TRENTON, N.J. (AP) - An Israeli citizen who was arrested in New Jersey's largest corruption and money laundering sting three years ago has been sentenced to prison.
A federal judge in Trenton sentenced Levi Deutsch to 18 months and ordered him to forfeit $25,000.
Deutsch pleaded guilty last year to one count of money laundering conspiracy.
Prosecutors say the Brooklyn, N.Y., resident was part of a scheme to illegally launder money through religious charities. They say he and others took $200,000 in checks from government informant Solomon Dwek and returned about 90% of it in cash after taking a percentage as a fee.
Dwek allegedly told Deutsch that the money came from the sale of counterfeit handbags.
About two-thirds of the 46 people arrested in the sting have pleaded guilty or been convicted.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
FOREX-Euro near 2-year low on Spain woes, Japan warns on yen - Reuters UK
* Euro near 2-year low vs dollar on Spanish bank concerns
* Yen off highs, market becoming wary of intervention
* Japan threatens action vs yen rise (Recasts, adds quote, changes dateline PVS SINGAPORE)
By Anirban Nag
LONDON, June 1 (Reuters) - The euro was near a two-year low against the dollar on Friday and stayed close to its lowest in more than a decade versus the yen on growing uncertainty about how Spain will recapitalise its ailing banking sector and fix its public finances.
Japan said the yen's strength was being driven by speculators and stepped up warnings that it could intervene to curb the currency's rise, saying it would act decisively if excessive market moves continued.
The euro fell to as low as $1.2324 on trading platform EBS at one point, its weakest since July 2010. It last fetched $1.2345, down 0.1 percent on the day, with a drop towards $1.20 likely as bears remain firmly in control.
The drop in the common currency came as Spaniards sent money abroad in droves, worried about the health of the banking system. Bank of Spain data showed a net 66.2 billion euros ($82.0 billion) was sent abroad in March, the most since records began in 1990.
"It is looking very bearish for the euro with the latest capital flows data showing a significant amount leaving Spanish banks, all of which indicate they will probably need official help," said Peter Kinsella, currency strategist at Commerzbank.
Any help from the European rescue fund for Spain would mean an additional tax burden on Germany, Europe's paymaster, and could hurt the safe-haven status of German bunds, he added.
"It is not a situation where there is much help for the euro and chances are it is headed towards $1.20."
With German two-year yields near zero, traders said a lot of safe-haven flows have, so far, stayed within the single currency area. But if that were to change, the euro's decline against the dollar and the yen could accelerate considerably.
The euro's selloff has gained steam this week as Spain's borrowing costs surged on worries it may need to issue more debt to recapitalise its banks, adding stress to markets already frayed by anxiety that Greece may exit the euro zone.
The rising borrowing costs risk pushing Spain towards an international bailout. The yield spread between Spanish 10-year government bonds and German Bunds have risen to euro-era highs this week, and the euro has fallen almost in lock step with that move.
"We're looking for $1.18 by the end of Q3, and at this rate, it could happen before that," said Callum Henderson, global head of FX research for Standard Chartered Bank in Singapore.
"During this risk-off environment, the U.S. dollar is the only place to be," he added.
YEN INTERVENTION JITTERS
Apart from the dollar, the safe-haven yen has also been in demand. The euro was steady against the yen at 96.90 yen , not far from an 11-1/2-year low of 96.48 yen struck the previous day.
On Thursday, the euro got a brief lift after The Wall Street Journal said the International Monetary Fund was discussing a contingency plan for a rescue loan to bail out Spain's third largest bank. The report, however, was specifically refuted by IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde.
The euro may not get much respite even if Spain gets an international bailout, said Standard Chartered's Henderson.
"If Spain had to be bailed out, the market would instantly focus its attention on Italy. Current European Union and IMF resources cannot fund bailouts of both Spain and Italy," he said.
So the risk of contagion will support the safe-haven yen. The Japanese currency's broad surge this week, including its rise to a 3-1/2-month high versus the dollar, are making market players wary about the potential for Japanese yen-selling intervention, traders say.
Japanese Finance Minister Jun Azumi said Japan would act if excessive yen strength continued while the country's top currency diplomat signalled Japan was willing to act alone as it was becoming clear that yen rises were being driven by speculators.
The dollar edged up 0.1 percent to 78.46 yen but remained close to Thursday's low of 78.21 yen, the dollar's lowest level against the yen since mid-February.
A fall in the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield to a record low this week has cut the yield advantage of Treasuries over Japanese government bonds, and has helped drag the dollar lower against the yen.
Traders say the dollar could come under renewed pressure against the yen if U.S. jobs data due on Friday comes in weak. The data is expected to show U.S. employers created 150,000 jobs in May. (Additional reporting by Masayuki Kitano in Singapore; Editing by Susan Fenton)
Forex focus: let's not kid ourselves about the pound - Daily Telegraph
With the the Olympics following hot on the heels of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee, he thinks UK consumers will start spending again. "Ticket sales alone for the Olympics are going to add 0.2pc to the GDP in the third quarter of the year. Things are set to get a lot better in the UK."
