I will be taking the next few days off for the New Year and the blog will return on January 2, 2012. I wish everyone a great and prosperous holiday and all the best for 2012.
---------->>>>>>>>>>>gene
---------->>>>>>>>>>>gene
Friday, December 30, 2011
Thursday, December 29, 2011
The Real Lord of War VII
As we move into discussing money laundering, we must why it is necessary for an arms dealer to launder his money in the first place.
Remember what we discussed earlier - the arms trade is a heavily regulated and controlled industry. Many laws, both internal (per country) and international exist to control the flow of weapons. This makes sense, of course. The international trade in weapons can destabilize entire governments and countries. Government try (or at least pretend to) control this arms flow for these reasons. Also, there are national security considerations. The United States would not really want Iran to get its advanced weaponry which obviously could be used against it in a possible future conflict.
Therefore, if an arms dealer wants to transfer and sell arms illegally, he cannot of course "report" his income to tax authorities and it is impossible to make large bank deposits without raising some alarms. Hence, arms dealers also have to resort to money laundering and shady deals to try and avoid detection. Arms dealing goes hand-in-hand with fraud and white collar crime.
Remember what we discussed earlier - the arms trade is a heavily regulated and controlled industry. Many laws, both internal (per country) and international exist to control the flow of weapons. This makes sense, of course. The international trade in weapons can destabilize entire governments and countries. Government try (or at least pretend to) control this arms flow for these reasons. Also, there are national security considerations. The United States would not really want Iran to get its advanced weaponry which obviously could be used against it in a possible future conflict.
Therefore, if an arms dealer wants to transfer and sell arms illegally, he cannot of course "report" his income to tax authorities and it is impossible to make large bank deposits without raising some alarms. Hence, arms dealers also have to resort to money laundering and shady deals to try and avoid detection. Arms dealing goes hand-in-hand with fraud and white collar crime.
NOTE: THE INFORMATION IN THIS BLOG IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE NOR IS IT INTENDED TO BE LEGAL ADVICE. IF THE READER HAS ANY LEGAL QUESTIONS, PLEASE REFER TO AN ATTORNEY.
Have a great and fraud-free day.
----------à>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>gene tausk
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
The Real Lord of War VI
How did Viktor But deal in such large amounts of arms and equipment? How was he able to sell them all around the world?
The "secret," such as it is, is that But had access not only to arms and equipment, but also to large scale transportation such as military aircraft and large scale civilian aircraft as well. Remember - But was able to take advantage of the chaos in the post-Soviet Union to acquire the arms in the first place. He also was able to use Soviet planes and tankers to transport the weapons anywhere in the world. This gave him an invaluable tactical advantage in that not only could he supply the arms, he could also transport them to anywhere in the world.
It is estimated that But supplied the arms and equipment to such random countries as Congo, Angola, Liberia and Afghanistan.
As promised, we will begin discussing But's ability to get paid for these illegal arms dealings.
The "secret," such as it is, is that But had access not only to arms and equipment, but also to large scale transportation such as military aircraft and large scale civilian aircraft as well. Remember - But was able to take advantage of the chaos in the post-Soviet Union to acquire the arms in the first place. He also was able to use Soviet planes and tankers to transport the weapons anywhere in the world. This gave him an invaluable tactical advantage in that not only could he supply the arms, he could also transport them to anywhere in the world.
It is estimated that But supplied the arms and equipment to such random countries as Congo, Angola, Liberia and Afghanistan.
As promised, we will begin discussing But's ability to get paid for these illegal arms dealings.
NOTE: THE INFORMATION IN THIS BLOG IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE NOR IS IT INTENDED TO BE LEGAL ADVICE. IF THE READER HAS ANY LEGAL QUESTIONS, PLEASE REFER TO AN ATTORNEY.
Have a great and fraud-free day.
----------à>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>gene tausk
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
The Real Lord of War V
Before we begin to discuss the money laundering operations and fraud operations of Viktor But, one more aspect of arms trading must be discussed.
It is clear to even the most casual observer that arms trafficking and the purchase and sale of arms and weapons of war are regulated by international laws and treaties, as well as the laws of various nations. For example, in the United States, the interstate sale of arms, ammunition and lethal weapons are generally controlled by, among other laws, the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution and various laws under the United States Code. Violations of these laws can result in extreme criminal penalties, both under Federal law and the laws of the various states. It is not possible to simply "buy and sell" arms and weaponry without involving multiple Federal laws in these matters. State laws are involved as well, but these vary from state-to-state.
