Just to remind you - *'s brother Marvin got a big piece of the BASF/Royal Shell deal, through his company, because the admin. didn't want the deal to go to Iran, which had the highest bid at the time for BASF.
First posted about this on May 26, 2005. Here is the info. again
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000087&sid=a6l... snip
BASF, Shell to Sell Basell to Access, Chatterjee (Update3)
May 5 (Bloomberg) -- BASF AG and Royal Dutch/Shell Group agreed to sell their Basell NV plastics joint venture for 4.4 billion euros ($5.7 billion) to Access Industries Inc. of the U.S. and The Chatterjee Group, bowing to U.S. pressure not to hand the company to Iran.
Access and Chatterjee won the bidding for Hoofdorpp, Netherlands-based Basell, BASF, the world's largest chemical maker, and Shell, Europe's No. 2 oil company, said in a statement. The unit is the world's largest maker of polypropylene, used in bottle caps, grocery bags and packaging.
The U.S. State Department pressured BASF and Shell to ignore interest from Iran, which the U.S. lists as a state sponsor of terrorism. By exiting the five-year-old Basell, Shell and BASF will reduce their exposure to low-margin commodity plastics. Closely held Access and Indian entrepreneur Purnendu Chatterjee will get control of a company with annual sales of 6.7 billion euros, debt of 2.2 billion euros and 6,600 employees. ``If the Indians offer the same money as the Iranians it gets you less grief with the U.S., then that's a politically expedient thing to do,'' said Richard Griffith, a London-based analyst at Williams de Broe.
Here's more - apparently Marvin AND Jeb are partners...
http://www.independent-media.tv/itemprint.cfm?fmedia_id... snip
SEC filings show that the Chatterjee Group consists of Winston Partners, LP; Chatterjee Fund Management, LP; Winston Partners II LDC, a Cayman Islands-based company; Winston Partners II LLC; Chatterjee Advisors LLC; Chatterjee Management Company; Mr. Chatterjee himself; and Furxedown Trading Limited, a company organized under the laws of the Isle of Man. The address for Winston Partners II LDC is in the Netherlands Antilles. The other subsidiaries were organized in Delaware
Marvin is not the only family member plugged into the group. Brother Jeb is also an investor in the Winston Capital Fund, which happens to be managed by Marvin's firm. And a whole lot more on Bush profit in Iraq..
WTO Agrees entry talks with Iran, US drops Veto
May 26, 2005
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20050526/wl... The U.S. decision appeared to be the first tangible reward for Iran after it agreed Wednesday to maintain its suspension of all nuclear activities in a deal with the European Union.Mohammad Reza Alborzi, Iran's ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, welcomed the breakthrough at WTO's General Council, whose 148 member states take decisions by consensus.
"I take note that a decision that has long been overdue has been now established," Alborzi said in remarks to the closed-door meeting.
Iran applied to join the WTO in September 1996 and its candidacy was first considered in May 2001. But Washington had blocked agreement ever since at 22 General Council meetings.
All this in the space of 3 weeks...