CRIMINAL  MONOPOLY CAPITALI$M

Ticketmaster parent execs privately laugh over price-gouging: 'These people are so stupid'

Matthew Chapman
March 12, 2026
RAW STORY




Vancouver, CANADA - Dec 3 2022 : Twitter account of popular US singer-songwriter Taylor Swift in Twitter website seen in iPhone on Live Nation logo background. (Photo: Koshiro K/Shutterstock)

Newly revealed internal communications show a pair of executives at entertainment venue giant Live Nation laughing about how much they are able to gouge people for concert tickets.

"In a series of chats from 2022, Ben Baker and Jeff Weinhold, two regional directors of ticketing for Live Nation amphitheaters, boasted about their ability to raise so-called 'ancillary fees' – like parking, lawn chair rentals and VIP access – and still get concertgoers to pay for them," reported Bloomber News. "In one exchange, Weinhold gloated about raising VIP parking costs at a Virginia concert venue to $250. 'These people are so stupid. I almost feel bad taking advantage of them,' Baker wrote, adding later, 'I gouge them on ancil prices.' In another exchange, he bragged about charging '$50 to park in the grass' and '$60 for closer grass.'"

“Robbing them blind, baby, that’s how we do it,” Baker wrote.

Live Nation has been accused in a series of lawsuits of holding a monopoly over venues, that squeezes both performers and ticketholders alike — resulting in people being charged hundreds or thousands of dollars more than reasonable to see concerts, shows, and performances around the country. They also own the booking platform Ticketmaster, which has infamously hiked booking fees to higher and higher levels over the years, and can often be the only way to book tickets for Live Nation owned venues. The fiasco surrounding tickets for Taylor Swift's Eras Tour brought many of these issues into national focus.

The company has also been accused in litigation of stonewalling congressional investigators.


This comes as the Trump administration Justice Department's antitrust division reached a settlement with Live Nation, which requires them to pay $200 million to several states, allow third-party sellers access to Ticketmaster, limit their exclusivity agreements, divest 10 of its amphitheaters, and cap service fees for amphitheater tickets to 15 percent of ticket price.

This settlement has been rejected by over two dozen state attorneys general as inadequate to resolve Live Nation's monopoly power, since it doesn't require Ticketmaster to be divested altogether, and state-level litigation is expected to continue.

Aluminum price surge propels Chinese tycoon to $48 billion fortune

STATE CAPITALI$M IS STILL CAPITALI$M

Bloomberg News | March 10, 2026 | 

Credit: China Hongqiao | LinkedIn

When Zhang Bo took over his father’s industrial empire in 2019, it was already a sprawling industrial giant and one of the world’s biggest producers of aluminum.

Since then, the stock of his China Hongqiao Group has risen 585%, quietly turning Zhang into Asia’s richest metals tycoon with a fortune of about $48 billion.

Zhang, the world’s largest private producer of the metal, has a grip on low-cost output at a critical moment for global demand. He’s a supplier to China’s biggest tech firms like Huawei Technologies Co., Xiaomi Corp., and BYD Co. Aluminum has spiked more than 25% in the past year, fueled by demand from new energy vehicles to solar panels and wind turbines, while geopolitical shocks like the war in Iran have added to volatility. The metal rose to the highest in almost four years on Monday.

The widening Middle East conflict has disrupted local smelters, which account for 9% of global primary aluminum supply. An effective halt on shipments via the Strait of Hormuz, off Iran’s coast, has also choked shipments of the metal. That positions Chinese aluminum producers like Zhang’s to plug emerging supply gaps if global output slows.

“Their influence and personal wealth expanded because the industrial platform they built reached a scale where the market could no longer ignore it,” Harry Yu, senior partner at family office advisory Fung, Yu & Co said of the Zhang clan. “Families like this tend to stay low-profile because their power sits in production systems and supply chains, not in branding.”

Chinese aluminum smelters in the past years have grappled with access to bauxite, the ore used to produce aluminum, as political instability in Guinea and export restrictions in Indonesia disrupted shipments. Jakarta’s drive to keep more processing at home further tightened global supply. Zhang and his father, however, had moved ahead of peers to lock in upstream resources.

