Thursday, 25 December 2008

bomb-rigged truck exploded in Lahore

bomb-rigged truck with government plates exploded in Lahore on Wednesday, killing one person in a heavily guarded neighbourhood that is home to many government officials in the eastern Pakistani city.
Two TV stations quoting anonymous intelligence officials reported that authorities had arrested an Indian national in connection with the blast in the city, which is around 19 miles from the Indian border.
Lahore's police chief said his force had not detained an Indian, but said intelligence agencies could have done so without his knowledge.
Tensions between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan have risen sharply over the deadly terror attacks in Mumbai last month, which Indian authorities have blamed on Pakistan-based militants. Islamabad has promised to cooperate with New Delhi, but has said it has yet to share any evidence with it.
Dawn TV identified the Indian citizen as Satish Anand Shukla, of Calcutta, and said he was arrested after a cell phone intercept.
Pakistan and India have fought three wars over the last 60 years and their relationship is strained by mistrust.
India has long accused militants with links to Pakistani intelligence of terrorism on its soil. Islamabad has also alleged India is sponsoring terrorism in Pakistan.
Earlier, Umer Virk, the head of Lahore's Crime Investigation Department, said the target of the Lahore blast was likely a police officer who headed an operation that led to the death of a leader of the al-Qaida linked militant group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi in 2002, said
The officer escaped the explosion near his home, but it killed a Christian woman and wounded four of her relatives as they drove together to a Christmas function, Virk said.
The truck was obliterated, with pieces scattered for 200 yards), while the wall of a nearby house collapsed. Police officer Pervez Rathore said the truck apparently gained access to the neighbourhood because of its official plates. The area is walled off and filled with guards.

Exposure to Madoff

Entity: Access International Advisors
Exposure: $1.5 billion
Date of disclosure: Dec. 24
Notes: The investment-advisory firm's co-founder Thierry Magon de La
Villehuchet, 65, was found dead in his Manhattan office Tuesday in an
apparent suicide. Access International Advisors oversaw
Luxalpha Sicav, a fund with Madoff-run assets. Luxalpha Sicav had been
previously run and managed by UBS AG, at which point it also had Madoff
exposure.
Entity: Tremont Group Holdings Inc.
Exposure: $3.3 billion
Date of disclosure: Dec. 23
Notes: Tremont is owned by Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. Tremont
said in a letter to investors that it believes it "exercised appropriate
due diligence in connection with the Madoff investments." The loss is more
than half of all assets overseen by Tremont. Tremont and Mass Mutual were
named in a lawsuit Dec. 23.

Entity: Yad Sarah
Exposure: $1.5 million invested with J. Ezra Merkin
Date of disclosure: Dec. 23
Notes: The Israeli nonprofit, with a $21 million budget in 2008, likely
won't expand operations or develop any new services or projects in 2009.

Entity: Caisse d'Epargne
Exposure: Under EUR8 million indirect exposure, excluding investment bank
Natixis (12068.FR)
Date of disclosure: Dec. 22
Notes: Caisse d'Epargne said EUR1 million was for Caisse Nationale des
Caisses d'Epargne, the central hub, and "under EUR7 million" was from its
regional level. Natixis reported exposure around EUR450 million on Dec. 15.

Entity: UBS AG (UBS)
Exposure: Funds-of-funds for clients had Madoff exposure; credit exposure
"very insignificant," though UBS did lend to Madoff
Date of disclosure: Dec. 22
Notes: UBS declined to comment on press reports that the funds contain $1.4
billion in client assets.

Entity: J. Gurwin Foundation Inc.
Exposure: $28 million charity invested heavily in Madoff funds
Date of disclosure: Dec. 20
Notes: Gurwin said, "We got a body blow. We did not get killed." He has
donated to the United Jewish Appeal-Federation of New York, the United
States Holocaust Memorial Museum, the American Society for Technion-Israel
Institute of Technology and the Gurwin Jewish Nursing & Rehabilitation
Center.

