June 2010 – 2013: Secret donations flow to Clinton Foundation amid Uranium One deal

“At the heart of the tale are several men, leaders of the Canadian mining industry, who have been major donors to the charitable endeavors of former President Bill Clinton and his family. Members of that group built, financed and eventually sold off to the Russians a company that would become known as Uranium One.

Beyond mines in Kazakhstan that are among the most lucrative in the world, the sale gave the Russians control of one-fifth of all uranium production capacity in the United States. Since uranium is considered a strategic asset, with implications for national security, the deal had to be approved by a committee composed of representatives from a number of United States government agencies. Among the agencies that eventually signed off was the State Department, then headed by Mr. Clinton’s wife, Hillary Rodham Clinton.

As the Russians gradually assumed control of Uranium One in three separate transactions from 2009 to 2013, Canadian records show, a flow of cash made its way to the Clinton Foundation. Uranium One’s chairman used his family foundation to make four donations totaling $2.35 million. Those contributions were not publicly disclosed by the Clintons, despite an agreement Mrs. Clinton had struck with the Obama White House to publicly identify all donors. Other people with ties to the company made donations as well.

And shortly after the Russians announced their intention to acquire a majority stake in Uranium One, Mr. Clinton received $500,000 for a Moscow speech from a Russian investment bank with links to the Kremlin that was promoting Uranium One stock.” (Read more: New York Times, 4/23/2015)

June 9, 2010: Giustra and the Clintons meet the Colombian President; Giustra gets big contracts in Colombia and Giustra makes big donations to the Clinton Foundation

“While running for president in 2008, both Clinton and Senator Barack Obama (D) publicly opposed a US trade deal with Colombia, the United States–U., due to human rights violations there.

In June 2010, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, her husband former President Bill Clinton, and Canadian mining financier Frank Giustra meet with Colombian President Alvaro Uribe in Colombia. Giustra has developed business ties worth hundreds of millions of dollars in Colombia after repeated meetings with Uribe and Bill Clinton. Giustra also has donated tens of millions of dollars to the Clinton Foundation. Uribe has been widely criticized for human rights abuses.

Representative Jim McGovern (D) warns Hillary in a private email that “while in Colombia, the most important thing the Secretary can do is to avoid effusive praise for President Alvaro Uribe.” But Hillary ignores this warning. After the dinner, she gives a public speech in which she praises Uribe as an “essential partner to the United States” whose “commitment to building strong democratic institutions here in Colombia” would “leave a legacy of great progress that will be viewed in historic terms.”

She also publicly supports the US trade deal, a deal which would greatly benefit Giustra and other US investors in Colombia. In 2011, workers for the Giustra-owned Pacific Rubiales company in Colombia go on strike. There are allegations they are forced to live and work in “concentration camp-like” conditions. However, the Colombian military uses force and breaks the strike. By this time, Giustra has donated $130 million to the Clinton Foundation.

Clinton’s State Department certifies that Colombia is “meeting statutory criteria related to human rights,” despite widespread evidence to the contrary, and Clinton and now President Obama decide to support the trade deal they had opposed. Later in 2011, the trade deal passes Congress and becomes law. This is followed by more donations from both Giustra and Pacific Rubiales to the Clinton Foundation.” The Hill, 4/9/2015)  (The New York Review of Books,1/30/2016)

June 9, 2010 – Clinton Foundation partners with Carlos Slim and Frank Giustra to run a private equity fund in Colombia

New Fund a Partnership between the Clinton Giustra Sustainable Growth Initiative and the SLIM Foundation

Both CGSGI and the SLIM Foundation Commit $10 million to the Fund

Bogotá, Colombia – President Bill Clinton, Frank Giustra and Oscar Von Hauske of the SLIM Foundation announced today the launch of Fondo Acceso, a USD $20 million fund for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Colombia.

“Colombia and Latin America are home to countless talented entrepreneurs. But, unfortunately, many of them lack access to the tools needed to scale-up their business, employ more people, and ultimately uplift their communities,” said President Clinton. “The fund we are announcing today will address this need, and provide more people with the resources they need to lift themselves and their families into prosperity.”