Hongqiao began developing bauxite mines in Guinea, the largest mining country for the raw material, around 2014. That’s given better access to bauxite than rivals, Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Michelle Leung said. Securing upstream resources in the early days has contributed to earnings growth, she said.

The company is now one of the lowest-cost producers globally through power plants in China, bauxite mines in Guinea and alumina plants in Indonesia.

Since he controls a significant share of primary aluminum output – which totaled nearly 73 million tons globally in 2024 – Zhang Bo’s decisions affect global supply and price expectations. Hongqiao’s share placements and refinancing are also closely watched by investors, affecting sentiment for aluminum equities across the region.

In the last year alone, his family’s wealth has gained 110%, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, placing the clan among the wealthiest in Asia as of 2025. Zhang declined to comment.

Zhang Xuexin, the patriarch of rival firm Xinfa Group, is worth more than $35 billion.

Since taking over the helm from his father, Zhang Bo has helmed a major pivot by relocating a chunk of aluminum capacity to China’s mountainous Yunnan province to tap cheap green hydropower and align himself with China’s broader energy transition. He later expanded into high-end aluminum products used in electric vehicles as demand from traditional sectors such as property, construction waned.

Still the company is highly exposed to aluminum price volatility, while weaker-than-expected economic growth in major economies amid escalated trade and geopolitical tensions poses major downside risk to demand for the most widely used industrial metal.

Early days

The family’s history in aluminum goes back to 1994, when his father, Zhang Shiping, founded Weiqiao Textile Co. By the early 2000s, the elder Zhang began using excess energy from his textile plants to fuel a venture in aluminum.

The Chinese aluminum industry expanded rapidly in the late 1990s as the country moved toward a more market-oriented economy. While state-owned giants remained dominant, as they did in strategically important sectors such as oil and steel, aluminum’s economics hinged less on political control and more on access to cheap electricity. Hongqiao capitalized on that dynamic by building its own captive power plants, allowing it to scale rapidly and maintain some of the industry’s lowest production costs.

By 2017, the company had overtaken global titans like Russia’s Rusal and China’s state-owned Chalco to become the world’s largest producer. Chalco has since grown bigger in terms of aluminum production, closely followed by its privately-owned rival.

MONOPOLY CAPITALI$M

Live Nation settles antitrust case with US Justice Dept, states object


By AFP
March 9, 2026


Live Nation has reached a tentative settlement with the Justice Department in the antitrust case brought against the US entertainment giant - Copyright AFP/File Giuseppe CACACE

Live Nation reached a tentative settlement with the US Justice Department on Monday in the federal antitrust case brought against the entertainment giant, a senior official said.

The settlement, which still requires the approval of a judge, comes just days after the start of an antitrust trial against Live Nation in New York.

The case was initiated under then-president Joe Biden when the Justice Department labeled Live Nation a monopolist that controlled virtually all live entertainment in the United States.

The settlement requires Live Nation, which owns Ticketmaster, to open up the ticketing platform to competitors and to allow other concert promotors to stage events at certain Live Nation venues, the official said.

Live Nation will also divest up to 13 amphitheaters and pay $280 million in damages to the nearly 40 states that were parties to the antitrust lawsuit against the California-based company.

New York and a number of other states declined to join the settlement, however, and said Monday that their litigation would continue.

“For years, Live Nation has made enormous profits by exploiting its illegal monopoly and raising costs for shows,” New York Attorney General Letitia James said.

“The settlement recently announced with the US Department of Justice fails to address the monopoly at the center of this case, and would benefit Live Nation at the expense of consumers,” James said in a statement.

“We will keep fighting this case without the federal government so that we can secure justice for all those harmed by Live Nation’s monopoly.”

Live Nation is a behemoth in its industry: in 2025 it organized more than 55,000 events worldwide, drawing 159 million attendees.

Beyond promotion, it holds stakes in 460 venues and, since 2010, has controlled Ticketmaster, the world’s leading ticket seller.

The Justice Department had accused Live Nation of abusing its dominant position to pressure artists and venues into signing with it, stifle competition, and impose excessive fees on fans.

