transparency International
New Zealand corruption reality check
Transparency International has just published the corruption index for 2016 and it would appear that NZ is on the downward slide
The herald reported in an article headlined
Stonewalling and strange deals: Has NZ become more corrupt? that New Zealand’s public sector is the most corrupt it has been in almost 20 years
On the other hand we believe that the public sector is very corrupt but we are now getting more exposure on that which has previously been carefully concealed.
Transparency Intentional New Zealand published a Media Release Document in which Susan Snively states
“Our government must act immediately to reestablish New Zealand’s stand-out reputation for a trusted public sector”. says Transparency International New Zealand Chair, Suzanne Snively. “New Zealand trades on its corruption free reputation.”
Snively’s comment proves the short sighted focus of Transparency International New Zealand inc of keeping the corruption free appearance alive.
We can only hope that Transparency International NZ is encouraging our government to take a hard line and enforce the law against those who are corrupt rather than pretend it is not happening.
We support Transparency internationals statement that ” Not one single country anywhere in the world is corruption free ” so why does Susan Snively wish to give New Zealand the apparition of being corruption free? As an economist she apparently sees this as a good move for the economy. We see her efforts as encouraging the concealment of corruption there by making the country a very dangerous place to trade in .
There are two ways to improve the corruption perception index
- convince every one that there is no corruption by suing those who are whistle blowers or show any hint of exposing corruption .
- prosecute those who engage in corrupt practices so as to discourage others.
From and economist point of view it is much cheaper to conceal corruption and in New Zealand transparency International NZ incorporated in our opinion appears to play a vital role in the concealment of corruption as its members include the very Public sector agencies whose performance is being rated.
We encourage the truth and transparency when it comes to corruption but Transparency International NZ ‘s Susan Snively appears to have a severe conflict of interst see www.kiwisfirst.com
What does Transparency International – New Zealand Know about corruption ?
Transparency International New Zealand will you unmask the corrupt ?
Transparency International are running an excellent campaign called Unmask the corrupt .Ironically this is what we have been doing and have been sued for , that is because we have been doing it on our own.
There is a vast difference between Transparency International and their NZ branch , The New Zealand branch dedicates it web site to showing how well we are doing at being ” corruption Free” while the rest of the world actually fights corruption.
We often point out that if you ignore cancer you will succumb to it , the same is true of corruption.
We have New Zealand companies involved in international trade, not all of it legitimately see this news item.
Naked Capitalism a web site operated overseas by a number of top class journalists and connected to the international consortium of investigative journalists have published a number of articles with regards to the activity of Money laundering in New Zealand see this post entitled “New Zealand, Fresh From Its Service to Mexican Drug Lords, Helps Out the Russian Mafia” and a more recent onesNew Zealand’s GT Group in Romania, Moldova and the UK,
While New Zealand’s Company Law Reform Stalls, GT Group Helps a Thieving Ukrainian Despot
New Zealand: Pseudo-Financial Companies, and GT Group, Both Still Going Strong.
What is significant is that the Government thinks that they have closed down the GT group but many of the companies once administered by a new zealand company .Just one such example is GT GLORIA TRADING
This company overseas companies and has a disproportionate Russian representation .
Even many of the people involved are what we call name shifters and so are the companies themselves , this is so that you never really know who you are dealing with .
Alex Bushe of equity law also appears to be one and the same as Alexander BUSHUEV, who is the director of a number of Equities companies SEDLEX LIMITED (5058320) – Director & Shareholder GLOBAL WEALTH GROUP LIMITED (5433544) – Director & Shareholder FIDELIS INTERNATIONAL TRADING LIMITED (5318101) – Director & Shareholder BLACKLIST DEBT RECOVERY LIMITED (4361899) – Director & Shareholder STEIGEN MAKLER LIMITED (5170404) – Director & Shareholder DRAGON GROUP LIMITED (5433581) – Director & Shareholder
another such person is Gregory Shelton who also appears to be the one and the same as Grigori CHELOUDIAKOV who took over the shareholdings of several companies including IMEXO PRANA and CRESTPOINT TRADE
Both of these companies had former director latvian Inta bilder and are associate to the companies involved in this news item NZ shell company linked to alleged $150m fraud AND SEE the latvian proxys
So needless to say we whole heatedly support the initiative of Transparency International in the UNMASK THE CORRUPT CAMPAIGN .
Transparency International Finally uses the C word
Transparency International New Zealand has tried so hard to ignore the corruption in New Zealand but has finally conceded that we have it. In their latest news letter they mention no less than three items .
New Zealand Shell Companies Involved in Huge Money-laundering Operation
New Zealand shell companies may have played a part in the biggest money-laundering operation in Eastern Europe. A recent investigation by the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) exposed an enormous US$20 billion ($24.4 billion) transfer of dirty Russian funds, dubbed ‘the Laundromat’. Read the story by Richard Meadows in stuff.co.nz.
Evidence of corruption a National scandal – Harre
Internet Party leader Laila Harre will take evidence of corruption to international forums if there is not a full Royal Commission to investigate the growing evidence of the systematic use and abuse of democratic institutions and processes for political gain
Money, politics and scandal in New Zealand’s election
Post election, Washington based Lisa Rosenburg of the Sunlight Foundation, and former legislative assistant to Senator John Kerry, suggested that New Zealand will need to address weaknesses in its political finance system to retain “its squeaky clean reputation and its first place as the least corrupt nation…” sunlightfoundation.com/money-politics-and-scandal-in-new-zealands-election
The article by Richard Meadow refers to web site Naked Capitalism. In a recent article on that site Richard Smith states
GT Group was linked to the biggest money-laundering operation in US history.
It does not take much searching to find that a variety of GT group companies which survived being struck off have found a new registered office at the EQUITY GROUP , others have been registered again using the names of the struck off companies as shown below.
