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Trump Blocks Biden Transition, Solicits Fund Via ‘GoFundMe’ To Settle Election Expenses

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United States President Donald Trump has thrown the presidential transition into tumult by blocking government officials from cooperating with President-elect Joe Biden’s team.

Attorney General William Barr has also authorized the Justice Department to probe unsubstantiated allegations of voter fraud.

Biden campaign lawyer Bob Bauer said Barr’s memorandum authorizing investigations “will only fuel the ‘specious, speculative, fanciful or far-fetched claims’ he professes to guard against.”

But some Republicans, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, have rallied behind Trump’s efforts to fight the election results.

According to AP, few in the GOP acknowledged Biden’s victory or condemned Trump’s firing of Defense Secretary Mark Esper on Monday.

The developments cast doubt on whether the nation would witness the same kind of smooth transition of power that has long anchored its democracy.

The Electoral College is slated to formally confirm Biden’s victory on Dec. 14 and the Democrat will be sworn into office in late January.

The Trump administration has not invited the President-elect to the White House as is the tradition.

The meeting between sitting presidents and Vice Presidents and their successors is a time-honoured tradition that represents the peaceful transfer of power.

But CNN’s White House team has reported there are no plans for President Trump to invite Biden to the White House in the coming days.

That means Biden can’t access additional funds for his transition team, and he hasn’t been cleared to receive intelligence briefings, both touchstones of the formal transition process.

Meanwhile, Trump has set up a GoFundMe account tagged ‘election defense fund’ to solicit money for settling his election expenses.

The UK Guardian reports that Trump spent a little more money than he had for his re-election to the tune of $1.6 billion which he now needs help in repaying.

It said those donating may believe that the money would go towards challenging the election result but the newspapers found that part of the donations would be used in settling election expenses.

Donations can be made to two different funds – Trump’s personal fund, and his joint fund with his party.

“President Trump needs YOU to step up to make sure we have the resources to protect the integrity of the election!” the wording on both funds says, which is featured in a huge pop-up on Trump’s re-election webpage.

It continues: “Please contribute ANY AMOUNT IMMEDIATELY to the Official Election Defense Fund and to increase your impact by 1,000%!”

It is unclear who matches the donations.

On Trump’s personal fund, it dictates that of all donations raised, only 50 percent will go towards a recount effort, and that “50% of each contribution, up to a maximum of $2,800 ($5,000), [will] be designated toward DJTFP’s 2020 general election account for general election debt retirement until such debt is retired”.

On his joint fund with the RNC, the donations work as follows: “60% of each contribution first to Save America, up to $5,000/$5,000, then to DJTP’s recount account, up to a maximum of $2,800/$5,000. [And] 40% of each contribution to the RNC’s Operating account, up to a maximum of $35,500/$15,000.”

BIG STORY

UPDATE [AFCON]: Libya Jittery As CAF Demands Response To Nigeria’s Protest

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The Libyan Football Federation is reportedly panicking after being asked by CAF to “submit documents” concerning the cancellation of the AFCON qualifying Group D match against Nigeria.

Nigeria had refused to play the match after their “plane was diverted to Labraq Airport” where they were “held hostage for 18 hours without food and water.”

According to Libya Al-Ahrar Channel, “Nasser Al-Suwaie,” Secretary-General of the Libyan Football Federation, confirmed that “CAF has given the Libyan and Nigerian associations until the 20th of this month to submit” all relevant documents.

Al-Suwaie further revealed that the Libya FA has “assigned a specialised lawyer” to provide evidence, suggesting “there may be collusion from some parties within CAF,” though he assured that the position of the Libyan Federation remains strong.

He clarified that “the Libyan Federation did not change the course of the plane’s landing,” which was a decision by “the Libyan state,” and this “sovereignty of the Libyan state must be respected.”

The “Super Eagles returned” to Nigeria with reports of difficult conditions, including “sleeping on the bare floor” of the airport. Team manager “Patrick Pascal” described how the “toilet had been deliberately seriously messed up by the Libyan officials” in anticipation of their arrival.

