CFTC Nabs ACJ Capital in Forex Ponzi Fraud

CFTC

Washington, DC — The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) today announced that on February 8, 2012, it filed a federal court action in the District of Puerto Rico charging Angel Fernando Collazo of Salinas, Puerto Rico, and his companies, ACJ Capital, Inc. (ACJ) and Solid View Capital LLC (Solid View), both of San Juan, with fraud and misappropriation in a $1 million off-exchange leveraged foreign currency (forex) Ponzi scheme. On February 9, 2012, the court entered a statutory restraining order freezing the defendants’ assets. On February 14, 2012, the court entered a consent preliminary injunction maintaining the asset freeze and barring defendants from violating various anti-fraud and registration provisions of the Commodity Exchange Act and Commission regulations.

The CFTC complaint alleges that Collazo and his companies fraudulently solicited commodity pool participants by falsely claiming profitable returns, while minimizing and failing to fully disclose the risks of trading leveraged forex. The defendants allegedly misappropriated pool funds to make payments to pool participants and for personal uses, failed to disclose their intended uses of pool participant funds, misrepresented the profitability of pool trading accounts, and distributed statements to ACJ/Solid View pool participants that contained false account values, including showing consistent, substantial trading profits.

Read more at CFTC.
 

Currently rated 1.0 by 2 people

  • Currently 1/5 Stars.
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5

Anti-Austerity Riots Spread Across Athens

Athens Police

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Rioting spread across central Athens and buildings went up in flames amid mass protests, as lawmakers prepared to vote for a crucial debt deal needed to prevent bankruptcy.

Clashes erupted across the city center after more than 100,000 protesters marched to parliament to rally against drastic austerity cuts that will force firing in the civil service and slash the minimum wage.

Thick clouds of smoke and tear gas filled the air around parliament, as hundreds of rioters staged running battles with riot police and at least five buildings were in flames late Sunday.

Protesters and police fought running battles in central Athens Sunday, as Greek lawmakers debated legislation that would introduce severe austerity measures to stave off bankruptcy.

The clashes broke out around 6 p.m. local time (1600 GMT) as tens of thousands of people, responding to calls from unions to protest the measures, streamed into Syntagma Square facing Parliament.

Peaceful protesters fled to adjacent streets as a group of around 100 anarchists threw bottles, rocks, pieces of marble and firebombs at police, who responded with tear gas and stun grenades.

Police say an officer was injured by a flare shot at him from a gun. He was taken to hospital.

Among those affected by the tear gas were well-known composer Mikis Theodorakis, 86, and veteran leftist politician Manolis Glezos, 89. The two have been actively campaigning against Greece accepting a €130 billion ($171.46 billion) bailout from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund that would help Greece avoid bankruptcy as early as next month, when a €14.5 billion bond matures.

The legislation will also approve a bond-swapping deal with private creditors that will allow Greece to shave off at least €100 billion ($131 billion) of its €360 billion debt.

An ambulance picked up two injured people from the square. At least two more injuries have been reported, including a photographer who was hit by both a firebomb and a flare.

By 7 p.m. local time, clashes had spread beyond the square to other streets. A Starbucks near the Athens University main building was on fire.


The debate started shortly after 3:30 p.m. local time (1330 GMT), and will take about ten hours, finishing around midnight. At the start of the meeting, opponents of the legislation adopted a tactic of frequent and loud interruptions and objections but had calmed down by mid-evening.

Tens of thousands of protesters gathered in the square outside Parliament as the debate began, with more arriving constantly.

protest signs
 
Communist-affiliated unions held a separate meeting at the same time and started marching to Parliament before halting their march as the clashes broke out.

Police fear if the communists and anarchists meet, further violence would erupt and are trying to keep the two apart. Authorities have deployed some 6,000 policemen in the city center.

Pro-Communist unionists had earlier driven through Athens' neighborhoods, calling for people to participate in the demonstration. Protesters are expected to remain outside the building throughout the vote.

The two parties backing the coalition government have 236 deputies in the 300-member Parliament, but at least 13 conservative and seven Socialist lawmakers have declared they will vote against the legislation, defying their leaders' threats of sanctions. Early Sunday, a conservative lawmaker resigned, repeating the actions of three Socialists earlier this week.

Debt-stricken Greece does not have the money to cover a €14.5 billion ($19.12 billion) bond repayment on March 20, and must reach a vital debt-relief deal with private bond investors before then. Greece's woes have threatened its future in the 17-country zone that uses the euro currency.

The Europeans are waiting to see Greece finally act on their commitments.

 

Currently rated 1.0 by 6 people

  • Currently 1/5 Stars.
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5

Emergency Meeting Called In Greece, Bailout May Be In Trouble

Lucas Papademos

Negotiations between Greece and its creditors about the terms of an orderly Greek restructuring appear to have stalled in Athens, amid troika adamance that the country accept even more dramatic austerity measures in return for the aid they are expected to receive as part of a second bailout, according to the Telegraph.

Prime Minister Lucas Papademos has called an emergency meeting of party officials in an attempt to convince them to vote through the spending reforms and bring the debt swap deal to resolution.


Meanwhile, International Business Times reports that dissatisfaction with the Greek government rose to 91% in a poll two weeks ago, although the majority of respondents still supported Papademos.

A government explained to the Telegraph that it has been difficult to reach any kind of agreement with the inflexible troika. "The troika doesn't appear to be willing to accept any concessions whatsoever on reducing the minimum wage and scrapping bonuses," the aide said. "No political party is willing to move either, saying wage cuts are a red line they are simply not going to cross. You tell me how this is going to be resolved. We have no idea and we're very worried."

This impasse follows positive reports that Greece and its creditors would likely reach a deal this week, as well as the fallout of a now relinquished German proposal for Greece to give up budget control in exchange for the next bailout.

Business Insider
 

Currently rated 1.0 by 2 people

  • Currently 1/5 Stars.
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5

David Cameron's Speech At Davos

David Cameron

The text of David Cameron's speech to the World Economic Forum in Davos:

We meet today at a perilous moment for economies right across Europe. Growth has stalled. Unemployment is rising. The prospect of Europe getting left behind is all too apparent.

While China grows at 8%, India at 7% and Africa at 5.5%, the European Commission forecasts the EU will grow by just 0.6 per cent in the whole of 2012 – and even that is assuming the problems in the Eurozone get better not worse.

Yesterday in Britain we had the official figures for the final quarter of last year – and they were negative. Other large economies of Europe are forecast to have a similar outcome.

In just four years Government debt per EU citizen has risen by 4,500 euros. Foreign direct investment has fallen by around two-thirds. And in more than half of EU Member States, a fifth of all young people are now out of work. So this is not a moment to try and pretend there isn’t a problem.

Nor is it a moment to allow the fear of failure to hold us back. This is a time to show the leadership our people are demanding. 
 
Tinkering here and there and hoping we’ll drift to a solution simply won’t cut it any more. This is a time for boldness not caution.

Boldness in what we do nationally – and together as a continent.

In Britain we’ve had to be bold.
 
 

Be the first to rate this post

  • Currently 0/5 Stars.
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5