Entity: Bank Medici AG
Exposure: $2.1 billion
Date of disclosure: Dec. 19
Notes: Bank Medici is 25% owned by Unicredit SpA (UCG.MI) and 75% owned by
chairwoman Sonja Kohn. Hedge funds run by the bank had almost all their
money invested with Madoff. Investor redemptions at the Herald funds have
been suspended. The bank has also stopped calculating net asset values.

Entity: EFG International AG (EFGN.EB)
Exposure: "limited" client exposure
Date of disclosure: Dec. 19
Notes: EFG clients have $130 million invested in Madoff through third-party
funds sold by EFG. In addition, 0.3% of the bank's total invested assets,
held in custody, are invested in Madoff.

Entity: Fire and Police Pension Association Of Colorado
Exposure: Had $60 million invested with Fairfield Greenwich until six
months ago
Date of disclosure: Dec. 19
Notes: The pension fund has $2.5 billion under management

Entity: International Olympic Committee
Exposure: $4.8 million
Date of disclosure: Dec. 19
Notes: The IOC's exposure represents about 1% of its total investment
portfolio. Organizing committee confirmed they will be able to meet their
obligations.

Entity: Support Organization for the Madison Cultural Arts District
Exposure: $18 million invested with Fairfield Greenwich until September
Date of disclosure: Dec. 19
Notes: A spokesman for the Overture Center in Madison, Wis., built with
SOMCAD funds, said, "Speculation that SOMCAD could be on the hook is not
outlandish."

Entity: Fairfield Greenwich Group
Exposure: About $7.5 billion through Fairfield Sentry fund
Date of disclosure: Dec. 18
Notes: Fairfield Greenwich said in a letter posted on its Web site that it
is still assessing the extent of potential losses. It initially announced
its exposure on Dec. 15. $7.5 billion is slightly more than half of total
assets. Investors sued the Fairfield Sentry Fund Dec. 18.

Entity: St. Galler Kantonalbank's (SGKN.EB) private Hyposwiss bank
Exposure: $50 million, roughly 0.1% of its overall assets, was invested in
Madoff products through managed accounts. Another $100 million is exposed
through clients invested in Madoff funds.
Date of disclosure: Dec. 18
Notes: St. Galler Kantonalbank first announced the exposure on Dec. 15 and
said its financial situation and liquidity aren't hurt by Hyposwiss'
exposure. Hyposwiss said Dec. 18 that 25% of of 2,000 clients at its Geneva
branch had products sold by Madoff in their portfolios.

Entity: Yeshiva University
Exposure: $110 million invested with Ascot Partners LP.
Date of disclosure: Dec. 18
Notes: Yeshiva had no direct investment but 8% of its endowment was
invested for 15 years with Ascot Partners LP, which had "substantially all
its assets invested with Madoff," a letter sent by the university said.
Madoff was also on the school's board but has resigned.

Entity: Banco Espirito Santa SA (BES.LB)
Exposure: EUR15 million indirect exposure
Date of disclosure: Dec. 17
Notes: The amount represents about 0.1% of assets under management.




Entity: Credit Industrial et Commercial SA (12005.FR)
Exposure: EUR90 million
Date of disclosure: Dec. 17
Notes: The bank has no direct exposure to Madoff but could be affected
through an intermediary.

Entity: Genevalor, Benbassat & Cie.
Exposure: n/a
Date of disclosure: Dec. 17
Notes: Genevalor distributes the Thema fund family. An investor document
for one Thema fund shows a return-on-investment chart that corresponds
closely to Madoff's performance. A summary of the fund's investment
strategy describes a process consistent with Madoff's activity. Genevalor
said in a statement on its Web site that it "has been reviewing the
potential damages caused to its clients" by the alleged Madoff fraud. A
statement from the Thema fund said it had assets with Madoff that were now
frozen.

Entity: Great Eastern Holding Ltd. (G07.SG)
Exposure: S$64 million through some Fairfield Greenwich funds
Date of disclosure: Dec. 17
Notes: Great Eastern said S$7.7 million of its exposure is invested from
shareholder funds and S$56.3 million is from its Life Fund. The total
represents 0.14% of the group's total assets as of Sept. 30. Great Eastern
is 87% owned by Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp. (O39.SG). Great Eastern's
Lion Global Investors unit separately invested S$350,000 in one Madoff-
related fund.

