| After OneCoin Tweets
Named Amer Abdulaziz And Scott
Forfeiture Memo BHA Pulls Plug
By Matthew
Russell Lee, Exclusive Patreon
BBC
- The
Times UK - Honduras
- The
Source
SDNY COURTHOUSE,
Sept 10 – As Inner City
Press covered the OneCoin
trial last Fall, a number of
names of indicted
co-conspirators emerged on
which we continue following
up.
One of
them was Amer Abdulaziz
Salman.
As Inner City
Press exclusively reported on
November 6, surprise
cooperating witness Konstantin
Ignatov brought up Amer
Abdulaziz and Phoenix
Thoroughbreds during his
testimony, live-tweeted
@InnerCityPress, and see here.
Then The
Guardian, crediting Inner City
Press, quotes the British
Horseracing Association
somewhat Casablanca-like: "In
testimony live-tweeted by the
investigative journalism
website Inner City Press,
Ignatov reportedly referred to
Abdulaziz as “one of the main
money launderers” involved in
the scheme. Ignatov went
on: “After he stole €100m from
OneCoin, he started buying
racehorses for, like,
€25m.” The BHA said it
was 'aware of the allegations
which are emanating from a
criminal case in the United
States. We are in contact with
the appropriate
authorities.'"
Now on
September 10 the BHA has
suspended all of Phoenix'
operations in the UK - no more
racing.
As
Inner City Press first
reported, deep in the US' $392
million Mark Scott forfeiture
memo dated August 31 but filed
on September 1 is this: Scott
"transferred tens of millions
of Euros back to Bulgaria from
the Fenero Funds, disguised as
fake loans. (See, e.g., GX
1388). Scott subsequently
transferred approximately
€185,000,000 from the Bank of
Ireland to the accounts of
another one of Ruja’s money
launderer’s, named Aamer
Abdulaziz." See full filing on
Patreon, here.
Why was this
withheld until now? And why
hasn't Abdulaziz been
arrested? We will have more on
this.
On August 11,
2020, The Guardian:
"According to testimony
live-tweeted by the
investigative journalism
website Inner City Press,
Abdulaziz was called “one of
the main money
launderers."
For now we
have reported that Phoenix
Thoroughbreds
has
been
banned from
racing horses
in France. Adbulaziz
quickly
put out a
statement - in
Australia, to
'reaffirm
our-long term
commitment to
the racing and
bloodstock
industries in
Australia. For
any ownership
group like
ours,
especially
with breeding
ambitions,
having horses
in Australia
is a must. With
its
world-leading
facilities,
top-class
trainers and
levels of
prize money,
the market is
a cornerstone
of our
business.
The likes of
Loving Gaby,
Prague,
homebred
Farnan and
others have
given us
plenty of
reasons to
smile over the
past few years
and we can’t
wait to see
how they
progress this
season. We
also have some
exciting
youngsters
that we hope
can follow in
their hoof
prints.
This coming
breeding
season we will
be welcoming a
record number
of Phoenix
Thoroughbreds-bred
foals, all by
top stallions
such as I Am
Invincible,
Zoustar,
Invader and
The Autumn
Sun, to name
just a few.
Couple this
with the fact
we still
retain shares
in Coolmore
(Stud Stakes)
winner and new
stallion
Exceedance,
the future
looks very
bright as we
look to build
a legacy of
success on the
farm, in the
sales ring and
on the
track.
"We enjoy
strong
relations with
our partners,
who hold
similar
ambitions to
ourselves,
while the
whole industry
has been very
supportive. We
look forward
to a long and
prosperous
future in
Australia."
How is this
possible,
given what was
shown in the
OneCoin / Mark
Scott trial
and since? It
is another
impact of the
doubly
delayed docketing
of information
in that
case
and that of Gilbert
Armenta,
which Inner
City Press got
belatedly
docketed last
week. It is
another reason
why the
blatant rip
off of scoops
by
publications
which don't
follow up in
the SDNY (now
including
Racing.com)
allows those
they are
supposedly
exposing to
continue their frauds.
