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Microcap & Penny Stocks : TGL WHAAAAAAAT! Alerts, thoughts, discussion. -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: jmhollen who wrote (143474)	4/11/2005 10:55:22 PM
From: StocksDATsoar	Respond to of 150070

Yup, a nuclear one.

To: jmhollen who wrote (143474)	4/12/2005 10:31:15 AM
From: inyourdreams	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 150070

SPRL i hope not? Russia? + Banks? FBI? Mobsters control half of Russia's banks: FBI Mobsters control half of Russia's banks: FBI Mobsters control half of Russia's banks: FBI T V Parasuram Washington, Oct 23: Nearly half of Russia's credit and financial institutions are controlled by organised crime interests, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has said in a report submitted to the Senate Intelligence Committee. This, it says, allows the mobsters to more easily launder and move vast sums of cash around the world and to evade the efforts of the Russian government to collect taxes. The FBI puts the capital flight from Russia arranged by the mobsters who control about 550 banks, at the huge sum of $200 billion over the past decade. The report was completed two months before the collapse of the Russian economy in the summer but made available to the media only now. Organised crime groups in Russia have gathered vast wealth and political influence within Russia and other former Russian republics, the Washington Times said. "Previously, they had been silent partners of the regime in the black market economy. Today, Russian organised crime groups dominate the economic life ofRussia by exerting control over key economic sectors such as petroleum distribution, pharmaceuticals and consumer products distribution," it said. This pervasive influence has "undermined open market competition necessary for normal economic development," it added. "Along with corrupt public officials and unscrupulous businessmen, they have perverted the all-important privatisation process" by acquiring control of state-owned assets and selling them off at huge profits that were due to the government," the daily said. Organised crime leaders have been elected to Russia's Duma, the lower house of parliament, and have influenced legislation giving tax breaks or other government benefits to criminal enterprises, it said. Small businesses in Russia also are a main target of extortion efforts by Russian criminal gangs, which force business owners to turn over up to 20 per cent of their receipts for "protection money." The report says that in the U.S., 25 Russian organised crime groups have beenidentified by the FBI. The larger groups are known to operate in Florida and New York, where they have engaged in extortion, racketeering, smuggling, prostitution and large-scale fraud. Loose-knit Russian criminal groups in the U.S. have caused millions of dollars in losses from health care fraud, credit card fraud, computer fraud, bank fraud, check-kiting (a form of drawing money from a bank without having adequate funds in the checking account), visa and immigration fraud, forgery, securities fraud and contract fraud. Russian criminals have purchased controlling interests in offshore banks on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus and on the Caribbean islands of Antigua and Aruba. On Aruba, five Russian banks opened in the past year, the report added. "From these locations, they electronically launder large amounts of cash around the world," the report said, adding that secrecy has hindered efforts to trace the money. The Russian criminal involvement in banking has brought with it "a high level ofviolence against banking officials in Russia," with "dozens" of victims of contract murders. Russian authorities estimate that the number of organised crime groups has increased from about 4,352 in 1992 to about 12,000 today. Cocaine marketed by Colombia's Cali drug cartel is being sold on the streets of Moscow. Russian criminal groups have provided the Cali drug cartel with weapons and combat helicopters in exchange for drugs. The Colombians tried to buy a submarine from a Russian crime group, the FBI report said. Russian criminals are also collaborating with the Italian mafia in coordinating drug trafficking efforts. Trafficking of young women by Russian crime groups is increasing. They are now running hundreds of brothels and stripper bars throughout Europe and Asia. "In many cases, young women from Russia and Eastern Europe are lured into a life of sexual bondage with promises of lucrative, legitimate employment made by bar an casino operators associated with Russian organised crime," the reportadded. Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd. Net Express ------------------------------------------------------------ This story was printed from Net Express located at expressindia.com. Net Express provides a portal to India, with news from The Indian Express and The Financial Express along with sites on travel and tourism, the entertainment industry, the power sector, the environment and much more.