Entity: M&B Capital Advisers
Exposure: Private clients have more than EUR37 million in exposure
Date of disclosure: Dec. 17
Notes: The firm is run by the son and son-in-law of the chairman of Banco
Santander SA (STD), which disclosed nearly EUR2.33 billion in Madoff
exposure. Through M&B, private and institutional investors bought more
than EUR150 million in Madoff's funds.

Entity: Phoenix Holdings Ltd. (PHOE1.TV)
Exposure: Up to ILS48 million ($12.6 million)
Date of disclosure: Dec. 17
Notes: Phoenix's insurance unit invested $15 million over the last three
years in funds managed by Thema, which made investments through Madoff. In
November, the company requested to redeem $10 million. The payment was due
Dec. 12 but Phoenix hasn't received it.

Entity: Royal Dutch Shell (RDSB.LN) pension fund
Exposure: n/a
Date of disclosure: Dec. 17
Notes: The pension fund fund has an indirect investment that may be
affected. The fund originally invested $45 million. The alleged fraud won't
affect the financial position and funding status of the fund.

Entity: Stanley Chais
Exposure: n/a
Date of disclosure Dec. 17
Notes: The money manager managed investments he called "the arbitrage
partnerships," according to investors and firm correspondence. Chais's
foundation, which focused on Jewish causes and gave about $12 million
annually to Israeli projects (including Bina and Melitz), will be closing.
A lawsuit was filed on behalf of individuals who invested through Chais or
his Brighton Co.

Entity: Aioi Insurance Co. (8761.TO)
Exposure: Y100 million
Date of disclosure: Dec. 16
Notes: Aioi said it didn't make a direct investment in the Madoff fund.

Entity: Ascot Partners LLC
Exposure: Substantially all of $1.8 billion in assets (figure as of Sept.
30) were invested with Madoff
Date of disclosure: Dec. 11
Notes: A lawsuit was filed against Ascot, J. Ezra Merkin and auditor BDO
Seidman Dec. 16.

Entity: Baloise Holding AG
Exposure: around $13 million
Date of disclosure: Dec. 16
Notes: n/a

Entity: Carl Shapiro
Exposure: $545 million
Date of disclosure: Dec. 16
Notes: The amount includes $145 million invested through the Carl & Ruth
Shapiro Family Foundation.

Entity: Credicorp Ltd. (BAP)
Exposure: Up to $4.5 million
Date of disclosure: Dec. 16
Notes: Credicorp's Atlantic Security Bank unit has $1 million in direct
exposure and up to $3.5 million in potential contingencies "related to
transactions secured by these investments."

Entity: Fukoku Mutual Life Co.
Exposure: n/a
Date of disclosure: Dec. 16
Notes: The company said it holds similar investments trusts to those held
by Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. but declined to specify the balance.
Sumitomo disclosed that it has about Y2 billion exposed via trusts.

Entity: Gift of Life Bone Marrow Foundation
Exposure: About $1.8 million in pledges have been affected by Madoff issue
Date of disclosure; Dec. 16
Notes: Gift of Life doesn't have any money invested with Madoff but about
one-third of funds it spent on donor recruitment came from the Madoff
Family Foundation. The organization is trying to raise funds from other
sources.

Entity: Helvetia Holding AG (HELN.EB)
Exposure: Indirect exposure "limited"
Date of disclosure: Dec. 16
Notes: No direct exposure

Entity: ING NV (ING)
Exposure: "No direct exposure"
Date of disclosure: Dec. 16
Notes: "No significant indirect exposure" through clients. ING said none of
the funds its manages have invested money in Madoff's enterprise.



Entity: JEHT Foundation
Exposure: n/a
Date of disclosure: Dec. 16
Notes: The foundation stopped all grant-making and plans to shut down at
the end of January. Its major donors had essentially all their money
invested with the Madoff firm. Grant recipients had included Human Rights
First and the Michigan Department of Corrections, Make Voting Work and the
Innocence Project.

