—
Sometimes the clues that we seek, are hidden in plain sight. It’s just that some folks are always willing to give “a Celebrity” a pass — even the U.S. government it seems.
…
Trump Taj Mahal casino settles U.S. money laundering claims
by Jonathan Stempel, reuters.com — Feb 11, 2015
Feb 11 The parent of Trump Taj Mahal, one of Atlantic City, New Jersey's struggling casinos, has settled U.S. government charges that it violated federal laws designed to thwart money laundering, court filings show.
Trump Taj Mahal Associates LLC agreed to the assessment of a $10 million civil penalty by the Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, according to a proposed consent order filed on Tuesday with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Delaware.
[...]
These violations included many that had been previously revealed by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service as far back as 2003.
[...]
If you want to know a person’s core values, look at what they DO — not what they SAY
…
Casino Owned by Presidential Candidate Donald Trump Violated US Anti-Money Laundering Laws Repeatedly
by Bill Conroy, narcosphere.narconews.com — October 23, 2016
[...]
Trump, as an owner and a top executive overseeing Trump Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey, however, flouted U.S. money laundering laws for years, contributing to a decision last year by the federal Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, or FinCEN, to fine the casino $10 million for “willful and repeated violations” of U.S. law. Those violations involved transgressions of the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA, also known as the Currency and Foreign Transaction Reporting Act), which, in part, is designed to prevent money laundering by terrorist groups, corrupt foreign leaders and criminal organizations.
“Trump Taj Mahal has a long history of prior, repeated BSA violations cited by examiners dating back to 2003,” states a FinCEN press release announcing the $10 million fine against Trump Taj Mahal last March. “Additionally, in 1998, FinCEN assessed a $477,700 civil money penalty against Trump Taj Mahal for currency-transaction reporting violations.”
The casino, according to FinCEN, admitted to breaking the law by failing to:
• Implement and maintain an effective anti-money laundering program;
• Report suspicious transactions;
• File currency transaction reports for cash transactions involving more than $10,000; and
• Keep required records as mandated by the BSA.
[...]
In this case, the actions of the gold-plated casino, that Donald Trump was involved in “directing” — pleaded guilty to “willful and repeated violations” of failing to follow, and failing implement “money laundering” protections required by law.
No wonder Trump doesn’t ever want his Tax Returns made public — those returns would need their own “Laundromat” by the time the investigators were done raking through them. What we know about these “public documents” should be dirt enough, to do-in the average politician
…
March 6, 2015 — Press Release — United States Dept of Treasury
Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN)
WASHINGTON, DC — The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) today imposed a $10 million civil money penalty against Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort (Trump Taj Mahal), for willful and repeated violations of the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA). In addition to the civil money penalty, the casino is required to conduct periodic external audits to examine its anti-money laundering (AML) BSA compliance program and provide those audit reports to FinCEN and the casino’s Board of Directors.
.
Trump Taj Mahal, a casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey, admitted to several willful BSA violations, including violations of AML program requirements, reporting obligations, and record keeping requirements. [...]
.
“Trump Taj Mahal received many warnings about its deficiencies,” said FinCEN Director Jennifer Shasky Calvery. “Like all casinos in this country, Trump Taj Mahal has a duty to help protect our financial system from being exploited by criminals, terrorists, and other bad actors. Far from meeting these expectations, poor compliance practices, over many years, left the casino and our financial system unacceptably exposed.”
[...]
So how did Trump’s Taj Mahal fail to follow money laundering laws? By condoning and providing these 3 criminal elements (to criminals): Concealment, Structuring, and Tax evasion
…
Five times law enforcers could have arrested Donald Trump but didn’t
citypaper.com — May 7, 2017
4. The consistent money laundering, 1998-2014, inclusive. In March of 2015 FINCen, the Treasury Department's The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, fined Trump Taj Mahal $10 million for money laundering violations. It was the largest ever FINCen fine against a casino.
[...]
That Trump's casinos have routinely laundered money, both while directly managed by Trump and afterward, is settled fact. The typical prosecutorial concerns about criminal penalties putting a company out of business would seem to be moot: The Taj filed bankruptcy in 1991, shortly after it opened, filed two more times in the 2000s and went bankrupt again in 2014, shortly before this fine was levied. So why just a fine?
