The publication was sponsored by Global Warming Policy Forum, a think tank founded by climate change denier Nigel Lawson. It is noteworthy that Mr. Fawal is not authorized to sign the companys contracts, and he assured the Lebanese judiciary that he is merely a representative of Sonatrach in the negotiation processes, and not in concluding contracts. BBE maintains . On April 15, Wadih Akl, a lawyer affiliated with the Free Patriotic Movement, filed a complaint to the Mount Lebanon public prosecutors office in which he alleged that a fuel quality report for one of the tankers had been forged. The Cuban government also hid its control of offshore companies by creating still other limited liability companies whose sole objective was to appear in registries as owners of the offshore companies and disguise Cubas hand in them. A State Department spokeswoman said: We encourage companies, banks, and other institutions to refrain from providing services that support (Maduros) repressive practices.. Miqati Says Cyprus Still Waiting for Lebanon's Ratification of Maritime Border Agreement. The documents found in the Panama Papers are dated as far back as the early 1990s, when the Cuban economy crashed following the end of Moscows massive subsidies to the island. This is why parliament cannot be relied on for fundamental climate action. Following the publication of Reuters report on Thursday, Reliance said in its statement that it had purchased Venezuelan crude oil from Rosneft long before the imposition of U.S. sanctions on PDVSA in January, as the Russian company received oil in return for a reduction in Venezuelas debt. The efforts to hide the Cuban governments hand in the offshore companies means that its officials, lawyers and other employees used as stand-ins could eventually become the effective beneficiaries of the shares in those companies. However, the dates for the first court hearings, which will be open to the public, have yet to be announced. Yes! BBC Arabic's Moe Chreif tells us about the biggest corruption investigation in the history of Lebanons energy sector, which resulted in allegations involving multi-million dollar agreements, bribery, and shipments of substandard oil. One of the directors of both Curtdale and Ardpoint starting in 2011 was Hernn Aguilar Parra, executive director of Grupo Empresarial de Tabaco de Cuba, known as TABACUBA, the governments tobacco monopoly. Private landlords and housing associations may apply for a grant on behalf of tenants who meet the eligibility criteria. The leaked documents confirm the existence of these types of foreign companies, with at least partial Cuban government capital. From the beginning of the pandemic, Labour leader Keir Starmer spent nearly all his time agreeing with Boris Johnson in a show of national unity. And the case of Sabradell S.A., headed by Panamericana director Jos L. Fernndez de Cosso Domnguez for a time and dissolved in 2008. Some 22 of the biggest donors have gained a seat in the House of Lords in the past 11 years. The internal PDVSA document said the sales would allow the partial completion of the financial scheme of advanced payments between PDVSA and Rosneft. MPs duly voted for it. He boldly claimed a delay would allow fossil fuels to become even cleaner. The government was forced to go back on itself and announced there would be a vote on Patersons suspension. Reliance has said that in September 2012 it signed a 15-year deal to purchase up to 400,000 barrels a day of heavy crude from PDVSA. Ltd. and Singapore-registered PowerCo International Pte. A letter sent to the Panamanian law firm in 1997 requested assistance organizing a fishing operation in the Turks and Caicos Islands with Cuban-flagged fishing boats.. State-run Bangladesh Petroleum Corp., or BPC, has awarded the building contract to a consortium of Japan's Marubeni Corp., Vitol Asia Pte. Global Policy Forum, a non-government agency that monitors the work of the United Nations, also included BB Energy in a list of beneficiaries of the so-called oil bribes distributed by Saddam Hussein to recruit international support for weakening U.N. and other economic sanctions against Iraq. Word in the news: black rain Children love it, businesses hate it Pody Lui from BBC Hong Kong explains the rain warning system, and why black rain warnings are taken so seriously. The legal proceeding is not expected to be decided before next year. Lebanese judicial sources told Daraj that the investigation will not be limited to the technical specifications of fuel, but will also include the commissions Sonatrach is making. Judge Aoun has charged 12 people in the case, including Electricite du Liban director-general Kamal Hayek for negligence of duty, and Hleiss and director of oil at the energy ministry Aurore Feghali for bribes and negligence of duty. Hayes declared his role at the oil. This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND 3.1. Socialist Worker (unless otherwise stated). All quotes delayed a minimum of 15 minutes. Under the new approach described to Reuters, Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA has at least twice asked its clients to make payments to Rosneft for Venezuelan oil, according to the documents. The current legal proceeding is limited to the Baltic, the ship carrying the poor-quality fuel, which was delivered in March 2020 by ZR Energy DMCC. Whatever youre interested in, theres a free openDemocracy newsletter for you. Its got through to him that there is a chance to inflict real blows on the Tories. There have been unconfirmed reports that Luis Alberto Rodriguez Lopez-Calleja divorced Deborah Castro Espin in recent years, but he remains in charge of Grupo de Administracin Empresarial S.A., (GAESA) and the governments signature port of Mariel development project. Khalid Mahmood (Labour) has committed up to 15 hours a month advising the Policy Exchange think tank on issues including extremism. While former energy ministers who signed and renewed the contract have been questioned, they are not currently at the center of criminal investigations. The latter said in a televised address that he discouraged Hleiss, one of his childhood friends, from going to the court. Rosneft, which has heavily invested in Venezuela under President Vladimir Putin, did not respond to a request for a comment before Reuters published its story on Thursday. The leaked documents also show that Guillermo Faustino Rodrguez Lpez-Calleja, brother of Gen. Luis Alberto Rodrguez Lpez-Calleja, was appointed in 1999 as a director of Pescatlan S.A., a company incorporated by Mossack Fonseca in the British Virgin Islands in 1991 with an initial capital of $50,000. Responding to Reuters story, Reliance strongly denied making any payments via third parties to PDVSA. Ukraine's track record of massive corruption in energy is a sadly familiar story. In view of the foregoing debate, were forced to return to the commercial relationship between Sonatrach and the Lebanese Ministry of Energy, and the pressure exercised by former Sonatrach CEO, Abdelmoumen Ould Kaddour, to adopt ZR Energy trading company as a second intermediary besides Baha Bassatne, as a supplier in the Algerian companys name; the thing that occurred a year and a half before opening the file. This article was published in LOGI's May 2020 newsletter in partnership with Kulluna Irada. She has formally requested a parliamentary investigation committee be formed to probe the matter. The PDVSA source said the agreement had received the consent of all three parties and was being executed. The CEEC was made up of local residents who are . BBE Renewables was established to diversify from Oil & Gas by investing and financing renewable projects. BB Energy ("BBE or the Group") was established by the Bassatne Family who started a commodities business in Lebanon in 1937, trading grain and asphalt. Ltd., BB Energy (Gulf) DMCC and BB Holding S.A.L. Le Commerce du Levant / By Nada MAUCOURANT ATTALAH, Fouad Gemayel, 28 May 2021 19:51, Twenty-two defendants are set to appear before a criminal court on charges related to a tainted fuel case that dates back to March 2020. These trading experts are supported by a highly skilled team of operations, shipping and financepersonnel concentrated in Athens. He was one of the witnesses in the pretrial investigation. They include BB Energy Trading Ltd., BB Energy Management S.A., BB Energy Holdings NV., BB Energy B.V., BB Energy (Asia) Pte. BB Naft did business with Cuba between 1992 and 2001, trading oil for sugar for $300 million, with credit facilities at low interest rate, Coronado wrote. It is also worth noting that Abdelmoumen Ould Kaddour used to be the manager of a Sonatrach branch at the beginning of the millennium before he was imprisoned on account of leaking information classified as military secrets. They include Petrobras, Vitol, and Glencore Limited. However, he expressed regret that the court system had not dug deeper. BB Naft shareholder Wael Bassatne told El Nuevo Herald that his company did not violate the U.S. embargo because it is not registered and does no business in the United States. The U.S. Treasury Department declined to respond to a request for comment. Much of the Mossack Fonseca correspondence on those companies involves updates of company registries and boards of directors, payment of fees and requests for letters of financial status required to open bank accounts or sign contracts. But so much of the criticism is phrased as a defence of parliamentary standards and the good name of British democracy. The report claims peerages appeared to be a reward to thank wealthy donors for funding the Tory party. Moreover, he denied any relationship with the ZR Energy trading company. The family controls BB Energy, a conglomerate founded in Lebanon in 1937 that buys