Thursday, January 14, 2021

Inside Australia’s Secret Rich List

 STOCK MARKET LOSSES FOR TECH COMPANIES THAT TOOK SIDES:  The Costs of Wading into Politics.



London: The financial crime watchdog has issued a grovelling apology after accidentally telling Parliament that the Vatican transferred $2.3 billion to Australia over seven years when the actual amount was less than $10 million.

The Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre's claim prompted alarm and confusion in the Holy See, where Cardinal George Pell has been caught up in an ugly internal war over its financial affairs.

But AUSTRAC has now conceded the figure was 242 times higher than the true total of $9.5 million and blamed software for the bungle.

AUSTRAC claimed the Vatican wired $2.3 billion to Australia. The true figure was $9.5 million

Inside Australia’s Secret Rich List

Inside Australia’s Secret Rich List

Have Australia's wealthiest old families bought off the political process? Despite myriad attempts over the years to repeal the cosy "grandfathering" exemption, the billionaires are still permitted - like

How is it fair, in the land of the fair go, that there is one law for billionaires and another law for the rest of us? 

Please check out our Secret Rich List series. More than 5,000 searches were made by Luke Stacey and Stephanie Tran of the corporate structures and political donations made by Australia's wealthiest family business empires.

When Parliament resumes we hope to see an amendment back on the table to get rid of this unfair "grandfathering" exemption.

Happy New Year to all. Thanks so much for your support for independent journalism. Some terrific stories here for your perusal.

Michael and the Team


Italy 'Ndrangheta group: Biggest mafia trial in decades opens



ABOUT TIME:  The Guy Who Built The World Wide Web Is Building A ‘New Internet’, Where You Control Your Data.