[...]
The law indicates numerous criminal charges could have been brought. Trump's casinos were culpable in at least three of the four required "intents": concealment, structuring, and tax evasion. "Concealment" is simply hiding the source, as when a drug dealer or dirty cop takes his loot to the roulette table to convert it into "gambling winnings." "Structuring" just means not filling out the forms required of any currency transfer over $10,000. Trump's Taj Mahal engaged in these acts, and Trump very likely directed it. But the feds never touched him.
Depending on how many millions (or billions) that flowed to the Taj Majal “dry-cleaning” carousel — that $10 Million dollar fine was probably quite a bargain, in that decades-long millionaire swamp.
So exactly, HOW is the “dirty money” made “clean”?
— Well, at the casino cashier window, silly — When they “cash-in” their chips. EZ Peazy.
…
Feds target casino money laundering
by Curt Prendergast, Arizona Daily Star — Oct 18, 2015
[...]
Money laundering — the process by which criminals get rid of bills that can be tied to a crime by trading them for money that has not been used for illicit purposes — is big business in the United States. The U.S. Treasury estimates the total at $300 billion a year, including $64 billion laundered by drug traffickers. There is no way to know how much of that money is laundered at casinos or through banks, liquor stores, bars or taxi companies.
[...]
NO QUESTIONS ASKED
For traffickers, casinos offer the advantage of not requiring them to disclose the origin of the money, Curry said.
“You can walk into a casino with a hundred grand and turn it into chips,” she said. In contrast, a produce stand owner who walks into a bank with $100,000 will face sharp questions from bank employees about where so much money came from.
The disadvantage for money launderers is casinos are required to report suspicious activity, she said.
The federal Bank Secrecy Act requires financial institutions — which include casinos if they do more than $1 million in business annually — to put in place anti-money laundering controls and file reports with federal regulators.
[...]
Well apparently, some casinos are required to report suspicious activity and comply with cash disclosure regulations.
And some other (the Celebrity-kind) are just slapped with a million dollar “parking ticket” — while in the midst of filing for their 4th bankruptcy, no less. Good luck collecting that one, regulators. Those bank-rollers receipts have long-since sailed
…
As its stock collapsed, Trump’s firm gave him huge bonuses and paid for his jet
by Drew Harwell, washingtonpost.com — June 12, 2016
[...] He also was chief executive from 2000 to 2005, during which time share prices plunged from a high of $35 to as low as 17 cents.
Trump received more than $44 million in salary, bonuses and other compensation during his time at the company [chairman of Trump Hotels and Casino Resorts in Atlantic City], filings show. He also benefited from tens of millions of dollars more in special deals, advisory fees and “service agreements” he negotiated with his company.
Trump’s campaign did not make him available to respond to specific questions about the company, but in a recent Washington Post interview, Trump said he “made a lot of money in Atlantic City,” adding, “I make great deals for myself.”
He expounded: “They say, ‘Why don’t you take the casinos public or something?’ You know, if you take them public, you make money on that. All I can say is I wasn’t representing the country. I wasn’t representing the banks. I wasn’t representing anybody but myself.”
Corporate governance experts say it’s rare for executives of public companies to suggest that they haven’t been looking out for the shareholders who financed them.
And what was high-roller Trump doing back in the 2000’s, besides declaring sequential bankruptcies, and providing a “no questions asked” laundromat to his exclusive clientele?
2007
September 19: Sater and the former Soviet official who founded Bayrock, Tevfik Arif, stand next to Trump at the launch party for Trump SoHo, a hotel-condominium project co-financed by Bayrock.
November 22: Trump Vodka debuts in Russia, at the Moscow Millionaire's Fair. As part of its new marketing campaign, Trump Vodka also unveils an ad featuring Trump, tigers, the Kremlin, and Vladimir Lenin.
Money, Money, Money!
It’s what makes the Celebrity-carousel go round … in Trumpworld. No Questions asked. Ever.