wills, such as where exactly to find collateral.
One of the other key points in “the plan” as I understand it, is that eventually the top of the pyramid would actually step forward and announce who they are, a la Nuremberg trials or as Ben Fulford puts it, a “truth and reconciliation committee” in a semi-televised manner. Again, Reuters reports:
The rules for crafting the living wills are 74 pages long, including an explanatory supplement. The plans could even include drafts of press releases showing how the banks would announce that they are going out of business, Herring said.
Bearing all this in mind, there are so many other key economic bullet points which indicate a very bumpy next few days.
Recently Lord Christopher Monckton reported that the G20 meeting in Rio de Janeiro was focused not on humanitarian efforts, but instead how they will go about clamping down the entire planet. This tiny group of people are struggling to maintain their suppression of a growing and rapidly awakening humanity. Watch Monckton break it down below:
In no less dramatic fashion, Lyndon Larouche released an audio blog on June 26, entitled “Our Enemies Could End Civilization This Weekend.” Give it a listen or continue on below for my comments.
Yes, he was referring to June 28-July 1, 2012.
Larouche has long been a proponent of reinstating Glass-Steagall which is specifically referenced in the aforementioned Reuters article. This rule was the original safety mechanism which prevented the banks from becoming gambling houses, as they have become in recent years. LaRouche writes and speaks of this particular rule as a way to sever the US monetary system from the private foreign central banking system and re-establish a national credit system. Yet again, Reuters reports that these regulations would take ques from this exact rule!
Lyndon has some pretty strong things to say about what might be a crummy weekend, even going so far as to say “stock up on toilet paper” and cites the imminent plans between Geithner and Bernanke to seek additional printing of money to bail out Europe. This would come in the form of a long predicted stimulus program called Quantitative Easing 3 or QE3. His report is detailed here. This program has been LOUDLY anticipated by a whole host of extremely well respected analysts including Peter Schiff, Jim Sinclair, James Turk, Eric Sprott and others. This “stimulus” is the only facility available to provide the funds necessary to prop up the Eurozone. This was always the plan! Destroy Europe, and have Americans pay for it.
Geithner and Bernanke Demand New Mega-Bailout of Europe:
Capitol Hill sources have confirmed that Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke are demanding that Congress prepare emergency legislation for yet another hyperinflationary bailout of the hopelessly bankrupt trans-Atlantic financial system. For the past week, the two men have been meeting secretly with leading Congressional Democrats and Republicans, demanding that they draft new legislation to bailout the banks on an even larger scale than after the 2008 collapse.
What’s Next for the Dollar? QE3?
According to several congressional sources, Geithner and Bernanke have pledged that they will do everything in their power to flood European banks with bailout funds through the Federal Reserve, but they candidly admit that it may be impossible, and that congressional action may be required. If the crisis hits, they warn, there must be legislation already prepared, because the speed and magnitude of the crisis may require extraordinary intervention to “save the system.”Continue Reading…
The implications of China paying for Iranian oil in gold is the most important event in the modern history of gold
1. It is reasonable to assume that China has been threatened with total or at least selective exclusion from the SWIFT system if it pays in any currency for Iranian oil.
2. Gold has been decided by China as the means of making payment for massive international purchases free of the SWIFT system.
3. Other Asian and Middle Eastern nations will now see the gold they hold as money free of Western economic interference.
4. Gold now is not only money free of liability, but also free from interference regarding settlement by the long arm of Western influence.
5. The SWIFT system is becoming ever more a weapon of Western international political will.
6. In case of war anywhere, it is now demonstrated for all to see that only gold will buy the materials required. Paper currencies are under the SWIFT system’s control in settlement.
7. Far from being a barbaric relic, gold is now clearly the money of state survival in every sense.
8. It is reasonable and possible for the supply of physical gold to fall far behind the size of the massive short positions now common to algorithm and hedge fund paper shorts. That will make an effective cover at a reasonable price as compared to a certain day’s close impossible the following day on an exogenous event.
9. It may not be possible to use TA of any nature to determine a price of overvaluation for gold. Should the USA decide to take on China in full out economic war with the physical market totally illiquid, such as through isolation from the SWIFT system, consider the gold price that might result.
