-Caveat Lector- from: http://www.aci.net/kalliste/ <A HREF="http://www.aci.net/kalliste/">The Home Page of J. Orlin Grabbe</A> ----- Russian Follies Russian Bankers in �30bn Aid 'Scam' Getting rich off the IMF OFFICIALS at Russia's Central Bank drained billions of dollars from Russia's hard currency reserves and International Monetary Fund loans into a Jersey company, it was claimed yesterday. The general prosecutor, Yury Skuratov, who resigned on Tuesday, made the allegations in a letter to the Duma, the Russian parliament. He claimed that over the past five years the bank sent almost �30.5 billion overseas to be managed by a shell company registered in Jersey. Mr Skuratov said the funds had been transferred since 1993 to the Financial Management Company, or Fimaco, which has a mere �600 as charter capital. Duma officials and bank analysts deny any knowledge of Fimaco. However the claims, if confirmed, would be the most concrete evidence yet of the corruption that pervades Russia's ruling circles. Central banks normally manage these funds themselves, or at least use well-known international banks. Tom Balastrery, the Moscow-based director of the First Mercantile Capital Group, said yesterday: "It is a scam, probably organised by the bankers themselves." Fund management companies typically charge a two per cent fee for their services that, in this case, would have netted the owners of the company �600 million. "It allows you to help yourself to the funds in a way that looks completely legal," said Mr Balastrery. The Moscow Times quoted an official from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York as saying: "This is a kind of practice I haven't heard of. We manage our funds ourselves." Mr Skuratov's resignation was on health grounds but it was widely believed that he was pushed out of office by political enemies. He stood down amid a series of raids on companies owned by rivals of the Prime Minister, Yevgeny Primakov. His letter to the Duma was an answer to a request made two weeks ago to recommend an auditor to the central bank, but it went far beyond the brief, listing a string of abuses, including illegal sales of assets and property. Observers said yesterday he took the opportunity to lash out prior to his fall from power. Bank officials may face questioning over the Fimaco affair when the Duma sub-committee that oversees it meets next week. Its head, Georgy Luntovsky, said criminal charges might be brought. Viktor Gereshenko, chairman of the central bank, could be implicated as his first term ran from 1992 to 1994. The London Telegraph, Feb. 6, 1999 More Divergence Another Hedge Fund in Trouble Andrew Fisher's Convergence Asset Management Convergence Asset Management, the hedge fund run by former Salomon Brothers' star trader Andrew Fisher, is under pressure from investors seeking to get their money back after suffering big losses in recent months. One investor is seeking to place one of Convergence's so-called feeder funds into liquidation, a move that has led Mr Fisher to offer to make it easier for investors to get their money out. Convergence is a bond arbitrage fund, with a similar investment style to that of Long-Term Capital Management, the much larger hedge fund saved from liquidation by a $3.6bn bail-out by financial institutions last year. However, poor investment performance has seen Convergence's net asset value shrink from $440m when it was launched earlier this year to approximately $150m - a loss of 66 per cent. The fund's leverage is said to be about 10 times its capital. Mr Fisher established the fund after leaving Salomon Brothers, the investment bank now owned by CitiGroup, in February 1997. It is said he was paid a bonus of more than $25m in 1996 on the back of his success in trading mortgage-backed bonds. "I wanted to go out on the top of my game, with high-fives and handshakes," Mr Fisher said at the time of his retirement. Yesterday he declined to comment. Convergence said: "It is true that a small number of investors wish to exit the fund early and we are preparing a plan that will allow those that wish to exit an orderly method, while preserving the character of our strategy for those who remain." People close to the fund hope that changing the rules to enable investors to take out 25 per cent of their investment each quarter from June will see the liquidation proposal fail or be removed. Current rules require investors to wait about 18 months before they can take out any of their investment in the fund. One person close to the fund said Mr Fisher was hopeful of attracting additional capital through investment from an unnamed "strategic investor". The Convergence master fund, known as the Convergence Portfolio Company, consists of about six so-called feeder funds. In response to one investor's attempt to put one of the feeder funds, known as the Global Convergence Fund, into liquidation at a meeting in the Cayman Islands on March 3, Mr Fisher wrote to investors urging them to vote against the proposal. People close to Convergence argue that even if the liquidation proposal succeeds it would not endanger the Convergence master fund. The Financial Times, Feb. 6, 1999 ----- Aloha, He'Ping, Om, Shalom, Salaam. Em Hotep, Peace Be, Omnia Bona Bonis, All My Relations. Adieu, Adios, Aloha. Amen. Roads End Kris DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance�not soapboxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credeence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/CTRL.html http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
