A random addition to the evidence that North Carolina’s GOP breeds some really dubious characters, provided by a reader:
A Russian bank owned by former North Carolina Congressman Charles Taylor has been accused of money laundering and lost its license, according to Bloomberg News.
The Commercial Bank of Ivanovo “failed on multiple occasions to comply with Bank of Russia regulations” on money laundering “of criminally obtained incomes and the financing of terrorism,” the Bank of Russia said in a press release.
The bank lied about its assets and reserves, the central bank said, “in order to improve its financial indicators and conceal its actual financial standing.” The bank also artificially inflated its capital to make it look like it was in line with Russian regulations, the press release said. [Charlotte Observer]
Furthermore …
The AP reports, “Taylor bought CBI in 2003 alongside his business partner Boris Bolshakov, a former KGB agent and Supreme Soviet deputy who is listed as the bank’s second-largest shareholder.”
That same year, two people tied to Taylor testified that he “knew about fraudulent loans made by Asheville-based Blue Ridge Savings Bank, which he owned at the time, to a political supporter,” according to the AP. The then-congressman said at the time he did not know anything about the loans.
Sigh. I may be amused by Republican sleaze, but it’s in a painful way. I have to wonder if they’re conscious that their activities are not honorable, or if they lie to themselves as well.
