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Prince Mohammed stopped their money and now Saudi princes are selling their expensive yachts and villas

By
Gaston de Persigny
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0

Gold jewelry, expensive watches, unique cars and insane yachts – when we talk about the royal family of Saudi Arabia, this is the notion associated with the princes of the Saudi family.

But in the last five years since Mohammed bin Salman was nominated as Saudi heir to the throne and became the country’s de facto ruler, a number of his relatives have begun selling real estate, yachts and art in the United States and Europe.

The total value of all assets sold, according to a Wall Street Journal investigation, reached an impressive $ 600 million.

The reason behind this waiver of assets is the actions of Prince Mohammed, which tightened the access of the super-rich ruling family to the state funds of the kingdom.

In the 1970s and 1980s, all the high princes of the Saud dynasty managed to take advantage of the oil boom, bringing them enormous wealth. So many of them gained insane wealth, and during this period it happened that some of the royalty spent more than 30 million dollars a month.

The nobles of the royal family furnished themselves with expensive property, hired a large number of service personnel and led a lavish lifestyle. However, when this became a habit, it made many of these princes vulnerable to recent changes in government policy.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ruled the kingdom with an iron grip, crushing any form of opposition he saw before him.

So now some members of the royal family are quietly selling their assets abroad to generate free money. This came after Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman dried up many of the sources the other princes used to maintain their extravagant spending habits, according to media sources, people close to the Saudi royal court.

According to these sources, the princes need fresh money not just to maintain their lavish lifestyle, but to pay their routine bills, including taxes, property maintenance, staff salaries, fees for private jets and others.

Another motive for selling so many properties and assets is to leave less expensive ostentatious possessions, in order to avoid attracting the attention of Prince Mohammed.

“These people are not working, they have a huge staff and they are afraid of Prince Mohammed. The princes want to have money in their back pockets, not great visible wealth,” said a Wall Street Journal source.

Recently sold assets include a $ 155 million mansion in Britain, two yachts over 60 meters long and branded jewelry donated as wedding gifts by the late king.

According to the publication, the princes who sell their property were until recently some of the most influential people in Saudi Arabia, including the former ambassador to Washington, Prince Bandar bin Sultan.

According to British historian Robert Lacey, who has traced the history of the Saudi royal family since the 1980s, such a move by the once powerful princes means they are now “disciplined” by the current regime, which seeks to show them borders. political) in which they must learn to live.

Prince Mohammed is “here in the long run and reshaping things in the long run,” Lacey said.

Representatives of Prince Bandar have officially confirmed that he has got rid of all his assets abroad, but they offer another explanation – he has seen “greater benefits from investing in the kingdom because of the incredible work done by the heir to the throne, creating all investment opportunities “.

The luxurious life of the rich children of Saudi Arabia and Dubai

Fast cars, beautiful women, expensive toys

One of Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s first significant moves was to isolate all his relatives who could be his potential rivals to the throne.

Thus, in 2017, mass arrests in an anti-corruption operation detained a number of princes, including one of King Salman’s brothers and a cousin of Prince Mohammed.

Another move by the heir to the throne was to reduce privileges for thousands of royalty, including paid vacations abroad or covering electricity and water bills in their Saudi palaces. Experts estimate that these privileges cost the state hundreds of millions of dollars a year.

The tap was also stopped for the initial opportunity for personal enrichment of the princes – oil sales, and at the same time the possibility for the princes to participate in business deals with the participation of the government was limited.

A new tax is also putting pressure on royalty, demanding $ 2,500 a year for each domestic worker in excess of the quota of four mansion staff. The move has cost some royalty hundreds of thousands of dollars.

U.S. diplomatic telegrams from the 1990s leaked to WikiLeaks show that some royalty have also generated wealth in blatantly illegal ways – borrowing from local banks without repaying it; expropriating land from ordinary citizens, which is then sold; or using the kingdom’s visa system to bring in cheap foreign labor.

For Saudi princes, the word “luxury” has a different meaning

Gold, luxury, luxury and more gold

According to those familiar with the royal family’s finances, some princes continued to benefit from such benefit schemes until Prince Mohammed came to power.

According to the sources of the publication, the big blow with which the change started came from the anti-corruption operation of Prince Mohammed. Many princes were then detained at the Ritz Hotel in Riyadh on corruption charges and released only after paying undisclosed sums to the state treasury.

According to the anti-corruption commission itself, the arrests continue.