Companies registered to the premises of Equity group frequently use the very same directors identified as proxy directors in international press . In this case we look at Leah Toureleo of B.p. 1487, 1 Port Vila, Pot 540208, Port Vila , Vanuatu who is as is mentioned in the Richard meadows story NZ firm named in huge European scam
Leah Toureleo has the following active companies
PHOENIX INTERNATIONAL GROUP CO., LIMITED (3934638) Registered Company
— Leah Toureleo appointed as a director on 27 Jul 2012 overseas registered company about to be struck off the address 24b Moorefield Road
Seems to be another busy little office it is a medical center see this interesting post http://www.blakjak.net/node/1312
GOLDAGE GROUP CO., LIMITED (3934658) Registered Company
—Leah Toureleo appointed as a director on 27 Jul 2012 overseas registered company about to be struck off reg office Room 4, 221a Dominion Road, Auckland, only two companies registered here and both about to be struck off
IRVINESTON LIMITED (3239028) Registered Company
—Leah Toureleo appointed as a director on 14 Nov 2013 Registered Office
TROPIC ALLIANCE LIMITED, 7 Rose Road, for more on this address see naked capitalism
DORNOCK LIMITED (3239007) Registered Company
—Leah Toureleo appointed as a director on 14 Nov 2013 Registered Office
TROPIC ALLIANCE LIMITED, 7 Rose Road,
the director of tropic alliance lives in Inga 9a-31 Zaubes, Riga, LV1013 , Latvia
Now these next four companies have something in common they all had the receptionist at this former law firm as their director , she resigned last year when she was warned her about the dangers of being a proxy director ( see news links below ) these companies continue to exist with Leah Toureleo as their director
WELKIN BUSINESS LIMITED (3665631) Registered Company
— Leah Toureleo appointed as a director on 29 Mar 2013 owned by Trust NZ holdings – director xxxxxxx
SELBY LIMITED (3665671) Registered Company
— Leah Toureleo appointed as a director on 29 Mar 2013 owned by Trust NZ holdings – director xxxxxxx
This is a phoenix company of SELBY LIMITED(2466848) (NZBN: 9429031562881) Struck off NZ Limited Company it was registered to 1504 B, 363 Queen Street, Auckland, New Zealand which was pat of the Taylor group. the new company was incorporated by EQUITY TRUST INTERNATIONAL LIMITED just a few months after the companies office struck the other off
4-WAY LOGISTICS LIMITED (3589351) Registered Company
— Leah Toureleo appointed as a director on 29 Mar 2013 owned by Trust NZ holdings – director xxxxxxx
MAXIMUS CORPORATION LIMITED (3589616) Registered Company
— Leah Toureleo appointed as a director on 29 Mar 2013 owned by Club property (xxxxx) this company is a phoenix company for
MAXIMUS CORPORATION LIMITED (2454570) (NZBN: 9429031578738) Struck off NZ Limited Company Level 4, 44 Khyber Pass Road, Grafton, Auckland, 1023, New Zealand, this company was originally set up by the Gt Group
The receptionist had one further company that she was director of this company now has the wife of the director of this this companies director who is also a lawyer this company is Eurostone Holdings Limited
- AVALON BUSINESS LIMITED (3053634) – about to be struck off also originally part of the GT group
- BISTRANS INVEST LIMITED (3340091) – originally part of the THE COMPANY NET TRUST-Glenn SMITH
- DIRECT SOLUTIONS LIMITED (3768614) (Struck off) – set up by equity trust after the identically named GT Group company was stuck off
- DITEC UNION LIMITED (3265215) – originally part of the THE COMPANY NET TRUST-Glenn SMITH
- IMTRADE GROUP LIMITED (3221791) (Struck off) -originally part of the THE COMPANY NET TRUST-Glenn SMITH
- INVESTA AGRO LIMITED (3658591) (Struck off) – set up by equity trust after the identically named GT Group company was stuck off
- KORPTECH SERVICES LIMITED (3682662) (Struck off) – set up by equity trust after the identically named Glenn Smith company was stuck off
- LANGTRANS LIMITED (2388545) (Struck off) – originally part of the GT group
- MILL TRADE LIMITED (3213854) (Struck off) – originally part of the GT group
- NASORO LIMITED (1601001) (Struck off) – originally part of the GT group
- PRIMAX TRADING LIMITED (3155726) (Struck off) – originally part of the NZCI part of the GT group
- RENTON PROFIT LIMITED (3682635) (Struck off) – set up by equity trust after the identically named Glenn Smith company was stuck off
- THW GROUP LIMITED (3539594) – set up by equity trust after the identically named GT Group company was stuck off
for News items on Glenn Smith 69 Ridge Road, Lucas Heights, North Shore ( Company Net ) see
Web of intrigue – crime – national | Stuff.co.nz
New Zealand as a rogue financial state
NZ shell companies in Kyrgyz corruption | Stuff.co.nz
New Zealand, Fresh From Its Service to Mexican Drug Lords …
Complaint – Securities and Exchange Commission
Traseks Ltd., is a corporation incorporated under the laws ofPanama on
February 9, 2009, with its principal place of business located at 69 Ridge Road, Albany,
Auckland, New Zealand. Traseks, Ltd. received $976,302, wired during April through
July 2009 from Rockford’s Bank ofAmerica and Banco Popular Bank Accountsto an
account in its name at JSC Multibanka in Riga, Latvia.
Reserve Bank warns public – money – business | Stuff.co.nz
RBNZ warns on dodgy ‘Bancorp’ pyramid scheme claiming …
Reserve Bank warns public – Stuff
1766 defunct New Zealand companies at 69, Ridge Road, Albany,
News items re proxy directors and activities of companies of Leah Toureleo see below and at this link click here
Sep 2, 2010 … Lu Zhang, 28, is accused of 75 offences of making false statements in company registration forms after she declared her office address was her …
www.stuff.co.nz/…/Company-director-with-alleged-arms-links-in-court
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Sep 3, 2010 … Lu Zhang, 28, is charged with 75 counts of making false statements in company registration forms – by the seemingly minor act of declaring her …
www.stuff.co.nz/national/4090241/Mystery-arms-firm-director-revealed
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May 29, 2011 … Lu Zhang, below, is its director. launder2 . launder3. Stella Port-Louis, of the Seychelles, is director of four Queen St companies linked to illegal …
www.stuff.co.nz/sunday-star-times/latest-edition/…/Web-of-intrigue
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Jan 11, 2010 … The signature over it has no resemblance to the signature of Lu Zhang in the New Zealand incorporation documents. The cost of the charter is …
www.stuff.co.nz/national/3218894/Papers-confirm-arms-going-to-Iran
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Nov 5, 2010 … Former fast-food worker Lu Zhang, 28, was the sole director of Queen St registered SP Trading Ltd, a company that hired a plane discovered at …
www.stuff.co.nz/dominion…/Chinese-warning-on-court-case-angers-judge
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Feb 13, 2010 … Police National Headquarters in Wellington said it was still investigating SP but would not discuss individuals, including Lu Zhang.