We'll have
more on this.
On
November 24, 2019 Inner City
Press
tweets were used without
any credit in a derivative
article by the Racing Post's
Peter Scargill - apparently
dodginess pervades this part
of the industry.
Inner City
Press has been contacted from
Dubai of Sheikh Mohammed bin
Rashid al Maktoum, from Amer
Abdulaziz's native Bahrain and
elsewhere by whistleblowers in
the horse racing industry,
with extensive information
about Amer Abdulaziz's
previous schemes and sudden
windfall with OneCoin money.
See below.
Now
Phoenix Thoroughbreds has tweeted a legal threat,
as if media reporting based on
sworn testimony a public trial
in the U.S. District Court for
the Southern District of New
York could be sued or silences
or censored.
The tweet:
"“Phoenix Fund Investments LLC
categorically denies all
allegations made against it,
and its owner, Mr. Amer
Abdulaziz, in legal
proceedings against OneCoin
and its conspirators in the
US. “Phoenix Fund
Investments LLC believes that
the firm and Mr. Amer
Abdulaziz have acted according
to the law at all times, and
will vigorously contest all
allegations of wrongdoing.
Phoenix Fund Investments LLC
will fully cooperate with
relevant authorities should
they require any
assistance. “Phoenix
Fund Investments LLC is
currently seeking legal advice
and will take appropriate
action against those involved
in the publication of false
and defamatory statements.”
Amer
Abdulaziz was named by a sworn
witness, Konstantin Ignatov,
as being one of OneCoin's
money launderers. And the
defendant, Mark Scott, said
this during his post-arrest
statement:
SCOTT: "All the
money that was not invested,
umm, was at the direction of
the investors, sent to, umm,
another, umm, another
financial advisor in Dubai. We
have nothing to do
anymore
Agent Fata: And
who is that financial
advisor?
Scott
They’re called, we signed an
agreement, the first agreement
at the behest of the investors
is called Phoenix something
Investment Fund, I think just
Phoenix. And then, umm, and I
have the name of the guy that
I dealt with, that I was
directed to in my emails and
what. I’m going to say, Amar
[phonetic] something. You
know…
Agent Eckel: So
your, the, the Fenero funds
were, were closed and
transferred to Phoenix
Investment Fund?
Scott: Yeah."
We'll have more on this.
Abdulaziz
for example was outed as not
paying for three horses, with
it being for now still
uncredited reported that
Fasig-Tipton had not received
payment for grade I winner
Crisp and the broodmares
Little Bonnet and Sky Mom, who
were sold for more than $1.9
million combined... More on
Patreon here.
Phoenix
Thoroughbred's horses have
included "Advertise," the son
of Showcasing, set to begin a
stallion career projected to
be lucrative at the National
Stud in New Market in 2020.
But is it
all based on money laundering
for OneCoin? And what of the
royals who have been linked
in, not only Queen Elizabeth
through the Jockey Club but
also the al Thani family of
Qatar, the Saudi royals and
the the Maktoum family of
Dubai, whom some sources tell
Inner City Press have harbored
Ruja Ignatova herself . We'll
have more on this. More on
Patreon here.
"It's the
perfect front for money
laundering," one
horse-breeding industry
participant
told Inner City Press on
condition of anonymity.
During the trial, Inner City
Press tweeted its surprise
that Amer Abdulaziz was,
unlike Ruja Ignatova, living
in plain sight. It has
continued: he has re-tweeted
as recently as November 20.
While some say he is going
into hiding, it would seem
that the US FBI or its
overseas partners could easily
bring him in. So
why haven't they? This is the
fourth in an Inner City Press
series. More on Patreon here.
This case is US
v. Scott, 17-cr-630 (Ramos)
***
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