In view of the foregoing debate, were forced to return to the commercial relationship between Sonatrach and the Lebanese Ministry of Energy, and the pressure exercised by former Sonatrach CEO, Abdelmoumen Ould Kaddour, to adopt ZR Energy trading company as a second intermediary besides Baha Bassatne, as a supplier in the Algerian companys name; the thing that occurred a year and a half before opening the file. The long list of companies linked to the Cuban government or active in Cuba also includes Sanford Management Financial Ltd.; Commercial Mercadu S.A. (linked to Panamericana); Amadis Compaa Naviera S.A.; Seagull and Seafoods, S.A.; Mavis Group S.A.; Octagon Industria Ltd; Travelnet; and Venus Associates Inc., among others. SECURITYIn Tunis, Mawlawi reassures Saudi counterpart on Lebanons continuing fight against drug trafficking, DIPLOMACY Belgium PM tells Iranian leader to free aid worker, PRIVACY Moroccan activists join WhatsApp suit over Pegasus spyware, Support L'Orient Today with a digital subscription starting $1. The deal between the Lebanese and Algerian governments was to provide the Lebanese market mainly with heavy fuel oil to meet the needs of power plants, a fuel that Algeria does not produce in sufficient quantities, as the Algerian oil Saharan Blend is known for being a light crude type. Employees are required to act honestly and ethically when dealing with business counterparts. Instead, investigations have revealed that at least two companies owned by Lebanese businessmen, BB Energy and ZR Energy, were bringing in the fuel. Ukraine's track record of massive corruption in energy is a sadly familiar story. Russia has publicly said the U.S. sanctions are illegal and it would work with Venezuela to weather them. Its worth mentioning that influential Lebanese politicians, from both ends, support these companies and compete to impose them as fuel importers. The subsidiary subcontracted the deal to two private companies BB Energy, owned by the Bassatne family, and, beginning in 2017, Dubai-based ZR Energy DMCC, owned by Ibrahim Zaouk. (An attorney for Hleiss, who has been accused of fleeing, has publicly denounced certain aspects of the legal procedures.). Digital Subscription $1,909 Premium Subscription $3,179 Best Value Fuel poverty and energy efficiency are inevitably linked, the less efficient a property is the costlier it is to heat. The case is now with the Mount Lebanon Criminal Court, presided over by Mohamad Mortada. Little is known inside the island about the Cuban governments companies abroad, but Havana economist Omar Everleny wrote in the early 2000s that there were more than 100 entities with the participation of Cuban capital, founded as mixed [state-private] companies or as branches of companies based on the island operating abroad in areas such as construction, agriculture, food, medicine, mining, finance and science., Everleny, recently fired from the University of Havanas Center for the Study of the Cuban Economy, noted the paradox that a country that lacks the capital for its own development has invested in other countries. The motive, he speculated, is the U.S. embargo that forced the establishment of a network of companies around the world to warehouse and market products from the sea, among them lobsters and shrimp., Today the export of products from the fishing industry is carried out through those companies, he said, adding that Cuban officials also created an international network of companies to warehouse and sell the famous Cuban cigars.. BB Energy Group Holding Ltd. (DIFC) is managed by a Board of Directors comprising seven board members with five executive members and two non-executive members. How the 61-year-old embargo is blocking Cubans from finding sponsors in the U.S. Billions of dollars have been siphoned off annually into political largesse and party war chests. By signing up, you agree to our Terms and conditions and privacy policy. This was in addition to his 49,140 directors salary. BB Energy (the Group) is pleased to announce the launch of its Improved Cookstove (ICS) Project in Rwanda. However, the dates for the first court hearings, which will be open to the public, have yet to be announced. The findings of another inquiry by the Electoral Commission was handed to the Tories just before the government attempted to smash up the existing standards regime. But Cuba kept its links with some of the firms until very recently. Yacoubian said that high-level responsibility for the secret contract with Sonatrach and years of faulty fuel imports should be explored. BB Energy is part of the Electricity, Oil & Gas industry, and located in United Kingdom. Starting in the early 1990s, Cubas Ministry of Foreign Trade, through the Compaa Panamericana S.A, used Mossack Fonseca to create a string of disguised companies in Panama, the Bahamas and the British Virgin Islands that bought and sold medicines, cigars and food. The Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation Company Limited (BOST) has absolved itself of any wrongdoing in the sale of 942,000 barrels of crude to Lebanon-based oil firm, BB Energy. Peter Quinter, an expert on U.S. embargo laws and former head of the International Law section of the Florida Bar Association, said the U.S. trade embargo on Cuba generally bars a company with a U.S. presence from doing business with Cuba directly or indirectly through an offshore branch, for example. Maduro has accused U.S. President Donald Trump of waging economic war against Venezuela. One knowledgeable source who asked to remains anonymous said the Cuban government