| Turkey
Halkbank Getting Deferred
Prosecution Agreement Noted by
Court Opposed by Victims By Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon SDNY COURTHOUSE,
March 11 – Turkey's Halkbank
officially gave up its
strategy of refusing to
official appear in the US
criminal case against it, and
on February 25, 2020 appeared
and agreed to be indicted.
Inner City Press live tweeted
it here
and below. On April
12, 2021 with the case stayed
pending appeal, a three-judge
panel of the Second Circuit
heard the arguments. Inner
City Press live tweeted it,
here: [& fast podcast here] On October 22,
2021, the Second Circuit ruled
that Halkbank is NOT immune. On December
21, Halkbank
filed more
than 30 pages
with the
Second
Circuit,
seeking a stay
pending
appealing to Supreme
Court. Full filing
on Patreon here. Halkbank was
indicted for Iran sanctions
violations and money
laundering in the U.S.
District Court for the
Southern District of New York.
Jump cut to April
8, 2024 when DOJ in a civil
case filed a motion to
intervene in and stay, and a
request to move the civil case
to Judge Berman with the
criminal case, in Hughes, et
al. v. Halkbank, et all,
23-cv-6481. In that
case, 151 Americans are suing
for death or injuries by Al
Qaeda in Afghanistan from 2012
to 2020 and in Syria 2012 to
2013. The US Attorney's Office
writes that it relies on the
factual allegations in US v.
Zarrab and facts adduced at
the trial of Attila. April 8, 2024
letter on Patreon here In the criminal
case on March 9, 2026, a DPA
(Deferred Prosecution
Agreement): LETTER MOTION
addressed to Judge Richard M.
Berman, from Michael D.
Lockard/Jonathan E.
Rebold/Jacob H. Gutwillig
dated 3/6/2026 re: The
Government writes requesting
the Court dismiss all penging
motion and enter Speedy Time
Order.. Document filed by USA
as to Turkiye Halk Bankasi
A.S." Judge Berman responded,
"ORDER as to Turkiye Halk
Bankasi A.S.: The Court is
proceeding with the March 11,
2026 conference. Among other
things, the patties will be
requested at the conference to
explain the Deferred
Prosecution Agreement and
related documents." Watch this
site. On March 10 Judge
Berman docketed and endorsed a
letter expressing grave
concern at the DPA from the US
Victims of State Sponsored
Terrorism Fund, on Patreon here On March 11 Inner
City Press live tweeted, as
Judge Berman noted the
opposition of victims and AUSA
Lockard said, We've seen the
letter. And? More on X for
Subscribers here
and Substack here The criminal case
is US v. Turkiye Halk Bankasi
A.S., 15-cr-867 (Berman) 
*** Feedback: Editorial [at] innercitypress.com Box
20047, Dag Hammarskjold Station NY
NY 10017 Other, earlier Inner City Press are listed here, and some are available in the ProQuest service, and now on Lexis-Nexis. Copyright 2006-2024 Inner
City Press, Inc. To request reprint or
other permission, e-contact Editorial
[at] innercitypress.com for |
Friday, March 13, 2026
Turkey Halkbank Getting Deferred Prosecution Agreement Noted by Court Opposed by Victims
Fed OKs Home BancShares Tennessee Proposal Opposed by FFW Says CFPB Not Substantive
| Fed OKs Home
BancShares Tennessee Proposal
Opposed by FFW Says CFPB Not
Substantive
by
Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Book
Substack FEDERAL
COURT,
March 12 – Home BancShares,
whose Centennial Bank has a
disparate lending record in
all five states it it is,
including an office in New
York, applied to the Federal
Reserve to buy a bank in
Tennessee, Mountain Commerce. Fair
Finance Watch opposed it, in
comments filed January 19 with
the Federal Reserve Bank of
St. Louis and the Federal
Reserve Board which had
recently allowed a $7 billion
mega-merger to proceed with no
Fed review. On March 12, the
Federal Reserve Board
rubber-stamped the merger. It
admitted that the HMDA data
cited by FFW was accurate; it
added that "In addition, the
commenter noted a consumer
complaint against Centennial
Bank that is publicly
available on the CFPB’s
website. Complaints based on
individual customer
transactions generally are not
considered to be substantive
comments and, thus, generally
are not considered by the
Board in its evaluation of the
statutory factors governing
the transaction. See 12 CFR
225.16(c)(3); SR Letter 97-10
(Apr. 24, 1997),
https://www.federalreserve.gov/boarddocs/srletters/1997/sr9710.htm."