www.stuff.co.nz/business/3323439/Change-of-director-for-shell-company
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Oct 20, 2010 … SP Trading former director Lu Zhang was later charged with 75 counts of making false statements in company registration forms, and appeared …
www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/…/NZ-a-target-for-arms-traders-Oxfam
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Jan 15, 2010 … SP’s director is Lu Zhang whose registered residential address is 369 Queen … that on December 21 detectives here interviewed Lu Zhang.
www.stuff.co.nz/national/3231635/Police-given-details-of-arms-flight-client
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Feb 12, 2010 … Police National Headquarters in Wellington said they were still investigating SP but would not discuss individuals including Lu Zhang.
www.stuff.co.nz/world/asia/3318708/Thailand-drops-gun-running-charges
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Jan 13, 2010 … SP Trading Ltd – formed last year with a woman, Lu Zhang, who cannot be located, as its director – is part of a web of hundreds of companies …
www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/…/Director-breach-punishable-by-jail
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TINZ Integirty systems in question
Transparency international New Zealand was funded by the government to do an integrity report on our public service.
We found that the finding that we had ” the least corrupt public sector ” came about due to a number of factors.
- Corruption was not defined or looked at – due to the assumption that as”the least corrupt country ” we must be doing things right .
- Transparency Internationals New Zealand itself having given NZ the status of being perceived to be the least corrupt so as to encourage business growth in NZ
- Transparency International New Zealand funded by government departments
see correspondence with the minister Judith Collins Please provide the evidence to support that New Zealand is the least corrupt country in the world.
and the response from the companies office
the following is a news release
We repeatedly hear that Shanghai Pengxin has purchased land in New Zealand previously the Crafar farms and now poised to buy the Lochinver Station.
It is time that we got our facts right as to who actually owns the property and just a tiny bit of research brings massive concerns.
There is no company in New Zealand called Shanghai Pengxin and no land in New Zealand owned by a company of that name
There is however an entity called PENGXIN NEW ZEALAND FARM GROUP LIMITED which owns some 76 titles according to Terranet .
PENGXIN NEW ZEALAND FARM GROUP LIMITED has one director, Chinese billionaire Zhaobai JIANG, the company’s sole shareholder is MILK NEW ZEALAND HOLDING LIMITED which in turn is also directed by Mr Jiang.
But look at the shareholding of MILK NEW ZEALAND HOLDING LIMITED and it is allegedly owned by Milk New Zealand Investment Limited Suite 1, 139 Vincent Street, Auckland Central.
Strangely enough Milk New Zealand investment does not exist on the New Zealand company register.
The question is how can a non-existent company make an application to be a shareholder?
According to the lawyers for the company’s registrar takes applications on face value, this is the reality of the integrity systems which Transparency New Zealand reported on recently .
It was these very same integrity systems which Judith Collins attributed to New Zealand being perceived as the least corrupt.
If we don’t look we don’t see
If we don’t define it we cannot have it
Will there be an enquiry into the company structure of PENGXIN NEW ZEALAND FARM GROUP LIMITED ?
Grace Haden Independent candidate for Epsom.
see anticorruption.co.nz
National integrity System -TINZ
Last week I was in Brisbane at a conference and work shop co hosted by Griffith University and transparency International –Using Anti-Corruption to Protect Growth and Development in the G20 and Beyond.
Much of the focus of the work shop was to explore the national integrity system ( NIS ) and how various countries had interpreted the guidelines and come out with their reports.
While it was clear that Transparency International saw corruption as the key element it transpired that TINZ ( Transparency International New Zealand ) had not included this in their assessment .
Suzanne Snively made two presentations at one she pointed out that TINZ is not funded and they have trouble getting members, I guess this is evident when new members sign up and immediately become directors . She made no mention of the Members who were leaving because they were so overwhelmed out being outnumbered by the Government agencies which appear to control TINZ and hence the resulting finding that New Zealand has the least corrupt public sector in the world. see the NIS report here
We all do well if we blow our own trumpet , any way Suzanne’s presentations are
Suzanne Snively and Daniel King – A national perspective
Suzanne Snively and Daniel King – Adapting the NIS to a ‘developed’ country: environment, business and the Treaty of Waitangi
When referring to the presentation of Finn Heinrich – Where does it come from? How does it work? What is needed for the future? you can see that he refers to two Crucial Ingredients to provide Momentum for Anti-Corruption Reform they are
- Strong Evidence on Integrity System & Practice
- Engagement with key stakeholders in a country
Lets evaluate these criteria against the current New Zealand Climate
Strong Evidence on Integrity System & Practice
Currently we have a spat going on pre election between our two main parties. It is a Tit for tat and we are slinging mud to repel corruption allegations, this is basically our anti corruption system at work, name calling at school play ground level.
The latest spat has occurred after our minister of justice took time out on her ministerial trip to promote milk for a Chinese company of which her husband has been made director, I have reported on the matter in full at this link
The next blow came to National when Maurice Williamson was discovered to have been supporting the citizenship of Donghua Liu against official advice .
Last year the Mayor of Auckland was caught with his pants down and at the time Mr key had this to say “I’ve had plenty of people who’ve rung me up with information about Labour MPs,” he said.
“And I’ve done the same thing to every person that’s rung me. I’ve written it down, put it in my top drawer and kept it to myself. I’m just not interested in engaging in it.”
http://tvnz.co.nz/politics-news/john-key-keeps-dirt-file-labour-mps-video-5655493
It is very obvious that the top drawer has now been opened and they have had to dig deep to find the dirt which they can throw back at labour.
The reality is that the Prime ministers act of keeping dirt in his top drawer is in itself a corrupt act as each and every incident reported to him should be passed on for independent investigation at the time the issue arises and not held on to until a blackmail-able opportunity arises
There simply is no integrity in stockpiling dirt on the opposition – this allows corruption to be traded off with corruption , each act should be independently evaluated and the perpetrators charged if evidence is sufficient.
Engagement with key stakeholders in a country
While Whistleblowers are seen as essential any where else in the world (Grzegorz Makowski – Cross-cutting problems in the NIS: corruption of anti-corruption policies; whistleblower protection; human rights protection) TINZ prefers to ignore us. this is like doing a report on the operations of a company and leaving out the shoppers .
