Daily Archives: June 28, 2017

Bernard Madoff arrives at Manhattan Federal court on March 12, 2009 in New York City.

Two groups of offshore funds that invested in Bernard Madoffs fraudulent securities firm agreed to pay a combined $370 million to resolve lawsuits by the court-appointed trustee raising cash for victims.

Lagoon Investment Ltd. and related funds will hand over about $240 million while Thema Fund Ltd. and its affiliates will pay about $130 million, trustee Irving Picard said in a statement Tuesday. Details of the settlements were filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan, where the suits were filed in 2010.

The deals were struck just one day after the estates of Madoffs dead sons, Andrew and Mark, agreed to pay a total of $23 million to settle lawsuits by the trustee accusing them of profiting from the scam for years. The trustee has so far raised more than $11.6 billion for victims through hundreds of lawsuits against funds and customers who profited from the scam.

Stephen Harbeck, chief executive officer of the industry-financed Securities Investor Protection Corp., which hired Picard, called the settlements "significant accomplishments" given the difficulty of recovering funds from offshore accounts, according to the statement.

Lagoon, which is based in the British Virgin Islands, and Thema, with headquarters in Bermuda, were among many feeder funds that directed cash to Madoffs New York-based investment-advisory business, often without their customers knowledge.

Thousands of Madoff customers lost $17.5 billion in principal when his Ponzi scheme collapsed in December 2008. Thema alone lost about $1 billion.

Under the accord, Thema and Lagoon will turn over all the money they withdrew from their accounts in the six-year period prior to Madoffs arrest. The settlement clears the way for the funds to get approved claims in the bankruptcy case, meaning theyll get a share in Picards recoveries and distribute the money to their own customers.

A hearing on the deal is scheduled for July 26.

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Thema and Lagoon were among a dozen funds that used HSBC Holdings Plc as custodian. Picard in 2010 sued the London-based bank for $9 billion for allegedly aiding Madoffs fraudthrough the network of feeder funds. The trustee lost that suit as well as his cases against other banks with similar connections to Madoff on the grounds that trustees can only collect money owed to the estate, not sums owed to creditors.

Madoff, 79, pleaded guilty in 2009 and was sentenced to 150 years in prison. At the time his Ponzi scheme fell apart, customer statements reflected more than $40 billion in imaginary profit from fake investments. Five of Madoffs top aides were convicted after a trial in 2014.

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Madoff Trustee Fetches $370 Million After Two Offshore Funds Settle - Bloomberg

Summer is just getting started, and millions already are enjoying the beach. The AAA estimated that 39.3 million people hit the road over the Memorial Day holiday, making it one of the busiest travel weekends on record. For many, the journey ended with a blanket on the sand and waves lapping on the shore.

Beaches are the workhorse engines that drive our coastal economies. From Maine to Hawaii, beaches attract an endless stream of visitors who patronize local hotels, shops, and restaurants, contributing over $100 billion to our GDP every year.

However, our nations coasts are now under grave threat. In recent weeks, the Trump administration has announced plans to expand offshore drilling, eliminate beach water quality grants, and reverse climate change policies. These proposals will cause permanent damage to our nations magnificent coasts if we dont hold our federal leaders accountable.

On April 28, President Trump signed an executive order to expand offshore oil drilling in U.S. waters. The order directs the Department of the Interior to develop a new five-year oil- and gas-leasing program, putting the Atlantic coast, the Pacific coast, Floridas Gulf Coast, and the Arctic Ocean at risk of new oil rigs.

Offshore oil drilling is a dirty and destructive industry that pollutes the ocean, destroys beaches and puts coastal economies at risk. The 2010 BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and the more recent 2015 spill in Santa Barbara, California, both did major damage to beaches and the tourism industry in those areas, previewing what is to come if we allow more drilling to take place.

Coastal communities and businesses are fighting back. On the Atlantic coast a region at the top of the administrations wish list for new drilling over 120 municipalities, 1,200 elected officials, and an alliance representing 35,000 businesses and 500,000 fishing families have publicly opposed offshore drilling.

The oil and gas industry is eager to turn a profit at the expense of our coasts, but the oil lobby cant control the voices of the citizens. People are speaking out, and their members of Congress are listening. Over 100 House Democrats and Republicans recently signed a letter urging Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke not to allow any new offshore oil and gas drilling.

The communities and citizens who depend on clean coastlines must continue to demand that our government protect them.

