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April 6th, 2016 
Awake Goy 
nsnbc : Following the release of the Panama Papers, Colombia’s former tax chief told the press that he estimates that Colombia’s wealthy elite have about $100 billion, more than a quarter of the country’s GDP stashed in offshore accounts. The comment brings to mind that the CIA approached Colombia’s FARC-EP, asking if they wanted to invest drug money in the USA. An offer that was politely declined.
Colombia’s former tax chief and DIAN director Juan Ricardo Ortega said in an interview with Caracol Radio on Monday, that based on his research, Colombia’s wealthy have about a quarter of the country’s GDP in offshore accounts. Ortega said that this estimate about tax evasion practices was based on research, and that the State loses out on billions in tax revenue each year.
Ortega’s comment came in the wake of the global stir caused by the leak of the so-called Panama Papers from the Panama-based law firm Mossack Fonseca. Some 800 Colombians are reportedly clients of the firm that helps wealthy worldwide to invest their assets in off-shore tax havens. In most cases this off-shore investment is legal. Part of the problem lays in other words in government’s lack of ability and politicians’ lack of political will to adopt legislation that could curb the tax evasion.
Ortega noted that many Colombian companies don’t pay tax because they officially, on paper, are registered in Panama. He added that the need to recover lost tax revenue has become particularly imminent in Colombia after the economic slowdown and because tax evasion by the country’s elite renders the government unable to close the nation’s 2016 budget.
The Colombian government has previously put pressure on Panama in an attempt to prompt the country to open its books. Panama is, however, far from the only, nor the greatest tax haven. Other tax havens include Luxembourg, Switzerland, and the United States. The European Union, for example, has for years tried to have the USA cooperate with regard to access to bank account data in cases where there are suspicions about tax evasion of money laundering.
The off-share issue is, however, not merely tied to tax evasion. It is also closely linked to drug-money laundering, black budgets of the world’s intelligence services and the closely related issue of the financing of terrorism. Ironically, firms that are registered at the New York Stock Exchange can “legally” launder drug money. The fact was documented by the late investigative journalist Michael C. Ruppert in his book “Crossing the Rubicon”.
An article published in The Los Angeles Times on June 27, 1999, revealed that the Chairman of the New York Stock Exchange explained markets to a senior FARC-EP commander and invited him to Wall Street for a firsthand look. Richard Grasso met for 1 1/2 hours with Raul Reyes of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – Peoples’ Army (FARC-EP) or FARC in La Machaca. The leadership of the FARC-EP politely declined, saying that they better would invest their money in Colombia where it benefits the people and local communities.
In his book “Crossing the Rubicon”, Ruppert argued that the market capitalization of many of the companies which are registered at the NYSE is to a large degree dependent on drug money. Ruppert also documents the close relations between the CIA and Wall Street. US law de facto exempts corporations, registered at Wall Street, from drug money laundering prohibitions.
CH/L – nsnbc 06.04.2016
Source Article from http://nsnbc.me/2016/04/06/colombias-elite-have-14-of-national-gdp-stashed-in-offshore-accounts/
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