Make up your own mind.
All I know is that the anticipation in the air is so thick you could nearly cut it with a butter knife. Whether you are fully conscious or still very much asleep, a momentous point in time is now undeniable for the majority of people. Ultimately 2012 will be about finding your own individual truth amidst peaceably fitting it in with the collective. Then, we can co-create as one…
With that said, a Native American proverb seems apropo;
It was expressed to me through ‘channels’ to state the following :
A – The Cavalry is coming.
B – If needed we will be contacted.
C – Sit back and watch the fireworks
There are two parts to this:
– First are the actions to be taken by our military in support of FREEDOM. This will be extraordinary in all ways. It does involve extremes in tacticalas well as logistical implementation. You may see some troop movement and supporting roles in public.
There may be minor delays in the usual traffic flows. The design is to make sure as much as possible is taken care of without problems.
– Second was the statement made that all of us are to be on full Alert. Engage drones and any troops under U.N. insignia. This is still in effect.
Be absolutely sure of your target. Do not engage our military.
IF needed our military will contact us. In the field this will be a couple of troops, an NCO, and an officer, lieutenant, captain, major, or colonel. They should be saying hello, or some other greeting, telling you they are there and want to talk.
Otherwise, sit back and watch the fireworks.
~~~~
I suggest we remain fully alert and vigilant just in case.
According to the information that has been given, we beat their time table. Plus it seems that our military has won its battle/argument internally, the good guys won and are now in charge.
The three items above are what was given to me to broadcast.
The last item was the call of GREEN LIGHT.
There are TWO green lights. One as stated about the above (tactical) and the other deals with financials. Two commands, both acting according to what was decided as the best way to handle both.
Each being as complicated as they are, separation of these two was the best tactical maneuver because of the acceleration or move up of our enemies’ plans of execution. This had been considered before, but left alone because both were to take place at the same time. Obviously that changed according to the enemy moving their plans ahead of their original schedule.
I was told that a tactical GREEN LIGHT was to be called if asked about it, and I did so. We are still waiting for the secondary GREEN LIGHT of finance. I look for this very soon.
Those who are experienced should be followed, as it is these people who demonstrate calm and cool under extremely intense situations. This can be anyone with this ability. Military personnel offer the ability to operate effectively under extremes and know how to offer the structure for success where any objective or mission is possible. Pay attention to them.
What we have before us is the awesome responsibility of freedom. Most have no idea as to the changes this will bring about at all levels, personal, social, and publicly. Everyone will discover that we all need each other, talents, professionally, and personally. Some hard places to get past are defined as race, creed (beliefs), and superiority.
I have never been prejudiced, as I didn’t see a lot of difference between people. Sure, some people are different looking than me, but, other than that, the person inside was the same. Most people I’ve ever gotten to know, all had their own personal beliefs, no matter what church they attended. A sort of peace made between a person and their belief in a superior entity.
Superiority is going to be directed by what a person is able to do. A specific talent should be respected in that the person who knows and works with it, should be given a superior respect within that area.
Due to the changes in operation and the outing of this information, it should be obvious that plans of any kind need to be fluid in order to remain viable. Just as a football play may be changed on the field, tactics change to maintain advantage. Bear in mind that this is our last chance and all of us need to make sure we win.
Reporting on this is silly in a way, because it has always been postulated that the “$2 billion” trading debacle that had Jamie Dimon in front of congress might actually be for a much larger, undisclosed amount.
Well, here’s confirmation that those initial reports were true – however it remains to be seen whether even more losses will be uncovered. As Max Keiser has reported, these banks are simply insolvent and it is only the artificially intelligent trading platforms that are giving the system any semblance of stability. Undeterred, the cabal continues on as it is now being reported that JP Morgan is down 5% before trading opens as it has been revealed their trading loss has been unwound a bit and now totals 9 Billion! Interesting development given the greenlight by Drake as well as the report from yesterday detailing a series of “living wills” developed by the biggest banks in case they fail. Read on for the official piece:
(Reuters) – JPMorgan (JPM.N) (JPM.F) shares fell 5.3 percent in Frankfurt on Thursday after a newspaper reported that losses from a bungled credit derivatives trade could reach $9 billion in a worst-case scenario.