The Trump administration’s decision to press forward with the case against Live Nation had surprised many observers, who had interpreted last month’s resignation of Justice Department competition chief Gail Slater as a sign the case would be dropped.

‘While No One’s Looking,’ Trump DOJ Settles Antitrust Case With Live Nation-Ticketmaster

“This settlement is the clearest sign yet that this administration serves big business, not the people.”

The Ticketmaster logo appears on a smartphone screen in the Apple app store on on March 6, 2026.
(Photo by Thomas Fuller/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Jake Johnson
Mar 09, 2026
COMMON DREAMS

 Trump Justice Department on Monday reportedly reached a tentative deal with Live Nation—the owner of Ticketmaster—to settle a Biden-era antitrust lawsuit that aimed to break up the company, accusing it of illegally monopolizing the live entertainment industry.

News of the settlement, which would not require a breakup of Live Nation, came days after the trial began, with a lawyer for the Trump Justice Department’s decimated antitrust division saying last week that the company abuses its market power and earns its massive profits “through illegal action.” The antitrust division’s counsel in the case, David Dahlquist, was apparently not made aware of the settlement until he appeared in court Monday morning.

Lee Hepner, senior legal counsel at the American Economic Liberties Project, said it is “highly unorthodox for the Justice Department’s lead litigator to be left out of the loop on the settlement and highly prejudicial to the jury’s deliberations.”

“According to every observer, this trial was already going well for the Justice Department and states,” said Hepner. “They had just won summary judgment and a jury had already heard evidence of Live Nation’s longstanding pattern of retaliation against venues who had attempted to open the market to competition. State AGs are once again left to clean up the mess left by this Administration’s incompetence.”

Under the settlement, which must be approved by a judge, Live Nation “would pay a fine of up to $280 million and divest itself of at least 13 amphitheaters across the country as it opens up its ticketing processes so that competitors can share in the sale of tickets,” the Associated Press reported.

The National Independent Venue Association (NIVA), a trade group representing thousands of independent live entertainment venues, festivals, and promoters, noted in a statement that the reported $280 million settlement amount “is the equivalent of four days of [Live Nation’s] 2025 revenue, which means they could potentially make it back by this Friday.”

“The reported settlement does not appear to include any specific and explicit protections for fans, artists, or independent venues and festivals,” said Stephen Parker, NIVA’s executive director. “Reported details also indicate that ticket resale platforms could be further empowered through new requirements for Ticketmaster to host their listings, which would likely exacerbate the price gouging potential for predatory resellers and the platforms that serve them.”

“If these facts are true,” Parker added, “NIVA views this as a failure of the justice system.”

The antitrust lawsuit against Live Nation was filed in 2024 after a nearly two-year investigation launched amid mounting public outrage aimed at Ticketmaster, spurred in part by its botched presale of Taylor Swift concert tickets in 2022. Then-President Joe Biden’s Justice Department filed the complaint in partnership with 30 state attorneys general, most of whom vowed Monday to continue the fight without the Trump administration’s support.

“For years, Live Nation has made enormous profits by exploiting its illegal monopoly and raising costs for shows,” said New York Attorney General Letitia James. “My office has led a bipartisan group of attorneys general in suing Live Nation for taking advantage of fans, venues, and artists, and we are committed to holding Live Nation accountable.”

The settlement deal comes weeks after Gail Slater, the former head of the Justice Department’s antitrust arm, was pushed out by DOJ leadership. Prior to Slater’s removal, Live Nation executives and lobbyists had reportedly been negotiating the terms of a possible settlement with senior Justice Department officials outside of the antitrust office, heightening corruption concerns.

Emily Peterson-Cassin, policy director at the Demand Progress Education Fund, said in a statement that “this settlement amounts to a slap on the wrist that tinkers around the edges of the real problem: Live Nation’s monopoly.”

“Instead of breaking up Live Nation and Ticketmaster, Live Nation will now get to continue forcing the vast majority of live venues to use Ticketmaster,” said Peterson-Cassin. “Following the ousting of Gail Slater and the gutting of the government’s antitrust enforcement capabilities, this settlement is the clearest sign yet that this administration serves big business, not the people.”

CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M

DOJ probes US fertilizer market for possible price fixing

Bloomberg News | March 4, 2026 | 

The Justice Department has been investigating whether several leading producers of commercial fertilizers colluded to raise prices, according to people familiar with the matter.

The companies whose conduct is under scrutiny include phosphate and potash suppliers Nutrien Ltd. and Mosaic Co., as well as CF Industries Holdings Inc., Koch Inc. and Norway’s Yara International ASA, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing a confidential investigation. CF Industries, Koch, Yara and Nutrien control most of the nitrogen-based fertilizer sold in the US.

The probe is examining companies’ pricing practices for possible civil and criminal antitrust violations, the people said. The investigation is in the early stages and is being run out of the DOJ antitrust division’s Chicago office, they said.

Only a handful of companies control the supply of most fertilizer in the US, which has raised concern among farmers and government officials. The Biden administration also expressed concerns about high fertilizer prices due to market concentration and the impact of the war in Ukraine.

The companies haven’t been accused of wrongdoing by antitrust officials, and investigations don’t necessarily lead to charges or lawsuits.

Nutrien didn’t have an immediate comment. The other companies and the Justice Department didn’t respond to requests for comment. A US Department of Agriculture spokesperson referred to DOJ for comment.

Mosaic shares fell as much as 4.3% to the lowest price since mid-January. CF Industries dropped as much as 5.5%, the most since November, while Nutrien shares were down as much as 2.9%.

Key priority

The investigation reflects a key priority of both political parties to police conduct that increases costs for farmers and consumers. Addressing high food costs has been a goal of the Trump administration’s response to Americans’ growing dissatisfaction on the rising cost of living, which propelled Democrats to victories over Republicans in several key elections in November.

Potash and phosphate fertilizer prices have eased since last fall after spiking as a result of President Donald Trump’s trade war. Still, prices remain historically elevated, and the escalating conflict in the Middle East is reigniting worries about reliance on foreign fertilizers. Disruptions in the Gulf are already pushing prices higher for urea, a form of nitrogen fertilizer widely used for corn and other crops. The higher fertilizer costs have put a strain on US farmers struggling with low crop prices and shrinking markets.

Nutrien and Mosaic control about 90% of the production capacity of both potash and phosphate fertilizers, according to agriculture industry watchdog Farm Action. Nutrien, CF Industries, Koch and Yara control about 82% of nitrogen-based fertilizers, Farm Action says.

Meanwhile, USDA Deputy Secretary Stephen Vaden has accused Nutrien and Mosaic of colluding to limit US fertilizer supply and control prices. In January public comments to the National Agricultural Law Center, Vaden called the two companies a “duopoly” and said the administration will “do everything it can” to ensure affordable fertilizer prices for farmers.

Joint venture

Vaden cited a Canadian joint venture between Mosaic and Nutrien, Canpotex Ltd., as an example of how the companies “collude to control prices up there.” While such a venture doesn’t exist in the US, Vaden said the companies have constrained supply, “driving up the price that farmers pay.”

Vaden didn’t mention the antitrust probe and it’s unclear if the dynamics he referenced are part of the Justice Department’s investigation.

While the first Trump and Biden administrations increased antitrust enforcement in the tech sector, the agriculture industry has seen less action, despite a rise in concentration.

That has left just four companies in control of more than half of all beef, poultry and pork processed in the US, while a different quartet of firms controls majorities of soybean and corn seeds, according to Farm Action.

The Trump administration has made a series of moves to boost competition in the sector. In September, the Justice Department and Agriculture Department signed an agreement to police competition in agriculture markets. About a month later, Trump ordered a federal investigation into the meatpacking industry, blaming “majority foreign-owned” companies for soaring beef prices.

In December, Trump issued a directive for the DOJ and the Federal Trade Commission to investigate the US food supply chain for potential price fixing and other anti-competitive behavior that drives up costs of goods such as meat, seeds and fertilizer.

The Justice Department is also investigating pricing practices among the largest US egg suppliers.

Executive order

Trump in February signed an executive order to protect domestic supplies of elemental phosphorus and glyphosate-based herbicides, noting that there is only one domestic producer of both materials.