Simon Smith of FxPro is cautiously optimistic, pointing to the low yield on UK gilts and saying: "There's little doubt that the pound has benefitted from events in the eurozone. I would expect the pound to continue to appreciate vs. the euro as this effect continues, pushing EUR/GBP to new lows for the year."
However, many consider it is just a race for the bottom between the two currencies with the single currency definitely winning.
"We should be clear that this is not due to any inherent strength in the pound – just the euro's abject weakness," believes David Kerns of Moneycorp.
The pound is also being talked down. Christine Lagarde, head of the International Monetary Fund, has suggested the UK base rate should be cut further below its current record low of 0.5pc while the Bank of England is yet again considering pumping more money into the economy.
Jeremy Cook of World First thinks the Bank could bring in more quantitative easing as early as this month but he doesn't believe it will have much of an impact.
"We would prefer to see the Bank take on some form of 'credit easing' – the purchase of corporate debt as opposed to that of the government. The fact is that the liquidity that the banks are receiving is not making it through to businesses and consumers."
The UK certainly can't afford to be complacent and imagine we can get away with sitting on the sidelines.
Charles Purdy of Smart Currency Exchange says: "There is a great possibility that the UK could run into trouble. The UK has been masterful in its management of international investment sentiment as it convinces the international market to finance our debt at a fraction of the cost of that of Spain or Italy. If this changes then we are in the same position as the southern states of the eurozone."
And Smith adds: "The eurozone crisis is ultimately a banking crisis. We remain a nation still very much reliant on banking and financial services. Therefore, it can't be dismissed."
The situation in the eurozone is creating a vortex threatening to suck everyone into it. It is hoped that the drawn out debacle in Athens has bought sufficient time to work out how to limit the damage.
"Hopefully the time spent will have allowed the authorities to build up an adequate firewall to protect the other 16 members of the euro," says Alistair Cook of Currencies Direct. "If not, then we're in real trouble."
Somalia government money 'goes missing' - BBC News
Large sums of money received by Somalia's interim UN-backed government have not been accounted for, a World Bank report says.
The report, seen by the BBC, is being circulated at talks in Turkey on how to end Somalia's decades of anarchy.
It alleges a discrepancy of about $130m (£85m) in the accounts over two years.
UK foreign minister William Hague told the BBC that an international board to oversee the distribution of aid funds needed to be established urgently.
Somalia's transitional government mandate expires in August when it is due to hand over to an elected president.
'Big question mark'The revelations in the World Bank report come as several hundred Somali politicians meet representatives of more than 50 countries in Istanbul to try to win new funding for the long-term reconstruction of country.
The report stops short of making specific allegations, but does not rule out corruption as a possible explanation for the missing government revenue funds.
"There is a discrepancy in what comes in and there's a lack of accounting of how money has been spent," the report's author Joakim Gundel is quoted by US broadcaster Voice of America as saying.
"So that opens naturally a big question mark for sure."
The report, which looks at the years 2009 and 2010, also says the transitional government has no real accounting system nor does it publicly disclose financial statements.
Contacted by the BBC, Mr Gundel said he would not make any comment about the report until later on Friday.
But VOA reports him as saying that the missing millions could significantly bolster Somalia's security without relying on foreign donations.
The conference in Istanbul is the second major international gathering this year about Somalia's crisis.
In London in February, at talks hosted by the UK government, it was agreed that a financial management board to oversee aid should be established.
"The details of this need to be finalised with the government of Somalia - and frankly I was hoping it could be done by now, by this conference in Istanbul - if it is not signed here, well then it needs to signed in the next few weeks," Mr Hague told the BBC Somali Service.
Last month, leaders of disparate Somali factions agreed to a timetable that will elect a new president by 20 August, ending the transition period of the interim government.
The Horn of Africa country has had no effective central government since 1991, and has been wracked by fighting ever since - a situation that has allowed piracy and lawlessness to flourish.
Mr Hague said it was important that those at the conference understood that deadlines were met and that the 18,000-strong African Union force in Somalia was properly funded.
"I hope it [the conference] will keep up the momentum, particularly towards a successful and legitimate political process in Somalia, towards making sure that development money can be spent properly and transparently in Somalia... And we'd like to see, of course, the continued success of African Union forces," the UK foreign secretary said.
All Somalia's rival groups have been invited to participate in the Istanbul talks, expect for the Islamist al-Shabab group, which joined al-Qaeda earlier this year.
Despite facing pressure on a number of military fronts, its fighters control much of the country.
In recent months, troops from Ethiopia and the African Union force, as well as pro-government militias, have helped government forces gain territory from al-Shabab but the militants continue to stage attacks in the capital, Mogadishu, and elsewhere.
Forex: USD/JPY lingers above 78.00 - FXStreet.com
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