and sells 16 million metric tons of crude and derivatives each year. ZR Group Holding SAL and ZR Energy DMCC are two separate corporate entities. On top of Patersons 81,932 salary, he took home 8,333 a month to lobby on behalf ofhealthcare company Randox Laboratories. With its economy reeling from years of recession and a sharp decline in oil production, Venezuela was already struggling to finance imports and government spending before Washington imposed tough restrictions on PDVSA in January. The document also said that the payment by Reliance to Rosneft would also allow PDVSA to meet unspecified contractual obligations to Rosneft. It is worth noting here that Daraj previously investigated suspicious money transactions through Lebanese banks, for Nassim Ould Kaddour, the son of Abdelmoumen Ould Kaddour, based on Panama Papers (First National Bank and Socit gnrale de banque au Liban). And most trade union leaders went down the same path. The allegations did not prevent the Energy Ministry from awarding it a spot fuel import contract in January to partially fill the gap created by the end of the contract with Sonatrach, after the latter did not renew the deal. MPs should take all necessary steps to avoid the perception or reality they are using their public position for private gain.. Tory whips threatened MPs with the loss of local funding unless they fell into line. It said it had purchased Venezuelan oil from Rosneft that was provided by PDVSA to the Russian company in repayment of past loans, so no money was flowing back to Maduros government. The Bassatne family incorporated BB Naft Trading S.A. in Panama, with Jrgen Mossack as a director. The Cuban government used the Panama law firm involved in the Panama Papers to create a string of companies in offshore financial havens that allowed it to sidestep the U.S. embargo in its commercial operations. Mango madness in IndiaSouth Asia diaspora reporter Gaggan Sabherwal shares the story of the Indian couple whove employed security guards after discovering they had planted an extremely rare mango tree by mistake at $50 a mango they aren't taking any chances! Hayes declined to comment. We are committed to acting as a model corporate citizen at all times and benefitting the local communities in which we operate. Patersons lobbying interests extended to sausage company Lynns Country Foods who paid him 12,000 for just 24 hours of work each year. The document showed that PDVSA and Reliance would pay Rosneft a marketing fee equivalent to around 3 percent of the sale price, split between them. Longtime Labiofam director Jos Antonio Fraga Castro, a nephew of Fidel and Ral Castro, retired in 2014 amid the so-called revolutionary perfumes scandal, sparked when the company sought to sell perfumes inspired by Cuban revolutionary hero Ernesto Che Guevara and former Venezuelan President Hugo Chvez. Public debt could rise to 289% of GDP by the end of the century if climate change is left unchecked, it said. A zero tolerance approach to any deviance from such requirement is adopted throughout the group. Public documents show for example that Vitol and Glencore have used intermediaries to funnel over US$31 million in bribes to corrupt Petrobras employees in the past so that they may win big contracts, along with acquiring other benefits. I think we have more confidence in what didnt happen than what did.. The Public Prosecution Office began investigating them to the backdrop of the ongoing debate, in Lebanon, over spoiled fuel bought by the electricity company from the Algerian oil company, Sonatrach, which ranked thirteenth in the ranking of oil companies in the world. Dominic Cummings, Boris Johnsons former senior adviser, says that the attempt to discredit the system that found then MP Owen Paterson guilty was really about the PM and his own lies. The analysis and opinions they express through LOGI are their own and do not reflect the view of their respective employers. The Russian oil scheme appears to have been affected by the agreement between Cuba and Venezuela to exchange oil for medical services, and BB Naft expanded its work in Cuba in 2007 to include the sale of spare parts and batteries for autos and trucks, work boots, farm machinery, hardware for USD 5.3 million.. Tainted fuel scandal: 22 people and entities to stand trial. He has also compared climate activists to radical Islam. Subscribe to our newsletters and offers. The Energy Ministry responded to criticism by explaining that resorting to large oil refineries made it possible to limit the commissions charged by intermediaries, and therefore limited the risk. The family controls BB Energy, a conglomerate founded in Lebanon in 1937 that buys and sells 16 million metric tons of crude and derivatives each year. Russia has loaned Venezuela almost $16 billion since 2006, which is being repaid in oil shipments, and has also taken significant stakes in petroleum projects, meaning it already controls a large slice of the South American countrys production. Starmer even chose last week to announce that Labour was no longer in favour of abolishing the House of Lords. Tell Grant Shapps to stop giving away Emissions Trading Scheme permits, Former energy minister John Hayes, who has likened climate protesters to Radical Islam, has received a 50,000 salary from BB Energy since 2018. Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. In my eyes, we should not expect any verdict before 2022, the lawyer said. One of the markets may have been Ecuador. Its Havana address is Centro De Negocios Miramar, 5ta Ave. E/ 76 Y 78, Ofic. At BB Energy, we are constantly evolving in order to meet new challenges, while developing our personnel to ensure a competitive edge. Following a scandal over the delivery of tainted fuel to the state-owned lectricit du Liban, 22 defendants will appear before the criminal court that upheld the charges, which include accepting bribes and forgery. Johnson even survived revelations that he would rather let the bodies pile high than push forward plans for a third lockdown. The upgrade of the Number 10 flat is now expected to be the subject of another inquiry. For over five decades we have been applying our depth of specialist experience to oil refining, logistics, storage and financing across the world. Speaking on condition of anonymity, a lawyer with knowledge of the proceedings said that there is no [indictment] at this point. It is up to the criminal court to decide on the merits [of the case], and to determine whether ZR Group Holding SAL and Rahmeh are involved in the case. Sonatrach has been involved in at least two major corruption cases in the past decade, both of which involved the payment of bribes to company employees and officials. It is up to the criminal court to render a decision on the merits of the case. The PDVSA source said that Rosneft credited PDVSA the amount, minus an undisclosed fee, and then started talks with BB Energy to recover the sum it advanced PDVSA. Little is known inside the island about the Cuban governments companies abroad, but Havana economist Omar Everleny wrote in the early 2000s that there were more than 100 entities with the participation of Cuban capital, founded as mixed [state-private] companies or as branches of companies based on the island operating abroad in areas such as construction, agriculture, food, medicine, mining, finance and science., Everleny, recently fired from the University of Havanas Center for the Study of the Cuban Economy, noted the paradox that a country that lacks the capital for its own development has invested in other countries. The motive, he speculated, is the U.S. embargo that forced the establishment of a network of companies around the world to warehouse and market products from the sea, among them lobsters and shrimp., Today the export of products from the fishing industry is carried out through those companies, he said, adding that Cuban officials also created an international network of companies to warehouse and sell the famous Cuban cigars.. But campaigners say that questions will always be raised when MPs take second jobs. The Panama Papers, documents leaked to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and shared with the McClatchy Washington Bureau, Miami Herald and El Nuevo Herald, among others, contain hundreds of thousands of pages from the files of Mossack Fonseca, a Panama law firm with offices in 33 other countries. Such transactions do not lead to any consequent payment to PDVSA and do not violate U.S. sanctions or policies.. The Cuban military is estimated to control at least 60 percent of the islands economy. But Cuba kept its links with some of the firms until very recently. This raised many questions about the timing, and the reasons for neglecting it all these past years. How the 61-year-old embargo is blocking Cubans from finding sponsors in the U.S. MP and former Tory energy minister John Hayes has been paid 150,000 by oil firm BB Energy over three years. El Nuevo Herald identified at least 25 companies registered in the British Virgin Islands, Panama and the Bahamas and linked to Cuba. This means that the judiciary has ruled pro forma for now. He also said Rahme was a friend but denied he was giving Rahme protection. The practice has been banned since 2019, after a scientific report found it was not possible to accurately predict the probability of earthquakes linked to drilling. The Committee on Standards suggested Paterson should just be suspended from the Commons for 30 days. Corruption policy, and our KYC and recruitment procedures to support our stance that we will not The Lebanese National News Agency announced that the attorney-general of Mount Lebanon, Ghada Aoun, issued arrest warrants against 17 people working in the fuel sector because of import irregularities. Regardless