Trinidad and Tobago Stole Sikorsky Copter But Has Immunity Previous Case Dropped by GE

By Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon

BBC - Guardian UK - Honduras - ESPN

SDNY COURTHOUSE, Dec 12 – The Government of Trinidad and Tobago leased a Sikorsky S-76D helicopter from Vertical Aviation and then neither maintained or paid for it, while keeping it, Vertical Aviation alleges in a complaint. 

On December 1, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York Judge May Kay Vyskocil held a proceeding. Inner City Press covered it.  

 The issue arose whether Gary Griffith, as Minister of National Security for Trinidad and Tobago, had actually had the authority to waive sovereign immunity.

A letter on this is due on or before December 21.

Now on December 12, Inner City Press after digging can report that in a previous related case that disappeared, "ORDERED that this action be conditionally discontinued without prejudice and without costs through April 17, 2019; provided, however, that on or before April 17, 2019, the parties may submit to the Court their own Stipulation of Settlement and Dismissal for the Court to So Order, or Plaintiff may submit a Notice of Dismissal pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 41. Otherwise, within such time Plaintiff may apply by letter for restoration of the action to the active calendar of this Court in the event that the settlement is not consummated. Upon such application for reinstatement, the parties shall continue to be subject to the Court's jurisdiction, the Court shall promptly reinstate the action to its active docket, and the parties shall be directed to appear before the Court, without the necessity of additional process, on a date within ten (10) days of the application, to schedule remaining pretrial proceedings and/or dispositive motions, as appropriate. This Order shall be deemed a final discontinuance of the action without prejudice in the event that Plaintiff has not requested restoration of the case to the active calendar on or before April 17, 2019." It died.

The case is Vertical Aviation No. 1 LLC v. The Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, 20-cv-4970 (Vyskocil)

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Citibank Wire Transfer Case Sunday Stipulation Adds Luxembourg Brigade Transactions

 

By Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Song
BBC - Guardian UK - Honduras - ESPN

SDNY COURTHOUSE, Dec 13 – As Citibank tries to recoup the money it wired out on August 11, 2020, the virtual / Zoom trial began on December 9 before U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. Inner City Press is covering it.

 Here for now some of the Day 1 blow by blow.

And Day 2 documents / Defendants exhibits zipped on Patreon here, one on DocumentCloud here, saying "Please retain the funds received 8/11 into Battalion CLO VIII Ltd. on account of the Revlon Term Loan 2016 pending further instruction. Please do not book, and carry the funds as a cash break for the time being."

 Now on Sunday December 13, this stipulation about an additional wire transfer: "The parties stipulate: 1. In addition to the two international wire transfers described in the Stipulation and Order dated December 9, 2020 (see ECF No. 209), another one of the wire transfers sent by Citibank, N.A. on August 11, 2020 in connection with the 2016 Revlon Term Loan—a $7,510,866.73 transfer directed to the Brigade-managed Mediolanum Best Brands, which is domiciled in Ireland—was wired to a bank account located in Luxembourg for the benefit of that Brigade-Managed fund." Watch this site - and hear, for now, this song.

  And here's a document from Day 3, stating "It looks like they erroneously released paydown payment and are asking for it back. Do you agree?" Here on DocumentCloud, full Zip on Patreon here.

On Day 3, after discussion of springing maturity, it got to this: whether the defendants had waived privilege by excusing their refusal to return the money as being based on legal advise, including from at least out outside law firm. Judge Furman ended the trial at noon, setting a Monday 7 pm deadline for some filings and musing that closing arguments might be Tuesday afternoon.

The case is In re Citibank August 11, 2020 Wire Transfers, 20-cv-6539 (Furman)

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Amid COVID Lockdown in NYC UN Guterres To Fly To Germany Then Other Points Corrupt

By Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon
BBC - Guardian UK - Honduras - ESPN

SDNY COURTHOUSE, Dec 14 – How corrupt is today's United Nations?

Well, just as New York prepares to go into another COVID-19 lockdown, its Secretary General prepares to fly off to Germany and the presumably to his real home in Portugal, before slipping back into New York evade quarantine rules that applies to others.