Entity: Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance
Exposure: Less than $10 million
Date of disclosure: Dec. 16
Notes: "Any impact immaterial to financial condition."

Entity: Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co.
Exposure: Y100 million
Date of disclosure: Dec. 16
Notes: Meiji Yasuda didn't invest directly in the Madoff fund.

Entity: Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Co. (8725.TO)
Exposure: Y800 million
Date of disclosure: Dec. 16
Notes: Mitsui Sumitomo didn't invest directly in the Madoff fund.

Entity: New York Law School
Exposure: $3 million through Ascot Partners
Date of disclosure: Dec. 16
Notes: The school invested the money through its endowment entity. The
school filed an investor lawsuit against J. Ezra Merkin, Ascot Partners and
BDO Seidman.

Entity: Nipponkoa Insurance Co. (8754.TO)
Exposure: n/a
Date of disclosure: The company said it holds similar investments trusts to
those held by Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. but declined to specify the
balance. Sumitomo disclosed that it has about Y2 billion exposed via
trusts.

Entity: North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System
Exposure: $5.7 million
Date of disclosure: Dec. 16
Notes: Exposure represents less than 1% of the health system's investment
portfolio. A donor agreed to reimburse the system for any losses.

Entity: Robert I. Lappin Charitable Foundation; Robert I. Lappin 1992
Supporting Foundation
Exposure: n/a
Date of disclosure: Dec. 16
Notes: Programs run by the foundations have been discontinued, according to
a statement on the organizations' Web site. Money used to fund the programs
was invested with the Madoff firm.

Entity: Sumitomo Life Insurance Co.
Exposure: About Y2 billion
Date of disclosure: Dec. 16
Notes: Sumitomo Life didn't invest directly in the Madoff fund but part of
its investment trust holdings were linked to it.

Entity: Swiss Life Holding AG (SLHN.VX)
Exposure: CHF90 million, ($78.9 million)
Date of disclosure: Dec. 16
Notes: Swiss Life said it is exposed indirectly through fund of funds. The
loss is less than 0.1% of Swiss Life's assets under management.

Entity: Swiss Reinsurance Co. (RUKN.VX)
Exposure: indirect exposure less than $3 million
Date of disclosure: Dec. 16
Notes: Exposure is through hedge fund investments; no direct exposure.

Entity: Taiyo Life Insurance Co. (6252.TO)
Exposure: Y20 million
Date of disclosure: Dec. 16
Notes: Taiyo Life didn't invest directly in the Madoff fund.

Entity: UBI Banca SpA (UBI.MI)
Exposure: EUR60.4 million
Date of disclosure: Dec. 16
Notes: UBI Pramerica and Capitalgest Alternative Investments, the assets-
under-management units, have no exposure. The bank estimates EUR400,000 in
customer exposure in assets under custody. The bank said EUR450,000 in
exposure is registered in customers' discretionary portfolios at UBI Banca
International SA Luxembourg.

Entity: Aozora Bank Ltd. (8304.TO)
Exposure: Estimated Y12.4 billion ($137 million)
Date of disclosure: Dec. 15
Notes: Aozora entrusted Y12.4 billion to investment funds, which invested
with Madoff. Cerberus Capital Management LP owns a majority stake in
Aozora. Aozora doesn't expect the loss's impact on its financial condition
to be material.

Entity: AXA SA (AXA)
Exposure: Less than EUR100 million
Date of disclosure: Dec. 15
Notes: n/a

Entity: Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentina SA (BBV)
Exposure: EUR300 million
Date of disclosure: Dec. 15
Notes: BBV reiterated it doesn't have direct exposure to Madoff, but
would face losses of EUR300 million if Madoff funds were found not to
exist.

Entity: Banco Espanol de Credito SA (BTO.MC)
Exposure: EUR2 million
Date of disclosure: Dec. 15
Notes: Banesto said the EUR2 million is included in the EUR2.33 billion
already disclosed by its parent company, Banco Santander SA (STD). Of the
EUR2 million, EUR400,000 corresponds to hedge fund customers and EUR1.6
million corresponds to structured deposit customers.