The U.S. bank’s shares in New York are also trading down 5.4 percent in pre-market trading.
The story was “likely disappointing today” for the shares, Evercore Partners said in a research note.
JPMorgan said in May that it had lost $2 billion on the trades, but these losses have mounted in recent weeks as the bank has unwound its positions, the New York Times reported on Thursday, citing people briefed on the situation.
An internal report at the bank projected in April that the losses could reach $8-9 billion, assuming worst-case conditions, the newspaper said.
(Reuters) – Five of the biggest banks in the United States are putting finishing touches on plans for going out of business as part of government-mandated contingency planning that could push them to untangle their complex operations.
The plans, known as living wills, are due to regulators no later than July 1 under provisions of the Dodd-Frank financial reform law designed to end too-big-to-fail bailouts by the government. The living wills could be as long as 4,000 pages.
Since the law allows regulators to go so far as to order a bank to divest subsidiaries if it cannot plan an orderly resolution in bankruptcy, the deadline is pushing even healthy institutions to start a multi-year process to untangle their complex global operations, according to industry consultants.
The House oversight committee voted Wednesday to demand a broad audit of the Federal Reserve System by congressional investigators — a major move that lawmakers said is designed to bring accountability to the murky workings of the independent central bank.
The bill was sponsored by Rep. Ron Paul, the Texas Republican who turned the push for an audit into a powerful presidential campaign slogan and whose criticism of the Fed’s monetary policy drew hundreds of thousands of voters into the political process.
It passed by voice vote, signaling the growing sense among lawmakers that the time has come for a full review.
“Clearly the Fed must be made too big to fail, and too big to fail requires a considerable amount of oversight,” said Rep. Darrell E. Issa, California Republican, who is chairman of the committee.
Federal law right now specifically prohibits such a broad audit, and opponents fear undermining the independence of the Fed.
The bill would direct the Government Accountability Office to complete a broad audit that presumably would include a peek at the Fed’s decision-making and many of its lending policies.
The committee defeated an amendment sponsored by Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, Maryland Democrat, that would have prevented auditors from getting a look at the minutes of internal board discussions.
“This whole idea about ‘Well, we can’t touch the Fed‘ is baloney,” said Rep. Dennis J. Kucinich, Ohio Democrat. “We have to be able to have control over the Fed because it’s controlling every aspect of our economy.”
The Federal Reserve consists of a board of governors and 12 regional banks, which act as lenders of last resort to the country’s banking system.
Last year, a more limited audit by GAO found that the Fed repeatedly invoked emergency authority to expand its lending during the Wall Street crisis in 2008 and 2009, including major loans to prop up the housing market.
The audit also found that the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, which had a major role in the lending, did not have sufficient controls to prevent conflicts of interest for its employees.
Faced with a worried Monti, President of the Republic Napolitano assured him the support of the Quirinal Palace on constant growth policies. At least for now stays away the specter of early elections, invoked by a piece of the majority that supports Mountains, where the line from Brussels came out winning at all costs the rigor of Merkel.
“Se la cancelliera non molla le dirò che mi dimetto perché se le cose non cambiano non sono nelle condizioni di portare l’Italia fuori dal baratro” , avrebbe ipotizzato Monti facendo leva sullo spauracchio della crisi politica che porterebbe l’Italia sotto l’attacco degli speculatori. In the last hours, however, the prime minister would even toyed with the idea of a stroke effect to force Merkel to put aside his nein the eurobond and a loosening of the line of rigor in favor of investment and spending policies, capable of giving the necessary shot back to growth in the eurozone. “If the Chancellor does not give up I will tell you that I resign because if things do not change are not able to bring Italy out of the abyss”, he suggested doing Monti lever on the bogeyman of the political crisis that would bring Italy under the attack of speculators. On the other hand, Merkel knows all too well that the fall of Rome would mean the final collapse of the ‘euro with perspectives that would put the shivers even in Berlin.
The Golden Rule 