also has registered companies, ships and airplanes in Panama and other countries to get around the embargo and avoid court-ordered seizures to settle its many debts abroad. The trial is a step in the right direction, he said. Please check individual images for licensing details. Still, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), which enforces sanctions, has given no indications it would take that route. After the report was published, Reliance did not respond to further questions from Reuters about why the PDVSA internal document proposed Reliance pay Rosneft a marketing fee related to the supply of crude under the Indian firms long-term supply contract with PDVSA. The decision to award ZR Energy DMCC a new contract, despite its alleged involvement in the tainted fuel case, was explained by the presumption of innocence a principle applicable as long as no [verdict] was issued, an official source said. The Public Prosecution Office began investigating them to the backdrop of the ongoing debate, in Lebanon, over spoiled fuel bought by the electricity company from the Algerian oil company, Sonatrach, which ranked thirteenth in the ranking of oil companies in the world. At parliament we will try to make sure that high level responsibility is also explored - including all the ministers who stayed silent over the years., Fuel import scandal shows why transparency matters. Reliance has said that in September 2012 it signed a 15-year deal to purchase up to 400,000 barrels a day of heavy crude from PDVSA. This means you can get up to 7,500 worth of measures installed for a maximum contribution of 2,500. We encourage anyone to comment, please consult, 43 Lords have financial interests in fossil fuel industry, How the UK helps the worlds kleptocrats and crooks deliberately, In the fight for racial justice, optimism is not enough, Staff and students in universities across the UK deserve better, The disturbing resurgence of antisemitic conspiracy theories, Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International licence. This case points to the rampant corruption in the sector. Sonatrach has been involved in at least two major corruption cases in the past decade, both of which involved the payment of bribes to company employees and officials. The Cuban government also hid its control of offshore companies by creating still other limited liability companies whose sole objective was to appear in registries as owners of the offshore companies and disguise Cubas hand in them. In particular, the expensive refurbishment of the Downing Street flat. As working class people suffered mass deaths during the first phases of the Covid pandemic, Tory MPs and their mates filled their bank accounts. Security agencies have warned against gangs attempting to kidnap unaccompanied children. BB Naft does not appear, however, among the subsidiaries listed on BB Energys Web site. 2. Sonatrach has been involved in at least two major corruption cases in the past decade, both of which involved the payment of bribes to company employees and officials. Surprisingly, the contract, long presented as a state-to-state agreement, was in fact signed with Sonatrachs offshore subsidiary, which is registered in the British Virgin Islands. The Committee on Standards suggested Paterson should just be suspended from the Commons for 30 days. Mansour had initially leveled the same accusations against the Lebanese company ZR Group Holding SAL and issued an arrest warrant for its owner, Teddy Rahmeh, which was withdrawn after bail was posted. INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND 3.1. With its economy reeling from years of recession and a sharp decline in oil production, Venezuela was already struggling to finance imports and government spending before Washington imposed tough restrictions on PDVSA in January. Those sanctioned include the oil trading firms Swissoil Trading and Malta-based Elemento Ltd., as well as Swissoil owner Philipp Paul Vartan Apikian, Spanish-Venezuelan citizen Francisco Javier D'Agostino Casado, and core facilitator and Italian citizen Alessandro Bazzoni. Their combined donation amounts to a total of 54 million. They include Petrobras, Vitol, and Glencore Limited. This is an actual Pandoras box that goes far beyond the chapter currently in the hands of the judiciary, he said. This raised many questions about the timing, and the reasons for neglecting it all these past years. Testimonies collected by Mount Lebanon Investigative Judge Nicolas Mansour as part of the preliminary investigation pointed to suspected shady deals to forge lab tests for the fuels quality specifications, and to the involvement of employees at the labs as well as senior officials at the Energy Ministry, including the director-general of oil installations, Sarkis Hleiss. So the seller had to be told that payment would be in euros from a bank in Spain, for example, and Cuba lost on the currency exchange.. Hayes, who was once described as the champion of the motorist during his time as a transport minister, also recently contributed to a report critical of the government's net-zero policies. What's more, one of the Algerian state-owned energy firm's subsidiaries has found itself in the crosshairs of a Lebanese court. Plus, it is still not taking any of the precautions necessary today. For some 15 years, the public were informed that Lebanon was purchasing fuel from the Algerian state company Sonatrach. Subscribe to our newsletters and offers. Labour supports essentially the same system as now. 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