Entity: Banque Benedict Hentsch
Exposure: CHF56 million ($48.8 million)
Date of disclosure: Dec. 15
Notes: Banque Benedict Hentsch bought back its capital from Fairfield
Greenwich after disclosing its exposure. The deal unwinds a three-month
partnership.

Entity: Barclays PLC (BCS)
Exposure: "minimal"
Date of disclosure: Dec. 15
Notes: Barclay's exposure is "fully collateralized."

Entity: Bramdean Alternatives
Exposure: 9% of portfolio invested in Madoff funds
Date of disclosure: Dec. 15
Notes: Investments were in Madoff's Defender and Rye Select Broad Market XL
Portfolio.

Entity: Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd. (CLIS.TV)
Exposure: ILS12 million, or $3.1 million
Date of disclosure: Dec. 15
Notes: n/a

Entity: CNP Assurances (12022.FR)
Exposure: No direct exposure; indirect exposure of EUR3 million via a fund
of funds
Date of disclosure: Dec. 15
Notes: n/a

Entity: Credit Agricole S.A. (4507.FR)
Exposure: Less than EUR10 million
Date of disclosure: Dec. 15
Notes: n/a

Entity: Credit Suisse (CS)
Exposure: "No material direct exposure"
Date of disclosure: Dec. 15
Notes: Credit Suisse is reviewing if any client funds affected.

Entity: Dexia S.A. (DEXB.BT)
Exposure: No direct investments; private banking clients have EUR78 million
exposure to funds primarily invested in Madoff funds. Dexia has gross
EUR164 million indirect exposure through partially collateralized lending
operations to funds exposed to Madoff funds.
Date of disclosure: Dec. 15
Notes: If the value of the assets managed by Madoff Investment Securities
were nil, the above mentioned lending operations could trigger an after tax
loss of about EUR85 million for Dexia.

Entity: EIM SA
Exposure: $230 million
Date of disclosure: Dec. 15
Notes: n/a

Entity: Fortis (NL) NV (30086.AE)
Exposure: Up to EUR1 billion
Date of disclosure: Dec. 15
Notes: n/a

Entity: Groupama S.A.
Exposure: Less than EUR10 million
Date of disclosure: Dec. 15
Notes: n/a

Entity: Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. (HARL.TV)
Exposure: ILS55 million
Date of disclosure: Dec. 15
Notes: n/a

Entity: Jewish Community Foundation of Los Angeles
Exposure: $18 million via Common Investment Pool
Date of disclosure: Dec. 15
Notes: Investment represents less than 5% of foundation's assets.

Entity: KBC group NV (KBC.BT)
Exposure: No direct exposure; some indirect exposure through collateralized
loans, but the exposure is very limited and immaterial to KBC's earnings.
Date of disclosure: Dec. 15
Notes: KBC has also made some loan advances to institutional customers who
have invested in funds managed by Madoff Investment Securities, but this
shouldn't have any material impact either, the company said.

Entity: Man Group PLC (EMG.LN)
Exposure: $360 million
Date of disclosure: Dec. 15
Notes: Invested in funds directly and indirectly sub-advised by Madoff
Securities and for which Madoff acts as broker-dealer. Madoff investment
represents 1.5% of the company's RMF fund-of-funds business's funds under
management and 0.5% of funds under management for Man Group itself.

Entity: Mediobanca SpA (MB.MI)
Exposure: $671,000 via its Compagnie Monegasque de Banque unit
Date of disclosure: Dec. 15
Notes: n/a

Entity: Natixis (12068.FR)
Exposure: Estimated indirect net maximum EUR450 million
Date of disclosure: Dec. 15
Notes: Natixis says it didn't make direct investment in Madoff-managed
funds; some investments made on behalf of customers could have ended up
being managed by Madoff.