Our beaches are also under threat from pollution. The health of millions of beachgoers depends on safe water quality along the coasts. EPA water quality monitoring tells us when its safe to go in the water resulting in over 20,000 beach closures and advisories issued each year. Yet, President Trumps budget proposal for 2018 eliminates all funding for the EPA BEACH Grants program, which supports water quality monitoring at popular beaches across the U.S.

Funding for the BEACH Grants program is critical to providing beachgoers with the information they need to avoid getting sick at the beach. The program helps states pay for testing and public notification programs, and often spurs local solutions to pollution problems. If beaches are contaminated and unsafe, it will not only take away a beloved American pastime, but coastal tourism and recreation economies that provide 2.15 million jobs nationwide will suffer.

With the administrations lack of support for the BEACH Grants program, we must rely on Congress to provide the necessary leadership to protect clean water and public health. A day at the beach should not make you and your family sick.

The inspiring pull of the beach has endured for generations, but we must act now to protect it for the future.

Pete Stauffer is environmental director at the Surfrider Foundation, a nonprofit focused on clean water and coastal preservation headquartered in San Clemente, Calif., with local chapters across the country, including Charleston and Myrtle Beach.

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Offshore oil poses threat to booming coastal economies - Charleston Post Courier

The US Sailing 2017 U.S. Offshore Championship for The Lloyd Phoenix Trophy is being sailed in Navy 44s in Annapolis, September 21-24. Competing teams from across the USA will be tested in buoy racing, a middle distance and a long distance race (weather permitting).

Each team must consist of a crew of eight: one skipper and six crew members plus one U.S. Naval Academy Midshipman provided from the varsity offshore racing team. A minimum of five members of each competitors team must have raced together (including the designated skipper) in at least five regattas in ORC, PHRF, Offshore One Design, Offshore Level Class Racing or Portsmouth Numbers rating systems in the past 18 months. Up to 9 teams may enter.

Teams will be selected based on US Sailing Area and resume (see the US Sailing website for more information) and the U.S. Naval Academy may enter one team for a maximum of ten total entries. Applications close on July 15 and invitations issued to selected teams the week of July 17th.

Details at http://www.ussailing.org/racing/championships/adult/offshorechamps/

Originally posted here:

US Sailing in Search of a Few Good Offshore Teams - Scuttlebutt Sailing News

SHANGHAI, June 28 China's state-owned Agricultural Development Bank of China plans to issue yuan bonds to both onshore and offshore investors on July 3, coinciding with the country's launch of a "Bond Connect" scheme to link its nearly $10 trillion bond market with overseas investors.

The Agricultural Development Bank of China (ADBC), one of China's major policy lenders, announced the plan to issue 16 billion yuan ($2.35 billion) worth of fixed-rate bonds in Beijing late Tuesday on the website of the state-owned clearing house.

These bonds would mark the country's first round of policy bank bonds issued specifically for offshore investors, with the planned issuance coming against the backdrop of the imminent launch of the long-awaited Bond Connect scheme.

While regulators have not said when the programme will begin, it is expected to be announced and launched to coincide with the 20th anniversary of the handover of Hong Kong from British to Chinese rule on July 1.

In its statement, ADBC said that it would issue up to 5 billion yuan each of one-year, three-year and five-year notes in the first round of tender targeting both onshore and offshore investors, and up to an additional 500 million yuan each of one-year and three-year notes in a second round for offshore investors only.

The one-, three- and five-year notes will yield 3.61 percent, 3.98 percent and 4.13 percent, respectively.

All bonds will be listed on the China Interbank Bond Market, and the proceeds will be lent to agriculture, farmers and rural areas, the statement said.

Policy bank bonds issued by China's three policy banks - ADBC, China Development Bank and the Export-Import Bank of China - are viewed as sovereign credit.

($1 = 6.8015 Chinese yuan) (Reporting by Andrew Galbraith; Editing by Shri Navaratnam)

PARIS A global cyber attack has hit the property arm of France's biggest bank BNP Paribas , one of the largest financial institutions known to be affected by an extortion campaign that started in Russia and Ukraine before spreading.

CRANS-MONTANA, Switzerland Rival Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot leaders opened talks on Wednesday aimed at reuniting the divided island after more than 40 years, but need to overcome prickly issues in what some fear could be the last chance.

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China policy bank announces bond for offshore investors ahead of Bond Connect - Reuters

AmericanHort, Society of American Florists and the USDA are collaborating on the program.

