Thursday 28th of March 2024

crossing the moskva river on a raft of money...

cash only

ST. PETERSBURG (Sputnik) - France wants to become the leader of foreign investment in Russia, winning the top spot by beating Germany, French President Emmanuel Macron said Friday at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF).

"The motivation is the fact that our French businesses employ 170,000 Russians at the moment, the fact that we are in the first place in terms of direct foreign investment [in Russia]. By the way, not the first place, but the second place because [Russian President] Vladimir [Putin] said that the Germans are in the first place. So I am feeling motivated to move up to the first place especially as the situation is getting better," Macron said.

France believes in the possibility of good relations with Russia, the French president added.

READ MORE: Putin-Macron Meeting During SPIEF Chance to Improve Ties — Societe Generale CEO

The SPIEF, held annually in Russia's second largest city of St. Petersburg, is a major networking hub for entrepreneurs and a global platform for the discussion of crucial economic issues. The event began on Thursday and will continue through Saturday.

Sputnik is the official media partner of the forum.

Read more:

https://sputniknews.com/business/201805251064807170-macron-russia-invest...

of polls and russiaphobia...

The majority of respondents in Italy, Germany and France said they consider Russian President Vladimir Putin to be the most powerful world leader, with US President Donald Trump enjoying similar support in the United States and the UK, but coming in second in continental Europe.

During an opinion poll conducted by the French Institute of Public Opinion (IFOP), over 5,000 respondents from Europe in the United States were asked the following question: "Whom do you consider to be the most powerful leader in the world right now?"

Over a third of respondents in France (34 percent), Germany (34 percent) and Italy (38 percent) answered "Vladimir Putin," with about a quarter of respondents in these three countries replying "Donald Trump."

In the United States and Britain, however, this trend has been reversed, with 43 percent of American and 33 percent of British respondents favoring Donald Trump, while 23 American and 26 percent of British respondents named Putin.

 

Read more:

https://sputniknews.com/world/201805071064198472-most-powerful-world-leader-poll/

see also:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YcHwJeGub74

 

investing in russiophopia...

Among the red banners and copies of Trudovaya Rossiya (Working Russia) being passed around at a Communist party rally in Moscow, you could see a new kind of uniform: orange shirts bearing the slogan “Defrauded Co-Investor”.“We’ve lost all hope,” says Valery Ryabkov, who is wearing one of the shirts. “We’ve gone to the Kremlin. We’ve gone to the mayor. Nothing happens. We get the same run-around everywhere.”In Russia there are anything between 40,000 and 120,000 “defrauded co-investors” – people who paid money for new apartments but were unable to move in because construction never finished. The problem has persisted for more than a decade.In 2012, Ryabkov took out a mortgage on a two-bedroom unit in the Tsaritsyno residential complex, which had been under construction for six years. Another six years on, his family still live in a rented apartment while Rybakov pays the mortgage on an unfinished home.

Read more:
https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2018/may/30/investment-scandal-russia-defrauded-coinvestors
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Similar stories could be told in Australia and around he world. That’s capitalism for you.  But on average, Russia is not worse than say American on fraudulent investments. for example:

 

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission says it expects charges to be laid against the ANZ Bank, its Group treasurer and several other companies and individuals over an alleged criminal cartel arrangement.

Key points:
  • ANZ, its head of treasury, two other companies and several other individuals face criminal cartel charges
  • The investigation by ACCC and ASIC relates to a $2.5 billion institutional capital raising in 2015
  • ANZ says it will defend any charges laid against it and its employee

The ACCC said the charges were expected to be laid by the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions in relation to trading in ANZ shares following an ANZ institutional share placement in August 2015. 

"It will be alleged that ANZ and the individuals were knowingly concerned in some or all of the conduct," ACCC Chairman Rod Sims said.

ANZ confirmed in a statement to ASX this morning that the charges related to the supply of 80.8 million of its own shares in an underwritten Institutional Equity Placement.

"The proceedings relate to an arrangement or understanding allegedly made between the joint lead managers in relation to the supply of ANZ shares," the statement said.



http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-06-01/criminal-cartel-charges-expected-to-be-laid-against-anz-accc/9823982



Australia's biggest tax fraud: Former Gold Coast developer Michael ...https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/...australias...fraud/.../09033dc1a45b9c893a7613c92...Mar 28, 2018 - A GOLD Coast businessman behind Australia's largest ever tax fraud will spend the next seven years behind bars. Michael Issakidis, 73, was ...

Property developer charged with fraud - ABC News (Australian ...www.abc.net.au/news/2011-11-10/property-developer-charged...fraud/3657306
Nov 9, 2011 - Police in Perth have charged a 38 year-old man with 18 counts of fraud.