When the purchasing and selling of arms and other types of weapons in the international arena, multiple laws of nation states and international agreements are involved. For example, it is not possible to sell American weapons to many nations in the world, especially those nations which have been designated as terrorist or "rogue" nations. This situation also applies in the reverse.
So, when a person like Viktor But is selling arms and equipment all over the world and not following "the law," he is violating many different types of laws from various nations and international organizations and treaties. This not only creates a legal nightmare, but also exposed Viktor to many different criminal liabilities.
It is clear to even the most casual observer that arms trafficking and the purchase and sale of arms and weapons of war are regulated by international laws and treaties, as well as the laws of various nations. For example, in the United States, the interstate sale of arms, ammunition and lethal weapons are generally controlled by, among other laws, the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution and various laws under the United States Code. Violations of these laws can result in extreme criminal penalties, both under Federal law and the laws of the various states. It is not possible to simply "buy and sell" arms and weaponry without involving multiple Federal laws in these matters. State laws are involved as well, but these vary from state-to-state.
When the purchasing and selling of arms and other types of weapons in the international arena, multiple laws of nation states and international agreements are involved. For example, it is not possible to sell American weapons to many nations in the world, especially those nations which have been designated as terrorist or "rogue" nations. This situation also applies in the reverse.
So, when a person like Viktor But is selling arms and equipment all over the world and not following "the law," he is violating many different types of laws from various nations and international organizations and treaties. This not only creates a legal nightmare, but also exposed Viktor to many different criminal liabilities.
NOTE: THE INFORMATION IN THIS BLOG IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE NOR IS IT INTENDED TO BE LEGAL ADVICE. IF THE READER HAS ANY LEGAL QUESTIONS, PLEASE REFER TO AN ATTORNEY.
Have a great and fraud-free day.
----------à>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>gene tausk
Monday, December 26, 2011
The Real Lord of War IV
I mentioned at the beginning of this blog thread that we would be discussing how Viktor But's armsrunning activities involved fraud. Fraud is, of course, the subject matter of this blog so at some point we need to discuss it. However, once again, the sheer scale and scope of But's arms dealing needs to be explored first.
The time when But was working was both fortuitous (for him) and unlucky (for the rest of the world). As stated, But was able to take advantage of the fall of the Former Soviet Union to purchase and sell weapons all over the world. This would not have been possible during the time of the Soviet Union when all arms sales were subject to State control (in this case, the Communist Party of the Soviet Union). It would also have not been possible during a time when the rule of law was more strictly enforced (although the Russian Federation has a long way to go, the rule of law is better now then it was 20 years ago). But was able to find the right time to make his illicit sales.
It was unlucky for the rest of the world in that But was able to sell his weapons to numerous conflicts around the world. The world has never had a shortage of conflicts, but during the nineties, all hell was breaking loose in places such as Africa (the horrific civil war in Liberia, "blood diamond" mining in Sierra Leone, the genocide in Rwanda, the various attempts to seize power and minerals in Congo (Zaire)). For an arms merchant like But, this was a market ready for the taking.
The time when But was working was both fortuitous (for him) and unlucky (for the rest of the world). As stated, But was able to take advantage of the fall of the Former Soviet Union to purchase and sell weapons all over the world. This would not have been possible during the time of the Soviet Union when all arms sales were subject to State control (in this case, the Communist Party of the Soviet Union). It would also have not been possible during a time when the rule of law was more strictly enforced (although the Russian Federation has a long way to go, the rule of law is better now then it was 20 years ago). But was able to find the right time to make his illicit sales.
It was unlucky for the rest of the world in that But was able to sell his weapons to numerous conflicts around the world. The world has never had a shortage of conflicts, but during the nineties, all hell was breaking loose in places such as Africa (the horrific civil war in Liberia, "blood diamond" mining in Sierra Leone, the genocide in Rwanda, the various attempts to seize power and minerals in Congo (Zaire)). For an arms merchant like But, this was a market ready for the taking.
NOTE: THE INFORMATION IN THIS BLOG IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE NOR IS IT INTENDED TO BE LEGAL ADVICE. IF THE READER HAS ANY LEGAL QUESTIONS, PLEASE REFER TO AN ATTORNEY.
