UANI Applauds AGF for Divesting from Fraudulent Iran-Backed Lebanese Bonds

   

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 19, 2012 Contact: Nathan Carleton, press@uani.com  Phone: (212) 554-3296   UANI Applauds AGF for Divesting from Fraudulent Iran-Backed Lebanese Bonds New York, NY - On Wednesday, United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) applauded the Canadian investment firm AGF Management Limited ("AGF") for divesting from its Lebanese bonds. AGF held fraudulent Lebanese sovereign bonds that supported illicit Hizballah and Iranian activities. UANI and AGF have had discussions about this matter for the three past months, and on September 11, 2012, UANI publicly called on AGF to reconsider its position regarding its Lebanese bonds. Since then, AGF has informed UANI that it recently decided to divest from its Lebanese bonds due to the risk associated with them. UANI applauds AGF, and will list AGF as having divested. Said UANI CEO, Ambassador Mark D. Wallace: We applaud AGF for its decision to divest from fraudulent, Iran-backed Lebanese bonds. The Lebanese sovereign debt market is illegitimate, and no firm should be trading in Lebanese securities given Hizballah and Iran's illicit control of the Lebanese banking system. Investors are fleeing Lebanese debt securities because of the clear and unambiguous influence Hizballah and Iran have in perpetuating a sovereign-backed money laundering scheme that artificially supports Lebanon's economy. We call on all investment firms to divest from Lebanese bonds, and stop exposing their shareholders to such fraud and risk. In July, UANI announced the results of a three month-long investigation into the influence of Iran and Hizballah in the Lebanese banking system (LBS) and Lebanon's sovereign bond market, and announced a campaign to compel legitimate financial institutions into divesting from Lebanon's bond market. UANI has previously announced that Erste-Sparinvest, Eaton Vance, Nord Est Asset Management, Aktia, and Ameriprise Financial have already divested from Lebanese bonds. Click here to read UANI's September 11, 2012 letter to AGF. Click here to read UANI's June 8, 2012 letter to AGF. Click here to read the July 3 Wall Street Journal article, "Banks Get Pressed on Beirut." Click here to view UANI's research, "HIZBALLAH, LEBANON & IRAN: PARTNERS IN A SOVEREIGN MONEY LAUNDERING SCHEME." ###                                                                         United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) is a program of the American Coalition Against Nuclear Iran, Inc., a tax-exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. The prospect of a nuclear-armed Iran should concern every American and be unacceptable to the community of nations. Since 1979 the Iranian regime, most recently under President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's leadership, has demonstrated increasingly threatening behavior and rhetoric toward the US and the West. Iran continues to defy the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the United Nations in their attempts to monitor its nuclear activities. A number of Arab states have warned that Iran's development of nuclear weapons poses a threat to Middle East stability and could provoke a regional nuclear arms race. In short, the prospect of a nuclear armed Iran is a danger to world peace. United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) is a non-partisan, broad-based coalition that is united in a commitment to prevent Iran from fulfilling its ambition to become a regional super-power possessing nuclear weapons.  UANI is an issue-based coalition in which each coalition member will have its own interests as well as the collective goal of advancing an Iran free of nuclear weapons. The Objectives of United Against a Nuclear Iran Inform the public about the nature of the Iranian regime, including its desire and intent to possess nuclear weapons, as well as Iran's role as a state sponsor of global terrorism, and a major violator of human rights at home and abroad; Heighten awareness nationally and internationally about the danger that a nuclear armed Iran poses to the region and the world; Mobilize public support, utilize media outreach, and persuade our elected leaders to voice a robust and united American opposition to a nuclear Iran; Lay the groundwork for effective US policies in coordination with European and other allies; Persuade the regime in Tehran to desist from its quest for nuclear weapons, while striving not to punish the Iranian people, and; Promote efforts that focus on vigorous national and international, social, economic, political and diplomatic measures. UANI is led by an advisory board of outstanding national figures representing all sectors of our country.

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