Entity: Neue Privat Bank
Exposure: Around $5 million invested in a certificate based on a hedge
fund with exposure to Madoff.
Date of disclosure: Dec. 15
Notes: n/a

Entity: Nordea Bank AB (NDA.SK)
Exposure: EUR48 million
Date of disclosure: Dec. 15
Notes: Exposure is through Fairfield Greenwich's Fairfield Sentry; amount
represents 0.2% of assets under management.



Entity: RAB Capital PLC (RAB.LN)
Exposure: $10 million, according to a person familiar with the situation
Date of disclosure: Dec. 15
Notes: The source said RAB's exposure represents less than 0.5% of assets
under management.

Entity: Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC (RBS)
Exposure: GBP400 million
Date of disclosure: Dec. 15
Notes: Exposure to Madoff is through trading, collateralized lending.

Entity: Societe Generale SA (13110.FR)
Exposure: Less than EUR10 million
Date of disclosure: Dec. 15
Notes: n/a

Entity: UBS AG (UBS)
Exposure: "No material exposure"
Date of disclosure: Dec. 15
Notes: "Limited and insignificant counterparty exposure;" "Global asset
management doesn't have material exposure."

Entity: UniCredit SpA (UCG.MI)
Exposure: EUR75 million
Date of disclosure: Dec. 15
Notes: Dublin-based Pioneer Alternative Investments indirectly
exposed to Madoff via feeders; Italian clients have zero exposure.

Entity: Union Bancaire Privee
Exposure: Less than $1.25 billion
Date of disclosure: Dec. 15
Notes: Exposure to Madoff is less than 1% of overall bank assets.

Entity: Wunderkinder Foundation
Exposure: Steven Spielberg confirmed the foundation sustained losses.
Date of disclosure: Dec. 15
Notes: n/a

Entity: Banco Santander SA (SAN.MC)
Exposure: Clients have EUR2.33 billion exposure; bank has EUR17 million
Date of disclosure: Dec. 14
Notes: EUR2.01 billion belongs to institutional investors and international
clients of the private banking business; EUR320 million belongs to private
banking customers in Spain. The bank invested EUR17 million of its own
funds in Madoff products. The bank's Portuguese unit reported a EUR16
million impact.

Entity: BNP Paribas (BNPQY)
Exposure: EUR350 million
Date of disclosure: Dec. 14
Notes: BNP Paribas said it has no investment of its own in Madoff-managed
hedge funds but it does "have risk exposure to these funds through its
trading business and collateralized lending to funds of hedge funds."

Entity: HSBC Holdings PLC (HBC)
Exposure: Potentially about $1 billion
Date of disclosure: Dec. 14
Notes: HSBC provided financing to a small number of institutional clients
who invested about $500 million with Madoff; some clients in its global
custody business have invested with Madoff, but the company doesn't believe
these arrangements should be a source of exposure to the group.

Entity: Nomura Holdings Inc (8604.TO)
Exposure: About Y27.5 billion
Date of disclosure: Dec. 14
Notes: Nomura says impact on its financial capital is limited.

Entity: Reichmuth & Co.
Exposure: Clients have exposure of CHF385 million ($327 million)
Date of disclosure: Dec. 14
Notes: Reichmuth Matterhorn, a fund that invests in other edge funds, faced
a potential loss of about 8.6%, representing about 3.5% of Reichmuth &
Co.'s CHF11 billion under management.

Entity: Union Bancaire Privee
Exposure: "limited"
Date of disclosure: Dec. 14
Notes: Union Bancaire Privee has investment vehicles designed for wealthy
individuals that invested in Madoff's funds, according to a person familiar
with the matter.

Entity: Banco Popolare (BP.MI)
Exposure: Up to EUR8 million
Date of disclosure: Dec. 13
Notes: Indirect exposure; maximum lost on funds distributed to
institutional, private clients EUR60 million.

Entity: Maxam Capital Management LLC
Exposure: $280 million
Date of disclosure: Dec. 12
Notes: n/a

Wednesday, 24 December 2008

Mexican Drug Cartels have teamed with the notorious Italian ‘Ndrangheta crime syndicate.