But that was about consumers
opposing a merger based on
their own transaction, not a
pattern of comments to the
CFPB. The Fed denied FFW's
petition for rulemaking that
it preserve HMDA which it
handed off to the under-fire
CFPB. Now the Fed dissed the
CFPB complaint database as
non-substantive. What's next?
Fair
Finance Watch has been
monitoring Home BancShares and
its Centennial Bank and finds
that in Arkansas in 2024
Centennial made 870 mortgage
loans to whites while denying
only 242 applications from
whites, while making only 64
loans to African Americans and
denying fully 48 applications
from African
Americans.
This is disparate - and note
Centennial's significant
decrease in loans to African
Americans in Arkansas, from
113 loans to African Americans
in 2020 to only 64 in 2024.
Now they want to go into
Tennessee - FFW is filing
opposition and requesting
hearings. Likewise
in Florida in 2024 Centennial
made 406 mortgage loans to
whites while denying only 146
applications from whites,
while making only 23 loans to
African Americans and denying
fully 27 applications from
African Americans - that is,
more than its loans to African
Americans. This is extremely
disparate - this application
should be denied. In Alabama
in 2024 Centennial made 20
mortgage loans to whites while
denying only 11 applications
from whites, while making only
ONE loan to an African
American - extremely
disparate. In Texas
in 2024 Centennial made 477
mortgage loans to whites while
denying only 151 applications
from whites, while making only
14 loans to African Americans
and denying fully 12
applications from African
Americans. This again is
extremely disparate; the
proposal should be denied to
prevent these patterns from
being imposed on
Tennessee.
There are extensive consumer
complaints against Home's
Centennial Bank. Since the
Federal Reserve Board now
appears dismissive of
complaint based on the
platform on which they appear,
here for the record is a
sample complaint from the CFPB
site... On January 20 the
St. Louis Fed's Senior
Manager Mergers &
Acquisitions emailed FFW:
"Receipt confirmed." Home BancShares
responses emphasized that FFW
(and Inner City Press) are
"domiciled" in New York. And? On Feb 25 the Fed
asked Home BancShares, in its
second AI letter, "by March 9,
2026.
Provide a discussion regarding
Centennial Bank’s efforts to
serve the convenience and
needs of the communities
within the bank’s assessment
areas since the April 3, 2023
Community Reinvestment Act
evaluation.
Confirm whether Bancshares
plans to apply its
risk-management policies,
procedures, and controls at
the combined organization
following the transaction."
Watch this site.
*** Your
support means a lot. As little as $5 a month
helps keep us going and grants you access to
exclusive bonus material on our Patreon
page. Click
here to become a patron.
Feedback:
Editorial [at] innercitypress.com Mail: Box 130222, Chinatown Station,
NY NY 10013 Reporter's mobile (and weekends): 718-716-3540 Other, earlier Inner City Press are listed here, and some are available in the ProQuest service, and now on Lexis-Nexis. Copyright 2006-2026 Inner City
Press, Inc. To request reprint or other
permission, e-contact Editorial [at]
innercitypress.com |
In Corrupt UN of Guterres UNESCO Slammed in JIU Report as No Fabrice Aidan Answers
| In
Corrupt UN of Guterres UNESCO Slammed in
JIU Report as No Fabrice Aidan Answers By Matthew
Russell Lee &
sources,
Exclusive UN
GATE, March 8
– UNESCO,
like the whole
UN system
under Antonio
Guterres was
been
falling apart
in corruption
and fraud. Inner
City Press has
been reporting
on serious
malfeasance by
the French
Audrey Azoulay
administration
at UNESCO in
Paris, almost
as bad as
Antonio
Guterres'
corruption in
and of the UN
in New York. A
fish rots from
the head. The
UNESCO
corruption
series is now
more than 140
stories long. Audrey
Azoulay
stepped down
in November
2025, but the
new
Director-General
El-Enany from
Egypt is
obviously
pressured to
prolong her
French
mandate.
For some, this
may come as a
surprise, for
others,
absolutely
not. After
receiving,
literally
hours before
being elected
by the General
Conference,
the French
insignia of
Knight of the
National Order
of the Legion
of Honour, it
was quite
obvious that
he would
subsequently
bow down to
France. No
other
candidate for
the position
of
Director-General
would ever
have agreed,
before his
election, to
be so publicly
branded as a
French pawn.
What's more,
this
information is
proudly
announced by
himself on the
official
UNESCO web
page dedicated
to the DG (here ).
So there are
no surprises
on that front.
Nevertheless,
the Egyptian
Director-General
may soon
realize that
this game is
detrimental to
him and to the
reputation of
his country,
Egypt.
