Former Illinois Speaker of the House Indicted on Federal Racketeering and Bribery Charges in Connection With Alleged Corruption Schemes
https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndil/pr/former-illinois-speaker-house-indicted-federal-racketeering-and-bribery-charges
BitConnect Founder Indicted In Alleged $2.4B Ponzi Scheme Disappears
The founder of BitConnect has disappeared into thin air following his indictment over an alleged $2.4 billion Ponzi scheme.
A San Diego-based federal grand jury charged Satish Kumbhani with orchestrating the alleged scheme via BitConnect's "Lending Program," which promised "substantial profits and guaranteed returns" to investors.
The DOJ says Kumbhani used funds from new investors to partially reimburse old investors after abruptly shutting down the program - and that he and his co-conspirators had faked market demand for BitConnect (BCC) via market manipulation.
In a Monday court filing, the SEC noted that the indicted founder has most likely fled to a foreign country.
"The Commission did not know the whereabouts of Kumbhani, an Indian citizen, at the time it filed this action, and BitConnect is an unincorporated entity the Commission must serve through its manager, Kumbhani," reads the filing by senior trial counsel Richard G. Primoff.
"Since November, the Commission has been consulting with that country’s financial regulatory authorities in an attempt to locate Kumbhani’s address," Primoff added. "At present, however, Kumbhani’s location remains unknown, and the Commission remains unable to state when its efforts to locate him will be successful, if at all."
Kumbhani is charged with wire fraud, operating an unlicensed money transmitting business and three conspiracies; wire fraud, commodity price manipulation and international money laundering, according to CoinTelegraph.
Founded in 2016, BitConnect was one of the largest and most popular projects in the initial coin offering (ICO) space in mid-2017, managing to raise billions of dollars from investors worldwide for the promise of 10% interest via its BCC token. More benefits were available to those who "referred" other investors to the scheme.
On Jan. 16, 2018 however, BitConnect platform administrators folded up shop amid increasing scrutiny from lawmakers and investors, causing prices to plummet below $1 from a high of almost $500.
https://www.zerohedge.com/crypto/bitconnect-founder-indicted-alleged-24b-ponzi-scheme-disappears
https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/bitconnect-founder-indicted-global-24-billion-cryptocurrency-scheme
https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.565927/gov.uscourts.nysd.565927.28.0.pdf
https://www.9news.com.au/national/queensland-nsw-floods-live-updates-latest-news-weather-warnings-rain-radar-forecast-march-3-2022-ballina-sydney-windsor-lismore/e2e72e76-ab48-4096-b1fa-9f5c3482ef59
UN General Assembly Calls For Immediate Withdrawal of Russian Forces From Ukraine
The United Nations General Assembly approved on March 2 a resolution denouncing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine while calling for an immediate and peaceful withdrawal of all troops.
The vote was 141 to 5, with 35 of the body’s 193 members abstaining. It was the first time the assembly convened an emergency session since 1997.
Assembly resolutions aren’t legally binding, but they do have clout in reflecting international opinion.
A Russian veto sank a similar resolution of the more powerful U.N. Security Council on Feb. 25, but the assembly allows no vetoes.
Under special emergency session rules, a resolution needs the approval of a two-thirds majority of those countries voting, and abstentions don’t count.
In the resolution, the assembly condemned Russia’s “Aggression against Ukraine,” and reaffirmed the “paramount importance” of the U.N. in the “promotion of the rule of law among nations.”
More than 90 countries co-sponsored the assembly resolution.
It “deplored” Russia’s aggression “in the strongest terms,” and demanded an immediate withdrawal of all Russian forces from Ukraine’s internationally recognized borders.
The three-page resolution also called on Russian leaders to reverse a decision to recognize two separatist parts of eastern Ukraine—both with sizable Russian or Russian-speaking populations—as independent.
The measure condemns the Feb. 24, 2022, declaration by the Russian Federation of a “special military operation” in Ukraine.
It expressed “grave concern” at reports of attacks on civilian facilities, residences, schools, and hospitals, as well as civilian casualties.
The resolution also recognizes that the military operation inside Ukraine is “on a scale that the international community has not seen in Europe in decades and that urgent action is needed to save this generation from the scourge of war.”
Countries that opposed the measure included Russia, Belarus, Cuba, North Korea, and Syria.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, addressing the UN Security Council in a session on March 1, said that signs of the West’s preparations for war against his country and Russia were apparent.
https://www.ntd.com/un-general-assembly-calls-for-immediate-withdrawal-of-russian-forces-from-ukraine_746813.html
LIVE: US Trucker Convoy Rally in Indiana
https://www.ntd.com/live-us-trucker-convoy-rally-in-indiana_746893.html