Head of US military school resigns amid 'systemic racism' probe

Yahoo = AFP, October 26, 2020

Virginia Military Institute cadets march during a parade celebrating the
inauguration of President Donald Trump on January 20, 2017 in Washington, DC

The superintendent of a top US military academy resigned from his post Monday, after the Virginia governor ordered an investigation into accusations of systemic racism at the school. 

In a letter released by Virginia Military Institute (VMI), retired general JH Binford Peay III said Democratic Governor Ralph Northam had "lost confidence in my leadership" and "desired my resignation." 

Peay, 80, had been the head of one of the oldest military universities in the country for 17 years. 

Since the death of African American George Floyd during an arrest by police in May, the US military -- one of the country's institutions where minorities are most represented -- has opened up a major internal debate on race. 

Black students and graduates of VMI shared on social media incidents where school officials were allegedly indifferent to racist insults from fellow cadets, undeserved punishment, even racist musings of teachers. 

Last month, the magazine The Root published interviews with several black VMI students. One recounted how one teacher fondly mentioned her father, a member of the Ku Klux Klan. 

Another described how first-year cadets are ordered to salute a statue of Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson, a general that fought for the pro-slavery Confederacy during the US Civil War, every time they pass by. 

Northam last week ordered a probe into "the clear and appalling culture of ongoing structural racism at the Virginia Military Institute," which receives public funding. 

Black cadets at VMI told The Root they had protested "the glorification of the Confederacy" but said the school's leadership would not acknowledge the racist nature of the institution's culture, instead calling it "tradition."

Goldman Sachs agrees to largest penalty ever in 1MDB scandal

Yahoo – AFP, October 22, 2020 

The Malaysian unit of global financial titan Goldman Sachs pleaded guilty
in a US court in the massive 1MDB Malaysian bribery scandal

Global financial titan Goldman Sachs agreed to pay $2.9 billion in penalties to settle criminal charges in the 1MDB Malaysian bribery scandal, the largest US fine ever in a corruption case, the Justice Department announced Thursday. 

Acting US Assistant Attorney General Brian C. Rabbitt said Goldman "accepted responsibility" in the case that involved $1.6 billion in bribes, the largest ever recorded, and massive gains laundered through the US financial system. 

Goldman Sachs helped raise $6.5 billion for the Malaysian government's sovereign wealth fund, and the US Justice Department has said more than $4.5 billion was stolen from 1MDB by high-level officials at the fund and their associates between 2009 and 2015. 

The investment fund "was looted by corrupt officials and their co-conspirators, including senior Goldman bankers" turning it "into a piggy bank for corrupt public officials and their cronies," Rabbitt said at a press briefing. 

In a first for Goldman Sachs, the company's Malaysian unit pleaded guilty in a US court Thursday for violations of US bribery law as part of a deal to end the criminal probe in the sweeping case that involved authorities in nine countries. 

The guilty plea could curtail activities of Goldman Sachs Malaysia but allows the parent company to avoid admitting wrongdoing in court -- which would have damaged its ability to do business. 

'Meaningful consequences' 

The parent company pleaded not guilty in US court and agreed to "deferred prosecution" for three-and-a-half years, which is expected to impose certain conditions including increased monitoring. 

But Rabbitt stressed that the company has been charged in the bribery scandal, "so there has been a significant amount of criminal liability" for Goldman and "imposes meaningful consequences" in the cases. 

The Justice Department has charged three individuals in the case including two former Goldman executives. Tim Leissner, the former Southeast Asia Chairman, has pleaded guilty, while Ng Chong Hwa, also known as "Roger Ng," former head of investment banking for GS Malaysia, is awaiting trial, and Low Taek Jho remains a fugitive. 

"Goldman admitted today that, in order to effectuate the scheme, Leissner, Ng, Employee 1, and others conspired with Low Taek Jho" to pay the bribes and ignored red flags, the statement said. 

In another stunning turn, the company said it will demand repayment $174 million in salary and bonuses paid to current and former executives including Chief Executive David Solomon and his predecessor Lloyd Blankfein. 

These so-called clawbacks are almost unheard of in corporate cases. 

Solomon said in a statement "it is abundantly clear that certain former employees broke the law, lied to our colleagues and circumvented firm controls,"adding, "we recognize that we did not adequately address red flags." 

Included in the total penalty amount, Goldman will pay a $400 fines to the SEC and repay $600 million in earnings, and pay a $154 million fine to the Federal Reserve which also will require the company to improve its risk management and internal oversight. 

The Malaysian government dropped the charges against Goldman in July after reaching a $3.9 billion settlement with the financial giant. 

The firm, which posted profits of $3.5 billion in the latest quarter, had set aside more than $3.1 billion as of September 30 "for litigation and regulatory proceedings."

Related Article:

Goldman Sachs fined US$350 million in Hong Kong over1MDB

Khashoggi fiancee sues Saudi prince in US over murder

Yahoo – AFP, October 20, 2020 

Hatice Cengiz, the fiancee of the late journalist Jamal Khashoggi, sued Saudi
Arabia's crown prince and other Saudis in US court over the Khashoggi's
murder in October 2018

The fiancee of journalist Jamal Khashoggi sued Saudi Arabia's crown prince and other officials Tuesday in a US court, seeking damages for his brutal murder in Istanbul two years ago. 

Turkish citizen Hatice Cengiz and the human rights group Khashoggi formed before his death, Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN), is pursuing Mohammed bin Salman and 28 others for damages over the October 2, 2018 killing of the US-based writer. 

Cengiz claims personal injury and financial losses over Khashoggi's death, while DAWN said its operations and objectives were hampered by the loss of its founder and central figure. 

"The ruthless torture and murder of Mr. Khashoggi shocked the conscience of people throughout the world," the suit said. 

"The objective of the murder was clear –- to halt Mr. Khashoggi's advocacy in the United States, principally as the executive director of plaintiff DAWN, for democratic reform in the Arab world." 

Khashoggi was killed inside Saudi Arabia's Istanbul consulate and his body dismembered and disposed of by a team of Saudis allegedly directed by right-hand men of the crown prince. 

After global expressions of outrage over the case and pressure from the United States and Turkey, 13 Saudis were tried in Riyadh and sentenced to stiff prison terms. 

But two top royal aides, deputy intelligence chief Ahmed al-Assiri and the royal court's media chief Saud al-Qahtani, were exonerated, despite links to the murder. 

Both of the aides, those convicted in Saudi Arabia for the murder, and others tied to the plot were named in the lawsuit. 

Cengiz and DAWN said they filed the suit in Washington federal court because they saw no chance for justice in Saudi Arabia, known for its opaque courts, and Turkish legal experts said the civil case would not go forward while Ankara pursues a criminal case over the murder. 

A prominent critic of the Riyadh regime, Khashoggi has been living near Washington and working in part for the Washington Post when he was killed. 

Cengiz said the two had wed under Islamic traditions and were preparing a civil marriage. 

The suit alleges that the plot against him involved the Saudi embassy in Washington, which directed him to travel to Istanbul to obtain the documents needed for their marriage. 

It also says his murder damaged the operations of DAWN, which is based in Washington. 

The defendants were "aware of Mr. Khashoggi's US ties and brutally killed Mr Khashoggi to silence him and prevent him from continuing in the United States his advocacy for democracy in the Arab world," the suit said.