Latest news with #FollowtheMoney
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Western firms reportedly paid at least $46 billion in taxes to Russia amid full-scale war in Ukraine
Western companies have paid at least 40 billion euros ($46 billion) in taxes to Russia over the past three years, according to an investigation by investigative outlet Follow the Money published on June 10. This figure represents almost one-third of Russia's defense budget for 2025. Seventeen of the 20 largest foreign corporate taxpayers in Russia come from G7 and EU countries, Ukraine's main international supporters, the investigative outlet wrote, citing an earlier report by the Kyiv School of Economics (KSE) and the B4Ukraine association. Foreign firms still operating in Russia represent a crucial lifeline for Russia's war chest amid Western sanctions and skyrocketing war expenditures. Earlier reports by KSE said that only 472 of over 4,000 foreign companies have withdrawn from Russia after the outbreak of the full-scale war in Ukraine in 2022, while 1,360 have scaled down their operations. Austrian bank Raiffeisen remains the largest European payer of corporate taxes in Russia, with 457 million euros ($522 million) paid only in 2023. Philip Morris tobacco company, PepsiCo, UniCredit Bank, Mars, and other Western business giants have also continued filling Russian coffers, even though Western governments have donated some $170 billion in military aid to Ukraine to face Russian aggression, according to the investigation. The firms provided various explanations for their continued presence in Russia. Some argued that their products are essential for Russian consumers, while others cited concern for the safety of their employees, the outlet reported. Follow the Money also noted that Russia makes it difficult for companies to exit its market, for example, by allowing them to sell their assets only at extremely low prices. Companies that have decided to leave the market reportedly had to pay over $170 billion in write-offs and exit taxes. Russia has previously directly seized assets of some companies that had remained in the country. Russian President Vladimir Putin called for punitive action against Western companies still operating in Russia, saying they must be "strangled" in response to what he described as Western attempts to suffocate the Russian economy. Despite the rhetoric, Russia continues to explore paths for re-engagement with foreign businesses. In February, Putin instructed his government to prepare for the eventual return of Western firms. Still, no formal requests have been received from companies seeking re-entry, according to Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council and former president. Read also: Key to Russia's potential defeat lies in its economy We've been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
New Statesman
05-06-2025
- Business
- New Statesman
Labour's muddled message
Photo by Peter Byrne -. Rachel Reeves is not where she wanted to be. When the Chancellor announced winter fuel payment cuts almost a year ago they were designed to advertise her strength. In order to restore economic stability, ran the narrative, Reeves would venture where previous governments feared to tread (David Cameron repeatedly rejected Tory demands to means-test pensioner benefits). Wonks applauded her taboo-busting. Paul Johnson, the director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, whose book, Follow the Money, Reeves is fond of, praised the move as 'sensible'. The aim, No 11 said at the time, was to display discipline not just to the bond market but to voters (who often doubt Labour's economic competence). Yet now, as Reeves' slow-motion U-turn continues, she is advertising her weakness. A government that has held office for less than a year and that has a majority of 165 seats has proved incapable of making a cut worth just 0.05 per cent of GDP (£1.4bn). The new assertion from No 10 is that an improving economy – growth of 0.7 per cent in the first quarter – has made such munificence possible. Keir Starmer doesn't quite channel Ronald Reagan by declaring that it is 'morning again in Britain' but the suggestion is that the country is turning a corner – with four interest rate cuts and three trade deals. The problem is how grim the situation remains. Debt, as Treasury aides continually point out, stands at 95.5 per cent of GDP (0.7 per cent higher than a year ago). Here is why Reeves is imposing real-terms spending cuts on unprotected departments (Angela Rayner and Yvette Cooper, defending housing and the police respectively, have yet to settle with the Chancellor). During a press conference yesterday, Reeves conceded that there were 'good things I've had to say no to'. But as a consequence, Labour critics complain, the government's message is muddled. After entering office it promised short-term pain for long-term gain. 'Things will get worse before they get better,' warned Starmer. 