When I worked at a big 4 accounting firm, the firm got caught setting up offshore accounts and selling them as investments in their Personal Financial Planning practice.

They however were a private business, and not an elected official. I think it’s time to close in on Phil. Perhaps one of the people who gets caught will drop a dime on Phil becuase their party is over.

And how would Ennon assets fit into this? Maybe not at all, but Maybe….

Enron assets? Not certain. pattern of Gramm smarmery? Yessiree…

Why are the officers who new the illegality of their actions allowed to hide behinds Corporate skirts. That really pisses me off!

I was thinking about his wife’s position on its Board for quite sometime, as I recall.

See the Enron link above for some background on Phil and Wendy Gramm and Enron…

Thanks…did not realize that was a link ;)

i’d like to hear Phil’s answers .. provided they were given immediately before the [edited to remove reference to violence]

My guess is that there was a deal cut to avoid criminal prosecutions on multiple levels. And there had to be a substantial amount of risk outstanding for the internal management of a Swiss bank to agree to disclose asset ownership records, eh? That’s just HUGE.

Which makes me wonder what all they really had on them to pressure this deal…

When I read the NYT article this morning, my first reaction was why wasn’t Gramm’s connection to the bank mentioned. Thank you, Christy, for showing the NYT and the Post how it’s done.

The people hiding their money in places like Switzerland don’t just have government deals like this UBS one to be worried about.

They should also be very afraid of people like the Lichtenstein bank employee who secretly copied and then sold bank account data to the German and US governments last year. One of Germany’s top business executives got caught in it.

And then there was another case of data stolen from a Lichtenstein bank. So, two more reasons for those tax cheat bazillionaires to be very, very worried.

By the way, I love your new place, Christy, and am happy that the greater flexibility it gives you makes it easier for you to be able to continue posting for us. We all win! *G*

The flexibility is really great for me, I have to say, because life here has gotten so crazy. But I’ve got dinner going in the oven, the FIL is taking a nap and The Peanut is having a post-school snack, so I’ve got a little time to catch up on comments. Glad it working for other folks as well.

And I have to say, I was appalled at the lack of Phil Gramm’s name coming up in any US article I saw today, given the fact that the “deal” was worked out last year, which would have been smack dab in the middle of the US presidential campaign when Gramm was McCain’s top economic advisor and author of a great deal of his proposed economic policies.

Just bizarre to omit questions about him that way, don’t you think?

Yes, the omitting of any mention of Gramm’s name stuck out like a sore thumb.

I try to read as many of the links that you post as I can, or to at least skim them (you sure know how to provide a long reading list *G*).

But another reason I do so is that those clicks lead those sites back here and are one more way to show them what’s being said here. Who knows, maybe Phoreclosure Gramm’s name will start popping up!

Christy/all did you see the special on Frontline about the bailout? One of the
best

I had had no idea that there was such bad blood between Dick Fuld the CEO of Lehman Brothers and Former Secretary of the Treasury Hank Paulson when Paulson was the CEO at Goldman Sachs. After this special I wondered if a personal agenda had anything to do with Lehman brothers being allowed to sink or be “punched in the face” I think all rich greedy fat cats should be treated the same way
Banking at the Brink
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/…..brink.html

The Frontline special was superb — for those who missed it, they now have it online at the website and you can see a clip and get background on it here.

Gramm-Leach-Bliley was one of the biggest contributors to the deregulation that triggered this current recession.

In addition Gramm was not just any executive at UBS, but the Chairman of its North American Investment Division. My suspicion is that he would have been one of those involved in the decision-making related to this scheme. Elliot Spitzer had already placed that division under investigation for selling its customers marked down assets of little value at inflated prices. Whether this then led to someone blowing the whistle on the tax-evasion scheme is unclear. But NY State regulators we’re all over UBS by 2006.

Candy Gramm (oops…Cindy) was on the auditting board for Enron. Enron sold off its oil marketing division in 2003 to UBS, just before it collapsed.

I’m a little bit pissed off that the Feds only got 750 names from UBS when there are supposedly 17-20,000 people that are involved in these illegal tax-avoidance shemes. And it seems that other Swiss bankers are also upset, since it opens up a precedent. In order to operate within the US they may be compelled to open their books .

DIGG is open Pups!
Hi Christy great post as always!!
I sure hope this web of cheats reaches the highest levels of the Repuke party!

Gramm.. hrmph. Time to repeal the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999.. now. It’s to blame for much of what is wrong with the banking system now. And for authoring it + a decade of mendaciousness, incompetence and imbecility, Gramm needs to go riding off into the sunset…..

if you’re pissed about gramm-leach-bliley, don’t forget gramm’s partners: rubin and summers (yes that larry summers).