Developer pleads guilty to fraud - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting ...www.abc.net.au/news/2004-07-23/developer-pleads-guilty-to-fraud/2013974Jul 22, 2004 - The District Court in Perth has heard a Denmark winery developer and ... Rohan George Skea, who has pleaded guilty to 37 counts of fraud.

Gold Coast developer charged with fraud - Brisbane Timeshttps://www.brisbanetimes.com.au › National › QueenslandApr 15, 2017 - Disgraced Gold Coast property developer Craig Kirrin Gore has faced ... He left Australia owing $25 million in 1992 and died in Canada of a ...

Developer and ex-bankrupt Salvatore 'Sam' Sgherza on fraud charges ...www.adelaidenow.com.au/...australia/developer...fraud.../05b18ead4ddb61c9de8977abc...Mar 21, 2018 - A PROMINENT property developer is facing 46 criminal charges ... the Bankruptcy Act following an investigation by the Australian Financial ...

Australian Federal Police raid Sydney property developers in $165m ...https://www.smh.com.au › National › NSWMay 17, 2017 - Australian Federal Police raid Sydney property developers in $165m ... of a wider investigation into an alleged $165 million tax fraud syndicate.

Australian property developer Eric Gillet jailed for fraud in Balihttps://www.smh.com.au/.../australian-property-developer-eric-gillet-jailed-for-fraud-in-...May 19, 2016 - The former president of the South Perth Chamber of Commerce has been jailed for two years for fraud over a property deal that went wrong in ...

How to spot a property scam - Property Updatehttps://propertyupdate.com.au/how-to-spot-a-property-scam/
Feb 12, 2018 - If a developer has to offer this kind of inducement to sell their new ... Australia is one of the more expensive residential property markets and as ...

Inside the $10 million tax fraud at Crowne Plaza Hunter Valley's ...www.afr.com/.../inside-the-10-million-tax-fraud-at-crowne-plaza-hunter-valleys-devel...
Jun 18, 2017 - The perpetrator of a $10 million tax fraud was a Chinese migrant ... when developerHightrade Group's boss Li Zhang sponsored him to work in Australia. ... His co-conspirators fled Australia years ago and have not returned.

A record $340 million lost to fraud in Australia, says latest ACCC reporthttps://www.propertyobserver.com.au/.../investment.../84221-a-record-340-million-lost-t...May 24, 2018 - The amount of money lost to fraud in Australia continues to rise, and ... Reports of investment scams to the ACCC alone increased from A$23.6 ...

The 178 people ASIC has sent to jail - Crikeyhttps://www.crikey.com.au/2001/05/20/the-178-people-asic-has-sent-to-jail/
May 20, 2001 - ... Hong Yam: 8 years for conspiracy to defraud investors of $6.4 million. 3. ... May 1993, former director of Falcon Australia Ltd, Mullins Investment P/L and ..... bankrupt former Queensland property developer on fraud charges.

lassen Sie mich etwas sagen...

Wolf interrupted Putin several times, prompting the Russian leader to ask him to “be patient,” before eventually switching to Wolf’s mother tongue. “Seien Sie so nett, lassen Sie mich etwas sagen (Please be so kind as to let me say something),”he said in German, a language he speaks fluently.

 

 

‘Why rock Europe?’

“It is not our aim to divide anything or anybody in Europe,” Putin told the interviewer, addressing one of the things of which Russia is persistently accused by some Western politicians and media. People in Austria and elsewhere in Europe should “put this idea out of their minds” that Moscow supposedly wishes to sow distrust and discord within the EU, the president said.

READ MORE: Russia doesn’t seek to divide EU, our biggest trade partner – Putin to Austrian TV

“Why rock the European Union in order to suffer further losses and incur costs or miss possible benefits from cooperation with the European Union?” asked Putin, noting that the EU is, in fact, Russia’s largest trade partner, so Moscow wants it to be “united and prosperous.”


‘Only 2-way road for Korea’

Putin finds the prospect of a full-scale military conflict with Pyongyang especially “dreadful” since North Korea is Russia’s immediate neighbor, and some Korean nuclear test sites are situated near the Russian border. Although Russia “pins great hopes on the personal meeting between [US] President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un,” the path to the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula is a “two-way road,” Putin explained. “If the North Korean leader is backing up his intentions with practical actions, for example, giving up new tests of ballistic missiles, new nuclear tests, the other side should reciprocate in a tangible manner,” he said, calling regular US military drills in the area “counterproductive.”

 

‘Russia blocked from MH17 probe’

Putin criticized the ongoing international investigation into flight MH17, which was downed in Ukraine in 2014. He said Russian experts “have been denied access to the investigation,”while Russian arguments are “not taken into consideration,” and nobody on the investigation team “is interested in hearing us out.” Ukraine, on the other hand, being a “party interested in the results,” has been given access to the probe, Putin added.

