CBI News 01/21/2018

First topic message reminder :


 
[size=18] January 21, 2018[/size]
 
The Governor of the Central Bank of Iraq, Mr. Ali Mohsen Ismail, participated in the symposium organized by the Rafidain Center for Dialogue in Najaf Governorate, under the heading "Monetary Policy from Price Stability to Financial Stability and Economic Stimulation" and attended by a number of Directors General And financial.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.][You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Old news but timing is interesting.....

RBA note printing scandal rolls on



ABC program Four Corners was the source of the latest instalment in the RBA’s note printing scandal. A joint Four Corners and Fairfax Media investigation has shed more light on RBA’s illegal attempts to strike a business deal with Iraq's Saddam Hussein. 
Secret files show officials from the RBA's Note Printing Australia went to Iraq to discuss the sale of plastic bank notes. The meeting took place at the height of UN sanctions in 1998, and it has been argued that the RBA breached international law. 
The RBA Note printing story touches on two areas of the compliance program that are increasingly important, bribery/graft and corruption and whistle-blowing. We cover both of these topics in detail in the next edition of GRC Professional that will be available at the GRC Conference held at the end of October. 
The Australian Federal Police have charged NPA, their sister company Securency and several employees for allegedly paying bribes to public officials in Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam to secure bank contracts. 
Brian Hood – Whistle-blower
The practice of using agents to fGRCIlitate large payments concerned Brian Hood, who was appointed as the NPA's company secretary in 2004. The Reserve Bank, NPA and Securency kept Mr Hood's repeated whistle-blowing hidden from police until 2009, after he'd been made redundant, when the media reported on the company's corrupt business activities. Only then did the RBA call in the Australian Federal Police, which charged Securency and NPA with bribery in 2011. It is a case that continues to haunt, the RBA, NPA, Securency and ASIC to this day. 
ABC’s Four Corners program ran an interview with Brian Hood, where he revealed the extraordinary pressure and vilification he faced when revealing the corruption. ASIC was forced into issuing a response on the day the program aired defending its handling of the matter, in particular its failure to follow up on the whistle-blower supplied information. You can read its full statement [url=http://www.asic.gov.au/asic/asic.nsf/byHeadline/ASIC response to ABC TV%E2%80%99s Four Corners%E2%80%99 questions - 30 September 2013?opendocument]here[/url]:

Many in the industry say that Australian companies are lax about bribery and corruption issues despite the increasing threat of breaches. It is more concerning that this blasé approach extends to one of the most respected public institutions in the country. Maybe the case of Mr Hood and the RBA will be the wakeup call many need.

Australia owns polymer technology....

[size=35]RBA subsidiary's 'dirty deal' with Saddam Hussein revealed[/size]
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] 
By [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
Updated 30 Sep 2013, 9:46pm

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
A joint Four Corners/Fairfax Media investigation has revealed a company owned by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) made illegal attempts to strike a business deal with brutal Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.
Secret files show officials from the RBA's Note Printing Australia (NPA) went to Iraq at the height of UN sanctions to discuss the sale of plastic banknotes to the Iraqi government.
They met with Saddam's brother-in-law, Arshad Yassin, during the trip in 1998.
One of the documents said: "Arshad Yassin [is] extremely influential [and] willing to open all the doors for us. Arshad Yassin is critical as all decision on [the] project will be taken by Saddam Hussein."  
The operation was called Delta Project, and the aim was to win a contract that would allow NPA to turn Iraq's paper currency into polymer banknotes.

Key points

• NPA tried to strike deal with Saddam Hussein in 1998, at height of UN sanctions
  
  
• Deal to turn Iraq's paper currency to plastic, worth around $US65 million
  
  
• NPA officials travelled to Iraq and met with Saddam's brother-in-law
  
  
• Deal was cancelled after Australian diplomats became aware
  
  
• Legal expert says deal was violation of international law
  
  
• ASIC reviewed matter, no further action taken
  
  

"Indications from Arshad Yassin's office are that Saddam Hussein's office has already allocated $US65 million for the total project," RBA officials reported in the document.
"He has confirmed that Saddam Hussein has seen the polymer notes samples and is keen to adopt our product."
The deal was called off six months later after Australian diplomats uncovered the NPA's dealings with the Saddam regime.