Mosaic is the top US fertilizer producer and makes almost half of the phosphate-based crop nutrients used by US farmers. The company in 2023 asked the Commerce Department to investigate phosphate fertilizers from Morocco, which led to added duties on those imports that are still currently in place.

Early in February, corn farmer groups in Iowa and Texas both pressed Attorney General Pam Bondi for an update on the DOJ’s work in the fertilizer market.

“The current state of the farm economy is dire,” Hagen Hunt, president of the Texas Corn Producers Association, wrote in a letter to Bondi. “While the prices farmers receive for their crops has softened, the costs of the essential nutrients needed to grow them remain artificially inflated.”

(By Josh Sisco and Ilena Peng)

LME fines PAC Global Services Spain for warehouse violations

Reuters | March 4, 2026 | 

The London Metal Exchange fined warehouse operator PAC Global Services Spain (PGS) 250,000 pounds ($334,175) in a disciplinary action due to breaches of its rules, the LME said on Wednesday.

The exchange, the world’s oldest and largest market for industrial metals, listed eight violations of its warehouse agreement by PGS in a members’ notice.

The most serious violation was found during an investigation of a PGS warehouse in Taiwan, where it found copper stored in an open yard outside the facility.

“The storage of metal on warrant outside of an LME approved shed is an egregious breach of the warehouse agreement … and as such the financial penalty reflects this,” the notice said.

PGS runs 39 LME-registered warehouses in Europe and Asia, according to the LME website.

The LME is owned by Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd.

($1 = 0.7481 pounds)

(By Eric Onstad; Editing by Sharon Singleton and Mark Potter)

CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M TOO

The banking fraud scandal rattling Brazil’s elite


By AFP
February 5, 2026


A passer-by walks past the Banco Master building after the Central Bank ordered its liquidation - Copyright AFP Ina FASSBENDER

Facundo Fernández Barrio

When Brazilian businessman Daniel Vorcaro was arrested last year over what may be the country’s biggest ever banking fraud scandal, he boasted to police that he had friends in high places.

The collapse of his Master Bank and a snowballing fraud investigation are becoming an ever-bigger headache for authorities, exposing a web of links between financiers, top judges and politicians across the spectrum in an election year.

The case has gripped local media in a country that is still sensitive to elite corruption scandals after the so-called Lava Jato fraud probe from 2014 to 2021 ensnared dozens of senior politicians and executives.

Vorcaro, 42, a banker with a flashy lifestyle, was the major shareholder in the small private Master Bank which operated in Faria Lima — Sao Paulo’s financial hub.

His bank offered investment products that were more profitable than those of his competitors and in 2024, the Central Bank realized Master did not have the resources to meet its obligations.

In November 2025, police arrested Vorcaro over an alleged fraudulent scheme between Master and BRB, a state-owned bank in Brasilia.

Authorities liquidated Master Bank, leaving more than $7 billion in debt due to some 800,000 investors who have received payouts from Brazil’s deposit guarantee fund.

Several other executives have since been arrested and Vorcaro is on supervised release pending the outcome of the investigation.

In a statement given to police, Vorcaro said he had “friends in all branches of government.”



– High-profile connections –



Not long after Vorcaro’s arrest, the names of several high-profile officials began cropping up in the media.

The businessman’s lawyers requested that the case be transferred directly to the Supreme Court.

One of the justices in the court, Jose Dias Toffoli, ordered that the proceedings be kept secret and that all investigative steps be conducted under his supervision.

Local media revealed that in the same month that Vorcaro was arrested, Dias Toffoli had shared a private jet with the lawyer of another Master executive arrested in the case, to travel to the 2025 Copa Libertadores final in Peru.

It then emerged that Vorcaro’s brother-in-law, who is also under investigation, had purchased part of a resort in 2021 from Dias Toffoli’s brothers, through a management company also under suspicion in the Master case.

Media outlets also reported that powerful Supreme Court justice Alexandre Moraes — who is involved in virtually every high-profile case in Brazil — had met with the director of the Central Bank to discuss the Master case in the months before it collapsed.

It later came to light that Moraes’ wife’s law firm had a multi-million dollar contract with Vorcaro’s bank.

The judge admitted to the meetings but denied that “any matter” concerning the case was discussed.