Azoulay's
legacy is well
summarized in
the JIU report
released this
week, which
says it all.
And if
El-Enany is
happy to
continue in
the same vein,
so be it. The
difference is
that the
Europeans are
not going to
evaporate the
steam heat
around his
neck as they
did with
Azoulay for
eight years.
Here are some
excerpts from
the report
that prove
that
everything
Inner City
Press has
written in
recent years
was perfectly
objective and
entirely
accurate.
“United
Nations Review
of management
and
administration
in the United
Nations
Educational,
Scientific and
Cultural
Organization
(UNESCO)
Report of the
Joint
Inspection
Unit: Despite
comprehensive
reforms since
2017 to
strengthen
UNESCO
governance,
significant
challenges
remain. (…)
Governance
continues to
be constrained
by overlapping
mandates and
unclear
divisions of
responsibility
among
governing
bodies
(recommendation
2). The
effectiveness
of the
Executive
Board is also
weakened by
outdated
working
methods,
legacy
practices, and
the lack of
modern
governance
tools
(recommendation
3). The
relationship
between
executive
leadership and
the Executive
Board has been
marked by
periodic
tensions,
resulting in
an erosion of
trust and
confidence in
the
leadership,
thereby
weaking
governance
effectiveness
(recommendation
4). (…)
The review
found that
persistent
coordination
gaps –
including
siloed
operations,
uneven
coordination
between
Headquarters,
field offices
and
institutes,
and legacy
bureaucratic
inefficiencies
– continue to
slow
decision-making
and hinder
cross-sectoral
implementation,
and that some
internal
management
committees
lack
sufficient
authority and
functionality
to drive
reforms
through to
implementation
(recommendation
8). The
review also
found that the
absence of a
transparent,
organization-wide
regulatory
framework
governing
internal
candidacies
for the
position of
Director-General,
as well as
provisions for
geographic
diversity for
senior-level
appointments,
creates
integrity and
reputational
risks
(recommendation
6). In
addition, the
review found
that the
Cabinet’s
structure has
become overly
bureaucratic,
with
overlapping
roles and
duplicated
advisory
functions that
dilute
accountability
and weaken
strategic
effectiveness,
and that
Cabinet
appointments
are not
contractually
linked to the
Director-General’s
tenure,
undermining
strategic
alignment and
complicating
leadership
transitions
(recommendation
7). (…)
The review
found that the
consolidation
of
administrative
functions has
not yet
translated
into strategic
integration.
Sub-units
within the
Sector for
Administration
and Management
continue to
operate in
silos, with
limited
involvement in
early
programme
design, weak
digital
integration,
and the
absence of
sector-wide
service
standards and
performance
indicators. As
a result, the
functions of
the Sector for
Administration
and Management
remain largely
reactive to
implementation
challenges,
rather than
proactively
enabling
accountability,
efficiency and
programme
delivery, thus
limiting its
strategic
value to the
Organization
(recommendation
9). (…)
Ongoing
deficiencies
in staffing,
internal
controls, risk
management,
data
availability
and
performance
monitoring
continue to
undermine the
reform’s
effectiveness
and limit its
ability to
achieve
cohesive
organizational
impact
(recommendation
10). (…)
Systemic
challenges
remain. Lack
of
comprehensive
workforce
planning and
the perceived
weakening of
institutional
checks and
balances have
reduced
consistency,
transparency
and perceived
fairness.
Limited
safeguards
with regard to
recruitment,
promotions and
mobility,
coupled with
fragmented
oversight,
have
constrained
accountability
and affected
staff
confidence.
The review
identified
patterns of
inconsistent
application of
procedures,
insufficient
documentation
of selection
decisions,
limited
managerial
accountability,
high vacancy
rates
(particularly
in field
operations),
and the use of
ad hoc
workarounds.
These
practices
undermine the
integrity of
human
resources
systems and
expose UNESCO
to
reputational
and legal
risks
(recommendation
11). (…)
However,
challenges
remain: the
enterprise
risk
management
framework is
underdeveloped,
internal
controls are
inconsistently
applied,
particularly
in field
operations,
and both the
Ethics Office
and the
Appeals Board
face
structural
limitations
that constrain
effectiveness.
Risk
management
remains
reactive, the
corporate risk
register is
outdated, and
ownership of
enterprise
risk
management
processes is
fragmented
across
committees
with unclear
authority.†In
this report of
hundred pages
review, the
word ‘risk’
appears 150
times,
‘challenges’
68 times,
‘lack’ 59,
‘undermine’
39,
‘accountability’
issue 134,
‘limited’ 55,
‘weak’ 73,
‘governance’
issue 114.
