Clinton Cash (26 page)

As to whether President Clinton’s participation was necessary to close the deal, consider the words of Gordon Keep, longtime Giustra associate and officer for UrAsia: “we had only six weeks to complete a fourteen-week deal.” By the time Clinton joined Giustra in Kazakhstan his friends at Canaccord and GMP Securities had raised $504 million Canadian and put it on the line to capitalize the venture, a figure cited in the Canadian financial press as a first for such an enterprise. Stipulating Giustra’s commitment to global charity, it beggars credulity that an investor so experienced and shrewd with $504 million worth of credibility on the line, would have introduced President Clinton, a politician legendary for his ability to strike a deal, into the delicate negotiation’s closing moments if his presence was not integral to it. Kazakhstan’s dictator, Nursultan Nazarbayev, obviously had the power to kill the venture at whim, nor were Nazarbayev and Kazakhstan lacking for other prospective investors in uranium. Nazarbayev’s eagerness for bribes was well known, including, allegedly, from multibillion-dollar Western companies such as Chevron. What would he have expected from an effective, but comparatively small-time player such as Giustra? Furthermore, as discussed below, Clinton had something very real to offer Nazarbayev: an endorsement for the OSCE chairmanship, an honor that would have opened diplomatic and commercial doors in Europe otherwise closed to him. The Kazakh embassy posted notice of the endorsement online the same day, a fact that speaks for itself.

32.  Stewart, Sinclair, and Andy Hoffman, “Uranium One Ensnared in Kazakh Scandal,”
Globe and Mail
(Toronto), May 27, 2009, http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/uranium-one-ensnared-in-kazakh-scandal/article4211504/.

33.  Chapman, David, “Glowing Prospects for 6 Uranium Miners,” Moneyshow.com, April 17, 2012, http://www.moneyshow.com/articles.asp?aid=Global-27436. Becker and Van Natta, “After Mining Deal, Financier Donated to Clinton.”

34.  US Department of State, “Kazakhstan: Business as Usual in the Uranium Mining Sector,” WikiLeaks, June 17, 2009, https://www.wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/09ASTANA1033_a.html.

35.  Seccombe, Allan, “Kazakh Move Stuns Uranium One,”
MiningMx
, May 27, 2009, http://www.miningmx.com/news/energy/kazakh-move-stuns-uranium-one.htm. See note 51.

36.  Becker and Van Natta, “After Mining Deal, Financier Donated to Clinton.”

37.  Pan, Philip P., “Clinton Adviser Intervened with Uranium Deal, Ex-Kazakh Official Says,”
Washington Post
, February 24, 2010, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/24/AR2010022403290.html.

38.  In 2008 Dzhakishev was arrested by Kazakh security forces along with three other top Kazatomprom officials. It was part of a broader purge that included the head of the state-owned rail and energy companies. According to a leaked State Department cable, the arrests were “denounced as politically motivated” by nongovernment observers. As with so much in Kazakh politics, the events were imbedded with intrigue. Allegations were made that President Nazarbayev’s family actually owned part of Kazatomprom and was profiting from the deals. The arrests were allegedly designed to cover it up. Dzhakishev was also a longtime friend of Nazarbayev’s estranged son-in-law Rakhat Aliyev. In exile in Europe, Aliyev called Dzhakishev “a political detainee of Nazarbayev’s regime.”

US Department of State, “Kazakhstan: Changes and Charges at Kazatomprom,” WikiLeaks, June 3, 2009, https://www.wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/09ASTANA943_a.html. Pan, “Clinton Adviser Intervened to Help with Uranium Deal.”

39.  Ibid., and videos of Dzhakishev: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9Ze93MxqaQKPVHLkKmVpeQ; translation by Dr. David Meyer.

40.  Lenzner, Robert, “Clinton Commits No Foul in Kazakhstan Uranium Deal,”
Forbes
, January 12, 2009, http://www.forbes.com/2009/01/12/giustra-clinton-kazakhstan-pf-ii-in_rl_0912croesus_inl.html.

41.  Bronson, Lisa, “Testimony on Cooperative Threat Reduction Program before the Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities,” March 10, 2004, http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/library/congress/2004_h/040310-bronson.pdf.

42.  Pan, “Clinton Adviser Intervened with Uranium Deal.”

43.  Ibid. Tufts University, “Board Members: Tim Phillips,” http://www.tuftsgloballeadership.org/about/boards-and-staff/tim-phillips. “About Us,” Beyond Conflict, http://www.beyondconflictint.org/about-us/staff/timothy-phillips/.

44.  Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan, “Weekly News Bulletin,” September 7, 2005, http://prosites-kazakhembus.homestead.com/090705.html.

45.  Becker and Van Natta, “After Mining Deal, Financier Donated to Clinton.”

46.  Nichol, “Kazakhstan: Recent Developments and U.S. Interests.”

47.  Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, “Promises to Keep: Kazakhstan’s 2010 OSCE Chairmanship,” official transcript, July 22, 2008, http://csce.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=ContentRecords.ViewDetail&ContentRecord_id=434&Region_id=0&Issue_id=0&ContentType=H,B&ContentRecordType=H&CFID=13299032&CFTOKEN=93551824.

48.  Signature Resources Ltd., “Signature Enters into Acquisition Agreement with UrAsia Energy Ltd,” September 20, 2005, http://www.infomine.com/index/pr/Pa299684.PDF.

49.  Becker and Van Natta, “After Mining Deal, Financier Donated to Clinton.”

50.  Ibid.

51.  Ibid.

52.  “Kazakhstan Timeline,” Knowledge Ecology International, July 30, 2007, http://keionline.org/content/view/110/1. Kazakhstan News Bulletin, www.kazakhembus.com, 5, no. 52, December 7, 2005, http://prosites-kazakhembus.homestead.com/December_7.pdf.

53.  Canadian System of Electronic Disclosures (SEDI), http://www.sedi.ca: “Access Public Filings,” “View Summary Reports,” “Insider Transaction Detail,” “Select ‘Insider Family Name,’” “Search ‘Ian Telfer,’” “Select ‘Date of Transaction,’” “Search ‘January 1, 2000-present day,’” “Urasia Energy.” Hoffman and Stewart, “How to (Still) Get Rich in Mining.”

54.  Moriarty, Bob, “Girls and Peak Gold: Wheaton River Jr.,” 321gold.com, October 7, 2007, http://www.321gold.com/editorials/moriarty/moriarty103007.html (accessed November 2, 2014).

55.  Hoffman, Andy, “Ian Telfer: ‘I’m More of an Opportunist than a Visionary,’”
Globe and Mail
(Toronto), May 27, 2011, http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/careers/careers-leadership/ian-telfer-im-more-of-an-opportunist-than-a-visionary/article582085/?page=all.

56.  Kirby, Jason, “Uranium Blockbuster,”
National Post
(Canada), January 31, 2006, http://www.canada.com/story.html?id=c8c388e6-ba0b-4ed3-bc67-21a05ec652c2.=.

57.  “Coming Soon! A New Uranium Stock,” Stocks, Uranium, Exchange, Symbol, November 7, 2005, http://socialize.morningstar.com/NewSocialize/forums/p/158426/2044148.aspx#2044148 (accessed November 2, 2014). “Uranium Mining and Exploration Post #2119,”
Investors Hub
, November 7, 2005, http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=8398619 (Accessed November 02, 2014). See also “Uranium Blockbuster: Canaccord Adams-led IPO Financing of Uranium Producer UrAsia Energy Faced Language Barriers, a 14-hour Time Difference and a Drop in the Equity Markets. But the Deal Was Done,”
Financial Post
(Canada), January 31, 2006.

58.  Uranium One, “Uranium One and UrAsia Energy Announce Combination to Create Emerging Senior Uranium Company,” news release, February 12, 2007, Uranium1.com, http://www.uranium1.com/index.php/en/component/docman/doc_download/256-uranium-one-and-urasia-energy-announce-combination-to-create-emerging-senior-uranium-company.

59.  Lenzner, Robert, “Clinton Commits No Foul in Kazakhstan Uranium Deal,”
Forbes
, January 12, 2009, http://www.forbes.com/2009/01/12/giustra-clinton-kazakhstan-pf-ii-in_rl_0912croesus_inl.html.

60.  Becker, Jo, and Don Van Natta, Jr., “Ex-President, Mining Deal and a Donor,”
New York Times
, January 30, 2008, http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/31/us/politics/31donor.html?pagewanted=all&_r=1&.

61.  Despite initially denying the meeting, Giustra later recanted and “his aides explain that the manner in which the
Times’
fact-checking questions were asked was misleading and did not prompt them to recall the Chappaqua meeting.” Lenzner, “Clinton Commits No Foul in Kazakhstan Uranium Deal.” Becker, and Van Natta, “Ex-President, Mining Deal and a Donor.”

62.  Hamm, Nathan, “Joe Biden’s Letter to Nursultan Nazarbayev,”
Registannet RSS
, March 23, 2007, http://registan.net/2007/03/23/joe-bidens-letter-to-nursultan-nazarbayev/.

