2 April
You may be aware of the latest "money laundering" scandal, exposed by US Treasury investigators, where huge sums of money were being deposited in Banco Madrid by Chinese mafias; among it clients are high profile Spanish celebrities and sportsmen, all for the sole purpose of money laundering and tax evasion.
These accounts opened, with the full knowledge and assistance of the bank's senior operatives, were used to launder millions of €uros on a monthly basis to the Banco Privado De'Andorra, and from there to Frankfurt then merrily to China and elsewhere.
Both the Madrid and Andorran banks have ceased trading after their respective governments intervened them, while Banco Madrid has filed for bankruptcy.
In an interview on Spanish television Sra Cristina Cifuentes Spanish Government Madrid representative was prompted, "so Minister, you now have a Tax Haven in the heart of Madrid?" Guess how the charming Cristina dismissed this, with the frivolity and customary PP disdain for public opinion and insulting everyone's intelligence.
Cristina described the behaviour of the bank's clients as "merely concealment of private funds"! I know you're are struggling with the logic of this definition, though in fact it is probably quite accurate. The only bit she chose to ignore was that the main aim was simply to "conceal it from Hacienda - the Spanish Tax-man" this latter quote is my little contribution to Cristina's public explanation.
So, there you have it should we ever be accused again, and we shall certainly be, of being a Tax Haven and of Money Laundering we simply refer them to Sñra Cifuentes and the paper trail leading to the Paseo de la Castellana, centre for the casually dismissed "concealment of private funds" in the heart of her beloved Madrid, and pathway to the Andorran "Tax Heaven" !
Is the Spanish Government not concerned with thousands of millions of €uros transiting Andorra with a population of just under 70,000, many of which are residents in name only?
I wonder if the Frankfurt bank, or banks, involved in the receipt and onward transfer to China are guilty in any way for condoning and encouraging the Andorran flow of "dubious" millions of €uros out of the European Union. Do you not get the impression Switzerland is not the only source of "concealment of dubious money's" from criminal organisations in Europe as well as the rest of the world?
Is there no end to this Cancer ?
Sincerely,
Joe Brugada.
Easter means so much and so little to so many of us
Street Talk
It's back to that time of the year when Easter eggs line our favourite supermarket shelves and we look forward to an extra long weekend off work. But what does this festive season really mean to us Gibraltarians? We went out onto the street to find out, asking people if they thought it still had a religious significance or if it just meant that we could finally spend some much-needed quality time with family and friends in the warm spring weather.
"Everyone interprets Easter in their own way," said Lionel Olivero. "Some people will get away from it all but there are others who will interpret it for what it really is, 2000 years since Christ died and rose again on the cross. As a Catholic I live it in this way but each one can celebrate it as they want."
His companion on a bench at the Piazza, Tito Ignacio, piped up his disagreement: "I think it is all just a made-up story to keep people at church. There are far too many starving people in the world for these people to be eating 'sin dar un palo'. There should be more democracy among themselves.
"I believe in God but the church is like Ali Baba's cave. However, I believe the church should be a temple to rest your own mind but not necessarily to pray because that whole place is made for man and not for God. Personally, for Easter I will just be eating as much as I can!"
Olivero said that the priests were just doing their work in "what represents the house of God" and that over Easter he would be spending time with the family to commemorate this special occasion."
Snails and sherry
Food seemed to be specially connected to this particular season. "We have special dishes for Easter like codfish and rice pudding," said Sergio Perez.
"It is a time when we eat snails and make spinach pie, spending time with the family as we don't have to work, because even though we are religious we are not practising Catholics," said Pilar Garcia. "I think the youth don't think too much about the real message of Easter but when you get older you start to understand it more."
Apart from eating snails, Mary Harper said they liked to drink Rebujito, a drink which combines sherry with soft drinks: "We go to see the Holy Week procession with my friends and I can't stop crying when I see the 'Cristo de los Gitanos'." Her son, though, only sees it as a day off work.
An elderly man said the image of Jesus on the cross had real parallels with the current human condition: "We killed Jesus and if he was here today we would kill him again because us humans are like that, like the rest of the other animals."
Meanings
The religious aspect should be brought out more according to Roy Palmer: "I don't think people realise the suffering of Jesus Christ, who had to die for us to redeem us as the 'Sacrificial Lamb'. Easter is the fulfilling of the scripture but most people think it is a holiday where we eat Easter eggs."
Karen Gingell agreed with him, saying the name of the festival was the first thing that was wrong: "It shouldn't even be called Easter which comes from the Egyptian goddess of fertility called Ishtar which has been translated to Easter. The symbol of the goddess is a long-eared bunny and perhaps in the time of Constantine it overshadowed the Jewish feast of Passover which commemorates the freedom from Egypt.
"The real message of Easter that Jesus Christ was slain for our sins has been overshadowed by the spring season even in schools where you get pictures of flowers and the kids get to wear funny ears.
"If you go to Spain it's different because even though there's a lot of idolatry with statues being brought out it keeps its original meaning as Holy Week because 'La Pascua' is Passover in Spanish."
02-04-15 PANORAMAdailyGIBRALTAR
Free movement
Vera Jourová, European Union Commissioner for Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality replies on the 23rd of March 2015 to a written question on Gibraltar submitted on the 11th of February 2015 by British MEP for UKIP William (The Earl of) Dartmouth,
Question: In December 2014, two British citizens took a cruise to Spain and purchased an excursion into Gibraltar. Upon attempting to enter, Spanish border officials ordered them off their coach and left them without aid. Gibraltar falls under the laws and regulations of the European Union. Will there be repercussions for this disregard on the part of Spanish authorities of the fundamental right of the European citizen to free movement?
Answer given by Ms Jourová on behalf of the Commission:
The free movement of citizens constitutes one of the fundamental freedoms of the internal market and is at the heart of the European project. Consequently, restrictions to that freedom must be interpreted strictly.
The Commission is not aware of the reasons which led the Spanish authorities to the behaviour described by the Honourable Member and thus cannot assess the individual case in the light of EC law on free movement.
Judicial redress procedures are available to Union citizens who have been refused entry into another Member State. Where they have suffered damage, national courts can award reparation.
02-04-15 PANORAMAdailyGIBRALTAR
GFA and Bula settle issues
The Gibraltar Football Association and Mr Allen Bula have confirmed that they have reached an agreement settling outstanding issues between them.
It will be recalled that Mr Bula's appointment as senior national coach was ended by the GFA.
The GFA says it wishes Mr Bula every success in the future and Mr Bula also takes this opportunity to wish every success to all Gibraltar National teams and local clubs with their future endeavours.
02-04-15 PANORAMAdailyGIBRALTAR