“In the last decade, NGOs recognized the opportunity to provide micro-credit to enterprising individuals in poor and marginalized communities,” said Frank Giustra. “We believe the SME focus by Fondo Acceso will establish a new paradigm for providing equity capital to this growing market, which we hope will be adopted by the financial community at large,” he added.

“Because of its focus on the creation of jobs, Fondo Acceso will stimulate small and medium sized businesses,” said Carlos Slim.

Fondo Acceso is an innovative investment fund that will provide creative financial solutions to small and medium sized Colombian businesses that are under-served by existing sources of financing, with an emphasis on job creation. The Fund aims to provide growth financing that achieves both financial and social returns. As such, each investment will be considered based on its financial return, its risk profile, and its social relevance as measured in terms of sustainable job creation.

Fondo Acceso will not concentrate on any one sector of the economy or on any specific geographic area within Colombia, but it will give priority to those enterprises that have the greatest potential to create jobs.

Fondo Acesso will work in tandem with other private equity firms and banking institutions in Colombia. It will welcome referrals from these firms and will consider opportunities to provide co-financing to entities that without the Fund’s participation would not have access to these traditional sources of capital.” (Clinton Foundation, 6/09/2010)  (Archive)

June 14, 2010 – The untold story of a Nigerian woman who sued the Clinton Foundation for wrongful termination of employment due to a pregnancy

“In mid-February, investigative journalist Michael Smith unearthed an episode that rubbishes the Clinton Foundation’s decades-long claim of being supportive towards women worldwide: the case of Nigerian national Mrs Folarin Oreka Maiya tells quite a different story.

Why Nigeria’s Legal System is Worth Its Salt

On 14 June 2010, Maiya, an employee of the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAIN) in Nigeria with an impeccable work record was sacked after informing her immediate supervisor that she was 12 weeks pregnant.

CHAIN’s decision to fire the pregnant African woman with zero explanations was subsequently endorsed by US-based CHAI Inc and the William J Clinton Foundation Inc despite Maiya’s repeated “self-humiliating” pleas.

Perhaps, the story would have ended here, but Maiya wasn’t easily frightened. She filed a suit with the National Industrial Court of Nigeria in the Abuja Judicial Division which found that the woman’s rights to protection from discrimination and inhumane, malicious, oppressive, and degrading treatment were breached by the Clintons’ entity that discharged her due to her pregnancy.

The court decision contains a description of the litigation that clearly shows the Incorporated Trustees of CHAIN not only showed no regret over its decision to sack the pregnant woman but insisted that she was “only insinuating that her rights to human dignity and freedom from discrimination were breached”.

The defendant also tried to convince the judge that CHAIN is a separate legal entity distinct from the US-based CHAI and the William J Clinton Foundation Inc. However, after examining the facts the court came to the conclusion that CHAIN is a mere agent of the two other entities, which were well aware of what had been going on.

The judge eventually ruled in Mrs Folarin Oreka Maiya’s favour citing “gross violations” of her constitutional rights by the Clintons’ charity. Still, the Clinton Foundation failed to disclose this fact to the general public, and presumably did not brief the US and state government authorities on it while Hillary Clinton was serving as US secretary of state.

The case is especially interesting since it happened under the presidency of Barack Obama, the first African American to be elected to the office of president of the United States, with his wife Michelle known for decrying the kidnapping of Nigerian girls by Boko Haram extremists and campaigning against it in 2014.

 

The Obama Foundation did not respond to a request by a Sputnik journalist to comment on the Maiya vs The Incorporated Trustees of CHAIN case. Similarly, the William J Clinton Foundation Inc, Clinton Health Access Initiative, Chelsea Clinton, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, National Organisation for Women, Association for Women’s Rights in Development, International Alliance of Women, Women for Women International, and International Women’s Health Coalition – all those who claim to spearhead feminist values – did not provide any comment on the controversial 2010 episode.” (Read more: Sputnik News, 2/26/2020)  (Archive)

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Michael Smith writes more about the legal case:

“On 11 November 2011 His Lordship the Honourable Justice BA Adejumo, President of the National Industrial Court of Nigeria delivered a scathing judgement against 3 Clinton Foundation entities.

It’s important to explain who and what those entities are.