Wendy?

So does this mean that Robert Wolf, UBS’s CEO, get to stay on Obama’s Economic Recovery Advisory Board chaired by Paul Volcker?

DIGG, pups.

ewwwwwww ppopcorn and bubbly!

Hey Summers is a great man. Just ask him.

thank you…teevee had a meltdown also Tues.nite…g

jfc. thank you for connecting those dots.

NYT said that only ’several hundred’ customers would be identified. I wonder who gets to pick them, Phil Gramm?

I’m wondering what sort of wealth preservation tips the McCains and their relatives might have gotten from Gramm and what lists it might have put them on. They sure played tight with their income taxes.

WSJ says 52000 accounts.
http://online.wsj.com/article/…..od=testMod

Wonder whether the McCains were involved with UBS since John was such buddy to Phil Gramm; also campaign manager for Gramm in 1996 Presidential campaign if I recall correctly.

Good to see that the State of Alaska has figured out that Sarah Palin owns income tax on the reimbursements for home expenses. I think she also has gross income for the wardrobe she received; that would add a lot to the tax bill.

actually, I thought it was a good idea at the time, in theory – the US needed to be able to compete with European and Asian universal banks. But in restrospect it was a complete fail and the regulatory framework needed to run it correctly just wasn’t in place, and now it just needs to be repealed, and the bloated monsters it gave rise to broken up. I actually think that we should repeal parts of the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956 as well, break up the BHC’s into regional superbanks focused on the consumer and traditional business lending, and strip away their merchant banking and insurance operations, shutting them down and perhaps repackaging some critical components of them into a government-owned National Development of Bank (or banks) of the US, to focus on infrastructure and other essential things….

for those who missed it

MELTDOWN

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/view/

Thanks for this, Christy. Off the top of your head, do you know what the penalty is for those who get caught hiding assets? Seems to me that a good disincentive would be for the entire asset to be subject to seizure by the US of A. This would make a very good deficit reduction plan.

well, i wasn’t even thinking about it at the time – so you are way ahead of me. props to stiglitz though who was against it.

agree re BHC.

Well I hope that Phil reminds the tax cheats not to do any “whining” because they have to pay back taxes.

Hey, selise, that TARP visualization you had at the end of the last thread is a keeper. Just brilliant.

http://www.calculatedriskblog……lized.html

I loved Monty Python. It…calmed me.

glad you liked it.

pups do yourselves a favor and click on hugh’s link. i do not think you will be disappointed.

I love commenting here at night! You’re all waxing eloquent, steeped in deep thinking and broad knowledge, and when I speak, everyone looks up from their keyboard and says, WTF??

hey Barbs

Hullo. I’m learning a lot here, believe it or not! *g*

im getting a cold,furnace broken…weather cold,it finally caught me

im gonna try gingertea

What’s your recipe.. anything besides fresh ginger and honey or sugar?

How do Phil and Wendy Gramm tie in with 4$ a gallon gas, blackouts in California and Enron?

Keith explains the Enron loophole

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XaDelhvtQ98

ill add some lemon too

if you have any candied ginger, slice it up and add some for extra ginger goodness. one of the best home remedies i know of for sore throat.

howzz the arm doin….purrrrrfectling healing i hope….g

Do! How long before furnace is up and running again? Bad time of year for that. Green tea. Chamomile. Lemon tea with ginger. Yum.

I get that the McCains have more money than Dubai (or at least used to have more money than Dubai used to have). Is it possible, do you think, that even with his close ties to Gramm, JMc may not have known the depth and breadth of Phil’s possible up-to-his-ass-in-alligatorness with UBS skullduggery? I keep watching Obama getting blindsided (or so it seems) on some of his picks. Just wondering.

lise February 19th, 2009 at 6:12 pm
46
In response to sadlyyes @ 42 (show text)

if you have any candied ginger, slice it up and add some for extra ginger goodness. one of the best home remedies i know of for sore throat.
—————
thank you i do…have a huge bag,gotten at the amish store for a mere pittance

barbara February 19th, 2009 at 6:14 pm
mebbe Sin…dee may have to sell 2 or 3 abodes…heeeheehee

…and Brandy… lots of Brandy

;~P

I do.. never thought of that, thanks.

Hanging here like dead weight.. can’t find a remotely comfortable position.

I hope it’s healing… thanks

Speaking of things to help you sleep at night, from Financial Times via HuffPost:

Iran has built up a stockpile of enough enriched uranium for one nuclear bomb, United Nations officials acknowledged on Thursday.

In a development that comes as the Obama administration is drawing up its policy on negotiations with Tehran over its nuclear programme, UN officials said Iran had produced more nuclear material than previously thought.

