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<p>CHICAGO (AP) -- Federal prosecutors accused a Syrian-born American of once leading a Muslim charity that the Treasury Department calls a terrorist group, and said he tried to help Osama bin Laden get a nuclear weapon.</p> <p>The government said Mohamed Loay Bayazid was president of the suburban Chicago-based Benevolence International Foundation in 1994, about the same time he is accused of trying to get uranium for al-Qaida.</p>

Convicted child rapist and pedophile Roman Polanski found himself once again briefly detained by authorities in Poland this week. And yet again, he was released despite requests from the United States to hold him for extradition. But before getting to the details, it’s worth pausing for a moment to note how CNN chose to describe the situation. Famed film director Roman Polanski, wanted in the United States for having sex with a minor in the 1970s, was questioned this week by Polish authorities but allowed to leave after the interview. Yes, I suppose you could choose to say that he...

Robert Wolf bundled over a million dollars for Obama, got a WH appointment, and is cashing in on his connections As economists and policy wonks debate the merits of U.S. export financing, critics of one controversial program are warning of more subtle consequences exemplified, they say, by one of the president’s golfing buddies. Robert Wolf joined the president on the links this month in Martha’s Vineyard, the latest of his frequent outings with the president. The foursome also included private equity financier Glenn Hutchins and Cyrus Walker, cousin of White House adviser Valerie Jarrett.

There appears to be a wealth of Wall Street sniping about Robert Wolf’’s departure from UBS after being described as a “fat cat with the president’s ear.” Wolf resigned as chairman of UBS Americas and president of global investment banking last month to set up his own firm, 32 Advisors. He’s among President Obama’s leading fund-raisers, a regular face at the White House and even golfs with Obama. He also makes regular Obama-friendly TV appearances, despite the president’s perceived anti-Wall Street rhetoric. A source told us, “Wall Street insiders are sniping that Wolf’s new career path appears to be serving...

One of the biggest banks in the world wants the president's favourite banker muzzled. The banker, Robert Wolf, a top UBS executive in New York, is among President Barack Obama's leading fundraisers, building more than $500,000 for his re-election so far this year. A regular presence at big campaign fundraisers, Wolf, who is 50, golfs and vacations with Obama and is known for emailing friends photos of himself with the president.

One of the biggest banks in the world wants the president’s favorite banker muzzled. The banker, Robert Wolf, a top UBS executive in New York, is among President Obama’s leading fund-raisers, building more than more than $500,000 for his re-election so far this year. A regular presence at big campaign fund-raisers, Mr. Wolf, who is 50, golfs and vacations with Mr. Obama and is known for e-mailing friends photos of himself with the president. -snip- Mr. Wolf and Mr. Obama met in late 2006 at a reception held at the offices of the billionaire investor George Soros. The two became...

UBS has racked up losses up to $350m related to botched trading in shares of Facebook during the company's tumultuous market debut, according to people familiar with the situation.

UBS AG had trading losses of around $30 million stemming from Facebook Inc's botched initial public offering on Nasdaq OMX Group Inc's U.S. exchange, a source with knowledge of the situation said on Friday.

Who With the official kick-off of President Barack Obama's re-election campaign this weekend in Ohio, it's clearly time to test out a few attack lines on Republican opponent Mitt Romney. Think of it as the start of a boxing match. In the blue corner, Team Obama is trotting out to the centre of the ring and throwing a few jabs just to see what sticks to Romney's square-cut chin. What This is a slick 30-second TV spot of a kind we are going to be seeing a lot of this year. As such, it has to pack a lot in...

MIAMI, Oct 29 (Reuters) - The jailed whistleblower in a landmark tax evasion case against UBS AG is accusing a top U.S. Justice Department lawyer of "criminal conduct" for thwarting his efforts to cooperate with investigations of the Swiss bank by federal regulators and the U.S. Senate. Bradley Birkenfeld, who was instrumental in exposing widespread tax evasion by wealthy American clients of UBS, detailed the alleged misconduct involving the Justice Department's Kevin Downing in a telephone interview on Thursday. A Justice Department spokesman declined to comment. The 45-year-old former UBS banker spoke to Reuters from the federal prison in Pennsylvania...

Leading banker jumped to his death after snorting cocaine at welcome home party By Daily Mail Reporter Last updated at 4:45 PM on 8th September 2010 A leading banker jumped to his death after snorting cocaine at a party thrown to welcome him back from abroad, an inquest heard today. Neil McCormick plunged sixty feet and landed on rubble after he was spotted walking in circles and mumbling 'guys, don’t do this to me', the court heard. Mr McCormick, who had used cocaine regularly since studying at Oxford University, moved to Hong Kong last September with his wife Diana and...

