James Bone and Dominic Kennedy reported February 25, 2008, in the The Times (UK) that on May 23, 2005—just three weeks before Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) and Rita Rezko, the wife of indicted political fixer Antoin "Tony" Rezko, closed on their same-day real estate deals on June 15, 2005—Fintrade Services SA, a Panamanian company related to Iraqi billionaire businessman Nadhmi Auchi, "lent" $3.5 million to Tony Rezko.
Bone and Kennedy wrote that their investigation "raises the question of whether funds from Nadhmi Auchi, one of Britain’s wealthiest men, helped Mr Obama buy his mock Georgian mansion in Chicago."
It is unclear how Mrs Rezko could have afforded the downpayment of $125,000 and a $500,000 mortgage for the original $625,000 purchase of the garden plot at 5050 South Greenwood Ave. [snip]
Rita Rezko "refused to answer questions about the case when she spoke by telephone to The Times. [snip]
Asked if she used money from her husband to buy the land next to Mr Obama's house, she said: "I can't answer these questions, I'm sorry."
Asked how long she and her husband had known Mr Auchi, she replied: "I will not be able to answer this question."
Mr Auchi's lawyer, asked whether the Fintrade Services loan was used to buy the land which became Mr Obama's garden, stated: "No, not as far as my client is aware."
Auchi's lawyer told The Times that he met Rezko after the 2003 war in Iraq. According to court documents, Rezko's lawyer "said his client had 'longstanding indebtedness'" to Auchi's GMH. According to the Loan Forgiveness Agreement described in Rezko's Court proceedings, Auchi lent Rezko $3.5 million in April 2005 and $11 million in September 2005, in addition to "the $3.5 million transferred in April 2007," Bone and Kennedy wrote. "That agreement provided for the outstanding loans to be "forgiven" in return for a stake in the 62-acre Riverside Park development."
Obama spokesman Bill Burton told The Times that Obama doesn't remember ever meeting Auchi. Bone and Kennedy reported that both said "they have no memory of meeting each other." However, one source reported that they "may have had a brief encounter at the Four Seasons Hotel in Chicago" when Auchi's visit was "being honoured with a dinner attended by" Gov. Rod Blagojevich—and Obama, "coincidentally in the hotel, dropped in." An aide to Obama "said he did attend an event at the Four Seasons at which Mr Rezko was present but does not remember meeting Mr Auchi. 'He shook a lot of hands and met a lot of people,' the aide said. 'We do not remember individual people.'"
Obama also denies playing any role in 2005 when Auchi "was unable to enter the United States" and Rezko "approached the US State Department to get him a visa."
Additionally, Bone and Kennedy wrote, Auchi's lawyer—stressing that Auchi's and Rezko's relationship was a "business one"—"emphasised ... that it would be entirely false to imply that money had been lent by GMH" to Rezko was in return for Rezko seeking to assist Auchi to obtain a visa."
The Times also published a Timeline of "Events bringing Nadhmi Auchi, British-Iraqi billionaire, together with Antoin Rezko, Barack Obama's fundraiser", which is reproduced here:
Spring 2004: Nadhmi Auchi visits Illinois and Michigan, attending an event at Four Seasons Hotel in Chicago. Senator Obama shakes hands with Middle East businessmen at event at Four Seasons in Chicago, but aides say he does not remember Mr Auchi 2004: Mr Auchi makes first investment in 62-acre land development project Riverside Park in Chicago, according to Mr Rezko’s lawyer. June 16, 2004: AR Pizza established in Delaware. Mr Auchi is “passive investor” in the company. April 28, 2005: Mr Auchi’s conglomerate General Mediterranean Holding (GMH) lends $3.5 million to Tony Rezko. May 23, 2005: Fintrade Services SA, a Panamanian company related to Mr Auchi, registers loan to Mr Rezko, secured by Mr Rezko's stake in AR Pizza. June 15, 2005: Mr Rezko's wife Rita buys garden plot on same day as Obamas buy neighbouring mock Georgian mansion from same seller. Mrs Rezko pays asking price of $625,000, with a $500,000 mortgage. Obamas pay $1.65 million, which is $300,000 less than the asking price. September 30, 2005: GMH makes $11 million loan to Mr Rezko. November 2005: Mr Rezko lobbies US State Department and, apparently, elected officials to try to get a US visa for Mr Auchi, prosecutors say. December 7, 2005: AR Pizza sued by Papa John's pizzeria chain. January 2006: Mrs Rezko sells 10-foot strip of garden plot to the Obamas for $104,500. November 2006: Mr Rezko tells court he is broke. Mrs Rezko says she has salary of $37,000 and $35,000 in assets. December 28, 2006: Mrs Rezko sells remainder of garden plot to Michael Sreenan, a lawyer for her husband's business, for $575,000. Spring 2007: Mr Rezko flies to London to meet a "business partner”, court records state. April 4 2007: Mr Auchi's GMH makes $3.5 million loan to Mr Rezko, transferring the money from Beirut to Mr Rezko's lawyers. June 13, 2007: Mr Rezko informs the court that he will reduce his interest in the 62-acre Riverside Park project in Chicago from 40% to 20% to reduce his debt. July 5, 2007: GMH wires $200,000 to Mr Rezko's lawyers. December 5, 2007: Mr Rezko writes to GMH affiliate in Beirut to arrange a further $3.8 million cash plus forgiveness of $200,000 in return for liquidating his remaining stake in Riverside Park. January 28, 2008: Mr Rezko jailed for violating his bail by failing to declare $3.7 million in payments from Mr Auchi’s companies. March 3, 2008: Mr Rezko's corruption trial due to begin in Chicago.
Also see Factfile: the key players. Key players in the saga, and their links to Barack Obama, the US Presidential contender.
UPDATE: John Batchelor, More details for the Obama files, Human Events Online, February 26, 2008.
5 comments:
The connection to Obama if true, will have little or no effect on the election. No one seems to mind if their personal messiah has a little scruff on their sandles any more.
We left that all behind -remember in 1992 "character doesn't matter" and when Bill was impeached for lying under oath, we were informed that "He lied but he's our liar!"
Social (moral) conservatives have been tossed under the bus by their own party in it's effort to emulate the worse of American politics - liberalism.
Without a solid moral base, America is just another dying dream to be written about in the history books -probably in Chinese or Arabic!
In response to the anonymous comment posted here today, some of the information upon which you commented has already been reported elsewhere at RW. Others have not. If you have reliable links to support your contentions, would you please forward them via the Confidential Tips email link. Thank you.
It seems a little strange that all other loans from Auchi to Rezko came from GMH, other than the loan made just prior to Rezko helping Obama with the mansion purchase...that one came from Fintrade.
The money that arrived via Fintrade was still Auchi's money.
It would not be an issue if BO's entire platform..speech after speech to all of us did not include 'change', 'honesty', 'transparency' a new way...this is his standard. He has been changing every story to fit what ever the occasion needs.
It is his mantra and his failure in that regard..honesty...transparency...are 'just words' and that failure to reach any ethical standard and his willingness to abort those standards needs to be shown to all of those young impressionable college students he targets. His political tactics have to be exposed as well.
He promises one thing and does 'change' when ever he is exposed as a fraud.
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