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UN-TETHERED: In this guest op-ed, retired IRS criminal investigator Martin Sheil follows the money in the investigation into Tether, involving an American oligarch and his proximity to the Trump campaign
By Martin Sheil
I pounced on an intriguing "follow the money story" involving an American oligarch, who heads one of the biggest investment firms in the world, and is so close to Trump that he has been made Trump's co-chair for the Trump Transition team.
The WSJ is reporting (so you know it must be true) that Tether, which is the largest cryptocurrency firm extant behind the biggest cryptocurrency in the world - Tether - is under investigation by DOJ/SDNY for some financial irregularities.
Here’s the WSJ header and lede:
“The federal government is investigating cryptocurrency company Tether for possible violations of sanctions and anti-money-laundering rules, according to people familiar with the matter.”
So why does that matter?
Besides the fact that Trump has trumpeted to all who still listen to his quotidian quotes relative to misogyny and racism, he still slides in there with regularity, how he wants to make America the Crypto Capital of the planet.
Eric Trump and Don Jr. also periodically pipe in on the wealth potential of crypto so you just know something's up but I digress.
Tether is the money laundering currency of choice by such nefarious entities/individuals as Hamas, Hezbollah, Mexican drug cartels, Russian weapons dealers and such other unpleasant folks as human traffickers, who wish to conceal their financial transactions derived from unlawful activities.
So to the point: Cantor Fitzgerald is an enormous investment company that manages reserves for Tether in the billions and billions as Carl Sagan used to say when describing the number of stars in our universe or multiverse as many astronomers now posit.
Howard Lutnick is the longtime CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald and this whale of an American oligarch is now co-chair of the Trump Transition team and will have a say in just who heads up various government financial regulatory orgs in a potential Trump Presidency such as DOJ, SEC, Treasury, CFTC et al.
Are you with me?
Anyone see a potential problem here?
Conflict of interest anyone?
But wait - no worries - SCOTUS just immunized Presidents from any criminal investigation/prosecution when engaged in official acts such as directing DOJ to do something or not, as the case may be...
Yo YO YO - Sound the alarm - Hark the herald angels - at the very least...
When law enforcement launches an undercover investigation of an alleged crook it is important to pin down "predisposition" to commit a crime or past nefarious dealings by the target of the investigation.
I note here that Crypto is now a favored instrument of money launderers globally - it has not always been so. The old tried and true method of laundering ill-gotten gains by way of off shore shell companies, their nominee beneficial owners, facilitating banks, casinos and other enabling individuals and entities should be recognized by "follow the money" devotees everywhere.
Let us take a trip down memory lane and recall that when Trump was not bankrupting his Atlantic City casinos he was using them to launder - first Gambino mob money through a John Gotti bagman named Libutti then later on Russian Organized Crime dirty money via a Brighton Beach mobster named Ivankov (nickname Yaponchik). This was well before Trump facilitated Russian money laundering by selling luxury condos in Manhattan and Miami to anonymous nominees for anonymous beneficial owners of shell companies offshore and on - for cash.
Again I digress...
Trump got banged by the U.S. Treasury department for financial enforcement FinCEN with minor monetary penalties for failing to maintain viable Anti Money Laundering (AML) controls and not filing required Cash Transaction Reports (CTRs).
That was just a cost of doing business...
Marty taking the long way around to get to the point - Cantor Fitzgerald has already embroiled itself in casino/gaming related forays in the past and one wonders if it has learned its lesson.
The WSJ did an article a decade ago capturing the illicit gaming/sports book/money laundering activities of a Cantor sub and I direct your attention to that report here.
Please note the last line of the above WSJ article which I will paste here in case you missed it
Cantor Fitzgerald Chairman and CEO Howard Lutnick was listed in the 2014 Nevada settlement agreement as “member/manager/chairman” of a series of companies that did business as Cantor Gaming.
Predisposition anyone?
But wait Marty you teased the reader with reference to offshore shell companies above so how about it?
So Ole Howard seems to be connected with a Gaming related shell in Malta!
Please note a couple of dudes listed on the graphic by the names Amaitis and Barnard both of whom were employed by Cantor and Barnard, besides being listed in the Non Prosecution agreement was the CFO budda bing!
Now we could just end this riff right here knowing that we connected the Trump Transition Team co-chair to his company's old sports betting/gaming/money laundering activities and his current foray into backstopping a major cryptocurrency company's shenanigans, but I wanted to finish up with a thematic reference to Unit 63A of Trump Tower and a police raid that broke up several gambling and sports betting rings that operated out of 63A.
It seems Russian oligarch Oleg Boyko (ran gambling activities in St. Petersburg) purchased Unit 63A from Trump via a shell company of course, before he sold it to a Russian mobster by the name Vadim Trincher who was alleged to be tight with the so called brainy Russian Godfather Semion Mogilevich. Trincher brought in a kneecapper by the name Tokhtakhounov (don't ask me to spell his name again) known by his nickname Taiwanchik - to run a couple of global sports betting rings with a sidekick by the name Anatoly Golubchik. Police raided Unit 63A in April 2013 and busted a bunch of folks and you can read about that caper and others here.
Ok kids. I think we have had enough following the money entertainment for now
Remember to vote for the Prosecutor not the Felon. Vote for the rule of law and not the law breaker.
If somebody says in opposition - it’s the economy stupid — I suggest you respond - “Check your 401K, you have never been wealthier...”
It isn't make America great again - it’s Keep America Great!
—Marty Sheil, writing from my little cage, no conflicts here…
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