  During the pandemic, Guterres has already sneaked off to Portugal twice. He has allowed his UN Security to keep their gym open when all other gyms in NYC have been closed. When banned Inner City Press asked in writing about this, Guterres' spokespeople Stephane Dujarric and Melissa Fleming have refused to answer. It is impunity. He should not return. 

From today's UN transcript:  Dujarric: I have a trip announcement for you. The Secretary-General will travel on Wednesday to Berlin, where he will address the German Parliament on Friday morning. While in Berlin, he will also meet with Chancellor Angela Merkel, President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Foreign Minister Heiko Maas. 

Q: it's his first personal trip since March; right? 

Dujarric: It is his first official trip. As you may have recalled, he went home twice to see his family.     

Question:  Yeah. So the question is, why is it so important to go to Germany, in particular taking into account the current strict COVID measures in Germany right now... and if he's going to quarantine after his arrival back to New York?       

Dujarric: A couple of things. We may have more travel to announce. I will tell you that the way we're... travel is organised, safety is first and foremost. The Secretary‑General will be tested before leaving, as will his delegation.       This was a very important invitation on behalf... by the German Government. It's not every day that a Secretary‑General is invited to address the Bundestag. So, we've accepted the invitation.       The Secretary‑General will, of course, follow all regulations pertinent to the city and state of New York upon return when he is in New York."

   And when would that be? Is this just a pretext to spend public money to go to Lisbon, where Guterres took money from Gulbenkian which tried to sell its oil company to UN briber CEFC China Energy?

Inner City Press and its questions have been banned from the UN for 895 days by this corrupt Guterres. He should not return.

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UNSC Prez South Africa Matjilla Praised Guterres Helping Biya in Cameroo...

Inner City Press Asked IMF of Kenya and (China-linked) Mombasa Railroad ...

UN Guterres Hid His Son's Rwanda Biz By Banning Press Now Pedro Explorer Real Estate

By Matthew Russell Lee, Exclusive, CJR Letter PFT, Video

UN GATE,  Nov 21 – Before Inner City Press was roughed up by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres' Security on June 22 and July 3, 2018 and under a ban on entry since then, it insistently asked about Guterres' conflicts of interest, for example with murderous Cameroon chairing the UN Budget Committee where Guterres sought support or with the business interests of his family, as for disclosure of how many of Guterres' publicly funded trip took him through his real home, Lisbon. (The answer, with no UN help, was at least 17 at the time Guterres had Inner City Press roughed up and thrown out of the UN.)

Now questions are not being answered at all, for months, by Spokesman Stephane Dujarric and Melissa Fleming, and Guterres continued having Inner City Press banned from the UN, by his Global Communicator Melissa Fleming who has failed to make even the minimal public financial disclosure called for under Guterres' predecessor Ban Ki-moon. Guterres' forms do not include the business interests of his direct children - but they should. Because, as Inner City Press now further reports, there is a Pedro Guterres who is listed as the Chief Financial Officer, Mota-Engil Africa BV.

 And look - while Guterres has been UN Secretary General, his son Pedro was making money in, for example, Rwanda: "met with the President of the Republic, with the Minister of Infrastructure and with the Minister of Finance, along with Manuel Mota, CEO of Mota-Engil Africa, Pedro Guterres, CFO of Mota-Engil Africa." Photo here.

Guterres son, making money in Rwanda, while his father in UN Secretary General, entirely UNdisclosed. Corrupt.

Now since June 2020  Pedro Guimarães e Melo De Oliveira Guterres has been in Real Estate at Explorer Investments. Photo here. We'll have more on this.

  Long before publishing this story, Inner City Press in writing asked Guterres, Dujarric, Fleming and others to confirm or deny - that is, to Verify - that this Pedro is Guterres' son. Inner City Press asked them: "immediately confirm or deny this is SG Guterres' son Pedro - important to note any conflicts of interest, here."

   No answer at all - even as Fleming takes money from IKEA and Pierre Omidyar's Luminate for "Share Verified" to supposedly expand transparency and help independent media. Just as no answers on the UN sexploitation Inner City Press first exposed on June 23, here. These people are a fraud. Watch this site.

