Clinton Cash: The Untold Story of How and Why Foreign Governments and Businesses Helped Make Bill and Hillary Rich

by Peter Schweizer

  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.

  76. “Clinton Foundation Donors,” Wall Street Journal, December 18, 2008, http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/st_clintondonor_20081218.html. “Transactions (Page 2),” Haywood Securities Inc., http://www.haywood.com/investmentbanking/searchtransactions.aspx?view=tombstone&field=year&year=2005# (accessed 2014).

  77. “Clinton Foundation Donors,” Wall Street Journal. “Paul D. Reynolds,” Investing.businessweek.com, http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/people/person.asp?personId=1467569&ticker=CF:CN.

  78. “President Clinton and Business Leaders Launch Sustainable Development Initiative in the Developing World.” Hoffman, “Renaissance Man.” Kirby, “Uranium Blockbuster.”

  79. “President Clinton and Business Leaders Launch Sustainable Development Initiative in the Developing World.” “Robert Melvin Douglas Cross MBA,” Investing.businessweek.com, http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/people/person.asp?personId=8052452&ticker=BNK:CN&previousCapId=35511785&previousTitle=B2GOLD%20CORP.

  80. “Global Metals & Mining Biographies,” BMO Capital Markets, http://www.bmocm.com/industry-expertise/mining/bio/ (accessed 2014). Uranium One, “Uranium One and UrAsia Energy Announce Combination to Create Emerging Senior Uranium Company.”

  81. Hoffman, “Renaissance Man.” Kirby, “Uranium Blockbuster.”

  82. Hoffman, “Renaissance Man.” “Sergey Vladimirovich Kurzin Ph.D.,” Investors.businessweek.com, http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/people/person.asp?personId=13061746&ticker=OSU:CN. Sidorov, “An Interview with Sergei Kurzin.”

  83. Hoffman, “Renaissance Man.” “Board of Directors,” Uranium One, http://www.uranium1.com/index.php/en/about-uranium-one/board-of-directors (accessed 2014).

  84. Clinton Foundation, “President Clinton and Business Leaders Launch Sustainable Development Initiative in the Developing World.”

  85. Wright, “Clintons’ Canadian Buddy.”

  86. Todd, Douglas, “Frank Giustra: Rescuing Global Capitalism from Itself,” Vancouver Sun, September 13, 2008, http://blogs.vancouversun.com/2008/09/13/frank-giustra-rescuing-global-capitalism-from-itself/?__federated=1.

  87. Ibid.

  CHAPTER 3: HILLARY’S RESET

  1. Strobel, Warren, and Jonathan Landay, “Russia’s Dispute with Bush Could Strain G8 Talks,” Seattle Times, June 1, 2007, http://seattletimes.com/html/nationworld/2003730264_putin01.html. Finn, Peter, “Putin Threatens Ukraine on NATO,” Washington Post, February 13, 2008, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/12/AR2008021201658.html. Goldgeier, James, “The ‘Russia Reset’ Was Already Dead; Now It’s Time for Isolation,” Washington Post, March 2, 2014. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/monkey-cage/wp/2014/03/02/the-russia-reset-was-already-dead-now-its-time-for-isolation/.

  2. Lowry, Rich, “The Russian Reset to Nowhere,” National Review Online, March 7, 2014, http://www.nationalreview.com/article/372817/russian-reset-nowhere-rich-lowry.

  3. Mankoff, Jeffrey, “The Russian Economic Crisis,” Council on Foreign Relations, Special Report no. 53 (April 2010), http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&ved=0CC4QFjAB&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cfr.org%2Fcontent%2Fpublications%2Fattachments%2FRussian_Economy_CSR53.pdf&ei=ORAGVJmwIsLwgwTxloLgCA&usg=AFQjCNFhANrjMwQyKcHStW5PkjpDT1FQzA&sig2=l4jMjHA_DU120z8jlUmzbQ.

  4. Gornostayev, Dmitriy, “Clinton ‘By Far Not the Worst’ for U.S. Secretary of State,” Novosti Press Agency, November 23, 2008, http://themoderatevoice.com/24713/clinton-by-far-not-the-worst-for-us-secretary-of-state-novosti-of-russia/.

  5. Ibid.

  6. Owen, Matthews, “How Obama Bought Russia’s (Expensive) Friendship,” Newsweek, June 24, 2010.

  7. Matthews, Owen, “Putin Backs a Major Thaw in Russian Foreign Policy,” Newsweek, June 12, 2010, http://www.newsweek.com/putin-backs-major-thaw-russian-foreign-policy-72929.