Have a great and fraud-free day.
----------à>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>gene tausk
Sunday, December 25, 2011
The Real Lord of War III
It is an old adage that crime feeds on chaos. And, as we have discussed, the end of the Cold War meant that a person like Viktor But could prosper in this chaos.
In the movie "Lord of War" which, as discussed, is a thinly veiled story of But's life, there is a line where Nicholas Cage's character states that "the three most important exports from the Former Soviet Union were depressed Russian writers, caviar and AK-47's. No one was purchasing Russian cars." Although a humorous line, there is a great deal of truth.
Much of the former Soviet economy was based on the production of military instruments and military gear. The AK-47 to which Cage's character refers is far and away the most popular automatic weapon on the planet. It can survive in every climate and under the most extreme conditions. This one weapon has probably killed more human beings than any other weapon in the history of mankind (which is a remarkable statistic considering that guns did not really come into play as a weapon until the 18th century).
This crazy world where AK-47's and related armaments could be bought from a former superpower gave Viktor But the ability to sell death to the world.
In the movie "Lord of War" which, as discussed, is a thinly veiled story of But's life, there is a line where Nicholas Cage's character states that "the three most important exports from the Former Soviet Union were depressed Russian writers, caviar and AK-47's. No one was purchasing Russian cars." Although a humorous line, there is a great deal of truth.
Much of the former Soviet economy was based on the production of military instruments and military gear. The AK-47 to which Cage's character refers is far and away the most popular automatic weapon on the planet. It can survive in every climate and under the most extreme conditions. This one weapon has probably killed more human beings than any other weapon in the history of mankind (which is a remarkable statistic considering that guns did not really come into play as a weapon until the 18th century).
This crazy world where AK-47's and related armaments could be bought from a former superpower gave Viktor But the ability to sell death to the world.
NOTE: THE INFORMATION IN THIS BLOG IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE NOR IS IT INTENDED TO BE LEGAL ADVICE. IF THE READER HAS ANY LEGAL QUESTIONS, PLEASE REFER TO AN ATTORNEY.
Have a great and fraud-free day.
----------à>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>gene tausk
Friday, December 23, 2011
The Real Lord of War
For those of us who lived through the Cold War (man, am I getting old...), the end of the Soviet Union and the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact and the Eastern European satellite states (Poland, Romania, Bulgaria etc.), was the defining moment of my generation. We all grew up in the shadow of the nuclear threat and the idea of Mutual Assured Destruction (appropriately named MAD). We generally believed that the Russians were cold-hearted people that would gladly press the nuclear button on the drop of a dime (nothing can be further from the truth - Russians are among the warmest and friendliest people I have known in my life). It was taken as a fact of life that, one way or another, the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe was here to stay and it would stay for a long, long time.
Then, in one instant, it was over. Events beginning in 1989 led to the overthrow of the oppressive governments of Eastern Europe and, to everyone's surprise (and don't let anyone tell you differently), the peaceful dissolution of the Soviet Union. On January 1, 1991, the hammer-and-sickle flag flew over the Kremlin in Moscow. On December 31, 1991, it was lowered for the last time and replaced with the tricolor flag of the Russian Federation. This event was repeated in 14 capitals in now independent states.
This unprecedented transfer of power created a power and legal vacuum that was ready to be exploited. And, this was the opportunity of a lifetime for Viktor But.
Then, in one instant, it was over. Events beginning in 1989 led to the overthrow of the oppressive governments of Eastern Europe and, to everyone's surprise (and don't let anyone tell you differently), the peaceful dissolution of the Soviet Union. On January 1, 1991, the hammer-and-sickle flag flew over the Kremlin in Moscow. On December 31, 1991, it was lowered for the last time and replaced with the tricolor flag of the Russian Federation. This event was repeated in 14 capitals in now independent states.
This unprecedented transfer of power created a power and legal vacuum that was ready to be exploited. And, this was the opportunity of a lifetime for Viktor But.
NOTE: THE INFORMATION IN THIS BLOG IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE NOR IS IT INTENDED TO BE LEGAL ADVICE. IF THE READER HAS ANY LEGAL QUESTIONS, PLEASE REFER TO AN ATTORNEY.
Have a great and fraud-free day.
----------à>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>gene tausk
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