  Previously Pedro Guterres has been Manager of Planning and Control at PT Portugal since 2009, see here. And "PT Portugal has significant interests in telecommunications companies in Angola, Cape Verde, Namibia and São Tomé and Principe in Africa and in Timor-Leste in Asia," see US SEC filing here. (Guterres recently rebuffed, in an entreaty to stop banning Inner City Press, Time Leste's Nobel Peace Prize laureate Jose Ramos Horta, here).

Previously: "I request that you immediately lift the immunity of the Secretary General, as he holds responsibility as the ‘Chief Administrative Officer’ of the Secretariat for my physical ejection from the UN premises on 4 July 2018, detailed in the attached complaint to the NYC police

Venezuela Private Jetter Marin Quietly Detained In SDNY As Mones Discovery Delayed

By Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Transcript

BBC - Guardian UK - Honduras - ESPN

SDNY COURTHOUSE,  Nov 11 – Victor Mones Coro is charged with brokering private passenger air travel for Tareck Zaidan El Aissami Maddah - and was given his discovery late by the US, mixed with other DHS info, see report on November 11 filing, below.

 On November 10 in the  U.S. District Court for the Southern District Magistrates Court Alejandro Marin, described as having access to Venezuelan private planes, El Aissami and Venezuela's minister of crypto-currency, was ordered detained. It was not announced, but Inner City Press found it, and tweeted: with no announcement in advance, there is a defendant in SDNY Magistrates Court that DOJ is seeking to detain as a flight risk, he flies private plane and, AUSA says, knows Venezuela's minister of crypto-currency.

 They keep calling him Marin - seems it is Alejandro Marin, witness against Venezuelans Vice President El Aissami and his alleged frontman, businessman Samark Lopez - now accused of lying. Inner City Press can report: he is being ordered detained .

  We'll have more on this. In October, Alvin K. Hellerstein held a publicly-noticed proceeding. Inner City Press covered it. 

 It emerged that AUSA Amanda Houle has made ex parte sealed filings with Judge Hellerstein, with not a wisp of them in the docket.

There was a discussion of showing some but not all of the information to Orsini's lawyer, Sabrina Shroff, on an "attorney's eyes only" basis. Shroff, to her credit, pushed back.

 On October 28, Judge Hellerstein held another proceeding after the US Attorney's Office late-produced some eight terabytes of information, more than double the volume it produced before one of the co-defendant pleaded guilty. This is post the US v. Nejad case Inner City Press has reported on and in which it anticipates making a filing - watch this site.

  While Shroff is still digging through the terabytes, attorney Christine Chung was  mulling withdrawing Victor Mones Coro's plea.

Mones moved to withdraw the plea; the Court accepted the withdrawal of plea.

  Now on November 11, Mones has requested sanctions, stating that on October 25 the US Attorney's Office turned over a hard drive containing, erroneously, "confidential material regarding another investigation that DHS had mistakenly copied onto the drive." We'll have more on this.

In the interest of increased transparency, here is the October 28 transcript, on Inner City Press' DocumentCloud, here.

And Inner City Press' filing to further unseal in Nejad has been docketed.

This case is US v. Orsini Quintero, 19-cr-144 (Hellerstein)

South Africa Oil Company Sosol Gets Names of Confidential Witnesses Sealed In SDNY

By Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon

BBC - Guardian UK - Honduras - ESPN

SDNY COURTHOUSE, Nov 10 –  South African oil and chemical company Sasol has asked to get the names of confidential witnesses sealed, so far successfully, even as they get deposed.   

  On November 10 U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York  Judge John P. Cronan held a proceeding. Inner City Press covered it.  

  Sasol argued that the names and job descriptions of the confidential witnesses is "information of little value to the public."

Judge Cronan agreed, citing Sasol's argument and finding that "the Confidential Witnesses' private interests outweigh the presumption of public access."

 Inner City Press wondered again how the press and public get notice and an opportunity to be heard on such matters.

The case is Moshell v. Sasol Limited et al., 20-cv-1008 (Cronan)