Corruption knows where to go to find a friendly home. Diageo PLC bribed government officials for sales and tax benefits in three Southeast Asian countries, and the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has slapped them with $16 million in fines to settle its investigation into corporate bribery by the multinational liquor distributor. According...
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Sometime before the end of this year, we’ll know whether Fortune Brands is going to break up its business conglomerate and put its $8 billion plus Jim Beam Bourbon spirits brand on the sale block. And if they do, worldwide financial analysts say the leading contender to buy the business is none other than...
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“Corrupt political leaders of U.S. Virgin Islands managed to fleece the rum tax rebate program in order to line the pockets of British liquor conglomerate, Diageo – and through all this process, they were aided and abetted by Rep. Charlie Rangel.” “What will Mr. Rangel and his cronies get in return?” Those are the...
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(Editor’s Note: As Virgin Islanders struggle with high unemployment and limited opportunities, a Diageo insider offers this disturbing look at what $250 million in bonds and 45% of our cover over revenues can buy. The account is reprinted here substantially as it was submitted to CIF. It’s something to think about, as you consider...
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Oh, this one is rich. Let’s take a $16,000 journey to the Italian Tuscan countryside and the ancient city of Rome with Sen. Wayne James – all fully approved by Sen. President Louis Patrick Hill. The trip was for James to participate in the “Twin City Agreement” between the Virgin Islands and Montescudaio, Italy....
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It was only a matter of time before the race card reared its head in the ongoing rum controversy between the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. The “Rum Wars” triggered by the Virgin Islands Diageo Deal have invaded our nation’s capital and according to a recent Washington Post article, the political dispute over the revenues...
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Remember those “thousands of local construction jobs” the deJongh Administration told us the Diageo project was going to bring to St. Croix and the Territory? CIF has obtained copies of correspondence that confirm that this was never the case. Official correspondence from Diageo officials is very clear that the initial plant construction was never intended...
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Editorial Name calling is the refuge of those who have exhausted their illogical arguments and have nowhere else to turn. Such is the tactic now taken by the Delegate to Congress, Donna Christensen, in her incredibly irrational characterization of opponents to the Diageo and Fortune deals as similar to the “tea party” advocates at...
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The Governor doesn’t like it. The Delegate to Congress doesn’t like it. But like it or not, bills have now been introduced in both Houses of the US Congress questioning the wisdom of the use of the rum cover over revenues in the Diageo and Cruzan Rum deals. On Thursday, New Jersey Senator Robert Menendez...
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Scrutiny of the deal with Diageo, LLC, to produce Captain Morgan Rum in the Virgin Islands has gone international, and President Barack Obama has been cautioned that the $2.7 billion subsidy to the rum producer may result in allegations of unfair trade practices from the global community. And whatever your opinion of the deal,...
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(Editor’s Note: CIF would like to thank Delegate to Congress Donna Christensen for providing us with a copy of this report.) The government that receives the rum cover-over has the discretion to spend it as it pleases, and legislation brought forth by Puerto Rico limiting its use would violate the Congressional intent of the...
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In recent months, Gov. John P. deJongh Jr. has described Puerto Rico’s objections to the Diageo rum deal as those of a sore loser who lost the rum producer’s business to the Virgin Islands. But a bill on being considered in the US House of Representatives (HR 2122) that would modify the use of...
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Rangel Chairs Key Congressional Committee Considering Changes in Use of Cover-Over Revenues; Impact on Diageo, Cruzan Deals Could Be Significant Virgin Islands donors to Rep. Charles B. Rangel’s campaign certainly did their part to help seal the Diageo deal. An article in the October 6 Washington Times notes that “contributions to Mr. Rangel from the...
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(Editor’s note: Yet another twist on this sweet deal from one of our readers.) Well, here we go. Sugar prices have reached a 28 year high and are forecast to rise further. The main engine for the price increase is a combination of increased demand for sugar (for ethanol production) and decreased production, primarily in India. These...
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Guest Opinion by Dwane A. Callwood I am amazed at how quickly we seem to forget here in the Virgin Islands. I am very concerned that the Governor is calling the Senate into Special Session to consider more borrowing to keep the territory afloat. I concede we are in tough economic times. However, I...
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Got a question for Jimmy O’Bryan but you can’t ever get through on the phone?
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Will he try again?
Word has it that Kenneth Mapp is going to make another run at Government House in the 2014 election.
With the theme of "Hope Over Despair," his last run ended in controversy in the midst of concerns about the accuracy of the voting machines and an emotional rally with his supporters on St. Croix. At that time, there was discussion of challenges that were to be issued to the Board of Elections on the election procedures, but no results were ever revealed from those inquiries.
Controversial but persistent, could he be considering another run? And if he is, can he win?
As many of you heard recently, CIF President Michael Springer, at left, delivered the first in a series of radio announcements that will target specific issues and offer analysis on our most pressing concerns.
The feedback on the comments was extremely positive, so CIF will sponsor then as often as possible, and we thank those of you who have already donated! But airtime costs money and we're seeking your help.
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