There are two sides to any system, the one looking out and the one looking in. the systems my look in place but if they are not user friendly or are designed to be counter productive against corruption then the system has no integrity .
I would have thought that it would be a serious matter for some one to make an application for law enforcement powers using false information, after all people are taken to task for benefit fraud and the like every day , but it appears that the bigger it is the more people that are implicated and the more systems that are shown to be unsafe then more reasons exist to deny what has happened and simply carry on. look no issue .. too hard lets move on .
The key stake holders on the other hand who were engaged with were the members of TINZ, and the funders , these include Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet
Moving on
TINZ appears to be too closely aligned with government so much so that those ministers who are engaging on corrupt practices rely on the NIS to refute any claims e.g.
Not bad since her ministry paid to get the report done .
I have again asked Suzanne Snively if I can join TINZ see my email here email application jun 2014 .. will keep you posted
Steve Hart’s interview of Suzanne Snively
Recently Steve Hart Interviewed Suzanne Snively on his show , which we believe require clarification we may have to spread the load over several posts as we do not wish to go into overload.
the Interview can be listened to here we will respond in order starting with the elevator speech
The elevator speech
Suzanne’s Elevator speech was far more in line with her own objectives than that of the objectives formally adopted by the incorporated society , her response proves that she has no idea what the objectives of the society are shown at point 4 on the latest rules
The registered objectives are principally “to promote transparency, good governance and ethical practices in all sectors of society in New Zealand”
There is nothing in the rules which says anything about focusing on building stronger integrity systems or praising a society for being “already trusting “by deliberately ignoring corruption which is occurring.
I really have to wonder where the assumption of the already trusting society comes from Susan Snively is an economist and I have learned that assumptions are a very good starting point for economists.
“A physicist, a chemist, and an economist are stranded on a desert island. One can only imagine what sort of play date went awry to land them there. Anyway, they’re hungry. Like, desert island hungry. And then a can of soup washes ashore, Campbells Chicken Noodle, let’s say. Which is perfect, because the physicist can’t have much salt, and the chemist doesn’t eat red meat.
But, famished as they are, our three professionals have no way to open the can. So they put their brains to the problem. The physicist says “We could drop it from the top of that tree over there until it breaks open.” And the chemist says “We could build a fire and sit the can in the flames until it bursts open.”
Those two squabble a bit, until the economist says “No, no, no. Come on, guys, you’d lose most of the soup. Let’s just assume a can opener.”
While on the subject of assumptions it has become apparent to me that Suzanne Snively may not be familiar with the legislation which governs the incorporated society , as will be noted later in the interview she said that she was unsure of the structure of Transparency International and thought that it was a company.
The overriding feeling of the interview was that Suzanne wanted to recruit more members so as to increase revenue but Incorporated societies do not exist for pecuniary gain.
Membership
Suzanne claims that there are about 100 members , if you look at the web site you will see that the vast majority of the members are connected with either the large audit companies who contract to the office of the auditor general or are Government departments or past employees of these departments.
The perception which can be gained from the membership list is that the vast majority of the members have a vested interest in keeping the lid on corruption In New Zealand. This becomes obvious when you visit the partners/ sponsors page
There is one golden rule which pertains to impartiality and that is you cannot be impartial if you comprised of and paid for by the people whose integrity you are judging.
This in itself means that there is a lack of integrity.
Any good economist will tell you that if you get your wages paid by a group of people and or organisations that they will no doubt employ you again in the future if you do a favourable job.
So in this instance TINZ did an integrity study on 13 pillars this is who worked on them and how they were funded, note that I have paired up the funders to the pillar which they would most naturally be associated with . The researchers are as mentioned in the integrity report . You can see who funded and researched the various pillars here Who funded and worked on the various pillars
A mathematician, an accountant and an economist apply for the same job.
The interviewer calls in the mathematician and asks “What do two plus two equal?” The mathematician replies “Four.” The interviewer asks “Four, exactly?” The mathematician looks at the interviewer incredulously and says “Yes, four, exactly.”
Then the interviewer calls in the accountant and asks the same question “What do two plus two equal?” The accountant says “On average, four – give or take ten percent, but on average, four.”
Then the interviewer calls in the economist and poses the same question “What do two plus two equal?” The economist gets up, locks the door, closes the shade, sits down next to the interviewer and says “What do you want it to equal?”
Suzanne’s perception of the TINZ chapter
- only 5% of the population knows it exists.
My comment: Yes but they sure get the false message out that there is no corruption in New Zealand
- The group that was initially involved was focused on building a chapter but not necessarily on how to get the message out to the wider community
My comment: They were and still are Government servants dressed up as a watchdog to tell the country how well they are concealing corruption.
- I knew nothing about TI until I became a director
My comment: I am so impressed that Susan Has learnt so much about corruption in New Zealand in three short years especially since she has never examined corruption and does not wish to know it is there, In typical Economist style she has carefully studied everything except the reality
Three economists went out hunting, and came across a large deer. The first economists fired, but missed, by a meter to the left. The second economists fired, but also missed, by a meter to the right. The third economists didn’t fire, but shouted in triumph, “We got it! We got it!”
- At about the same time a colleague became executive chairman of the Cambodian branch he got funding and got over a million dollars.
My comment: My own suspicion is that Susan saw the possibility of becoming the CEO and getting funding to pay her wages , I have sen this tactic used in many incorporated societies, most of the members dont care a toss and leave one person to run the joint and let them find a way to get their own wages . Incorporated societies are not supposed to work that way but when you can be part of an organization which protects you from scrutiny in your day job then its a great trade of for some.
- we do have some govt members at the moment they became members to support the work of the TI integrity systems assessment
My comment: there is no integrity in getting people to fund the independent research which affects them , its like paying for advertising and a lot more efficient when a government department e.g. the office of the auditor general can pay some one to show how effective they are being. That is far more economic than actually doing a good job
Q:Why did God create economists ?
A:In order to make weather forecasters look good
- very few people are aware of how well we score internationally and that international perceptions of our lack of corruption are not as widely understood across NZ as it could be , if it is true that we can be proud of as because it makes a difference to us as a trading nation in terms of how we trade and do business
My comment:it is all about boosting business not about the reality
Experienced economist and not so experienced economist are walking down the road. They get across shit lying on the asphalt.
Experienced economist: “If you eat it I’ll give you $20,000!”
Not so experienced economist runs his optimization problem and figures out he’s better off eating it so he does and collects money.