– ‘Largest financial scandal’ –



In 2024, at a time when the bank’s liquidity problems were already known, Vorcaro held a meeting with President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

Lula said Vorcaro had complained there were “people trying to bring me down.”

“I told him (Vorcaro): there will be no political position for or against Master bank, but a technical investigation by the Central Bank,” Lula said Thursday in an interview with the UOL news portal.

“Anyone involved in this will have to pay the price for the irresponsibility of causing …perhaps the largest financial scandal in this country’s history,” Lula said.

Master also contracted a multi-million dollar consulting service in 2023 from the law firm of Ricardo Lewandowski, who served as Lula’s justice minister from 2024 until January 2025.

The government said that Lewandowski had terminated his contracts before taking office.

It then said that Vorcaro’s brother-in-law, an evangelical pastor, had been the largest donor to far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro’s failed re-election campaign in 2022.

“If we see the Bolsonaro movement, the center, and part of Lula’s PT (Workers’ Party) trying to downplay the case, it’s because they understand the potential impact,” said political scientist Marco Antonio Carvalho Teixeira of the Getulio Vargas Foundation.

CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M

Deutsche Bank offices searched in money laundering probe


By AFP
January 28, 2026


Deutsche Bank headquarters in Frankfurt where German prosecutors and police conducted a search in an investigation over suspected money laundering offences - Copyright AFP Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV

German prosecutors and police on Wednesday searched Deutsche Bank’s headquarters in Frankfurt and its office in Berlin in an investigation over suspected money laundering offences, officials said.

According to the Sueddeutsche Zeitung daily, the probe is connected to suspected offences in the bank’s dealings with companies linked to Russian billionaire businessman Roman Abramovich.

Prosecutors confirmed the raids at the premises of Germany’s biggest bank but did not say who was being targeted.

The Frankfurt prosecutors’ office said it was carrying out an “investigation into unknown responsible parties and employees of Deutsche Bank on suspicion of money laundering… and related additional allegations under the Anti-Money Laundering Act”.

“In the past, Deutsche Bank maintained business relationships with foreign companies that… are themselves suspected of having been used for the purpose of money laundering,” a spokesman for the office said in a statement to AFP.

It said the investigation was being carried out by a specialist economic crime unit along with the federal police.

A spokesman for Deutsche Bank confirmed the searches, and the bank said it was “cooperating fully with prosecutors” but refused to comment further.

According to financial sources, the probe relates to alleged offences committed between 2013 and 2018.

The raids come on the eve of the publication of the bank’s results for the fourth quarter of 2025.



– Legal scrutiny –



Abramovich has been sanctioned by the EU following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Sueddeutsche Zeitung said Deutsche Bank was being investigated on suspicion of failing to report possible money laundering in a timely manner.

The daily reported that the investigation involves both payments that Deutsche Bank received via a Russian correspondent account and the bank’s previous dealings with Abramovich’s own companies.

According to news site Der Spiegel the search in Frankfurt involved around 30 plainclothes investigators.

Deutsche Bank has faced scrutiny on several occasions in recent years over suspicious transactions.

In 2022 its offices were raided over “suspicious activity reports filed by the bank”, again in relation to money laundering.

Media reports at the time said that the investigation centred on a transaction involving Rifaat al-Assad, the uncle of Syria’s then leader Bashar al-Assad.

The Frankfurt-based group also came under scrutiny for its role as a correspondence bank that handled foreign transactions for Danske Bank’s Estonian branch, at the centre of a 200-billion-euro ($212-billion) money-laundering affair between 2007 and 2015.

Deutsche Bank subsequently agreed to pay a fine of 13.5 million euros for failing to report suspicious activity quickly enough, after an investigation by Frankfurt prosecutors.

South Korea’s ex-first lady jailed for 20 months for taking bribes

By AFP
January 28, 2026


A man walks past a banner showing a picture of South Korea's former impeached president Yoon Suk Yeol and his wife Kim Keon Hee - Copyright AFP Olivier MORIN

Claire LEE

A South Korean judge handed the country’s former first lady Kim Keon Hee 20 months in jail on Wednesday for accepting lavish gifts from a cult-like church, but acquitted her of alleged stock manipulation and other charges.

