Criminal Minds

The sight of the Marcus Agius submission to the Parliamentary Select Committee was a pitiful sight. How the "great and important" in our society look so flawed when put under the spot light.

They have the gravitas of course, the turn of phrase, the elegance of a wealthy background that a fabulous education brings to their bearing when under fire.
He of course was the chairman of Barclays, the man responsible for the ethical performance of the company, who's stewardship was to guide this great bank onto the rock of ignominy.
It was on his watch that Bob Diamond was promoted to CEO and having watched Diamond perform under the same committees scrutiny (see my attached letter to the Committees Chairman) 


I was amazed at Bob Diamonds bland denial of any knowledge of the illegal fixing of the Libor rate. His passage through the relatively lower ranks of the bank in which he knew the processes and mechanisms of the dealing floor and the settlement issues between banks at the end of the day. It was amazing to hear him deny any knowledge of what was happening whilst he was in charge.
Listening to Marcus Agius and before him Bob Diamond, deliberately obfuscate the truth was like listening to a scene from Criminal Minds as they tried to evade the questioning.
The Banks marking of Russian debt as Swiss debt was only one of a number of questions he was asked to which he repeatedly replied "I can not answer that", "I can not answer that" !!!

The Eaton dilemma. They are not supposed to answer questions from the "peoples gallery" and when they do they are seen for what they are !!!!Agius was keen to emphasise the innocence of the bulk of Barclays staff and blamed only a tiny limited  echelon at the top.Interesting, since when it comes to "remuneration", these are the people who can't be replaced and who have to be paid massive salaries and bonuses. 

It seems that criminality always has and always will, pay !!!!! 

I was reminded of Lloyd Blankfein CEO of Goldman Sacks and his cohorts appearing before the United States Senate Committee. No matter the accusation they simply denied it and held no ethical of moral compass to guide their actions regarding the products they sold.

Only a couple of weeks ago the same Senate Committee questioned the senior management of Standard Charter on money laundering and the use of financial channels to bypass various sanctions. It was distasteful to see these top bank executives squirm and admit their compliance to serious fraud.

At the very least I think they should be charged in court.
For trivial amounts the State will pursue the poor and undefended of society but seem impotent when it comes to millions perhaps billions that the banking societal pillars misappropriate  !!!!         
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