63.  Becker and Van Natta, “Ex-President, Mining Deal and a Donor.” Cooper, Helene, and Peter Baker, “Clinton Vetting Includes Look at Mr. Clinton,”
New York Times
, November 16, 2008, http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/17/us/politics/17memo.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0.

64.  Love, James, “The Well-Connected Dictator,”
Huffington Post
, October 6, 2007, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/james-love/the-wellconnected-dictato_b_67423.html. “Featured Attendees,” Clinton Global Initiative, http://re.clintonfoundation.org/page.aspx?pid=1263. Official Site of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, September 26, 2007, http://www.akorda.kz/en/page/page_president-nursultan-nazarbayev-takes-part-in-the-clinton-global-initiative-forum_1348723422.

65.  Smith, “Clinton Used Giustra’s Plane, Opened Doors for Deals (Correct).”

66.  Uranium One, “Uranium One and UrAsia Energy Announce Combination to Create Emerging Senior Uranium Company.”

Although reported by some as a buyout, it was actually a reverse merger. Frank Giustra and any other shareholders didn’t get bought out; they actually took control of the new company named Uranium One. Hill, Liezel, “Uranium One Wraps Up UrAsia Acquisition, Eyes London Listing,”
Engineering News
, April 23, 2007, http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/uranium-one-wraps-up-urasia-acquisition-eyes-london-listing-2007-04-23.

“Immediately following the completion of the arrangement, Uranium One was owned approximately 60% by the former UrAsia shareholders and approximately 40% by the then-existing Uranium One shareholders.” Uranium One Inc.,
Annual Information Form 2007
, report, March 31, 2008, http://www.uranium1.com/index.php/en/component/docman/doc_download/69-2008-annual-information-form.

67.  As
Platts Nucleonics Week
reports, “For accounting purposes, UrAsia Energy became a subsidiary of what was now called Uranium One, but in fact, it was UrAsia Energy shareholders who took control of the new company, according to documents filed with Canadian securities regulators.” Stellfox, David, “Uranium One’s Russian Deals Pushes Kazakh Probes to the Background,”
Platts Nucleonics Week
, June 18, 2009. As the London Stock Exchange reported, “each UrAsia common share will be exchanged for .45 Uranium One common shares. After the completion of the transaction, it is expected that current Uranium One shareholders will own approximately 40 percent of the combined company and current UrAsia shareholders will own approximately 60 percent.” “UrAsia Energy Ltd Plans Merger with SXR Uranium,” London Stock Exchange Aggregated Regulatory News Service, February 17, 2007. “UrAsia Energy Ltd (UUU),”
FE Investegate/UrAsia Energy Ltd Announcements
, February 12, 2007, http://www.investegate.co.uk/article.aspx?id=200702120726400752R.

68.  Uranium One, “Uranium One Completes Acquisition of Energy Metals,” press release, August 10, 2007, http://www.uranium1.com/index.php/en/component/docman/doc_download/239-uranium-one-completes-acquisition-of-energy-metals.

69.  “Vadim Zhivov: ‘We Can Be Faced by a Deficit of Uranium,’” Rosatom, December 2, 2010, http://www.rosatom.ru/en/presscentre/interviews/4eafad80432eea76ab83eb539abab8a1. Rosatom Corp., “Russia to Acquire 17% Stake in Canada’s Uranium One (Update1),” news release, June 19, 2009, ARMZ Uranium Holding Co., http://www.armz.ru/media/File/facts/ARMZ-U1/Bloomberg.pdf.

70.  Wright, Lisa, “Clintons’ Canadian Buddy,”
Toronto Star
, February 3, 2008, http://www.thestar.com/business/2008/02/03/clintons_canadian_buddy.html.

71.  “Contributor Information,” Clinton Foundation, https://www.clintonfoundation.org/contributors.

72.  Hoffman, “Renaissance Man.”

73.  Becker and Van Natta, “Ex-President, Mining Deal and a Donor.” Hoffman, “Renaissance Man.”

74.  “Contributor Information,” Clinton Foundation, https://www.clintonfoundation.org/contributors?category=%24250%2C001+to+%24500%2C000 (accessed 2014). “Frank Edward Holmes,” Investing.businessweek.com, http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/people/person.asp?personId=310588&ticker=GROW.

75.  Hoffman, “Renaissance Man.” “President Clinton and Business Leaders Launch Sustainable Development Initiative in the Developing World,” press release, Clinton Foundation, June 21, 2007, https://www.clintonfoundation.org/main/news-and-media/press-releases-and-statements/press-release-president-clinton-and-business-leaders-launch-sustainable-developm.html. “Management,” Endeavour Mining Corporation, http://www.endeavourmining.com/s/Management.asp.