What was happening is not only in violation of law, but could potentially destroy and undermine the reputation of Note Printing Australia and its owner, the Reserve Bank.
Associate professor David Chaikin

The diplomats warned the company may have breached Australia's obligations under international law.
Associate Professor David Chaikin from the University of Sydney says there was a violation of international law and alarm bells should have been sounded "to the highest levels of the bank".
"What was happening is not only in violation of law, but could potentially destroy and undermine the reputation of Note Printing Australia and its owner, the Reserve Bank," he told Four Corners.
In a statement issued today, the RBA described the 1998 trip to Iraq as "ill-advised".
"No banknotes were ultimately supplied to Iraq. On the records available to the Bank, the project went into abeyance after concerns were raised by DFAT with the then CEO of NPA," the statement said.
"The Governor has always answered questions in Parliamentary proceedings fully and truthfully. There have been lengthy hearings on these matters at which the relevant committees have been able to thoroughly examine the issues."   
LISTEN: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Corruption concerns raised on previous occasions

This is not the first time the RBA has come under scrutiny.
The Australian Federal Police (AFP) has charged NPA, its sister firm Securency, and several of its employees with allegedly paying bribes to public officials in Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam to secure banknote contracts (*see editor's note below).
It was a practice that alarmed whistleblower Brian Hood, who started working as NPA's company secretary in 2004.
"They [agents] were being paid millions of Australian dollars and that didn't seem appropriate given the sort of role that they were playing. It seemed unduly generous, and that grabbed my attention right from the start," he said.
Mr Hood raised his concerns with the NPA board in 2006, but the payments continued.
He said he then went to the RBA's then-deputy governor Ric Battelino in 2007.

It makes me disappointed again in some of the authorities that are entrusted with enforcing the laws of this country and that someone can get away with it so blatantly
Former Securency employee James Shelton

"[Mr Battelino] did indicate that my briefing paper perhaps would be shown to the governor," he said.
"That was the first time the governor was mentioned and I thought well that's encouraging, it's actually literally got to the top."
Mr Hood said he was confused when RBA governor Glenn Stevens testified at a parliamentary committee that his board did not know about corrupt practices until they were revealed in a Fairfax investigation in 2009.
"I saw that evidence being put to economics committees and I was pretty bewildered. I didn't know what to make of that. It was quite confusing," he said. 
Mr Hood's claims are supported by a second whistleblower, James Shelton, who worked at Securency.
Mr Shelton said the board members and directors of NPA and Securency, who were aware of corruption-prone business practices, have not been held to account.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

"It makes me disappointed again in some of the authorities that are entrusted with enforcing the laws of this country, and that someone can get away with it so blatantly," he said.
The AFP handed its evidence to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).
In a statement, ASIC [url=http://www.asic.gov.au/asic/asic.nsf/byHeadline/ASIC response to ABC TV%E2%80%99s Four Corners%E2%80%99 questions - 30 September 2013?opendocument]said it had reviewed the material and decided not to take the matter further.[/url]
The RBA sold its 50 per cent share in Securency earlier this year. 

Coalition, Greens react to revelations

A spokesman for Federal Treasurer Joe Hockey released a statement this morning which read: "Any improper behaviour on the part of any company or individuals is to be condemned. Proceedings are underway in relation to RBA note printing subsidiaries and they should be allowed to take their course."
Greens deputy leader Adam Bandt went further in calling for an inquiry into the affair.
"Most Australians would be shocked to know their central bank was using their money to line up dirty deals with Saddam Hussein," Mr Bandt said in a statement. 
Media player: "Space" to play, "M" to mute, "left" and "right" to seek.
[ltr][size=14][size=14]Setup Timeout Error: Setup took longer than 30 seconds to complete.

[/ltr][/size]
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.][/size]

"The claim that RBA officials misled Parliament is disturbing. When Parliament resumes, the Greens will move to have RBA officials appear before a parliamentary committee to answer these serious allegations." 
He questioned ASIC's willingness to [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]that caused a $300 million drop in a major coal company's share price when it had failed to act over the claims against the RBA.
"Also appalling is the utter failure of ASIC, our corporate regulator, even to investigate sustained claims of wrongdoing within the corporate activities of the Reserve Bank," Mr Bandt said.
"ASIC throws the book at a lone global warming activist who sends out a press release, yet turns a blind eye to repeated claims of sustained corporate corruption in the Reserve Bank.
"The Greens will ask ASIC to explain to Parliament why it has failed to investigate serious and repeated claims of illegality within the RBA's corporate activities."
* Editor's note: In 2011 Securency and Note Printing Australia were charged by the federal police with bribery offences relating to the alleged payments to overseas officials. Court orders prevent recent developments regarding the charges against the companies being reported.
Topics: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.], [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.], [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.], [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.], [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.], [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.], [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Screwball wrote:

Pig-Pen wrote:weather that is a Blow Up of a New Iraqi 1 Dinar Money or Something else I don't know. But that is Definitely a 1 in the Corner.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

I zoom in and can’t see Shite...

I just got home and just seeing all of this... But I'm like you SB that's why I asked for help.. Couldn't see anything..

weslin3 wrote:

Screwball wrote:

Pig-Pen wrote:weather that is a Blow Up of a New Iraqi 1 Dinar Money or Something else I don't know. But that is Definitely a 1 in the Corner.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

I zoom in and can’t see Shite...

I just got home and just seeing all of this... But I'm like you SB that's why I asked for help.. Couldn't see anything..

I JUST SEEN THIS AND I DON'T SEE A 1 ANYWHERE!!  

So maybe it's something they decided to do after 2013, I mean why not have a 1 dinar note

Thanks gang.