Continuing along the same road they almost step into yet another shit.
Not so experienced economist: “Now, if YOU eat this shit I’ll give YOU $20,000.”
After evaluating the proposal experienced economist eats shit getting the money.
They go on. Not so experienced economist starts thinking: “Listen, we both have the same amount of money we had before, but we both ate shit. I don’t see us being better off.”
Experienced economist: “Well, that’s true, but you overlooked the fact that we’ve been just involved in $40,000 of trade.”
- the international perception is that we have the least or amongst the least corrupt public sector in the world
My comment: Yes that perception is kept alive by the members of transparency International New Zealand who are those very same govt departments and also fund the work to make themselves look great.
- It means that you can get up in the morning and go about your business without paying a backhander without paying facilitation or a bribe.
My comment: I agree there are very few bribes or backhanders in New Zealand but on the other hand every one has some dirt on every one else and although the monitary transactions dont come into it , there are often winks and nods involved… same thing- corruption
- we focus on systemic issues around corruption to ensure that there are systems in place that deal with corruption
My comment: but TINZ deal with the hypothetical only and refuse to look at the corruption which is occurring to learn from it to see how it occurs. You cannot combat something which you dont understand.
Q: What is a recent economics graduate’s usual question in his first job?
A: What would you like to have with your french fries sir?
to be continued …..
If all economists were laid end to end they would not reach a conclusion.
– George Bernard Shaw
Steve Hart’s interview of Suzanne Snively continued
Steve Hart Interviewed Suzzane Snively , one of many directors of Transparency International
the link to the recording is here
this is the second part of my comments on Suzanne’s interview
GCSB Recruitment
Snively : We would not go after that specific instance we did raise that we need a more transparent approach of dealing with political appointments to boards etc.
My comment : Transparency alone will not resolve such issues , it is about accountability and when there is no accountability to the public and politicians can do as they please then we live by the rule of might is right .
Corruption = Monopoly + Discretion – Accountability
John Banks
Snively : We are strong in our report about transparency in all political funding we expect businesses to be transparent so why not political parties
My comment : Transparency is even more important in the government sector . The use of secret trusts has reached epidemic proportions, again we have Len Brown receiving ¾ million from an unincorporated trust, i.e. unidentifiable, that is anonymous. Six months after the complaint was lodged nothing has happened. Police don’t know how to deal with trusts least of all trusts which do not exist.
In a Mayday parade in the Soviet Union. After the tanks and the troops and the planes and the missiles rolled by there came ten men dressed in black.
“Are they Spies?” Asked Gorby?
“They are economists,” replies the KGB director, “imagine the havoc they will wreak when we set them loose on the Americans”
Gambling. Conference center
Snively : fast forward to 44.33 for her comments they have me scratching my head
My comment : Sky city is part of the committee for Auckland , there appears to be extraordinary pressure placed on political parties and council officers from them.
An economist is someone who doesn’t know what he’s talking about – and make you feel it’s your fault.
Web site and Membership
Snively : we really like to be exclusive – inclusive as we can be
My comment : I thought this was a hoot the first word was exclusive which I am certain would be the true desire as persons bringing examples of corruption to the meeting are not welcome .
The First Law of Economists: For every economist, there exists an equal and opposite economist.
The Second Law of Economists: They’re both wrong.
Steve Hart: Refers to my application to join transparency International (I have made three applications I set up Transparency NZ Ltd after being rejected )
Snively : I came in without the baggage of the people who directed before me so I did not know about Grace so I was quite welcoming that she might be a member but if you look at her web site she is strongly anti our chapter and people who want to be members need to be supportive.
My comment: Suzanne Snively is but one person, one vote in an incorporated society , does her statement mean that there is not a democratic process for the selection of members . When I last spoke to Susan about membership she told me I had to get rid of my company name as it was too close to their name.
I believe that I am supportive of the aims and objectives of Transparency International as set out in their constitution, perhaps Suzanne needs to take a hard look at what she is doing and take time out to read her societies rules.
Refer to my post to another director of Transparency International New Zealand
One day a woman went for a walk in her neighborhood and came across a boy with some puppies. “Would you like a puppy? They aren’t ready for new homes quite yet, but they will be in a few weeks!”
“Oh, they’re adorable,” the lady said. “What kind of dogs are they?”
“These are economists.”
“OK. I’ll tell my husband.”
So she went home and told her husband. He was very interested to see the puppies. About a week later he came across the lad; the puppies were very active.
“Hey, Mister. Want a puppy?”
“I think my wife spoke with you last week. What kind of dogs are these?”
“Oh. These are Investigators.”
“I thought you said last week that they were economists.”
“Yeah, but they’ve opened their eyes since then.”
Linked in
The background to the linkedin saga is documented at this link the actual post on Linked in is Suzanne Snively ONZM _ LinkedIn
Snively : I am really very embarrassed my problem is that I am not a great linkedin or face book person I get over 300 emails per day which doesn’t leave me much time and I don’t get much sleep because there is a lot of work to do to build this chapter. When I went onto likedin I quickly filled out the profile thing and I was a new director so I just googled to see what the name was and of course Graces web site came up first and I thought oh that’s it so I put it down but we are an incorporated society and so Grace has obviously decided that she want a very similar name to ours and I made the mistake of thinking that she was the same as us and I changed it as you can see.
My comments:
1. Type in the word transparency and this is what comes up .. TI NZ comes up first every time
Transparency International New Zealand – TINZ
www.transparency.org.nz/
Transparency International New Zealand is the recognised New Zealand representative of Transparency International, the global coalition against corruption.
Transparency New Zealand
www.transparency.net.nz/
Apr 20, 2014 – Transparency New Zealand and Transparency International NZ are very different in that TI-NZ wishes to sell New Zealand to the world as the .
2. There is nothing on either link that would indicate whether it is an incorporated society or Limited liability company. Suzanne the economist simply assumed and assumed wrong.
3. As can be seen on the actual post Suzanne first writes down
Director
Transparency International
November 2010 – Present (3 years) | New Zealand Chapter
Transparency International – New Zealand Chapter is developing a growth strategy to work with
partners to build capability to that our reputation for high trust and integrity is as good as we are
perceived.
