National Endowment For The Preservation Of Liberty
The National Endowment for the Preservation of Liberty (NEPL) was a shell company used by Oliver North to provide funds and support the Contras who were fighting the left-wing Sandinista government. The company was a way for wealthy American citizens who were sympathetic to Reagan’s Contra policy to donate large sums of money and arms to Nicaragua. The company used the International Business Communications (IBC) to funnel money to the Contras. History The company was created in 1984 by Carl Channell and Richard R. Miller. The company used education and general public as a front for their backdoor operations. The company was exempted for taxes under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. The private fundraisers were considered “ground troops” for Oliver North and Richard Secord’s operations. The organization had close ties to the White House which was imperative for the funding. Iran Contra The funds were from the NEPL and sent directly to the Contras. In 19 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Shell Corporation
A shell corporation is a company or corporation that exists only on paper and has no office and no employees, but may have a bank account or may hold passive investments or be the registered owner of assets, such as intellectual property, or ships. Shell companies may be registered to the address of a company that provides a service setting up shell companies, and which may act as the agent for receipt of legal correspondence (such as an accountant or lawyer). The company may serve as a vehicle for business transactions without itself having any significant assets or operations. Shell companies are used regularly for tax evasion, tax avoidance, money laundering, or to achieve a specific goal such as anonymity. Anonymity may be sought to shield personal assets from others, such as a spouse when a marriage is breaking down, from creditors, or from government authorities. Shell companies can have legitimate business purposes. They may, for example, act as trustee for a trust, and ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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White House Office
The White House Office is an entity within the Executive Office of the President of the United States (EOP). The White House Office is headed by the White House chief of staff, who is also the head of the Executive Office of the President. The staff work for and report directly to the president, including West Wing staff and the president's senior advisers. Almost all of the White House Office staff are political appointees of the president, do not require Senate confirmation and can be dismissed at the discretion of the president. Aside from Cabinet secretaries and Supreme Court justices, whose nominations require the approval of the Senate, the President of the United States has the authority to appoint people to high-level positions within the federal government unilaterally. The staff of the various offices are based in the West Wing and East Wing of the White House, the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, and the New Executive Office Building. Senior staff, with high leve ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmenistan to the north, by Afghanistan and Pakistan to the east, and by the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf to the south. It covers an area of , making it the 17th-largest country. Iran has a population of 86 million, making it the 17th-most populous country in the world, and the second-largest in the Middle East. Its largest cities, in descending order, are the capital Tehran, Mashhad, Isfahan, Karaj, Shiraz, and Tabriz. The country is home to one of the world's oldest civilizations, beginning with the formation of the Elamite kingdoms in the fourth millennium BC. It was first unified by the Medes, an ancient Iranian people, in the seventh century BC, and reached its territorial height in the sixth century BC, when Cyrus the Great fo ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel, St. Gallen a.o.). , coordinates = , largest_city = Zürich , official_languages = , englishmotto = "One for all, all for one" , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , religion = , demonym = , german: Schweizer/Schweizerin, french: Suisse/Suissesse, it, svizzero/svizzera or , rm, Svizzer/Svizra , government_type = Federalism, Federal assembly-independent Directorial system, directorial republic with elements of a direct democracy , leader_title1 = Federal Council (Switzerland), Federal Council , leader_name1 = , leader_title2 = , leader_name2 = Walter Thurnherr , legislature = Fe ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Albert Hakim
Albert A. Hakim (July 16, 1936 - April 25, 2003) was an Iranian-American businessman and a figure in the Iran-Contra affair. Born into a Jewish Iranian family, Hakim attended California Polytechnic State University, California Polytechnic Institute for three years, beginning in 1955. Back in Iran, he established an export business specializing in advanced technologies, and in avoiding export restrictions related to them. He became ''persona non grata'' in Iran after the Islamic Revolution. Hakim was credited with negotiating a nine-point plan known as the "Hakim Accords", in which he negotiated the release of David P. Jacobsen, an American hostage held by the Islamic Republic of Iran from the Iran Hostage Crisis. Democratic Representative Ed Jenkins (U.S. politician), Ed Jenkins called the plan the "Hakim Accords". Later, during Hakim's trial for his role in the Iran-Contra affair, Jacobsen wrote a letter in Hakim's defense in which he stated: "I would be in my fifth year of captivi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Stanford Technology Trading Group International
Stanford Technology Trading Group International (STTGI) was a shell company founded by USAF Major General Richard V. Secord and Iranian arms dealer Albert Hakim, and a cornerstone of what was informally known as the "Enterprise", a complex web of for-profit business entities and non-profit front organizations created by Secord and Hakim to facilitate sales of arms to Iran, transfers of arms to the Nicaraguan Contras, as well as side dealings that benefited the Enterprise's principals in various ways. Anatomy of the Enterprise Key people * Thomas G. Clines, ''aka'' "C. Tea". Earned $883,000 for his services to the Enterprise. * Willard I. Zucker, financial manager of the Enterprise's Swiss bank accounts. Business and non-profit entities involved * Compagnie de Service Fiduciaires (CSF) * National Endowment for the Preservation of Liberty The National Endowment for the Preservation of Liberty (NEPL) was a shell company used by Oliver North to provide funds and support the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Politics Of Saudi Arabia