One of those detained during the operation was the late Prince Turki bin Nasser, a former commander of the kingdom’s air force. According to British authorities, in the 1980s he handed out unprofitable contracts for the supply of jet fighters and other military equipment to a private company in exchange for a bribe.

The large-scale anti-corruption operation in 2017, led by Prince Mohammed in the country, provoked many positive reactions among the younger citizens of Saudi Arabia.

Most princes today no longer have access to such deals involving the government. He himself died shortly after launching deals to sell his 62-meter yacht and a Beverly Hills mansion in 2020 for $ 28.5 million.

Prior to his arrest in 2017, his net worth was estimated at more than $ 3 billion.

With all these cranes tightened, many of the Saudis are now forced to adapt to the new reality – they continue to be rich, just not so crazy.

“They had a standard of living that exceeded all expectations. Expenses outside this world. It takes time now to adapt,” said one Wall Street Journal source.

Gary Hersham, founder of a luxury real estate company who has been involved in several of Saudi Arabia’s royal family deals, says the generally younger generation of Saudi princes no longer needs or uses the grand estates their predecessors bought. .

According to him, they spend much more and prefer to have free money than to own these very large and chic properties.

“They want less ostentation, that’s the trend,” he added, noting that sales of princes often go hand in hand with purchases of smaller homes.

Bulgarian Supreme Judicial Council refuses to investigate crimes in Ukraine

By
Newsdesk
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0

The Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) has refused to nominate representatives of the Bulgarian judiciary to participate in the International Commission for Documenting and Establishing Russian Crimes in Ukraine.

This was announced by the Minister of Justice Nadezhda Yordanova in her Facebook account.

An international investigation into war crimes in Ukraine began in March after 41 countries appealed to the International Criminal Court. Germany has launched its own investigation, and Poland is investigating aggression. On March 4, the UN Human Rights Council voted to establish an international commission of inquiry to document war crimes and human rights abuses.

In early April, Bulgaria received an invitation from Poland to include Bulgarian experts in the international commission.

The commission will include doctors, forensic specialists, pathologists, lawyers, prosecutors, police officers, forensic scientists and other experts. The Commission will work on the territory of Ukraine, in cooperation with its authorities. She is expected to prepare a report, which will be made public.

The Minister of Justice Nadezhda Yordanova points out that the ministry has sent a letter to the SJC with a call, in the opinion of the magistrates, to consider the possibility of including representatives of the Bulgarian judiciary in the commission.

The SJC considered two options today. One provides for the invitation to be taken into account, as it is considered inappropriate to appoint representatives of the judiciary to the International Commission. The second envisages the SJC agreeing in principle to participate in the commission by sending the information to the chairman of the Supreme Court of Cassation and the chief prosecutor with a request to appoint judges and prosecutors to join the panel.

Without debate and unanimity, the SJC decided to accept the summons and would not send representatives of the judiciary to the commission of inquiry.

“Empathy and justice must be defended through concrete action. The challenge of Russian military aggression in Ukraine obliges, in every aspect, the Bulgarian state to be at the height required by the principles of the rule of law and solidarity of the actions of the international community. The SJC was not at that height, “Yordanova commented on the decision.

A sharp jump of N. Macedonians with Bulgarian passports after a new census in Skopje

By
Newsdesk
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0

The largest number of the population in the Republic of Northern Macedonia who have dual citizenship are those with N. Macedonian and Bulgarian citizenship – 19,645, according to new data published by the State Statistical Office from last year’s census. The enumerators also registered 165 citizens who have only Bulgarian citizenship, BTA reported.

There are 10,909 citizens of the Republic of Northern Macedonia with Macedonian and Serbian citizenship, 3,819 with Croatian citizenship and 2,164 with Albanian citizenship. 2393 people are registered with a passport from Kosovo.

Of the total permanent population living in the country, 1,778,725 are citizens of the Republic of Northern Macedonia, 53,201 are citizens of the Republic of Northern Macedonia and another country, 4,203 are citizens of another country only, and 584 are stateless.

According to the data, there are more men with dual citizenship – 30,003, and women with dual citizenship – 23,198.

By age groups, the majority of the permanent population in the Republic of Northern Macedonia with dual citizenship is between 35 and 39 years old. Half of the people with dual citizenship are young people aged 20 to 34 – 11,768 people, and the active population aged 35 to 49 – 15,171 citizens.

How does Skopje (not) count Macedonians with Bulgarian passports?

Another census in the Republic of Northern Macedonia raises questions again. After earlier Skopje announced a surprisingly small number of Bulgarians – only 3,504 people who declared their ethnicity in the census, now there are just over 19,000 who have dual citizenship – Bulgarian and N. Macedonian. At the same time, the data in our country show that for the last 15 years 86,566 Macedonians have received Bulgarian passports, as in 2020 alone there were 9,000 people, and in 2021 it was 7,692.

Russia saves the ruble with gold

By
Newsdesk
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0

Russia is considering linking the ruble’s value to gold or other commodities. This was announced by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, quoted by TASS, quoted by Investor.

“This issue is currently being discussed,” Peskov told reporters on Friday. He recalled that earlier the topic was proposed by the Secretary of the Security Council of Russia Nikolai Patrushev.

An interview with Patrushev was published in Rossiyskaya Gazeta on Tuesday, where he said experts were considering a proposal by the scientific community to create an alternative monetary and financial system. It is proposed to set the value of the ruble to be backed by both gold and other raw materials in order to bring its exchange rate in line with real purchasing power parity.

According to him, in order for any national financial system to have sovereignty, its means of payment must have intrinsic value and price stability, and not be pegged to the dollar.

Contrary to the Kremlin’s position, the governor of Russia’s central bank, Elvira Nabiulina, rejected the idea of ​​pegging the ruble to gold.

“It has not been discussed in any way,” she told reporters after it became clear that the institution was reducing the base interest rate by 300 basis points. The ruble must continue to have a floating exchange rate, she said. However, Nabiulina added that the volatility of the currency will be increased due to capital controls imposed after the start of the war in Ukraine.

Continuing its long-standing efforts to reduce its exposure to the US dollar, the Russian central bank reduced the share of the currency in its reserves to 10.9% as of January 1 from 21.2% a year earlier. Gold also fell slightly to 21.5%.

Sanctions against the Russian central bank over the invasion of Ukraine have deprived it of access to nearly half of its holdings, with virtually only gold and yuan at its disposal. Prior to the war, President Vladimir Putin had repeatedly said that Russia should end its dependence on the US dollar as an international reserve currency.

Russia did not invite foreign leaders to the May 9 parade

By
News desk
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0

There will be no foreign leaders in Europe at this year’s parade in Moscow on the occasion of the end of World War II. The reason is that the Kremlin has decided not to invite anyone, spokesman Dmitry Peskov said at a regular briefing. Asked if at least Alexander Lukashenko would be in Red Square, he replied: “As far as I know, it is not planned.”

Thus, Vladimir Putin will be the only state leader to be joined by nearly 11,000 Yunarmiya soldiers, cadets and youths, more than 130 “modern weapons and equipment” units and 77 planes and helicopters, including models currently used in Ukraine. .

Peskov’s explanation is that “this is not a jubilee date. This is our holiday. This is a sacred holiday for all of Russia, for all Russians. But we have not invited foreign leaders.”

The capitulation of Nazi Germany was signed on May 8, 1945 before the allies of the anti-Hitler coalition, but the Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin was not satisfied and demanded a repeat only for his army and elsewhere a day later. To this day, this day is celebrated on different dates in Europe and Russia.

Curiously, last April Peskov gave exactly the same explanation: “The year is not a jubilee, so no invitations to foreign participants are planned.” Then the excuse was the pandemic, but the so-called procession of the “Immortal Regiment”. There was a full parade on June 24.

Reports alleging harassing behaviour of some male MPs is shocking. And it needs men to be calling it out.

By
Newsdesk
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0
Reports alleging harassing behaviour of some male MPs is shocking. And it needs men to be calling it out.
Following reports on 28 April 2022, that a male Conservative MP was watching porn in the House of Commons, Anthea Sully, the Chief Executive of White Ribbon UK, made the following statement, ‘viewing porn in public has long been used to harass women. That this should have happened in the House of Commons is shocking and shows how normalised this sort of abuse can be. Such behaviour causes personal harm to the women who experience it and is a block to women’s equality. All too often it has fallen on women to report. But men will often know that their peers are behaving unacceptably. To change such toxic cultures, we need men to call this behaviour out. White Ribbon UK calls on all men to learn to become allies to women, to listen to their experience and to never excuse or remain silent about violence and abuse. Members of Parliament should be setting a lead for ending sexism – all men in Westminster need to be stepping up and taking responsibility to create a culture of equality and respect.’

Press release distributed by Pressat on behalf of White Ribbon UK, on Friday 29 April, 2022. For more information subscribe and follow https://pressat.co.uk/

European Parliament EPP Group: Poland must stop blocking EU minimum corporate tax rate

By
Newsdesk
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0
Poland must stop blocking EU minimum corporate tax rate, says EPP Group

“The time has come to effectively end aggressive tax planning across the globe to make sure the big companies pay their fair share of taxes. We ask the most reluctant states, such as Poland, to stop blocking the decision at EU level and pave the way to implement the OECD agreement in the EU on minimum taxation of multinationals. Thanks to the EPP Group, the European Parliament is taking its responsibility and providing strong support for the implementation of the global agreement in the EU. The ball is now firmly in the court of EU Member States”, said Luděk Niedermayer MEP, EPP Group negotiator of this file, before today’s vote in the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee of the European Parliament.

The new international framework proposed by the OECD and supported by more than 100 countries across the globe aims to force multinationals to pay tax where they operate – and not just where they have their headquarters – and impose a minimum corporate rate of 15%.

“Having in place a hard floor for corporate taxation should limit the worst excesses of beggar-thy-neighbour tax competition. With the new rule, we will get rid of unfair tax competition while largely retaining Member States’ prerogatives to design tax policies as they see fit. The new regime is effectively a backstop to catch the worst offenders. It will hit those countries that have made it their business model to undermine their neighbours’ tax base”, said Markus Ferber MEP, EPP Group Spokesman on Economic Affairs.

“We need a swift, but diligent implementation that respects the OECD agreement and does not penalise European companies. We have deliberately pushed for a swift procedure to have the new rules enter into force as soon as possible. Yet, we could have been even faster if the other political groups in the European Parliament would understand that this is not a place for proposing material changes to the OECD/G20-based proposal, which would not only undermine the very valuable global agreement, but could also put EU firms and the economy into a competitive disadvantage”, concluded Niedermayer and Ferber.

(Source EPP Group )

ESMA: Recommendations to improve investor protection

By
officialinstitutions
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0
Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the EU securities markets regulator, today advises the European Commission on certain aspects relating to retail investor protection. In the advice ESMA puts forward proposals that will make it easier for investors to get the key information they need to take well-informed investment decisions, whilst also protecting them from aggressive marketing techniques and detrimental practices.

Verena Ross, ESMA Chair, said:

“Increased retail participation in financial markets provides opportunities both for savers and for companies seeking financing, and we are encouraged to see that digital trends and new business models are contributing to making investing more accessible to the general public.

These developments do not however come without risk. Gamification techniques in trading apps and personal recommendations on social media may cause retail investors to engage in trading behaviour without understanding the risks involved. We are therefore setting out a number of proposals to ensure that these developments do not compromise investor protection in the EU”.

The proposals put forward aim at maintaining a high level of investor protection, while ensuring that retail investors can benefit from digitalisation opportunities.  The recommendations relate to, among others:

  • requiring machine readability of disclosure documents to facilitate the development of searchable databases available to the public;
  • addressing information overload by proposing to define what is vital information and by using digital techniques such as layering of information;
  • development of a standard EU format of information on costs and charges and aligning the disclosures under MiFID and the PRIIPs KID;
  • possibility for NCAs and ESMA to impose on firms the use of risk warnings for specific financial instruments;
  • addressing aggressive marketing communications; and
  • addressing issues related to misleading marketing campaigns on social media and the use of online engagement practices, such as the use of gamification techniques by firms or third parties.

In addition, ESMA also supports the Commission’s proposal to prohibit the receipt of PFOF to adequately address the serious investor protection risks arising from this practice.

Next steps

The advice has been submitted to the European Commission.

Bosnia and Herzegovina at high risk of becoming a failed state

By
Newsdesk
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0
Bosnia and Herzegovina at high risk of becoming a failed state
Photo by Defne Kucukmustafa

A delegation from the ECR Group visited the city of Mostar in Bosnia and Herzegovina from the 21st to 23rd April 2022 to gain a closer insight into the causes of the worsening political situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which may deteriorate further with the forthcoming elections planned for October of 2022.

The delegation consisted of five MEPs Ladislav Ilčić (Hrvatski suverenisti – Croatia), Hermann Tertsch (Vox – Spain), Ryszard Czarnecki (Prawo i Sprawiedliwość – Poland), Carlo Fidanza (Fratelli d’Italia – Italy) and Bogdan Rzońca (Prawo i Sprawiedliwość – Poland).