'If we cannot afford it, we cannot do it,' declared Reeves (an inversion of JM Keynes' 'anything we can actually do, we can afford'). Some, including cabinet ministers, were sceptical of this strategy from the start, fearing that it would fail to resonate with an austerity-weary electorate that craved hope, not despair. But it was at least coherent. It pointed towards several tax-raising Budgets and fiscal restraint before a midterm or pre-election loosening. Subscribe to The New Statesman today from only £8.99 per month Subscribe Yet now the government finds itself in a political no-man's land. It can find the money to U-turn on winter fuel payment cuts, to (most likely) abolish the two-child benefit limit and to keep its election tax pledges. But it cannot find the money to prevent renewed departmental cuts and to commit to spending 3 per cent of GDP on defence (even as Starmer speaks of the UK moving to 'war-fighting readiness'). Voters could be forgiven for being confused, and almost certainly are. Reeves will have to use this autumn's Budget to raise taxes – the only question is by how much. One former aide to Gordon Brown notes the 'madness of spending lots at the start and less at the end of a parliament'. Some in Labour believe Reeves' defining error will prove to be her refusal to increase income tax, VAT or National Insurance on employees ('that's the original sin as far as I'm concerned,' says one source). This has left the government reliant on small but often fraught revenue raisers (such as higher inheritance tax on farmers). But there's a bigger challenge for Reeves: what kind of Chancellor does she ultimately want to be? She could have been the 'Iron Chancellor' – refusing to yield on her tough choices (such as winter fuel cuts). Or she could have been the 'anti-austerity Chancellor' – raising taxes to prevent renewed cuts. Or she could have been the 'growth Chancellor' – taking big risks for big rewards. In practice, Reeves has been all of these at various points without ever settling on an identity. The Chancellor herself defines her approach as 'balanced'. But the risk is that voters simply see it as incoherent. This piece first appeared in the Morning Call newsletter; receive it every morning by subscribing on Substack here [See also: Can John Healey really afford to go to war?] Related
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Italian mafia use Chinese ‘underground banks' to launder money
Italy's mafia gangs are using Chinese 'underground banks' to launder money from drug trafficking and other crimes, a new report has revealed. Mafia groups are increasingly turning to a system known as Fei Ch'ien – 'flying money' – as a clandestine way of moving vast amounts of cash around the world. An underground banking network that originated in China, it operates through brokers in money exchanges, using encrypted communication systems and minimal record-keeping to make it hard for authorities to track. 'In relation to money laundering, there are links between Italian criminal organisations and Chinese groups who are active in underground banking,' the DIA, Italy's national anti-mafia agency, said in the report, entitled Follow the Money. The clandestine system is now being used extensively by 'big criminal organisations that want to secretly transfer money abroad to finance their criminal activities or to reinvest it', the report said. The DIA said mafia groups such as the Camorra of Naples, Cosa Nostra in Sicily and the 'Ndrangheta in Calabria were becoming increasingly adept at using digital technology to evade detection by the authorities. They employ encrypted communication channels such as EncroChat and Sky ECC, as well as messaging services such as Signal and Telegram. 'There has been a pronounced rise in the adoption of illicit financial instruments which are technologically sophisticated, including artificial intelligence models designed to elude checks,' the report said. Even when mafiosi are arrested, convicted and imprisoned, they are still able to maintain contacts with their criminal empires on the outside. The smuggling of mobile phones into prisons is commonplace and some are delivered by drone, according to the report. Meanwhile, Mafia organisations are increasingly recruiting young men from marginalised backgrounds in cities such as Naples and Rome to act as runners, lookouts and drug dealers. Such groups are known in Italy as 'baby gangs'. These are made up of bands of young delinquents and aspiring mafiosi who, armed with knives and firearms, fight each other for territorial control. Young people from areas with high unemployment are drawn to a life of crime partly by the easy money to be made but also by images that they see on social media, the DIA said. Teenage boys are attracted by 'misleading models of power and wealth' as well as 'ostentation and the promise of affirming their identities,' the report added, saying: 'The glorifying of luxury and violence, through images on social media, contributes to the creation of an image that is warped but very attractive to young people.' The DIA described the rise of 'baby gangs', fuelled by high levels of school absenteeism, unemployment and poverty, as 'particularly worrying'. The report also highlights how Mafia groups are trying to muscle in on the billions of euros swirling around Italy as the country embarks on a number of huge investment projects. They include plans to build a vast suspension bridge from Sicily – the home of Cosa Nostra – to Calabria, the territory of the 'Ndrangheta. Mafia dons have their eyes on the €200 billion of post-pandemic recovery funds that the EU granted to Italy, as well as the billions being spent in Rome to spruce up the city for this year's Jubilee, a special calendar of holy events organised by the Vatican. The crime bosses are also targeting huge amounts of money being spent on preparations for the 2026 Winter Olympics, which will be hosted by Milan and the ski resort of Cortina d'Ampezzo, in the Dolomites. Italy's different mafia groups are putting aside the bloody feuds of the past and forging collaborative links, the DIA said, with the Cosa Nostra and the Camorra forming alliances at home and abroad. 