Obama’s Vineyard Foursomes Include UBS’s Wolf, Lawyer Jordan. Bloomberg Business Week link only: http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-08-27/obama-s-vineyard-foursomes-include-ubs-s-wolf-lawyer-jordan.html

A former banker who blew the whistle on thousands of secret bank accounts rich Americans held at Swiss giant UBS claimed Thursday some U.S. politicians also kept off-shore accounts with the bank. "We had an office in Washington that we all referred to as the PEP office - for 'Politically Exposed People,'" Bradley Birkenfeld said. He was speaking by phone - on tax day, no less - from Schuylkill County federal prison in Pennsylvania, where he is serving a 40-month sentence for his role in the tax evasion scheme. "Only top managers from the bank knew the names of the...

Swiss hold 8 over Saudi suicide bombs Alison Langley in Zurich, and Brian Whitaker Saturday January 10, 2004 The Guardian The Swiss authorities have arrested eight people in connection with suicide bombings in Saudi Arabia. The arrests on Thursday were part of a national operation by 100 police officers who raided homes in Geneva, Bern, Zurich, Vaud and Aargau and questioned about 20 suspects. Those arrested are suspected of providing logistical support for a series of attacks by Islamic militants on housing compounds in Riyadh last May which killed 35 people, including nine assailants. Officials said all the suspects were...

HIZBOLLAH VICTIMS BRING HISTORIC CIVIL SUIT AGAINST MEGA-BANK May 12, 2008 For Immediate Release VICTIMS OF HIZBOLLAH MISSILE ATTACKS BRING HISTORIC CIVIL ACTION AGAINST UBS IN NEW YORK FEDERAL COURT A group of American victims of Iranian sponsored terror have filed a civil action in the United States District Court for the Southern District against the Swiss mega-bank, UBS AG. The plaintiffs, all of whom had family members injured or killed in Iranian-backed terror attacks, allege that UBS' unlawful eight year-long provision of financial services to the Islamic Republic at the time Iran was providing material support to terrorist organizations...

UBS hit by further $4bn write-down By Haig Simonian in Zurich Published: January 30 2008 07:21 | Last updated: January 30 2008 07:21 UBS, one of the biggest casualties of the US subprime crisis, on Wednesday revealed a further $4bn in write downs on its portfolio of troubled mortgage-related securities. The surprise announcement, coming ahead of the Swiss bank’s annual results on February 14, means UBS will report a net group loss of about SFr4.4bn ($4bn) for 2007. UBS said the full-year loss, which it had signalled when disclosing initial fourth-quarter subprime writedowns of $10bn last month, stemmed from additional...

Per FR policy, Bloomberg is link only.Read article here.

Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen won't let go of the mystery: Just where did the Cuban government get up to $3.9 billion it funneled through a Swiss bank over seven years. Was Havana simply, as it claims, banking its income from tourism and remittances that Cubans abroad send to their relatives on the island? Or was dirty money involved? Ros-Lehtinen, the Cuban-born Florida Republican, wants to know, and she has been badgering officials of the United Bank of Switzerland (UBS) and the U.S. Federal Reserve for answers. ''That's an awful lot of money,'' Ros-Lehtinen told The Herald. According to the latest answers...

ZURICH: Swiss bank UBS is ready to transfer Iraqi-held deposits in UBS accounts in the United States to the US authorities, a spokesman for Switzerland's largest bank was quoted as saying on Sunday. Spokesman Axel Langer said that funds blocked since 1990 would be transferred to the US Treasury in line with a US government request. The money in the UBS accounts came from transactions between US oil firms and the Iraqi state oil company. Langer declined to say how much cash was involved or whether other accounts in Switzerland and elsewhere were affected as well. The Swiss foreign ministry...

One of President Obama’s largest financial backers is a key executive at the largest Swiss bank in the world, complicating his criticism of presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney. Robert Wolf is president of Swiss financial giant UBS Investment Bank and chairman of UBS Americas. He has been one of Obama’s most prolific fundraisers dating back to 2006, when the former Senator from Illinois initiated his run for the White House. Wolf has bundled more than $500,000 for the president’s reelection, campaign records show. He is but one of many wealthy bankers Obama has turned to in an effort to win...