And North Korea’s little tyrant is ratcheting up the bellicose rhetoric in time for HRC’s arrival in South Korea.

Makes you wonder how many “Arthur Andersons” there has been over the last 8 years helping individuals out?

ill tosssome in for medicinal purposes………………..G

Eureka Springs February 19th, 2009 at 6:19 pm
53
In response to sadlyyes @ 47 (show text)

Hanging here like dead weight.. can’t find a remotely comfortable position.

I hope it’s healing… thanks

—————–
try a foam rubber pillow under it

and how many countries has Iran attacked lately? geeez

I know! Just wanted to turn up the heat under the pot o’fear.

key quote in that article

They said Iran had now accumulated more than one tonne of low enriched uranium hexafluoride at a facility in Natanz. If such a quantity were further enriched it could produce more than 20kg of fissile material – enough for a bomb.

A big if.

re the video.

the enron loophole was part of the Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000 and it was not just gramm who got it passed. plenty of help from summers et al.

i wrote about some of that in a diary on otc derivatives (the CFMA also prevented their regulation):

http://oxdown.firedoglake.com/diary/2141

also, keith was wrong – the farm bill did not close the enron loophole for oil trading (although it did for natural gas). that was levin’s mistake.

Then there’s this

An Iranian enovy called on Thursday for global negotiations aimed at total nuclear disarmament, saying that the elimination of atomic weapons was the only guarantee against their use or threatened use.

Alireza Moaiyeri, Iranian ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, addressed the Conference on Disarmament shortly before the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) was expected to issue its latest watchdog report on Iran.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1065547.html

And now that I think about it, just exactly what is the rationale for the UN making this announcement as Obama ponders diplomacy. Are we at perpetual loggerheads with the UN? I thought this administration was going to be able to work in tandem with UN. Wrong again?

These issues are overblown and designed to induce fear. There are loose nukes and lost nukes. Why should North Korea or Iran be without nukes? The only nations safe thusfar from US attack (hegemonic ambitions) are those with nukes.

Big disconnect between this and the Financial Times piece, isn’t there? In tone, if not in substance. If one reads the one without the other…well, you know….

Wanna putta dent in da Deficit?
Take every f’ing penny that was put in those accounts and confiscate it. Then, charge the normal Federal, and State, AND Local tax rates on ever f’ing penny since the money was put in. Now, add penalties.
You wanted to play ‘hide-and-go-seek’ with taxpayer’s money? OK. Now that we’ve FOUND it, WE SEEK YOUR HIDE!
A pound of flesh for every penny hidden. “Where would you like the first slice, my Lord? Or, would you prefer to pay your pound of flesh in a LUMP SUM?”
No deals! Pay, or go bankrupt like the rest of the country you greedy, heartless, fucking bastard’s ruined.
Can’t pay? We’ll set up a generational payment system (after all, since you didn’t want the ‘Death Tax’ to impinge on giving your heirs your profit’s, you can’t object to them paying off your debt’s, now can you?).
Don’t want to pay? Sharpen the blades on the guillotine’s, and confiscate EVERY penny! There’s your Death Tax for ya, MFer’s!
Now, let’s look for the the rest of the hidden accounts in the world! Same deal, boys and girls!

ES and sadlyyes – hope you are both feeling better very soon.

I know an American that is suing UBS for losing most of his money. A substantial portion of it was supposed to be insured against loss (taxes too, I guess).

I look like a pillow monster with a laptop now! *s*

Couldn’t agree more.. and the publication and author should hear from us.

Slings no longer an option? I can’t remember exactly where and how immobilized your break is.

So, we can look forward to some serious disclosure here.
HMMM, maybe we shall see some bankers with their shorts around their ankles?

I am all for that shit.
Next, I want to see those Bahama Island accounts exposed.
All that fucking money went somewhere.

it was wendy gramm. she figured in a lot of shenanigans. she was head of the cftc as well as being a director of enron. many thought this was a colossal conflict of interest. but, hey, it was that democratic clinton administration, right?

don’t fail to note that corruption is bipartisan. as i think you will be learning during this new democratic regime. many of the same players. and if not the same players, agents of the same interests.

i have a friend who was a senior vp of ubs when phil was hired. he eventually left ubs in opposition to that hiring. in many conversations with him, it was clear that phil was really hired as the ceo of money laundering….especially narcotrafficking. this is an investigation that should be conducted, but will not be. it is the real story of why the major banks were bailed out…the gangsters wanted their money and threatened murder, maiming and mayhem until their invested assets were returned. that is why there can be no tracking of that first tranche of tarp funds….they all went to the russian-israeli-sicilian-colombian-mexican narcotrafficantes.