Controversy has long followed 53-year-old Kim, while accusations of graft, influence peddling and even academic fraud have dominated her husband Yoon Suk Yeol’s time in office.

Both are now in custody — Yoon for actions taken during his disastrous declaration of martial law in December 2024 and Kim for corruption.

On Wednesday, Judge Woo In-sung of the Seoul Central District Court found Kim guilty of corruption and sentenced her to 20 months in prison.

She was found to have accepted lavish bribes from the cult-like Unification Church — including a Chanel bag and a Graff necklace.

Prosecutors requested 15 years, but Kim was acquitted of stock manipulation and violations of campaign financing laws on Wednesday, and received a far lighter sentence.

Woo said that Kim’s close proximity to the president had given her “significant influence” that she had taken advantage of.

“One’s position must never become a means of pursuing private gain,” he added.

The former first lady sat in court as the sentence was read out, wearing a black suit, a white face mask and glasses.

Kim later released a statement apologising for “the concern” she may have caused, saying that she “accepted the court’s stern criticism”.

Her lawyers told AFP Kim had not decided whether she would appeal against the decision.

Prosecutors at Kim’s final hearing in December said she had “stood above the law” and colluded with the Unification Church to undermine “the constitutionally mandated separation of religion and state”.

Min Joong-ki, a Prosecutor on the case, said at the time that South Korea’s institutions were “severely undermined by abuses of power” committed by Kim.

On Wednesday, prosecutors called the ruling “hard to accept” and said they would appeal.

The former first lady previously denied all charges against her, claiming the allegations were “deeply unjust” in her final testimony last month.

She still faces two additional trials on bribery and Political Parties Act violations over allegations that she arranged the mass enrolment of more than 2,400 Unification Church followers into Yoon’s conservative People Power Party.



– Dogged by scandal –



A self-professed animal lover known internationally for her work campaigning for South Korea to ban dog meat, Kim’s scandals frequently overshadowed her husband’s domestic political agenda.

In 2023, hidden camera footage appeared to show Kim accepting a $2,200 luxury handbag in what was later dubbed the “Dior bag scandal”, further dragging down Yoon’s already dismal approval ratings.

The scandal contributed to a stinging defeat for Yoon’s party in the general elections in April 2024, as it failed to win back a parliamentary majority.

Yoon vetoed three opposition-backed bills to investigate allegations against Kim, including the Dior bag case, with the last veto in November 2024.

A week later, he declared martial law.

Kim’s sentencing came days after former prime minister Han Duck-soo was handed 23 years in prison for aiding and abetting Yoon’s suspension of civilian rule.

And this month Yoon was sentenced to five years for obstructing justice and other crimes in the first of a number of trials linked to that declaration.

The probe into Kim also led to the arrest of Han Hak-ja, leader of the Unification Church, which claims 10 million followers worldwide and runs a vast business empire.

Also on Wednesday, the Seoul Central District Court sentenced Yun Young-ho, a former Unification Church official, to 14 months in prison for offering luxury gifts to the former first lady and providing illegal political funds to a lawmaker.

Opposition lawmaker Kweon Seong-dong, an ally of ex-president Yoon, was also jailed for two years for receiving 100 million won ($70,000) from the controversial sect.

GREEN CAPITALI$M

INDIA

The Human and Ecological Price of Renewable Energy on Tamil Nadu's Coast

Madhu Ramnath
21/Jan/2026
THE WIRE

Fisherfolk and coastal residents speak of lost livelihoods, eroding shores and ignored voices as offshore wind and other projects advance along the coastline, against scientific warnings.

LONG READ

Fishermen in Thoothukodi say flyash dumped from thermal plants have reduced their catch. 

Photo: Madhu Ramnath

You see the sea from outside, as an object to be viewed for entertainment, to pass your time, or to relieve you of stress. For us it is a God who feeds us. If we lose our focus even for a day, we will perish. We are a people who catch fish worth ten rupees and make a living. Each day the sea air mixes with our blood, and nobody understands this. They just see the sea as something big, with nothing happening in it, which is why so many development projects are brought to the coast.
(A member of the Periyathazhai community.)