'Coexistence has fostered synergies that have progressively become structured,' said Michele Carbone, the director of the agency. 'These structures have become 'capable of absorbing overlaps, tensions and frictions'. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Yahoo
24-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Los Angeles Health Commission president criticizes mayor for $1-billion budget shortfall
To the editor: In the film version of "All the President's Men," the "Deep Throat" character advises investigative journalist Robert Woodward to "Follow the Money," and so should Times reporter David Zahniser ("L.A. city budget shortfall grows to nearly $1 billion, with layoffs 'nearly inevitable'," March 19). Just four years ago, as part of the American Rescue Plan, the city of Los Angeles received $1.35 billion. Where did it all go? Obviously not to healthcare. Our Health Commission has never been funded one penny in its 10-year existence. We didn't have enough firetrucks operational to handle our needs in January and we don't have a full-time physician in charge of our paramedics. Our city's budget was sound until the current administration; why do budget crises always seem to follow Mayor Karen Bass? During her tenure as Assembly speaker, our state had a budget impasse and drowned in red ink. In June 2009, California's credit rating was lowered and even President Obama wouldn't bail us out. With 80% of the city's expenses labor-related, her agreement less than one year ago to one of the largest general salary increases in the Coalition of L.A. City Unions' history — a 22% increase over a five-year span, including a 6% raise in the first year — obviously was imprudent. In more than two decades of governmental leadership, it appears that our mayor hasn't learned the basics of business math. If you spend more money than you have, you go bankrupt. Dr. Howard C. Mandel, Los AngelesThe writer is president of the Los Angeles City Health Commission .. To the editor: Oh, please! Ever since the COVID epidemic "vanished," parking enforcement has not done its job by ticketing people whose parking meters expired or when cars are parked on street-cleaning days, etc. And police officers have not been ticketing enough people for moving violations. If people would do the jobs they were hired to do, Los Angeles wouldn't be in the mess it's in. While I'm not saying the budget would be fixed, at least money would be coming in from people who break the law. Liz Brown, West Hills This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
24-03-2025
- Business
- Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Health Commission president criticizes mayor for $1-billion budget shortfall
To the editor: In the film version of 'All the President's Men,' the 'Deep Throat' character advises investigative journalist Robert Woodward to 'Follow the Money,' and so should Times reporter David Zahniser ('L.A. city budget shortfall grows to nearly $1 billion, with layoffs 'nearly inevitable',' March 19). Just four years ago, as part of the American Rescue Plan, the city of Los Angeles received $1.35 billion. Where did it all go? Obviously not to healthcare. Our Health Commission has never been funded one penny in its 10-year existence. We didn't have enough firetrucks operational to handle our needs in January and we don't have a full-time physician in charge of our paramedics. Our city's budget was sound until the current administration; why do budget crises always seem to follow Mayor Karen Bass? During her tenure as Assembly speaker, our state had a budget impasse and drowned in red ink. In June 2009, California's credit rating was lowered and even President Obama wouldn't bail us out. With 80% of the city's expenses labor-related, her agreement less than one year ago to one of the largest general salary increases in the Coalition of L.A. City Unions' history — a 22% increase over a five-year span, including a 6% raise in the first year — obviously was imprudent. In more than two decades of governmental leadership, it appears that our mayor hasn't learned the basics of business math. If you spend more money than you have, you go bankrupt. Dr. Howard C. Mandel, Los AngelesThe writer is president of the Los Angeles City Health Commission .. To the editor: Oh, please! Ever since the COVID epidemic 'vanished,' parking enforcement has not done its job by ticketing people whose parking meters expired or when cars are parked on street-cleaning days, etc. And police officers have not been ticketing enough people for moving violations. If people would do the jobs they were hired to do, Los Angeles wouldn't be in the mess it's in. While I'm not saying the budget would be fixed, at least money would be coming in from people who break the law. Liz Brown, West Hills