  8. Mankoff, “The Russian Economic Crisis.” Åslund, Anders, and Gary Clyde Hufbauer, “Why It’s in the US Interest to Establish Normal Trade Relations with Russia,” Peterson Institute for International Economics (2011), http://photos.state.gov/libraries/russia/231771/PDFs/Peterson-Institute-Paper.pdf.

  9. “Atomic Castling: Kremlin Makes First Moves to Consolidate Nuclear Sector,” Russian Life, May/June 2006.

  10. Weir, Fred, “Russia Plans Big Nuclear Expansion,” Christian Science Monitor, July 17, 2007.

  11. Paxton, Robin. “Russia Looks beyond U.S. to Conquer Uranium Markets,” Reuters, December 10, 2009, http://www.reuters.com/article/2009/12/10/uranium-russia-idUSGEE5B60HS20091210.

&n
bsp; 12. Rosatom, “Nuclear Weapons Complex,” page published April 19, 2010, http://www.rosatom.ru/en/about/activities/nuclear_weapons/.

  13. Simes, Dimitri K., “Russia’s Crisis, America’s Complicity,” National Interest, Winter 1998.

  14. Grigoriadis, Theocaris, “Nuclear Power Contracts and International Cooperation: Analyzing Innovation and Social Distribution in Russian Foreign Policy,” in Responding to a Resurgent Russia: Russian Policy and Responses from the European Union and the United States, edited by Vino Aggarnal and Kristi Govella (New York: Springer, 2012), http://link.springer.com/book/10.1007%2F978-1-4419-6667-4.

  15. Tran, Mark, “Iran to Gain Nuclear Power as Russia Loads Fuel into Bushehr Reactor,” The Guardian, August 13, 2010, http://www.theguardian.com%2Fworld%2F2010%2Faug%2F13%2Firan-nuclear-power-plant-russia.

  16. “Russia Uranium Plans May Include N. Korea,” UPI, March 29, 2007, http://www.upi.com/Business_News/Energy-Resources/2007/03/29/Russia-uranium-plans-may-include-N-Korea/UPI-23571175193174/. Rosatom, “Russia Will Build a NPP and Research Reactor in Venezuela,” press release, October 15, 2010, http://www.rosatom.ru/en/presscentre/highlights/f71874804452bdaa90e3b265d4d5340b. Jagan, Larry, “Myanmar Drops a Nuclear ‘Bombshell,’” Asia Times, May 24, 2007, http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/IE24Ae02.html. Khlopkov, Anton, and Dmitri Konukhov, “Russia, Myanmar and Nuclear Technologies,” Center for Energy and Security Studies, June 29, 2011, http://ceness-russia.org/data/doc/MyanmarENG.pdf. World Nuclear Association, “Emerging Nuclear Energy Countries,” October 2014, http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/Country-Profiles/Others/Emerging-Nuclear-Energy-Countries/.

  17. US Department of State, Embassy in Brussels, “Russia Flexes Muscles on Ukraine Nuclear Fuel Supply,” unclassified memo, WikiLeaks, October 15, 2009, https://www.wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/09BRUSSELS1385_a.html.

  18. Medetsky, Anatoly, “Rosatom Gets $465M to Buy Uranium Assets,” Moscow Times, December 23, 2009, http://www.themoscowtimes.com/business/article/rosatom-gets-465m-to-buy-uranium-assets/396701.html.

  19. US Department of State, Embassy in Astana, “Kazakhstan: Russian Hand in Kazatomprom Drama?” unclassified memo, WikiLeaks, December 22, 2009, https://www.wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/09ASTANA2197_a.html.

  20. Humber, Yuriy, and Maria Kolesnikova, “Russia to Acquire 17% Stake in Canada’s Uranium Ore,” Bloomberg.com, http://www.armz.ru/media/File/facts/ARMZ-U1/Bloomberg.pdf.

  21. Barber, D. A., “Hot Rocks: Hidden Cost and Foreign Ownership of ‘Clean’ Nuclear Fuel Emerging,” Huffington Post, March 30, 2010.

  22. Fahys, Judy, “Uranium Company Deal Nearly Done,” Salt Lake Tribune, December 13, 2010, http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/home/50850101-76/uranium-company-utah-deal.html.csp.

