Dodgey Bush Money, Charles and Sam Wyly and the Isle of Man

international | anti-capitalism | other press

Sunday June 05, 2005 19:42

by redjade

IOM is not in the EU - a Permanent Autonomous Zone for the wealthy

''The scheme, devised by one of America's biggest banks and used by two billionaire donors to George Bush's election campaign among others, is being probed for possible breaches of securities and anti-money-laundering rules.''

US Probes Isle of Man Scheme Used by Billionaire Bush Donors
Independent/UK
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines05/0605-03.htm

The Manhattan District Attorney, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) are jointly probing a tax-shelter plan run out of the Isle of Man.

The scheme, devised by one of America's biggest banks and used by two billionaire donors to George Bush's election campaign among others, is being probed for possible breaches of securities and anti-money-laundering rules.

The investigating bodies believed that up to $100m (£55m) of tax was saved through one scheme alone, and as much as $700m in taxes may have been avoided over an 11-year period. The scheme involved executives and corporations handing over stock to trusts that they declared they neither owned nor controlled. When the options were cashed in, no tax was payable. However, the IRS changed the rules in 2003 to say that tax should be paid anyway.

In the previous 11 years, tax schemes were marketed by Bank of America to at least 42 corporations.

[....]

They have contacted the regulators on the Isle of Man asking for information on one particular scheme used by two Texan billionaire brothers, Charles and Sam Wyly.

The duo, who made their money in computing and retailing, not only gave over $200,000 to President Bush's re-election campaigns, but also bankrolled TV adverts attacking his rivals, John Kerry and Senator John McCain.

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Comments (2 of 2)

the Isle of Man? - that little dot between us and them

Sun Jun 05, 2005 19:43

'The Island is a unique self-governing kingdom - a Crown dependency which belongs to neither the UK nor the European Union.'
http://www.isleofman.com/about/

- Status: An internally self-governing dependent territory of the Crown which is not part of the United Kingdom
- Parliament: Tynwald
- Currency: Manx pounds and pence (equivalent to GB pounds)
http://www.gov.im/IsleOfMan/facts.xml

Swift Boat Veterans at dock in the Irish Sea

Sun Jun 05, 2005 19:45

The family of brothers Sam and Charles Wyly was the ninth-largest patron of George W. Bush’s political career, the Center for Public Integrity reported in 1999. The Wylys diversified their initial software fortune into oil, mining, restaurants and retail holdings. The family sold its computer companies—Sterling Software and Sterling Commerce—for $8 billion in 2000. Soon thereafter, the media learned that Sam Wyly was synonymous with “Republicans for Clean Air,” which spent $2.5 million on pro-Bush TV ads before the 2000 primaries attacking John McCain as an environmental marauder. Commercial interests may have shaped Wyly’s views of the candidates. A recent Sam Wyly venture, Green Mountain Energy, charges a premium for purportedly environmentally friendly electricity. The company, in which BP Amoco also owns a major stake, previously lobbied to get “green” certification for power generated from incinerated animal waste.
http://www.whitehouseforsale.org/ContributorsAndPaybacks/pioneer_profile.cfm?pioneer_ID=25

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Did the Wyly brothers' ill-gotten loot buy the White House?
13 Apr 2005
By Greg Palast
http://www.gnn.tv/articles/1312/Wyly_Coyotes
In 2000, Sen. John McCain was wiping the electoral floor with Bush Jr. in the Republican primaries until that March when the Wylys secretly put up two and half million dollars for a campaign to smear Bush’s opponent just days before the crucial Southern primaries.

They repeated the trick in 2004, putting up cash for the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, the vicious little snipes who tore apart the Kerry campaign.

So what makes these guys so thrilled with Mr. Bush? There are more than ninety million reasons. While George W. was governor of Texas, investigative reporter Joe Conason discovered, a Wyly family private investment fund, Maverick Capital of Dallas, was awarded a state contract to invest $90 million for the University of Texas endowment.

That’s not all. As Governor, Bush signed into law an electricity “deregulation” bill that was little more than ill-disguised raid on consumers’ wallets by Texas power companies. The bill was in part drafted by an outfit called GreenMountain.com, a power company owned by – you guessed it – Sam Wyly.

On the day George W. signed the deregulation bill, Sam Wyly said, “Governor Bush’s hard work and leadership have paid off.” And, it seems, in 2000 and 2004, the Wylys paid back.

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Charles and Sam Wyly
http://www.samwyly.net

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Dodgey Bush Money, Charles and Sam Wyly and the Isle of Man

Comments (2 of 2)