Reply #7: Poppy's/Junior's "blind trusts" held in Riggs accounts managed

[emad]

by the now dumped US Ambassador to UK William Stamps Farish III? With Uncle Jonathan at the helm as chairman what a winning combo.

Snip from UK Financial Times:

PNC to buy Riggs bank for $779m
By James Politi in New York
Published: July 16 2004 14:17 | Last Updated: July 16 2004 14:17


Riggs National, a bank that has held accounts for US presidents and boasts many foreign embassies as its clients, on Friday agreed to be sold for nearly $800m in stock and cash to PNC Financial of Pennsylvania.....................

This week, a congressional report slammed Riggs for not informing regulators that it was handling tens of millions of dollars for Augusto Pinochet, the former Chilean dictator, and for top officials in the African dictatorship of Equatorial Guinea. In May, Riggs was ordered to pay a record fine of $25m for money-laundering violations related to diplomats' accounts.

Shortly after, the bank that in the 19th century financed the US government's purchase of Alaska with $7m in gold, announced it was up for sale.

PNC, which edged out competing offers for Riggs from other regional banks in the US, expects the bank's international and embassy units to be divested before the deal closes.

http://news.ft.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=FT.com/StoryFT/FullStory&c=StoryFT&cid=1087373775474&p=1012571727085


So, the banker to US presidents and foreign embassies...fined for money laundering violations related to diplomats' accounts.

NO official explanation given about what Farish was dumped so unceremoniously from top London posting in June.

The buzz at London's prestigeous Foreign Correspondents' Club says Farish's wife Sarah was interviewed by UK police in June re her involvement in the now defunct French media giant Versailles whose chairman/c.e.o. Carl Cushnie has been arrested for fraud/embezzlement along with his financial director. By 'involvement' I take it that what's implied is that she was a concealing an investment which was not quite....er....kosher.

Farish and wife departed last saturday. Don T Johnson now left in charge as "Chargé d'Affaires ad interim" - ie pooper scooper in residence....

Embassy biog on Johnson:
http://www.usembassy.org.uk/ukdcm.html