  23. Medetsky, “Rosatom Gets $465M to Buy Uranium Assets.”

  24. Dombey, Daniel, and Isabel Gorst, “Putin Vexes US over Iran Nuclear Power,” Financial Times, March 18, 2010, http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/dba69714-329b-11df-bf20-00144feabdc0.html#axzz39XlLmgqe.

  25. Kosharna, Olga, “Nuclear Cooperation with Ukraine Proceeding According to Russia’s Plan,” Zerkalo Nedeli (Ukraine), October 23, 2010.

  26. See Canadian Charities reporting; for each year, follow the “Full List,” Section C.3, Qualified Donees Worksheet at http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/ebci/haip/srch/t3010returnlist-eng.action?b=855883583RR0001&n=Fernwood+Foundation&r=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cra-arc.gc.ca%3A80%2Febci%2Fhaip%2Fsrch%2Fbasicsearchresult-eng.action%3Fk%3DFernwood%2BFoundation%26amp%3Bs%3Dregistered%26amp%3Bp%3D1%26amp%3Bb%3Dtrue.

  27. “Clinton Foundation Donors,” Wall Street Journal Online, December 18, 2008, http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/st_clintondonor_20081218.html.

  28. “Qualified Donees—Fernwood Foundation—2009,” Canada Revenue Agency, http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/ebci/haip/srch/t3010form21gifts-eng.action?b=855883583RR0001&fpe=2009-03-31&n=Fernwood+Foundation&r=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cra-arc.gc.ca%3A80%2Febci%2Fhaip%2Fsrch%2Ft3010form21-eng.action%3Fb%3D855883583RR0001%26amp%3Bfpe%3D2009-03-31%26amp%3Bn%3DFernwood%2BFoundation%26amp%3Br%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.cra-arc.gc.ca%253A80%252Febci%252Fhaip%252Fsrch%252Fbasicsearchresult-eng.action%253Fk%253DFernwood%252BFoundation%2526amp%253Bs%253Dregistered%2526amp%253Bp%253D1%2526amp%253Bb%253Dtrue.

  29. For the reporting periods of March 31, 2009, to March 31, 2012, the Clinton Giustra Sustainable Growth Initiative functioned as a pass-through to the Clinton Foundation. For each of these years, the average ratio of charitable donations to total expenditures was 0.88, thus 88 cents of every dollar given to CGSGI went to the Clinton Foundation. The ratio was significantly lower in 2013, but even in that year, 100 percent of monies donated went to the Clinton Foundation, which is true of all years discussed. These figures are obtained by comparing figures from Form T3010’s Schedule 2 and Schedule 6 (Lines 5000–5010) for the Clinton Giustra Enterprise Partnership, http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/ebci/haip/srch/t3010returnlist-eng.action?b=846028819RR0001&n=Clinton+Giustra+Enterprise+Partnership+%28Canada%29&r=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cra-arc.gc.ca%3A80%2Febci%2Fhaip%2Fsrch%2Fbasicsearchresult-eng.action%3Fk%3DClinton%26amp%3Bs%3Dregistered%26amp%3Bp%3D1%26amp%3Bb%3Dtrue.

  30. “Qualified Donees—Fernwood Foundation—2010.”

  31. “Clinton Foundation Donors.”

  32. US Global Investors Funds—Form N-Q, report, May 25, 2011, http://pdf.secdatabase.com/714/0001003715-11-000272.pdf. “Our Team,” U.S. Global Investors, http://www.usfunds.com/about-us/our-team/.

  33. “Our Team.”

  34. See, for example, the Endeavour Financial Corporation Investor Presentation, January 2009, p. 14.

  35. See “Arrangement Agreement between SRX Uranium One Inc. and Urasia Energy Ltd.,” February 11, 2007.

  36. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9Ze93MxqaQKPVHLkKmVpeQ; translation by Dr. David Meyer.

  37. “Uranium One Signs Credit Agreement and Provides Operational Update,” Market News Publishing, July 2, 2008, http://business.highbeam.com/1758/article-1G1-180844352/uranium-one-signs-credit-agreement-and-provides-operational.

  38. Terentieva, Alexandra, “Mike Hitchen Online: I On Global Trends,” I On Global Trends, March 31, 2010, http://www.ionglobaltrends.com/2010/03/mining-russias-insatiable-hunger-for.html#.VFPFEeed6Ex.