Violent Mexican cartels that have killed thousands in a drug war at home this year are increasingly smuggling drugs to Europe by way of Africa.Under pressure from a government and army crackdown at home, the Mexican Drug Cartels are seeking new lucrative markets.Recent high-profile arrests of Mexicans around the globe show how the Gulf cartel and its main rival, the “Sinaloa Outfit” run by Joaquin “Shorty” Guzman, are moving beyond their traditional market in the United States.A 15-month international drug sweep called “Project Reckoning” captured 500 Gulf cartel collaborators in the United States, Mexico and Italy, where the The powerfull Mexican Drug Cartels have teamed with the notorious Italian ‘Ndrangheta crime syndicate.

AK-47 Bandits longest and most violent crime sprees in the city's recent history

The leader of a violent gang of bank robbers who shot a teller and a police officer and made off with more than $750,000 over two years was sentenced Wednesday in federal court to 227 years in prison. "These were horrific crimes and very, very violent crimes," U.S. District Judge Sean F. Cox told the group's leader, Andre Jones, 28, of Detroit. "The emotional trauma to those bank employees ... is something they will never overcome." Jones, leader of the gang known as the "AK-47 Bandits" because of the type of weapons members carried, admitted to robbing nine banks in Livonia, Southfield, Dearborn Heights, Southfield, Troy, Sterling Heights, Flint and Toledo in 2006 and 2007. The non-fatal shootings committed by Jones happened during a Sterling Heights robbery in November 2007 and a police stop in Detroit. "I've obviously made many mistakes in my life, some of which I have to use the rest of my life pay for," Jones told the judge, while begging for leniency for his 23-year-old spouse, Sparkle Eldridge, who was a getaway driver and is the mother of his two sons. On Tuesday, Cox gave co-accused Jawan Martin, 28, of Detroit a 32-year sentence. Martin pleaded guilty Sept. 22 to two counts of using and carrying a firearm during a crime of violence. All of the defendants will have to pay $633,492 in restitution to the nine banks robbed in 2006 and 2007. Four other members of the ring pleaded guilty earlier and two are behind bars. "This was one of the longest and most violent crime sprees in the city's recent history," Assistant U.S. Attorney Leonid Feller, the lead prosecutor in the case, told Cox Wednesday. Eldridge is to be sentenced Jan. 14.

World Bank has barred Satyam Computer Services from doing any business with it for the next eight years

World Bank has barred Satyam Computer Services from doing any business with it for the next eight years even as the share prices of India’s fourth-largest IT firm tanked 13.5 per cent on rumours that B Ramalinga Raju, founder and chairman, has resigned.Speculation was also high on news that Wipro Technologies, India’s third-largest IT firm, might acquire Satyam, something both companies denied.The company’s share closed at Rs 140.4 at the end of the day.
Foxnews.com today reported that the World Bank ban started in September this year “due to alleged malpractice’s including bribery”. The news report said the World Bank debarment — the harshest sanction ever made by the bank since 2004 — was meted out for ‘improper benefit to bank staff’ and ‘lack of documentation on invoices’.“The information is true,” Sudip Mozumder, a spokesman for the World Bank in New Delhi, told Reuters. Moreover, Robert Van Pulley, the information security official, admitted to the ban during a recent meeting with officials of the Government Accountability Project (GAP), a 30-year-old whistle-blowing organisation based in Washington.When contacted, a Satyam spokesperson said that “the company does not comment on individual clients”.According to reports throughout 2003 to 2008, the World Bank has paid Satyam hundreds of millions of dollars to maintain and manage its software systems across global networks as well as look at back-office operations.In 2005, the bank’s chief information officer, Mohamed Muhsin, was asked to leave after being accused of improperly buying preferential stock options from Satyam, even as he awarded the firm major contracts. A top-secret investigation led to Muhsin being banned permanently from the bank in January 2007.Satyam has been in the line of fire since it made an attempt to acquire Maytas Infra and Maytas Properties for $1.6 billion that are partially owned by the promoter family. Within 10 to12 hours of this announcement the company retracted its decision due to investor

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