Then two below that
Executive Chair
Transparency International New Zealand Ltd
November 2010 – Present (3 years) | New Zealand
As a country with low corruption, New Zealand has the potential to be an examplar to others,
demonstrating how this can improve business profitability through lower cost of doing business in
overseas countries, better access, lower cost of capital and for those listed companies, a higher
yeilding share price.
It is sad that a person at the helm of an organisation has not checked out the structure of the organisation as they are run in very different ways
4. As to the name being similar we just need to look at the news item this week of Cadbury and Whittakers Whittaker’s wins ‘Berry Forest’ battle. Does transparency International New Zealand incorporated sound the same as Transparency New Zealand Limited ?
One night a policewoman saw an economist looking for something buy a light pole. She asked her if she had lost something there. The economist said, “I lost my keyes over in the alley.” The policewoman asked her why she was looking by the light pole. The economist responded, “it’s a lot easier to look over here.”
Minutes and agendas
Steve asked about the minutes and agendas, Suzanne goes on at length that they don’t have the resources and finances to get the minutes . I find it quite odd that an incorporated society with 100 members expects to have staff and does not have a properly appointed secretary.( it is a statutory requirement that an incorporated society should not be run for pecuniary gain )
The comments made by Snively really makes me wonder if she knows how an incorporated society operates. She may have sat on lots of councils but this is not a council, this is not a business this is an incorporated society where people are elected by the membership into specific roles to fulfill the functions of the society as set out in the rules.
It is the secretary’s function to take the minutes and type them up. Funding has nothing to do with it.
An economist returns to visit his old school. He’s interested in the current exam questions and asks his old professor to show some. To his surprise they are exactly the same ones to which he had answered 10 years ago! When he asks about this the professor answers: “the questions are always the same – only the answers change!”
My overall impression is that Snively is wanting to build the membership to increase the Funds so that she can be paid a wage. Welcome to the real world Suzanne. I don’t get paid either and I have not sold my soul to various government departments.That is why Transparency New Zealand is totally neutral We can criticize government departments and know it won’t affect our income.
An economist is an expert who will know tomorrow why the things he predicted yesterday didn’t happen today.
– Laurence J. Peter
What does Transparency International – New Zealand Know about corruption ?
Open letter to the Directors of Transparency International New Zealand
The Governance body of Transparency New Zealand Limited hereby wishes to express concerns with regards to the ” integrity ” of your organization
You may or may not be aware that Transparency New Zealand was formed when Director Grace Haden was declined membership to TI-NZ on an application which stated that she was a Former police prosecuting Sergeant , Member of the certified fraud examiners association and a licensed private Investigator.
Transparency New Zealand and Transparency International NZ are very different in that TI-NZ wishes to sell New Zealand to the world as the least corrupt country, while Transparency New Zealand wishes to expose corruption so that it does not spread.
We often hear of people who have had cancer and ignored it , their fate is all too often sealed , then there are those who identify cancer early and act , they generally have a much better prognosis ( depending on the type of cancer )
Corruption and cancer are pretty much the same thing. Cancer is caused by the corruption of cells.
We cannot deny that corruption exists , we cannot simply pretend that it is not there and above all we must never reward bad behaviour e.g. by claiming that those who in reality conceal corruption have integrity ( your integrity study )
While Transparency International New Zealand deals with perceptions , Transparency New Zealand deals with reality .
The reality is that every day peoples lives are destroyed by our unjust legal system which has no accountability and has become a tool which criminals use to commit and conceal crime.
Our very own minister of Justice said this week that we have a legal system not a justice system
The old saying that it is a court of law not a court of justice is some what cynical and unfortunately is true
yet TI- NZ states ” The judiciary provides a system of justice in accordance with the requirements of a legislative framework.” page 107 Integrity Plus 2013 NZ NIS ..
So could some one please explain why TI-NZ believes that the court deliver justice when the people know it does not and this belief even extends to the minister of justice ! TI NZ state ” The court system is seen to be free of corruption and unlawful influence.” It is obvious from that statement that no one involved in the integrity survey has spoken to any of the actual court users especially those involved in the family or civil courts
While Transparency New Zealand ‘s stated objective is to seek accountability and is true to that objective , this does not appear to be the case with TI-NZ with its objectives.
1. TI-NZ claims to be “nonpartisan ” but it wont let me or any other person who is in any way associated a victim of corruption join, RI NZ simply does not want to hear about the prevalence of corruption in New Zealand . There by proving that TI NZ only accepts members who claim that there is no corruption in New Zealand . yet its membership is full of government bodies and members of the universities .
2. TI-NZ will undertake to be open, honest and accountable in our relationships with everyone we work with and with each other..
yet Susan Snively on her linked in profile claimed to be the director of a company which did not exist Suzanne Snively ONZM _ LinkedIn. oops typo
Former director Michael Vukcevic slipps an LLb into his cv oops typo again
The profile of director Murray Sheard falsely portrays him to be a current lecturer at Auckland university in conflict with his linked in profile.. another typo ?
The web site of transparency International has been set up by an American resident also named Snively and using a company which there is no record of . ? Nepotism and use of another fictitious company again. But who would notice as the web site states that you need less due diligence in dealing with New Zealand companies.
3. Transparency International New Zealand appears to be supported by Business, government departments and academics amongst the members are the SFO, office of the auditor general , ombudsmen , Human Rights Commission, Ministry of Social Development, NZ Public Service Association, Ministry for Justice, Statistics New Zealand
- School of Government, VUW
- Ministry for Justice
- Statistics New Zealand
- The Human Rights Commission
- Ministry of Social Development
- The Treasury
- Inland Revenue
- Department of Internal Affairs
- Corrections
- Department of Conservation
- Ministry of Transport
- Civil Aviation Authority
- New Zealand Transport Authority
- Maritime New Zealand
- Te Puni Kokiri
- The State Services Commission
- The Ombudsman
- Ministry of Pacific Island Affairs
- The New Zealand Defence Force
- Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet
- The Serious Fraud Office
- Crown Law
- NZ Public Service Association
- The Gama Foundation
- Bell Gully
- VUW School of Government
- PwC
- Deloitte
- KPMG
- Human Rights Commission Launch Day
- School of Government Institute for Governance and Policy Studies Wellington
- Wellington Girls College
- Thorndon New World
- NZTE
- Institute of Directors
- BDO Spicers
- Russell McVeigh
- Chapman Tripp
- Gibson Sheat
- Susan Gluck-Hornsby
- Chen Palmer
- Juliet McKee
- Claudia Orange
- Te Papa
4. the objectives of TINZ appear to be to encourage business growth and a very dangerous claim is made that “Trading partners recognise cost savings for dealing with New Zealand through less need for due diligence, lower contracting costs, and a culture intolerant of corrupt middle men with whom to transact business.”