  39. “Where Eight Renowned Investors Think Commodity Prices Are Going,” Globe and Mail (Toronto), April 20, 2013, http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/industry-news/energy-and-resources/where-eight-renowned-investors-think-commodity-prices-are-going/article11435677/ (accessed 2014). Hoffman, Andy, and Sinclair Stewart, “How to (Still) Get Rich in Mining,” Globe and Mail (Toronto), May 19, 2007, Globeadvisor.com, https://secure.globeadvisor.com/newscentre/article.html?/servlet/GIS.Servlets.WireFeedRedirect?cf=sglobeadvisor/config_blank&vg=BigAdVariableGenerator&date=20070519&archive=gam&slug=RCOVER19.

  40. Uranium One, Inc., “Uranium One to Acquire Two More Kazakh Mines from ARMZ and to Pay Special Dividend to Minority Shareholders of at Least US$1.06 per Share,” news release via Canada Newswire, June 8, 2010; see Canadian System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval (Sedar), Search Public Database.

  41. Uranium One, Inc., “Notice of Special Meeting of Shareholders and Management: Information Circular for a Special Meeting of Shareholders to Be Held on August 31, 2010, Relating to, among Other Things, a Related Party Transaction between JSC Atomredmetzoloto Its Affiliates and Uranium One, Inc.,” August 3, 2010, p. 40. See SEDI, “Uranium One 2010–2011, Insider Transaction Detail.”

  42. Bouw, Brenda, “Russia Boosts Stake in Uranium One,” Globe and Mail (Toronto), June 8, 2010, http://www.theprovince.com/business/Russian+faces+hard+sell+uranium+control/3378184/story.html?__federated=1. “The Global Intelligence Files—Russia 100628,” WikiLeaks, May 29, 2013, https://wikileaks.org/gifiles/docs/66/661462_russia-100628-.html.

  43. “6.3 Interaction with Uranium One, Inc.,” JSC Atomredmetzoloto, 2011 Annual Report, 45.

  44. “Russian Uranium Giant ARMZ Now Set to Control 50 percent of US Uranium Output,” Australian Uranium New
s, December 6, 2010, http://australianuraniumquicksearch.blogspot.com/2010/12/russian-uranium-giant-armz-now-set-to.html.

  45. ARMZ Uranium Holding Co., “ARMZ Uranium Holding Co. Announces Acquisition of 51% Interest in Uranium One Inc.,” news release, June 8, 2010, ARMZ.ru, http://www.armz.ru/eng/press/news/?id=209. Saunders, Doug, “Russian Takeover of Uranium One a Benefit, Execs Say,” Globe and Mail (Toronto), June 27, 2010, http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/russian-takeover-of-uranium-one-a-benefit-execs-say/article1389805/.

  46. Finley, Bruce, “Russian Company Seeks Control of Canadian Uranium-mining Firm Operating in Rockies,” Denver Post, October 20, 2010, http://www.denverpost.com/ci_16382080#ixzz32qCvvALO.

  47. “Kremlin Submits Bill to Turn Rosatom into All-encompassing State Nuclear Corporation,” Bellona.org, October 4, 2007, http://bellona.org/news/nuclear-issues/nuclear-russia/2007-10-kremlin-submits-bill-to-turn-rosatom-into-all-encompassing-state-nuclear-corporation.

  48. US House of Representatives, Committee on Foreign Affairs, “Ros-Lehtinen, Bachus, King, McKeon Send Letter to Geithner Opposing Russian Takeover of U.S. Uranium Processing Facility,” October 6, 2010, http://archives.republicans.foreignaffairs.house.gov/news/story/?1618.

  49. Fugleberg, Jeremy, “Russia Can’t Export Wyoming Uranium, Nuclear Regulators Tell Barrasso,” Casper Star-Tribune Online, March 29, 2011, http://trib.com/news/state-and-regional/russia-can-t-export-wyoming-uranium-nuclear-regulators-tell-barrasso/article_5018f8f8-c59a-5e1b-9401-c019cd6a8625.html.

  50. Harvey, Cole J., “The U.S.-Russian Agreement for Peaceful Nuclear Cooperation,” NTI: Nuclear Threat Initiative, June 22, 2010, http://www.nti.org/analysis/articles/us-russian-peaceful-cooperation/.

  51. Congressman Ed Markey’s Office, “Markey & Fortenberry Introduce Resolution of Disapproval of Proposed Nuclear Deal,” news release, Ed Markey Congress Website, May 25, 2010, http://www.markey.senate.gov/news/press-releases/may-25-2010-markey-and-fortenberry-introduce-resolution-of-disapproval-of-proposed-nuclear-deal.