WASHINGTON, DC - AmericanHort and the Society of American Florists are collaborating with U.S. Department of Agricultures Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) to initiate an offshore certification program for unrooted plant cuttings. A six-month pilot program is expected to be launched on Oct. 1, according to a press release, and will include growing operations in six Latin American countries.

Each year, the United States imports more than 1 billion unrooted cuttings of mostly annual and perennial plant varieties. This is an important supply chain for U.S. rooting stations and finished-plant growers. Nearly half of all plants sold in U.S. retail stores start from cuttings produced offshore. The high volume of these imports, most of which enter between December and March, presents staffing challenges for APHIS and Customs and Border Protection as they inspect for plant pests and diseases.

We believe that these unrooted cuttings generally present a low risk of harboring pests and pathogens of regulatory concern. Because of their high perishability, expediting port clearance would help to ensure vitality and benefit offshore production facilities, rooting stations, and finished plant growers.

Beginning in Oct. 2017, APHIS is expected to launch a six-month greenhouse certification pilot program. The pilot will include greenhouse facilities in Mexico, Guatemala, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Costa Rica, and Colombia that produce generally admissible, unrooted vegetative cuttings for import into the United States. The pilot is being designed to determine whether greenhouse certification could effectively mitigate at origin regulated pest and disease risks associated with plant cuttings produced in approved facilities.

For the duration of the pilot, facilities must adhere to the requirements outlined in the draft pilot framework. The framework includes standard plant pest exclusion procedures, sanitation and traceability protocols, a summary of the greenhouse certification process, an explanation of how shipments will be handled at U.S. ports of entry, and expected next steps after the pilots conclusion in March, 2018.

Four companies Ball Horticultural Co., Dmmen-Orange, Proven Winners, and Syngenta Flowers will participate in the initial pilot. The four companies and the associations have participated in a working group process with APHIS for over a year to develop the pilot program framework. During the pilot, offshore-produced cuttings from these companies farms will be subject to the same inspection process as cuttings from other sources. The expectation is that a successful pilot will result in reduced inspections and expedited entry procedures thereafter. If successful, the program is expected to be opened to additional countries and producers.

APHIS has made the pilot framework available for public review and comment until July 20, 2017. To submit comments or obtain additional information, contact Kelsey Branch, APHIS Foreign Inspection and Certification Coordinator, at Kelsey.Branch@aphis.usda.gov. Questions to the associations may be addressed to Craig Regelbrugge (AmericanHort), CraigR@AmericanHort.org; or, Drew Gruenburg (Society of American Florists), DGruenburg@SafNow.org.

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New offshore cutting pilot program launching in October - Greenhouse Management

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's largest oil producer Rosneft said on Sunday it had found its first oil field in the Laptev Sea in the eastern Arctic, making a breakthrough in the search for hydrocarbons in the harsh and far-flung region despite Western sanctions.

Rosneft and its partners plan to invest 480 billion roubles ($8.4 billion) in developing Russia's offshore energy industry in the next five years, part of a drive to boost output from new areas.

The company has sought tie-ups with several global oil players to develop Russia's offshore regions. But a deal to work in the Kara Sea in the western Arctic with U.S. company Exxon Mobil was suspended in 2014 after the imposition of Western sanctions against Moscow.

"The result of the drilling at the Khatanga licence block allows Rosneft to be considered the discoverer of [oil] fields in offshore Eastern Arctic," the company said in a statement.

Most Russian oil output comes from western Siberia, where fields are depleting, pushing producers to look for new regions. Sanctions complicate the process, barring Western companies from helping with Arctic offshore, deepwater and shale oil projects.

The Arctic offshore area is expected to account for between 20% and 30% of Russian production, one of the world's largest, by 2050.

Rosneft owns 28 blocks in the Arctic offshore area with combined estimated resources of 34 billion tonnes of oil equivalent.

There is only one offshore platform in the Russian Arctic, Prirazlomnoye, operated by Gazprom Neft, which plans to produce 2.6 million tonnes (52,000 bpd) this year.

Analysts say oil production in the region - apart from Prirazlomnoye - is years away and may start only in the mid-2020s.

Rosneft has been working in the Laptev Sea since 2014. It values the hydrocarbon resources of the sea at around 9.5 billion tonnes of oil equivalent.

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Rosneft finds first oil field offshore eastern Arctic - WorldOil (subscription)