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BIG STORY

FG Officially Ends Fuel, FX Subsidies, Unveils Housing Finance Plan To Tackle Unemployment

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The Federal Government has officially ended “fuel and Foreign Exchange (FX) subsidies,” Finance Minister and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, “Wale Edun,” announced on Thursday during the presentation of the Nigeria Development Update by the World Bank in Abuja.

Edun disclosed that the subsidies had significantly strained the nation’s economy, costing Nigeria around “N10 trillion,” which is about five percent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

“Fuel and FX subsidy are extinguished,” the minister stated, marking a major shift in economic policy.

In response to growing unemployment, the government is launching a new plan focused on housing finance.

The initiative includes a mortgage scheme with near single-digit interest rates, intended to boost construction and generate considerable job opportunities.

At the same event, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, “Olayemi Cardoso,” discussed the recent half-percent interest rate hike by the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), attributing the increase to inflationary pressures.

He assured that future policies would be “data-driven and evidence-based.”

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BIG STORY

Air Peace: U.S. Government Seeks Forfeiture Of Allen Onyema’s $14 Million Assets In Amended Fraud Case

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The United States government has requested the District Court, Northern District of Georgia, to approve the forfeiture of approximately “$14 million” in assets from Allen Ifechukwu Onyema, CEO of “Air Peace,” following a recent superseding indictment.

The indictment outlines allegations of fraud and money laundering against Onyema and his associate, Ejiroghene Eghagha, who serves as Chief of Administration and Finance at “Air Peace.”

The indictment includes multiple counts: Count One alleges “conspiracy to commit bank fraud,” while Counts Two through Four involve instances of “bank fraud.”

Count Five pertains to “conspiracy to commit credit application fraud,” and Counts Six through Eight are for “credit application fraud.” Counts Nine through Thirty-Five address “money laundering.”

If convicted of the charges in Counts One through Five, the defendants must forfeit property gained through these alleged crimes, including substantial sums in business-related bank accounts.

The U.S. government specifically seeks the forfeiture of “$4,017,852.51” from a JP Morgan Chase Bank account held by “Springfield Aviation Inc.,” “$4,393,842.05” from a Bank of Montreal account linked to “Springfield Aviation Inc.,” and “$5,634,842.04” from a Bank of Montreal account associated with “Blue Stream Aero Services, Inc.”

The indictment states that if these assets are unavailable, the U.S. will pursue other assets of the defendants of equivalent value.

The legal case is being led by U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan, with Garrett L. Bradford and Christopher J. Huber.

On October 13, it was reported that Onyema and Eghagha had been initially indicted in 2019 on charges of “conspiracy to commit bank fraud,” “bank fraud,” and “money laundering.”

The scheme allegedly involved using falsified documents to purchase aircraft and laundering over “$16 million” in proceeds.

In response to these charges, “Air Peace Limited” stated that its legal team is engaged in the matter and working to ensure justice.

Onyema now faces new charges for allegedly “obstructing justice” by submitting false documents to halt an investigation into earlier bank fraud and money laundering charges.

Eghagha is also implicated in the obstruction scheme and faces additional charges tied to the original bank fraud counts.

This information was disclosed in a statement by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Georgia.

“After allegedly using his airline company as a cover to commit fraud on the United States’ banking system, Onyema, along with his co-defendant, allegedly committed additional crimes of fraud in a failed attempt to derail the government’s investigation of his conduct,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan.

“The diligence of our federal investigative partners revealed the defendants’ alleged obstruction scheme, making it possible for the defendants to be held accountable for their aggravated conduct of attempting to impede a federal investigation.”

US Attorney Buchanan further revealed that Onyema is linked to a complex financial scheme.

According to the superseding indictment and court records, Onyema, founder of “Air Peace” (established in 2013), frequently visited Atlanta between 2010 and 2018.

He is accused of opening multiple personal and business bank accounts in Atlanta, through which over “$44.9 million” was allegedly transferred from international sources.

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