September 11 Commission Report - Gnostic Liberation Front

“…Valmet was also one of the first companies that US and Swiss investigators looked at during the
Bank of New York money laundering scandal that erupted in August 1999 after more than $7bn in
suspect Russian funds was found to have been funnelled through the venerable bank. It didn't help that
Valmet had been moving the funds alleged to have been looted from Avisma though accounts at the
bank.” [Truth and Beauty... (and Russian Finance) The Summer of our Discontent, Eric Krause, July
22, 2004]
The documentation that shows the relationship of Riggs to Valmet suggests it was more
than just an “investment” by Riggs, but rather a partnership vehicle between Riggs and
Menatep, between the Bush family and the Yeltsin family, which provided guidance, a
foundation for tax evasion, and special favors such as visas to the U.S. In the beginning,
Riggs had controlling interest. Valmet, as a Riggs “investment,” would have been under
the control of Jonathon Bush, brother of George Bush Sr. Valmet also would have been
under the influence of J. Carter Beese, Vice Chairman and Director of Riggs, who was an
executive at Alex Brown, where A.B. Krongard (Executive Director of the CIA mentored
him during the period of the Federal Reserve cover-up.)
“Press reports have also noted that George W. Bush's uncle, Jonathan Bush, heads a subsidiary of the
bank. However, other significant ties between the Bush administration, federal banking regulators, and
Riggs officials have never been publicly disclosed Riggs & Co. Vice Chairman and Director J. Carter
Beese is a close associate of George W. Bush and the Bush family. He was a Bush Pioneer in 2000 and
a leading donor to the Bush Florida recount effort. He holds a presidential appointment and has served
as a confidential advisor to George W. Bush on the nomination of high-level regulators at the
Securities and Exchange Commission. In 1992, following more than a decade of service to the Bush
family's political endeavors, George H. W. Bush appointed Beese to the post of SEC Commissioner.
Beese also helped to found the Carlyle Group, a conglomerate with historical ties to the bin Laden
family and George H. W. Bush. While serving as an executive at Alex. Brown, Beese was mentored
closely by A. B. Krongard, appointed by George W. Bush as Executive Director of the CIA, the third
highest-ranking position at the Agency.” [New Evidence in the Riggs Case: The Bush
Administration's Links to the "Bank of Presidents"A Public Accountability Initiative Report,
10/15/2004]
Riggs bought controlling interest of Valmet in 1988 and immediately began business
contacts with Russian KGB operatives Aleksey (aka Alexei) Kondaurov and Fillipp (aka
Phillip) Bobkov. (Kondaurov was also a sponsor of Col. Anton Surikov, who would later
help found Farwest, which partnered with Diligence and Halliburton.) Through Valmet,
Riggs engaged with the Russians and KGB as their “consultant” in 1989, and helped
them set up Bank Menatep. This was during the same time period that the Russian debt
was entering into the refinancing process.
“Until 1994, Riggs National Bank in Washington owned 51 percent of Valmet Group, which operates
through a chain of corporate entities in the Dutch Antilles, Switzerland and elsewhere ….” [The Isle of
Man as an Enclave of Intrigue,Alan Cowell and Edmund L. Andrews, New York Times,September 24,
1999]
“But even though Riggs' stake was reduced in 1994 when the increasingly powerful Menatep bought a
20 percent share, it retained a 5 percent stake.” [The Friends and Foes of a Rising Oilman, Catherine
Belton, Moscow Times, May 27, 2005]
THE SEPTEMBER 11 COMMISSION REPORT Page 208