The conservative lawmakers met with political representatives from different communities of Mostar and the surrounding region as well as with members of the Croatian National Assembly, local politicians, intellectuals, representatives of NGOs and members of the clergy.

A key moment was the panel discussion held with citizens, civil society and the media about the current political crisis in the country, the geopolitical challenges the EU and Bosnia and Herzegovina are facing in the context of the Russian aggression in Ukraine, and EU perspectives on Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Based on these discussions, the ECR delegation concluded that Bosnia and Herzegovina is a country at high risk of becoming a failed state and the October elections, which will be held under the current discriminatory electoral law, could further escalate the situation. The ECR Members pointed out the urgent need to reform Bosnia and Herzegovina’s electoral law. The concept of equal rights for the country’s constituent nations must be respected in all agreements with the EU, they said. The separatist aspirations coming from both Republika Srpska and the Unitarian concept promoted by Bosniak politicians are destabilizing the country. The ECR delegation stressed that their Group supports the country’s aspirations concerning the EU, but that stronger efforts to fight corruption, depoliticise the civil service and reduce bureaucracy are needed. In addition, the human rights of all national minorities and constituent nations should be respected. Bosnia and Herzegovina needs to prove its stability if it wants to continue on the path to join the EU.

(Source ECR Group )

Coming up: Ukraine, artificial intelligence and toxic chemicals in waste

By
European Parliament
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0
Coming up: Ukraine, artificial intelligence and toxic chemicals in waste | News | European Parliament
Parliament will assess how the war in Ukraine is affecting the EU and discuss how to protect women fleeing the country during the plenary session on 2-5 May.

Also on the agenda: artificial intelligence, new rules for the European elections and harmful chemicals.

War in Ukraine

Parliament will hold a series of debates around the war in Ukraine and its impact. According to the UNHCR, 90% of the people who have fled Ukraine since the Russian invasion are women and children. Parliament will adopt a resolution on Thursday on how to protect them from violence and sexual exploitation.

MEPs will consider the social and economic impact of the war on the EU on Wednesday. They are set to call for more sanctions against Russia. On Tuesday, they will look at the EU’s preparedness against cyber-attacks and the impact of the war on transport and demand the country return airplanes leased from foreign companies that were re-registered with the Russian aircraft register, in clear breach of international civil aviation rules.

New rules for the European elections

On Tuesday, MEPs will vote on a proposal on common rules around the European elections, including transnational lists of candidates, and a fixed day for the election in all countries, namely on 9 May.

Artificial intelligence

On Tuesday, Parliament is set to adopt the final report from its special committee on artificial intelligence in the digital age. It identifies measures that could unlock AI’s potential in fields such as health, agriculture, public governance and climate change, while helping to create jobs and boost sustainable growth.

The EU has fallen behind in AI development, research and investment and should take the lead on setting global standards before non-democratic actors do so, the report says.

Common charger

The EU is one step closer to a common charger. Parliament is expected to announce it is ready to start negotiations with the Council on new rules that would mean consumers no longer need a new charger and cable every time they purchase a new mobile phone, tablet, videogame console or other electronic device.

Harmful chemicals in waste

Persistent organic pollutants are chemicals with toxic properties that become increasingly concentrated in recycled products and remain in the environment for a very long time, posing a risk for human health and the environment.

In order to create a toxic-free circular economy in the EU, MEPs are set to back a proposal by the Commission to reduce the amount of these chemicals allowed in products and remove materials with high levels from the recycling chain in a vote on Tuesday.

Future of Europe: revision of EU treaties

In order to carry through the recommendations from the Conference on the Future of Europe and make the EU more democratic, Parliament is set to call on the EU to start the procedure to change the EU treaties on Wednesday.

Europol reform

On Wednesday, MEPs are set to confirm the agreement to extend the powers of Europol, the EU’s police agency that supports police investigations carried out by EU countries. The agency will be able to carry on research and innovation projects, help national authorities screen foreign direct investment in security-related cases and receive data from private companies in cases related to terrorist content or child sexual abuse.

Subsidies

Parliament will adopt its position regarding new tools to counter market-distorting foreign subsidies granted to companies operating in the EU in a vote on Thursday.

Also on the agenda

  • Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi will take part in a debate on Tuesday
  • Extension of the EU Digital Covid certificate
  • Debate on threats faced by journalists marking press freedom day
  • Rule of law in Poland and Hungry
  • 2020 budget discharge
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