of whether payments flowed directly to PDVSA or remained in Russia to pay down debt, the proposed approach appears to present no violation of sanctions by any of the entities because no U.S. citizens, currency, companies or financial institutions seem to be involved, according to four sanctions experts consulted by Reuters. In 1963 they entered the oil sector in Lebanon and were primarily involved in local marketing of oil products and importation of Bitumen. Standards commissioner Kathryn Stone has carried out three investigations into Johnson in the past three years. The council set a target of reaching net zero carbon emissions for the borough by 2030. At times, however, the shield of anonymity over Cuban companies is not very effective. BB Energy's global network of middle distillates comprises of a wide range of products, most prominently jet, kerosene, diesel and heating oil. Four high-level suspects, including Hleiss, and Teddy Rahme and Ibrahim al-Zouk of ZR Energy, did not respond to court summons and arrest warrants were issued for them. Companies registered abroad are legally not Cuban, according to the source, and could be used for dollar-denominated transactions. (Credit: Philippe Hage Boutros/OLJ). Sonatrach signed the contract while Ali ibn-Buzeid was the manager of the London branch, and Muhammad Shawki Rahhal was the marketing manager, who had been accused in the first Sonatrach lawsuit. Please detail the London Energy Project's revenue received, costs incurred and breakdown for both (ie where money was received from and how it was spent) for financial years 2015/16, 2016/17, 2017/18, 2018/19 and budget for 2019/20. BB Naft was listed in the Cuban registry of foreign companies operating on the island as of April of this year, with Riad Bassatne as director. The Venezuelan companys shipping schedules showed that Reliance was loading a cargo from PDVSA as recently as April 20. It targets Tarek Fawal, who is in charge of clearing Sonatrach BVIs transactions related to receiving and unloading fuel shipments in Lebanon, and is accused of bribery, forgery and using counterfeit documents, as well as Zaouk. The governments own Climate Change Committee warned in March that there is little, if any, room for increased fossil gas consumption if the goals of the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement are to be met. BB Energy is not known to be involved in fracking but says that it sells oil around the world - and is one of the largest traders in the Mediterranean. BB Energy places emphasis on environmental protection as well as health and safety, particularly regarding oil-related storage activities. If you have any queries about republishing please contact us. the Home Energy and Conservation Act (HECA) report in Appendix 1. Their statement mentioned that it was all about a dispute with their client in Lebanon, the Ministry of Energy and Water, around a defect in a shipment that was directed to a company under its supervision, which is EDL, a Lebanese power company. The statement added that the London branch is trying to sort out the problem with the client through continuous discussion, and that it will soon be solved, as the relationship between Sonatrach and the Lebanese Ministry of Energy and Water is excellent. One Bloomberg report showed BB Energy. Oil accounts for more than 90 percent of exports from the OPEC nation and the lions share of government revenues. RECOMMENDATIONS 2.1. Surprisingly, the contract, long presented as a state-to-state agreement, was in fact signed with Sonatrachs offshore subsidiary, which is registered in the British Virgin Islands. Above all, the government remains ahead in the opinion polls even though it presides over one of the worst death rates in the world. The procedures may take a long time, particularly because the number of defendants is high. I feel they are trying to bury this issue in the courts by stopping at mid-level employees, Yacoubian said. Peter Quinter, an expert on U.S. embargo laws and former head of the International Law section of the Florida Bar Association, said the U.S. trade embargo on Cuba generally bars a company with a U.S. presence from doing business with Cuba directly or indirectly through an offshore branch, for example. At this stage, all defendants are innocent until found guilty, the lawyer said. Laurence Robertson . He receives a salary of 25,000 a year. Still, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), which enforces sanctions, has given no indications it would take that route. Hayes recently opposed a plan to bring forward a ban on selling new petrol and diesel cars. BB Energy is one of the world's leading independent energy trading companies. The PDVSA source said the company was proposing the new arrangements known as factoring to allow PDVSA clients to receive oil without making direct payments to the Venezuelan state oil