Firstly the court found that The Incorporated Trustees of Clinton Health Access Initiative, Nigeria headed by Dr Owens Wiwa had committed a “gross violation of (Folarin’s) constitutional rights”.  The CHAI Nigeria had “severely wounded her, with their assault on her womanhood”.  The court found that the Nigerian entity had acted illegally and had tried to cover-up its unlawful actions by giving false evidence to the court.

But the court reserved its most scathing criticism for the US-based CHAI Inc and the William J Clinton Foundation Inc.

The court held that the Clinton Foundation’s Nigerian entity was a fully-controlled agent of the Clinton Foundation itself.  His Honour Judge Adejumo said, 

“It is on the record that (Folarin) made several self-humiliating entreaties to the US-based respondents (CHAI) to reconsider the decision to sack her which the respondents flagrantly rebuffed.  It is on the record that she appealed to the US head office in the United States (William J Clinton Foundation Inc), which instead of calling the Nigerian office to order, decided to ratify its illegal act.  It is equally on the record that the respondents have not shown any remorse, they have continued to justify the action.  Considering this high-handedness and gross violation of the constitutional rights of the applicant, it is my considered opinion that the applicant is entitled to the award of aggravated damages”.

The Nigerian court’s decision is now on the record at the International Labour Organisation’s legal precedent database.

The full court’s judgement is here.

Mrs Folarin Oreka Maiya received a full 12 months salary to compensate her for the Clintons’ inhumanity.” (Read more: Michael Smith News, 2/15/2020)  (Archive)

June 17, 2010 – Clinton/Giustra/Slim announce a $20 million fund for Haiti

Investments will be aligned with priorities in Haiti

“Today, President Bill Clinton and philanthropists Frank Giustra and Carlos Slim, accompanied by Haiti’s Prime Minister Jean Max Bellerive, announced the creation of an innovative new $20 million fund for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Haiti. This is a project of the Clinton Foundation, through the Clinton Giustra Sustainable Growth Initiative, and Fundación Carlos Slim. This new fund was established in response to a call from President Préval and Prime Minister Bellerive for more tools to help Haitian entrepreneurs make sustainable improvements in their businesses and communities, and create more jobs.

“The fund we are announcing today recognizes the important role small- and medium-sized enterprises play in helping to build a modern, self-sustainable economy that will allow Haiti to one day stand on its own two feet,” President Clinton said. “With this fund, we hope to empower entrepreneurs with the tools to transform their aspirations, hard work, and good ideas into profitable businesses that create jobs and help fuel the growth of the Haitian economy.”

“We’re pleased and excited to be working alongside the people of Haiti as they rebuild their country,” said Giustra. “By aligning the fund alongside local needs and priorities, we’re giving Haiti’s entrepreneurs the tools and resources they need to put their talent and determination to work in the months and years ahead. We’ve seen a real spirit of optimism here and it’s definitely contagious.”

“Employment is the way to fight poverty and dignify a human being,” said Carlos Slim. “Small- and medium-sized enterprises generate greater and more diverse employment opportunities, economic activity and human and business development. Investing in equity and giving access to credit increases businesses’ viability, makes companies more efficient and accelerates growth.”

This charitable Fund will provide equity and financing for SMEs in Haiti that currently lack access to traditional financing and capital markets, with a particular focus on job creation. The Fund will be market-driven and will seek financial returns on its investments, as well as returns on the Fund as a whole, and profits will be re-invested in the Fund to enable additional future investments. Neither President Clinton, the Clinton Foundation, nor Fundación Carlos Slim will derive profits from the Fund. The Fund and its investments will be aligned with the Haitian government’s priorities, institutions, and processes, including the Interim Haiti Recovery Commission (IHRC) and its procedures. The Fund will seek to collaborate with local institutions and provide technical assistance to the businesses in which it invests. The Fund will also welcome additional investors.

This announcement builds on President Clinton’s long-standing efforts to help Haitian businesses grow. In October 2009, President Clinton, at the request of the Haitian Government and along with the IDB, convened a private sector conference. More than 600 potential investors attended.

The Fund will be managed by a Management Committee and led by a Fund Manager. (The Clinton Foundation, 6/17/2010)  (Archive)