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Blood Gold
An oil company founded by a former Obama administration trade adviser has been ordered by a Texas jury to pay $32.4 million in damages resulting from a botched plot to buy millions in illegal gold from a corrupt Congolese warlord. A civil jury in Dallas determined last week that CAMAC International, an oil and gas conglomerate founded by maxed-out Obama donor Kase Lawal, violated the terms of its agreement with the owner of a jet allegedly used during the gold transaction. Lawal, who was selected by President Barack Obama to serve as a member of the White House's Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations in 2010, invoked the Fifth Amendment dozens of times when questioned in court. Lawal's name no longer appears on the trade committee's website. The massive fine is a major blow to Lawal and CAMAC, which has come under scrutiny by the United Nations and others for its alleged role in a deal to purchase $10 million in illicit gold from Gen. Bosco Ntaganda, a rebel commander who has been linked by the International Criminal Court to ethnic massacres and rapes. It also reflects poorly on the Obama administration, which had tapped Lawal to serve as an adviser on global trade issues and hosted him at the White House in 2010 and 2011--after details of the incident began to emerge. The jury determined that CAMAC and one of its officials violated the U.S. Trading with the Enemy Act, which prevents American companies from doing business with international criminals. Posted by: Omerong Angeregum8930 2012-10-02 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=353103 |