How many U of O student rent checks are supporting Putin?

Think globally, act locally. Something you can do locally to help Ukraine is, support government transparency and affordable housing right here in Eugene. Speaking on HB 2001 at the NLC in March, Ted Coopman.

[00:00:15] Ted Coopman: There’s a lot of terrible things in the Staff’s proposal, but one of the main concerns, at least for us, is that it’s going to cannibalize our existing affordable rental stock and starter home inventory, because you’re going to bring in people, developers who have a lot more money and can outbid people. Housing prices are going to go up quite a bit.

[00:00:34] John Q: Mingling among the many honest investors, Eugene properties may also be hiding the assets of Russian war criminals. Loopholes in U.S. laws let criminals park their assets in real estate. Executive Director at the Project On Government Oversight (POGO), Danielle Brian.

[00:00:50] Danielle Brian: People are cheering on as we’re capturing Russian kleptocrats’ yachts. And the reality is that Russian kleptocrats have been able to hide their money that they’ve stolen from their country in the United States, in private investment firms and real estate, benefiting from loopholes in our laws—there are secrecy loopholes that allow for anonymous shell corporations.

[00:01:10] And the FBI reported just last year that because of those loopholes in the Bank Secrecy Act that criminals from around the world are taking advantage in the United States. So we’re seizing their yachts, but the real money is remaining safely hidden in the United States.

[00:01:25] Through closing loopholes and knowing who the people are, who are benefiting from owning these assets, our law enforcement can better target the criminals who are profiting from corruption, not just in Russia, but in Venezuela and criminals across the globe.

[00:01:40] John Q: Perhaps City staff can share with Council how anonymous ownership is changing over time, and what percentage of Eugene may currently be hiding money for shell corporations. How many U of O rent checks are supporting Putin?  Could the City staff produce these reports and dazzle them with brilliance? At the NLC, Ted Coopman:

[00:01:59] Ted Coopman: I think that the Staff are definitely doing their best to baffle Council with bull****.

[00:02:04] John Q: For more about criminals hiding their money in real estate, see Danielle Brian and the Project On Government Oversight at POGO.org.

Some images courtesy Kremlin.ru, CC BY 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.