 

‘Crimea never coming back’

Crimea became one of the most contentious issues during the talk. Responding to a question about what should happen in order for Russia to hand the region over to Ukraine, the president firmly stated“There are no such conditions and there can never be.” Crimea opted to rejoin Russia in 2014 after a popular vote showed overwhelming support for the move. Putin stressed that the referendum was arranged after an “unconstitutional armed coup” in Ukraine’s capital Kiev, and it was the Crimeans themselves who ultimately decided their own fate. “Crimea gained independence through the free will of the Crimeans, expressed in an open referendum, not as a result of an invasion by Russian forces,” he stated.

READ MORE: ‘Is this not democracy?’: No conditions will make Russia return Crimea to Ukraine rule – Putin

 

‘Ask State Dept about Soros’

Moscow “has nothing to do” with the so-called internet “troll farms”and it is ridiculous how Western media claims that a single Russian businessman, Yevgeny Prigozhin, managed to influence election results in the US, Putin said. He added that, while he is familiar with Prigozhin personally, he’s unaware of his activities online.

The president then hit back, bringing up the controversial American-Hungarian billionaire George Soros, who has supported numerous NGOs in different countries. “There are rumors circulating now that Mr Soros is planning to make the euro highly volatile. Experts are already discussing this. Ask the [US] State Department why he is doing this,” Putin said“The State Department will say that it has nothing to do with them – rather it is Mr Soros’ private affair.”

 

‘Tsar? Not true’

Presenter Armin Wolf noted that Putin has been either president or prime minister since 2000, and some are calling him a “tsar” of Russia. Putin responded that comparing him to a royal figure is “false and completely detached from reality.” He stressed that he governs strictly in accordance with the Russian constitution.

“International observers had no serious criticism as to how the election was organized or regarding the election results,”Putin said of his most recent election victory. “Therefore, there is no doubt that democracy has taken hold in Russia.”

 


‘Not hiding in the bushes’

The conversation did end on a lighter note, though. When asked about his world-famous bare-chested photos from vacations and various outdoors activities, which often captivate the press and social media, the Russian leader replied in a lighthearted manner. “You said ‘half-naked’ not ‘naked,’ thank God,” Putin joked. “When I am on vacation I see no need to hide behind the bushes, and there is nothing wrong with that.”

 

Read more:

https://www.rt.com/news/428778-putin-heated-interview-austria-top-quotes/

 

 

MEANWHILE AT THE TRUMP CAKEFACE:

 

US President Donald Trump is exerting further pressure on Washington's European allies. Following the resumption of sanctions against Iran, which has hit European businesses, the White House is reportedly preparing to crack down on EU companies involved in the Russia-led Nord Stream 2 project.


Germany's Wintershall and Uniper, France's Engie, Anglo-Dutch Royal Dutch Shell and Austria's OMV may find themselves in dire straits over the joint Russian-European Nord Stream 2 project.


Earlier, Foreign Policy magazine reported that the Trump administration is mulling the imposition of sanctions on European companies involved in the Gazprom-led project.


"They [the Trump administration] will stop at nothing to block Nord Stream," one of the magazine's sources said.


The threat is nothing new: on March 21, US State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert claimed that Nord Stream 2 "would provide Russia another tool to pressure European countries, especially countries such as Ukraine," and threatened European companies with sanctions under the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions

Act (CAATSA), signed by US President Donald Trump into law on August 2, 2017.

 

Read more:

 

https://sputniknews.com/europe/201806051065131427-trump-eu-nord-stream2/

 

 

This has nothing to do with Iran treaty sanctions but with the USA trying to sell its gas from fracking in the US

bad news...

Back in May, Hans-Georg Maassen warned of the dangers of disinformation. He is in a position to know: As president of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), he heads up Germany's domestic intelligence agency, which -- together with the 16 state offices -- is responsible for monitoring Islamist extremism in Germany in addition to political extremism on both the far left and far right.

At the May symposium for BfV officials in Berlin, he said that Western democracies were under threat from Russian campaigns. "Open societies," he said, "can tolerate many different opinions, but not many different truths." 

He then warned: "If, via hybrid operations, falsehoods are spread, facts are manipulated, facts are suppressed, if opinions become facts and facts become opinions, citizens lose the reliable foundation upon which they make their political decisions."

An open society, he said, needs time to examine and contextualize the facts. Those who take aim at democracy take advantage of this time to "create facts in the fog of disinformation," Maassen said.

Not even six months later, the president of the BfV met with Julian Reichelt, editor-in-chief of Germany's largest tabloid Bild, to discuss the far-right protests that took place recently in the eastern German city of Chemnitz following the stabbing death there of a German man at the hands of three refugees. News reports following the unrest reported that, in addition to raising their right arms in the Hitler salute, mobs of right-wingers had chased down foreigners to attack them. Videos emerged that seemed to confirm that version of events.

 

Read more:

http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/merkel-facing-turbulence-aft...

 

Please stop the bullshit about bullshit...!!!

 

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