The politics of Saudi Arabia takes place in the context of a unitary absolute monarchy along Islamic lines, where the King is both the head of state and government. Decisions are, to a large extent, made on the basis of consultation among the King, the Council of Ministers, and the country's traditional elites. Most critics regard the Saudi government as a totalitarian state. The Basic Law of Saudi Arabia contains many characteristics of what might be called a constitution in other countries. However, The Qur'an is declared to be the official constitution of the country which is governed on the basis of Islamic law (Shari'a). The Allegiance Council is responsible to determine the new King and the new Crown Prince. All citizens of full age have a right to attend, meet, and petition the king directly through the traditional tribal meeting known as the majlis. The government is dominated by the vast royal family, the Al Saud, which has often been divided by internal disputes and i ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Adolfo Calero
Adolfo Calero Portocarrero (December 22, 1931 – June 2, 2012) was a Nicaraguan businessman and the leader of the Nicaraguan Democratic Force, the largest rebel group of the Contras, opposing the Sandinista government. Calero was responsible for managing the bank accounts into which money was deposited and then used to buy supplies and arms for the Contras. He was brought to testify at hearings of the US Congress in May 1987. Early years Calero was born on December 22, 1931 in Managua to Adolfo Calero Orozco (1899–1980) and María Portocarrero (1911–1944), who had married in 1927. The oldest of four children, he studied in the United States, graduating from University of Notre Dame in 1953 and Syracuse University. In Managua, he managed the Coca-Cola bottling plant. Calero was associated with the Conservative Party of Nicaragua. From 1963, he was a CIA information source. Before the 1979 overthrow of the government of Anastasio Somoza, he had been briefly imprisoned, w ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Richard Secord
Major General Richard Vernon Secord, Retired (born July 6, 1932), is a United States Air Force officer with a notable career in covert operations. Early in his military service, he was a member of the first U.S. aviation detachment sent to the Vietnam War in August 1961, Operation Farm Gate. Secord left Vietnam in 1965 to attend Air Command and Staff College. Afterward, he returned to Southeast Asia, being detailed to the Central Intelligence Agency for duty in the Secret War in Laos. While in Laos, he was responsible for several notable military actions. One was the Battle of Lima Site 85. Another was the only successful prisoner of war rescue of the Vietnam War. Both of these came about because of his responsibilities for overseeing the operations of the Royal Lao Air Force, Air America, and Raven FACs. After his Southeast Asian service, Secord commanded the 603rd Special Operations Squadron and underwent further advanced military education at the Naval War College. He th ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Oliver North
Oliver Laurence North (born October 7, 1943) is an American political commentator, television host, military historian, author, and retired United States Marine Corps lieutenant colonel. A veteran of the Vietnam War, North was a National Security Council staff member during the Iran–Contra affair, a political scandal of the late 1980s. It involved the illegal sale of weapons to the Khomeini regime of the Islamic Republic of Iran to encourage the release of American hostages then held in Lebanon. North formulated the second part of the plan, which was to divert proceeds from the arms sales to support the Contra rebel groups in Nicaragua, sales which had been specifically prohibited under the Boland Amendment. North was granted limited immunity from prosecution in exchange for testifying before Congress about the scheme. He was initially convicted on three felony charges, but the convictions were vacated and reversed and all charges against him dismissed in 1991. North un ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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501(c)(3) Organization
A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, Trust (business), trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of the 29 types of 501(c) organization, 501(c) nonprofit organizations in the US. 501(c)(3) tax-exemptions apply to entities that are organized and operated exclusively for religion, religious, Charitable organization, charitable, science, scientific, literature, literary or educational purposes, for Public security#Organizations, testing for public safety, to foster national or international amateur sports competition, or for the prevention of Child abuse, cruelty to children or Cruelty to animals, animals. 501(c)(3) exemption applies also for any non-incorporated Community Chest (organization), community chest, fund, Cooperating Associations, cooperating association or foundation organized and operated exclusively for those purposes. [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Carl Channell
Carl Russell Channell (May 25, 1945 - March 15, 1990) was an American political fundraiser and lobbyist. Early life Channell was born on May 25, 1945, in Elkins, West Virginia. He served in the United States Army in Germany during the Vietnam War era, and he graduated from American University. Career Channell began his career as a motel manager in West Virginia. Channell became a conservative political fundraiser in 1979. Via the National Endowment for the Preservation of Liberty, Channell attempted to "stall" the sanctions of the Anti-Apartheid Movement in South Africa. He participated in the fundraising for Contras and was later convicted in the Iran Contra affair Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni .... Death Channell died on May 7, 1990, in Washington, D.C. Refere ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |