From Russia With Cash: A “Sting” Video That Actually Matters
I see that the RWNJs have come up with another “gotcha!” sting video about some bullshit non-controversy that the masturbating monkeys on Fox, Drudge, Blaze, Breitbart, et al. will be slavering all over for the next week or so.
Meanwhile, over on the sane side of the political/media spectrum, there are real journalists doing real investigative work into people who are actually committing crimes costing billions of dollars.
These are the true criminals. They are stealing from the Russians, Ukrainians, and using compliant, greedy bankers & real-estate agents to launder their money. It’s what’s behind the huge rise in prices in London. And New York. And Beverly Hills & Bel Aire. All over the western hemisphere, crooks in Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Nigeria, Cote d’Ivoire, etc. etc. are stashing their money in real-estate. Nobody cares, because everyone’s making too much money. Just like in the subprime mortgage bubble, before it popped.
Selfie made during secret filming at the London luxury apartment for Channel4 film #FromRussiaWithCash @danreed1000 pic.twitter.com/0PwWMbnIHZ
— Natalie Sedletska (@natasedletska) July 8, 2015
At each showing, “Nastya” first pretends to fall in love with the space. Next, “Boris” pulls the estate agent aside to say that he would like to purchase the property, but needs the deal to proceed anonymously. Boris explains that he will be buying the property with money pilfered from the state budget and doesn’t want anyone in Moscow connecting a hole in the budget with the purchase. “Every [Health Ministry] contract brings a little bit to my pocket,” Boris tells each estate agent, following the planned script. “Needless to say, the money for this flat comes out of the government budget. [Therefore] discretion is the absolute priority.”
In every instance filmed, the estate agents appear willing to continue with the sales, which could net them commissions ranging from $100,000 to $500,000. Some of the agents even recommend law firms that specialize in hiding a buyer’s identity and coach “Boris” on how to avoid potential legal problems. In the U.K., estate agents are required by law to submit “suspicious activity reports” to the National Crime Agency if they have concerns that the money being used to purchase properties might have been obtained through criminal means.