Nothing is
more tangible
than
statistics.
The JIU report
is worth
reading. It
shows how
weakened
UNESCO is
today at all
levels, and
why it is so,
in terms of
governance,
internal
justice,
program
implementation,
resource
mobilization,
human
resources,
etc. This
report
summarizes
perfectly the
legacy that
El-Enany is
trying by all
means to
protect from
criticism by
sweeping it
under the
Egyptian
carpet. The
JIU report
also contains
a number of
relevant
recommendations
for the
Director-General,
which could be
supplemented
as
follows:
1) Remove the
senior
officials
appointed by
Azoulay who
continue to
manage
UNESCO's
day-to-day
affairs,
namely the
Director of
IOS, the
Director of
LA, the ADG
for
Management,
and the
Director of
your
Cabinet.
2) Appoint a
trustworthy
and competent
person to the
position of
Director of
the
Cabinet.
3) Lift the
veil and make
public all of
Azoulay's
misdeeds so
that they are
known to staff
and Member
States.
4) Review all
last-minute
decisions
taken by
Azoulay
regarding
promotions and
appointments.
Do this
yourself in
your capacity
as
Director-General,
instead of
hiding behind
the Executive
Board's
decision to
entrust this
task to
UNESCO's
external
auditor.
5) Examine
before the
Executive
Board meeting
in April and
report to it
on the
findings
concerning
UNESCO's full
responsibility
in the case of
the
appointment of
Fabrice
Aidan, a
friend of
Epstein,
to the Agency.
Azoulay's two
cabinet
directors,
Nicolas
Kassianides
and Margaux
Bergeon-Dars,
as well as
Flavio
Bonetti,
should have
been fully
informed,
since the
French police
and the French
Ministry of
Foreign
Affairs were
aware of the
situation.
Exposing
Kassianides
must be a
painful
exercise for
El-Enany, as
the two men
have been good
friends for
many years,
but
Bergeon-Dars
and Bonetti
could be
summoned to
explain the
decision to
recruit Aidan
that is
damaging the
agency's
reputation, as
they still
work for
UNESCO. A s for
Ms.
Bergeon-Dars,
every day that
Mr. El-Enany
keeps her at
the head of
his cabinet,
after being
informed that
she has spent
years publicly
insulting
Arabs on her
Twitter
account, is a
day that Mr.
El-Enany loses
credibility
and
trust.
With a bit of
luck, El-Enany
will never be
asked by
Azoulay to
issue a
certificate of
service to
Fabrice Aidan.
Inner
City Press has
been informed
that since his
appointment,
DG El-Enany
has been
issuing
certificates
of service to
ambassadors
who are
leaving their
posts as
representatives
to UNESCO. The
question is on
what legal and
institutional
basis this is
happening.
Since when is
the
Secretariat,
which is
supposed to
serve Member
States,
authorized to
certify the
services
rendered by
government
officials, and
what is the
position on
this matter of
the presidents
of the two
governing
bodies, Mr.
Nasser Bin
Hamad Al
Hinzab of
Qatar,
President of
the Executive
Board, and Mr.
Khondker Talha
of Bangladesh,
President of
the General
Conference? It
would be
useful to know
what they have
to say about
this highly
unusual
practice.
It is clear
that the
election of
the new DG was
a moment of
false hope,
dashed by the
last four
months marked
by tattered
expectations,
a lack of
clear vision,
slow-motion
action, the
appointments
to senior
positions of
people not
having the
required
credentials,
subservience
to France and
the EU, and
budget cuts
and staff
reductions,
all of it
based on empty
rhetoric. It
is high time
that the
Egyptian
Director-General
recovered from
the initial
excitement
generated by
the
effervescent
effect of his
successful
election and
began to take
his job
seriously.
This is where
UNESCO stands
today,
weakened by
the former
French
administration
and still
insignificant,
ravaged by
financial
misappropriations,
conducive to
the
proliferation
of abuse of
power,
corruption,
and nepotism.
Watch this
site.
*** Feedback: Editorial [at] innercitypress.com Past (and
future?) UN Office: S-303, UN, NY 10017 USA
Reporter's mobile (and weekends): 718-716-3540 Other, earlier Inner City Press are listed here, and some are available in the ProQuest service, and now on Lexis-Nexis. Copyright 2006-2020 Inner City
Press, Inc. To request reprint or other
permission, e-contact Editorial [at]
innercitypress.com for |