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<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=1 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD><SPAN class=TopStory>Scandals don't always come in brown paper bags</SPAN>
<SPAN class=Subheadline></SPAN></TD></TR><TR><TD>Tamara Scott-Williams
Sunday, October 08, 2006
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<P class=StoryText align=justify>I believe the chairman of the People's National Party, Bobby Pickersgill when he says that the government would not "sell out the country for $30-million, and to be doing this with a company with the reputation of Trafigura".<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=5 width=100 align=left border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>
</TD></TR><TR><TD><SPAN class=Description>Tamara Scott-Williams </SPAN></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><P class=StoryText align=justify>I believe him when he suggested that if there was anything suspicious about Dutch oil trader Trafigura Beheer's 31 million dollar donation to the PNP conference then the donation would have been handed over in a brown paper bag, not in a cheque, deposited to a bank account.<P class=StoryText align=justify>While sitting there all dressed in black with a white tie on Wednesday night being interviewed by Milton Walker, he was impatient, menacing at times, looking every bit like 'don dadda'. When he suggested that $30 million was 'peanuts', I believed him. He looks like he knows what he's talking about when it comes to brown paper bags.<P class=StoryText align=justify>I might not believe PNP general-secretary Senator Colin Campbell, however, when he said that his party had not approached Trafigura for funds, but that Trafigura had offered the donation. He said "They made the offer. They said that they know elections are imminent in Jamaica and they are intending to make a contribution. I don't know if it is for both political parties, but they spoke to me as the general-secretary of the People's National Party." If that's the case then the Jamaica Labour Party's general secretary needs to see if some of the donation was intended for the opposition.<P class=StoryText align=justify>While we may question Trafigura's judgement when it comes to donating so much to a country that earns so little for them, I'll go with Senator Campbell's explanation that it's not for us to second-guess a corporation's philosophy when it comes to charitable donations. If Trafigura Beheer's largesse is in direct proportion to controversial and questionable practices it has been accused of, so what?<P class=StoryText align=justify>Trafigura has been linked to Marc Rich, who was described as "the most wanted white-collar criminal in US history until his controversial pardon on President Bill Clinton's last day in office in 2001". Last year, Trafigura Beheer made US$28.4 billion: $30 million Jamaican is pennies to them.<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=5 width=130 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>
</TD></TR><TR><TD><SPAN class=Description></SPAN></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><P class=StoryText align=justify>Last month, the Trafigura Beheer was accused of dumping 528,000 litres of toxic chemical waste at 15 sites in and around the West African city of Abidjan, Ivory Coast which killed seven people and caused over 52,000 to seek medical assistance. Being involved in questionable campaign financing activities in Jamaica is child's play by comparison.<P class=StoryText align=justify>Earlier this year Trafigura pleaded guilty and was sentenced in accordance with a plea agreement to pay a US$8-million fine and to forfeit US$9.9 million, the amount of money it earned from the illegal oil shipments to two US companies after falsely stating that the oil was 'obtained pursuant to all necessary approvals and in accordance with all appl
<SPAN class=Subheadline></SPAN></TD></TR><TR><TD>Tamara Scott-Williams
Sunday, October 08, 2006
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<P class=StoryText align=justify>I believe the chairman of the People's National Party, Bobby Pickersgill when he says that the government would not "sell out the country for $30-million, and to be doing this with a company with the reputation of Trafigura".<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=5 width=100 align=left border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>
</TD></TR><TR><TD><SPAN class=Description>Tamara Scott-Williams </SPAN></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><P class=StoryText align=justify>I believe him when he suggested that if there was anything suspicious about Dutch oil trader Trafigura Beheer's 31 million dollar donation to the PNP conference then the donation would have been handed over in a brown paper bag, not in a cheque, deposited to a bank account.<P class=StoryText align=justify>While sitting there all dressed in black with a white tie on Wednesday night being interviewed by Milton Walker, he was impatient, menacing at times, looking every bit like 'don dadda'. When he suggested that $30 million was 'peanuts', I believed him. He looks like he knows what he's talking about when it comes to brown paper bags.<P class=StoryText align=justify>I might not believe PNP general-secretary Senator Colin Campbell, however, when he said that his party had not approached Trafigura for funds, but that Trafigura had offered the donation. He said "They made the offer. They said that they know elections are imminent in Jamaica and they are intending to make a contribution. I don't know if it is for both political parties, but they spoke to me as the general-secretary of the People's National Party." If that's the case then the Jamaica Labour Party's general secretary needs to see if some of the donation was intended for the opposition.<P class=StoryText align=justify>While we may question Trafigura's judgement when it comes to donating so much to a country that earns so little for them, I'll go with Senator Campbell's explanation that it's not for us to second-guess a corporation's philosophy when it comes to charitable donations. If Trafigura Beheer's largesse is in direct proportion to controversial and questionable practices it has been accused of, so what?<P class=StoryText align=justify>Trafigura has been linked to Marc Rich, who was described as "the most wanted white-collar criminal in US history until his controversial pardon on President Bill Clinton's last day in office in 2001". Last year, Trafigura Beheer made US$28.4 billion: $30 million Jamaican is pennies to them.<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=5 width=130 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR><TD></TD></TR><TR><TD><SPAN class=Description></SPAN></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><P class=StoryText align=justify>Last month, the Trafigura Beheer was accused of dumping 528,000 litres of toxic chemical waste at 15 sites in and around the West African city of Abidjan, Ivory Coast which killed seven people and caused over 52,000 to seek medical assistance. Being involved in questionable campaign financing activities in Jamaica is child's play by comparison.<P class=StoryText align=justify>Earlier this year Trafigura pleaded guilty and was sentenced in accordance with a plea agreement to pay a US$8-million fine and to forfeit US$9.9 million, the amount of money it earned from the illegal oil shipments to two US companies after falsely stating that the oil was 'obtained pursuant to all necessary approvals and in accordance with all appl