the country with even more interesting bank secrecy laws is israel. though the usg has been forcing chur, luxembourg, lichtenstein to give up their us citizen account holders, no similar pressure has been placed on israel. and this gets very interesting when one contemplates bernie madoff. though the “official” story is that madoff was operating a ponzi scheme[and certainly that might have been part of his scam], i think he was also running a money laundry[transferring some individuals us assets from the usa to secret bank accounts in israel]. this would be a pretty nifty scam…certain investors could get assets out of the usa, hide them in secret israeli bank accounts, claim that they were the victims of financial fraud and theft, become reimbursed by the usa[or finra, or sipc]. a form of double indemnity?

i often think that bernie might be better identified as bernie mossad.

where else are there bank secrecy arrangements? well, enron liked using the cayman islands. who can tell me what efforts have been made to track assets sheltered in the cayman islands since the demise of enron?

the netherlands antilles? used to be a shelter. is it still?

then bermuda; isle of man; isles of jersey, sark, guernsey; san marino; mallorca. any others come to mind?

switzerland has become so ruffled by the usg’s efforts to uncover secret bank accounts, that it will no longer accept acknowledged, upfront, accounts from american citizens. american corporations, however, no problem.

but in another sense, it is reprehensible that the usg is making it impossible for us citizens to shelter their assets in a less erstwhile fascist state[usa]. i think that you will not be wanting to have any of your assets denominated in usdollars and in us banks in the years to come. the obombya team is going to destroy the value of those fiat currency,”paper” assets…the us citizenry is slated to become impoverished by its government. i could be wrong, but as i understand it, after 31/12/09, it will be illegal for a us citizen to move its assets outside of the the continental usa.

john mccain may have gotten it accurately when he greeted his audience in what was thought to be a mispeak….”my fellow prisoners.”

It occurs to me that, at least for the past eight years, we are the black pot doing the calling. Haven’t “gone nuclear” on our enemies lately, but have illustrated in spades our hair trigger with respect to launching other weaponry. Which is the rogue nation?

Oh it’s in a sling always.

Caymans
Turks and Caicos

Which is the rogue nation?

Without question.. my nation is the one which both scares and embarrasses me the most.

Would be very interested to know who banks in Uruguay.

Yup. Hopefully he’s not just blowing smoke.

It kinda reminds me of that 60 Minutes interview with Amadinnerjacket (have no idea how to spell his name and too lazy to google) where they made it sound like he was calling for the destruction of Israel but edited out all the context to what he was actually saying (he probably is crazy but I take what most of media says with a healthy grain of salt)

selise @ 61 thanks, I’ll have to go back later and read when I have more time

Well, you go Uruguay, and I’ll go mine! (the Great Groucho).

Oh, rats. Or good. Or both. Want some of my butter pecan ice cream?

Noam Chomsky, Chalmers Johnson, Smedley Butler, Hugo Chavez, Fidel Castro, Gore Vidal and dozens of others have pontificated on this topic ad nauseum for years. The US is obviously the agressor with the trillion dollar military “budget” and all the accoutrements .

Yes please…)

Close your eyes, open your mouth…here it comes…rich, buttery vanilla-colored ice cream (Edy’s Slow Churned), filled with loverly chunks of pecans…nice, eh?

I like it down here in pastel land…)

uruguay is a very important locus for afghan opium refining. and it has dropped off the radar screen.

for all practical purposes, the reverend sun myung moon owns uruguay. operates the heroin refineries.

if you don’t know the totality of the reverend moon operations, you can reference bob parry and john gorenfield[sic].

Yanno, today I actually have the first furtive stirrings of a hopeful feeling that between UBS/Philgramm, Rove, Gitmo leakers, Coleman, Pelosi’s positive talk about Bushie indictments, etc., we might — just might, mind — be on the verge of seeing a serious outbreak of justice here.

On the other hand, it could just be the sugar talking…

Phil Gramm was last seen telling the American people on the TV, from the McCain campaign that Americans were “Whiners”.

You think Carly Fiorina is one of those accounts?

Will the list of these tax evader’s names be made public?

And what about the Cayman Islands?

hmmmm.. maybe an agressive pursuit of the individual who have probably acted improperly in the run up to our developing financial calamity ..and fining the pure-de-living hell out of them could reduce the deficits a bit eh ??

i’m think especially of the rating agencies who allowed the bundling and rebundling of the shaky loans [ -BBB’s?] to magically get rated as AAA’s by virtue of having been been all lumped together .. i think must have used magic string to tie those bundles together .. eh .. and surely they could be made to cough a few bucks for their obvious malfeasance ..

all in all $780 m ain’t a bad start .. wonder how much we’ll collect off the 20k+ scofflaws ??