----- Original Message ----- From: "Carl Remick" <carlremick at hotmail.com> To: <lbo-talk at lists.panix.com> Sent: Thursday, July 25, 2002 10:54 AM Subject: Re: Robert Rubin, invisible man
> >From: Brad DeLong <delong at econ.Berkeley.EDU>
> >
> >>Slate's Timothy Noah wrote:
> >>
> >>Citigroup's (and J.P. Morgan Chase's) prepaid contracts with Enron
> >>were very complex, and none of the papers has done an especially
> >>good job at explaining precisely what the scandal is. Possibly there
> >>is none. But once the editorial decision was made to give this story
> >>major play, there was no justification for airbrushing Rubin out of
> >>it...
> >
> >The fact that Rubin didn't join Citigroup until after the loan had
> >been repaid doesn't count?
> >
> >Noah seems to work very hard to leave the impression that Rubin was
> >running Citigroup when the prepaid contracts with Enron were made. I
> >wonder why...
> >
> >Brad DeLong
===============
As Treas. Sec. what did Rubin know about the Salinas' family drug money laundered through Citi and other US banks into Switzerland and when did he know it....................
Ian
Citi: Suing for Silence An Interview with Al Giordano
Al Giordano is the editor and publisher of Narco News, an Internet news magazine (www.narconews.com) that reports on corruption and the drug war in Latin America.
In August of 2000, unbeknownst to myself or Menendez, Banamex brought suit in New York State Supreme Court against the two of us and the Narco News Bulletin for libel, slander and for ìthe interference with economic advantage.
[snip]
MM: When does Citigroup enter the story? Giordano: During the time that the case was proceeding, Citigroup bought Banamex for $12.5 billion.
Keep in mind that Narco News was not the first source in the United States to accuse Banamex of money laundering. That was done by the U.S. Department of Treasury and other U.S. agencies in what was called Operation Casablanca, in which a sting operation was held against various bankers from various Mexican banks. Two executives from Banamex were charged in criminal court and the Federal Reserve Board seized $3.8 million from Banamex as a corporation. The leader of that operation was then-Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin with the Clinton Administration. He was considered to be the hard-liner on this investigation. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright wrote a letter of protest to Rubin about not informing Mexican authorities of this operation. So this was all a big public issue before Narco News even touched it.
Later, of course, Robert Rubin left Treasury to work for Citigroup. Aside from Sandy Weill, who is the CEO, Rubin is the most important person at the world's largest financial institution.
So Rubin was prosecuting Banamex for drug money laundering in 1998, but by 2001 according to Citigroup's own SEC filings, he was negotiating the deal to buy the same bank.
Why is that interesting? Banamex alleged in its lawsuit against us that its business was weakened by journalistic reports. If anything harmed Banamex's business, it was the prosecutorial actions of the U.S. government and the investigation led by Robert Rubin. In 1998, he was prosecuting them, but by 2001 he bought them for $12.5 billion.
There has been a lot of pressure on Citigroup ever since information about money laundering by the Salinas family came out. Lowell Bergman produced a comprehensive documentary about this for Frontline - "Money, Murder and Mexico." He showed how Citigroup, through its private banking office and specifically through Amy Elliott, knowingly allowed Raul Salinas, the brother of the president, as well as the Hank family, one of the most powerful in Mexico, and others to use false names in banking and laundering millions of dollars through Citigroup.
Senator Carl Levin, D-Michigan, held hearings. John Reed, who was then the CEO, embarrassed himself in his testimony before Congress. Many people feel that's what led to his downfall and replacement by Sandy Weill.
After Rubin came in, Citigroup was under enormous pressure from Congress, with new laws and regulations and more scrutiny from the Federal Reserve Bank. So what did they do? Buy Banamex.
[snip]
full piece:
http://multinationalmonitor.org/mm2002/02april/april02interviewgiordano.html