Transparency New Zealand believes that this statement is tantamount to entrapment as first you are ripped off and then you find you can do nothing about it. this all happens very publicly with hoards of people standing about saying I see nothing.
Transparency New Zealand advocates the ” trust but Verify ” approach to any dealings with any company or person anywhere .
5. TI-NZ claims to be “A caretaker of New Zealand’s high trust, high integrity society” But apparently as mentioned before they do not lead by example. We question what High integrity is when by our experience you simply cannot report corruption .
There is also a difference in what our definitions are of certain terms as illustrated in the FAQ section of the transparency international NZ web site
How do you define corruption? click link for TINZ,s definition
Transparency New Zealand :Corruption is dishonest activity in which a person acts contrary to the interests of the University and abuses his/her position of trust in order to achieve some personal gain or advantage for themselves, or provide an advantage/disadvantage for another person or entity.
It also involves corrupt conduct by an organization , or a person purporting to act on behalf of and in the interests of the organization , in order to secure some form of improper advantage for the organization either directly or indirectly.
Corrupt conduct can take many forms including:
conflicts of interest ( government departments paying for ” integrity” reports )
- taking or offering bribes
- dishonestly using influence ( promoting business in New Zealand though claims that there is no corruption )
- blackmail
- fraud
- theft
- embezzlement
- tax evasion
- forgery
- nepotism and favouritism( this includes having a relative designing a web site through a fictitious company )
NOTE: Corruption does not include mistakes or unintentional acts, but investigations are required to determine intent.
What is “transparency”?click link for TINZ,s definition
Transparency New Zealand : Being open , truthful and lacking concealment .
What is bribery? click link for TINZ,s definition
Transparency New Zealand : Bribery is an act of giving money or gift giving that alters the behavior of the recipient. Bribery constitutes a crime and is defined by Black’s Law Dictionary as the offering, giving, receiving, or soliciting of any item of value to influence the actions of an official or other person in charge of a public or legal duty.
The bribe is the gift bestowed to influence the recipient’s conduct. It may be any money, good, right in action, property, preferment, privilege, emolument, object of value, advantage, or merely a promise or undertaking to induce or influence the action, vote, or influence of a person in an official or public capacity.
What is fraud? click link for TINZ,s definition
Transparency New Zealand:Fraud is a deception deliberately practiced in order to secure unfair or unlawful gain . Fraud included Identity fraud and the use of ” organizations” which do not exist. In New Zealand one of the largest vehicles for fraud are trusts .
Transparency New Zealand is extremely concerned with the conduct of TI-NZ . We suspect that the directors have handed over the reins to just one person an economist who misunderstands the importance of corruption prevention . We suspect that her objectives are to assist business development and growth rather than combating corruption . We believe that Susan Snivley is an excellent business woman with an objective of bringing in money rather than an objective of independence.
True corruption prevention comes from Accountability , I gave this example of accountability to a director of TINZ recently with regards to Suzanne Snively LinkedIn profile which claimed she was the director of transparency International Limited
We believe that Susan Snively wished to create a false perception of her abilities , she was blowing her trumpet too vigorously and duplicated some of her roles and presented those as though they were different entities.
Because no one checks in New Zealand when may have believed that she could get away with it.. this is often the case.
Corruption = Monopoly + discretion – accountability
Susan had control over her Linked in account .. Monopoly
She and she alone had discretion of what was presented.
We are holding her accountable
= Linked in profile changed. and no corruption
I also gave an example of perception
When I was on Police patrol in Rotorua , I saw a decapitated cat on the road, I made a comment to the driver about the grizzly find.
He disagreed with me and said that it was nothing more than a plastic bag.
Because our views were so different we went back and on close inspection found that we were both right, it was a cat with its head stuck in a plastic bag.
The reality was that he cat lived to see another day . Happy ending !!!!
When you deal with perceptions you cannot just look from one side. You have to look at the facts and consider the views of many and not just a few.
You cannot promote the lack of corruption by will fully being blind and intentionally ignoring the corruption which is occurring.
To examine the corruption which is occurring and to call for accountability for those involved is what will prevent corruption from blowing out of control.
What good are laws which are not enforced, codes of conduct which are ignored , and processes which are flawed.
ACCOUNTABILITY is what we should be insisting on , and by doing a report showing e.g. that the auditor Generals office is doing fantastic work , when they are openly ignoring corruption and fraud, does not serve NZ .
A report which has been funded by the party concerned is not an impartial report.
The office of the auditor general is a member of transparency International and has given $15,000 and $30,000 in two consecutive years ( I have not checked beyond that ) when you get $30,000 from someone and want to get $30,000 again next year you will give them a favourable report. This process is akin to reverse bribery where the state is paying someone to give a glowing report .
Being no partisan and apolitical is not enough TI NZ should be totally Neutral and not be acting for an on behalf of businesses in New Zealand to encourage business growth.
I look forward to working with Transparency International New Zealand to truly strive to make New Zealand Transparent by focusing on ACCOUNTABILITY . I would like to start by making Transparency International Accountable to their code of ethics and the definitions of fraud and corruption which I have provided above.
We look forward to hearing from the directors of TI-NZ and we undertake to publish their response .
Transparency International New Zealand funded by government departments
Transparency International ( New Zealand) has recently undertaken a national integrity survey.
A quick look at their web site http://www.transparency.org.nz/ flashes up messages such as” Least corrupt public sector in the world “.“New Zealand’s high trust public sector is its greatest competitive advantage”
The integrity survey cost $174,320 , the accounts do not reveal who the recipients of that payment was but I do believe that a sizable chunk of it went to the chair person Susan Snively .
the survey was funded in the following manner
Income
National Integrity Systems Assessment
Donation: Gama Foundation $15,000
Office of the Auditor General $30.000
The Treasury $30.000
Ministry of Justice $30.000
Statistics New Zealand $15.000
States Services Commission $10.000
Ministry of Social Development $10.000
Other $55.000
now look at the pillars of the integrity system they are
Legislature (pillar 1)
Political executive – Cabinet (pillar 2)
Judiciary (pillar 3)
Public sector (pillar 4)
Law enforcement and anti-corruption agencies (pillars 5 and 9)
Electoral management body (pillar 6)
Ombudsman (pillar 7)
Supreme audit institution (pillar 8)
Political parties (pillar 10)
Media (pillar 11)
Civil society (pillar 12)
Business (pillar 13)
looking in particular at the Supreme audit institution you will note that the $15,000 donation in 2012 and the $30,000 donation 2013 have not been wasted.