company in the wake of Januarys sanctions. The Sunday Times newspaper has revealed a phone call on 9 April last year between Paterson and the Tory peer Lord Bethell, who was the minister responsible for handing out contracts. Hes right, but the cruelty is the treatment of ordinary people and the contempt politicians have for the rest of us. Translation by Joelle El Khoury. Panamericanas former director, Jos L. Fernndez de Cosso Domnguez, is listed in the leaked documents as a director of Miramar Investment Corporation Ltd, Euro Foods Ltd, Racuza S.A, Caribbean Sugar Trader, Mercaria Trading S.A. and Sabradell S.A. Fernndez more recently served as Cubas ambassador to Japan and economic attach at the embassy in Paris. This evolutionary approach not only applies to our services, but also our people. BB Energy, which has a strong presence in Arab and African markets (see here ), has been embroiled in a legal spat in recent months with Saudi-Ethiopian businessman Mohammed Hussein Al Amoudi. BB Energy, a leading global independent energy trading company, is pleased to announce that it has successfully refinanced and expanded a$580 millionsenior secured borrowing base credit facility (the Facility). Randox later received a 347 million contract. Erni was most recently. The Lebanese judiciary expanded investigation into the fuel import file, and considered that the Algerian company charges commissions just because it is a front for the actual fuel supplier. Plus, it is still not taking any of the precautions necessary today. The development has had mixed reactions. Boris Johnson initially backed Paterson. This means you can get up to 7,500 worth of measures installed for a maximum contribution of 2,500. BB Energy has trading hubs in the UAE, the U.K., the US, and Singapore. SECURITYIn Tunis, Mawlawi reassures Saudi counterpart on Lebanons continuing fight against drug trafficking, DIPLOMACY Belgium PM tells Iranian leader to free aid worker, PRIVACY Moroccan activists join WhatsApp suit over Pegasus spyware, Support L'Orient Today with a digital subscription starting $1. Reuters could not independently verify that Rosneft ever made the advance payment to PDVSA. The similar logo and name are explained through an agreement between the two firms that gave ZR Energy DMCC the right to use the brand and credit facility of ZR Group Holding SAL. The CEEC was set up after H&F Council declared a climate and ecological emergency in July 2019. This story was originally published June 7, 2016, 10:06 AM. By subscribing, you contribute to our financial and editorial independence. Twice he was found in breach of the rules on declarations of benefits. All rights reserved. Listed as a director of one of the companies is a brother of Gen. Luis Alberto Rodrguez Lpez-Calleja husband of Cuban ruler Raul Castros daughter and powerful head of the Cuban armed forces business conglomerate, GAESA. . All of Britain's Big Six energy suppliers, EDF Energy , Innogy's Npower, E.ON, Scottish Power, SSE and Centrica's British Gas, have submitted bids in a tender run by regulator Ofgem to . This was on top of his standard MP salary of nearly 82,000. The contents of the contract were never known to the Lebanese people, despite costing the treasury billions of dollars. All the other commercial activities were not affected by any sanctions because these regulations do not exist as such, he wrote in an email, adding that Mexico, Canada and the European Union have laws prohibiting their citizens and companies from obeying U.S. sanctions on Cuba. ZR Group and Mr. Rahmeh were unlawfully indicted on a number of charges, of which all but one have been dropped. The low-quality fuel in question was brought to Lebanon in March, under a secret contract signed with Algerian state company Sonatrach in 2005. Shuja Malik of BBC Urdu visited a village where women have been hired to work in the milk centre. He added that in 1996 there was agreement on a triangular Russia/Cuba/Naft Trading S.A. deal to deliver Russian fuel to other markets for a number of tens of millions of US$.. And the cosy dinners, the freebie trips and holidays, the football match tickets and the fat extra salaries to deliver for corporations must all go. It showed that fuel was of acceptable quality, when another test showed it was not. We encourage anyone to comment, please consult, 43 Lords have financial interests in fossil fuel industry, How the UK helps the worlds kleptocrats and crooks deliberately, In the fight for racial justice, optimism is not enough, Staff and students in universities across the UK deserve better, The disturbing resurgence of antisemitic conspiracy theories, Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International licence.

David Vetter Funeral, Rockefeller Removed Financial Education From Schools, What Cancer Did Vance Baldwin Have, Types Of Corrective Horseshoes, Social Structure Apush, Articles B