When you see high scores like that you could be mistaken in thinking that this is the reality . The reality is that Here in New Zealand we are very good at manipulating data .
Three pages worth looking at at the auditor generals we site
how fraud was detected , Fraud types and methods of committing fraud
Fist of all How fraud was detected
Internal control systems were deemed to be the most effective method of detecting fraud . This is best assessed in conjunction with the Price Water House coopers publication prepared on behalf of the auditor general page 85 is particularly interesting in that it shows a very low percentage of entities having a whistle-blowers hotline.
But internationally Whistleblowers are Still the Best at Detecting Fraud.
It is no surprise that this is not the case in New Zealand as the systems are not in place for whistle blowers according to the auditor generals own figures .
What I notice here is that all the frauds are $$ based. In true auditor style we need figures. but not all frauds occur in such a way that good book keeping can pick them up – there is a very large field called Identity fraud which is not represented in the tables and I wonder if it is at all considered.
Again we have the word theft occurring repeatedly , Theft generally implies that you have something and next it is gone without your permission.
The frauds which are very prevalent in New Zealand are identity frauds perpetrated through fictitious organizations and secret trusts.
Money is moved from one entity into a seemingly legitimate trust and then the trust is split off and dissolved in a very non transparent manner
The fraud which has impacted on my life is one where a person pretended to be a trust. a fictitious trust obtained law enforcement powers and the one person carried out the duties of this fictional trust using the staff and resources of a council . This type of fraud is apparently condoned by the auditor general as shown by this correspondence.correspondence with the auditor general
The office of the auditor general claims to be Parliaments watch dog it would appear that this watch dog is asleep as the office of the auditor General in New Zealand condones fraud as follows
- 1. Making a false application to the minister 22 November 1999 this document in itself is a fraud on the government .. using a document for a pecuniary advantage. AWINZ does not exist it is not a legal person in any manner or form. condoning a criminal act.
- 2. Central government giving coercive law enforcement powers to an entity which does not exist and no one checks for its exists, even when they know it does not exist they continue to pretend that it does. condoning a criminal act.
- 3. MPI not having the slightest idea of what a trust is and how a trust should function, and allowing the false application to be justified because 6 years later they received a trust deed which was signed 3 months after the application was made. The fact that the people who had signed that deed had never met or made a valid decision between, was totally beside the point. condoning incompetence .
- 4. MAF ( now MPI) not being in possession of a trust deed with the party to whom law enforcement powers had been given and then getting a trust deed which was altered or fabricated, and ignoring this despite having this pointed out to them. Deed provide June 2006 this is the deed MAF have on file condoning incompetence .
- 5. Using fictions names for contracts to local and central government. Mou Waitakere & MOU MAF condoning a criminal act.
- 6. Council employees contracting to themselves Mou Waitakere ( Mr Wells became both parties to this contract). condoning a criminal act.
- 7. Employees obtaining employment at council without declaring a conflict of interest condoning corrupt actions .
- 8. Council manager writing to the crown consenting to the use of staff and resources to fictional third parties North shore city and Waitakere city condoning this corrupt action.
- 9. Council managers using council resources in a manner so that the premises take on a look and feel of a private enterprise , even MAf was confused as to where the fictional AWINZ finished and the council property began . condoning a criminal act.
- 10. Use of council resources to solicit donations the funds of which are then misappropriated ( you were there when I did my presentation) condoning a criminal act.
- 11. Allowing a trust set up in 2006 to pretend to be the law enforcement authority . This trust became a charity and has used its charitable funds, obtained from the public to conceal corruption condoning a criminal act.
- 12. The processes within the government department and councils are such that they serve to conceal fraud as the very persons involved and implicated for their lack of diligence are put in charge of the release of information, additionally Mr Wells was consulted on what was released to me and what was not there was no impartiality between the department/ council and third parties condoning this incompetent practice .
Why do we have to pretend to be the least corrupt why cant we deal with the reality , Corruption happens, dont condone it deal with it that will ensure that corruption does not ruin lives .
By outsourcing your services to private enterprise teh office of the auditor general has lost control over the process , but in the end its the perception that is worth preserving and that is why the office of the auditor general is a member of transparency International New Zealand , that is as good as any watch dog being a member of the local gang.
so much for the rules of independence
Michael Vukcevic CV
Just recently there was much discussion on a Linked in forum CV Fraud, is this a sin or not the topic of Michael Vukcevic was raised as it had just been in the news . Today as a result of that discussion I have received several copies of the offending CV which is apparently doing the rounds.
I have cropped it to make it download faster but otherwise I am assured by various sources that this is the CV is that which he submitted for the job at Baldwins.
I routinely check CV’s for my clients and I cannot accept Michelle Boag’s statement
“This is a bit of a storm in a tea cup,” Ms Boag, an executive adviser to the Middle East Business Council, said.
“As I understand it, he should have had the word ‘incomplete’ next to LLB. Having said that, I don’t know why it wasn’t there.”
this is the offending bit
It appears to me that the claim of having a LLB is conclusive. It does not say studied for LLB and BA and deceptively avoids saying that the LLb was not attained. the statement is clear. LLB, BA indicating that the person whose Cv it is holds those degrees.
Going back to a former life of Michael Vukcevic we find an interesting story when he was a recruiter in the It industry , he states in this article entitled Values pay off for everyone
The reason the Curriculum Vitaes they put forward have such a high success rate is due to a range of factors .
Let me guess what that some of those factors are could it be that he left this degree of his CV
It is certainly my experience that people who make it big after coming from no where do so with a tad of blarney.
I would welcome any input from any one who can give any formation with regards to Michael Vukcevic’s career path .
For recent news items see
Fake degree forces new resignation for Vukcevic
False law degree stoush ‘storm in teacup’ – Boag
Boss admits he had no law degree
Vukcevic admits he has no law degree
CEO steps down after fake degree exposed
Vukcevic Quits Business council
see also
BIG BAD BOY AT “BALDWINS” FULL OF BULLSHIT