India’s renewable energy goals

India is making great strides to achieve its promised goals in the move from fossil fuels to renewable energy, made at the Conference of Parties (COP21) held in Paris. In November 2022, the Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) and the Danish Energy Agency (DEA) made a conceptual plan involving 15 locations for offshore wind in the country, 14 of which are to be in Tamil Nadu and one in Gujarat.

These offshore wind farms are meant to occupy hundreds of acres in the sea, stretching from Kanyakumari to the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Bay regions, along the districts of Kanyakumari, Thoothukudi and Ramanathapuram. Studies for these farms have been conducted by the Centre for Excellence for Offshore Wind and Renewable Energy, a joint initiative of the DEA and the MNRE.

India’s goal to install 500 gigawatts (GW) of non-fossil fuel energy by 2030 is progressing well. The target for the Tamil Nadu project is 30 GW. As of end March 2024, the country’s renewable energy power capacity is about 43% of its total installed capacity, which is 190.57 GW. The cumulative installed capacity is now 441.97 GW, up from 275.90 GW in 2014-15.

According to the MNRE, solar energy overtook wind energy in India – its share rose from 9.97% to 81.81% between 2015 and 2024. Within solar energy, ground-mounted solar is the most prominent category. In October 2015, an Offshore Wind Energy Policy was published by the MNRE, followed by a strategy paper in 2022, titled ‘The Establishment of Wind Energy Projects’, which outlined three models for development, each depending on the studies and surveys conducted (or to be conducted), the sites and areas of operation and whether financial assistance would be available from the government.

The National Institute for Wind Energy (NIWE) has identified a test facility for testing wind turbines in Dhanushkodi, the southern tip of Pamban island, in Ramanathapuram district. The facility is spread over 75 acres, with intended installation of four turbines to generate 50 megawatts (MW), for studies and data, at a cost of Rs 350 crore. About 70% of the cost is towards the pile foundation. The mast in offshore wind installations is at least 100 metres, with 50 metres of it below the seabed.

The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for this project states that excavation for the foundations will remove plankton and benthic animals, and the resulting turbidity could affect shellfish and clog the gills of several species of fish. The turbine testing facility was subjected to a rapid marine EIA, conceptualised by the NIWE and the MNRE, and conducted by Indomer Coastal Hydraulics (Pvt) Ltd., a Chennai-based company, given that role under the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) of the United Kingdom. (More detail about ASPIRE is available at the FCDO.)



Source: Project Environmental Impact Assessment. The site is a wetland and falls in different Coastal Regulation Zone areas.
The human angle

Despite numerous pre-feasibility and feasibility studies conducted by various agencies, the human element was missing, or mentioned only in passing. The opinions of the coastal people and fishers, in whose waters these projects are planned, were often absent – as they were often not informed or consulted about the projects.

All along the Tamil Nadu coast, a number of projects have been implemented, and more are planned. These include a heavy water plant, a nuclear plant, zirconium mining, deep sea mining, seabed sand mining, thermal plants, a rocket launch pad, captive ports, harbours and jetties – and the newly proposed offshore wind farms.

Map showing proposed and existing projects along the Tamil Nadu coast. Source: Coastal Peoples Federation, Nagercoil.

Interspersed below, alongside the descriptions of the most recent of these projects – the Offshore Wind initiative with the pilot turbines in Dhanushkodi – are the testimonies of locals, the people who will be the most affected by such a project, but whose views have found no space in the public domain. Most of the people spoken to for this report belong to the fishing communities and requested anonymity. Wherever possible, the names of the villages are mentioned.

Map showing the area of interest for the offshore wind energy project.

Voices from Periyathazhai

Periyathazhai literally means “big thazhai”, referring to a large Pandanus odoratus tree, a common coastal species that is threatened by indiscrimate clearing. Here are the views of two locals about the project proposals:

Since the Kudankulam nuclear power plant protests, almost no project has been preceded by public hearings. They want to end coal, find something to replace coal. They go to solar energy, wind energy, more energy…. But [they do so] without talking about reducing or balancing our energy needs or distributing energy equally, and only wanting to produce more and more energy. Coal has destroyed the land, and now we want to create energy in the sea, forgetting that this will impact the people who depend on the sea negatively. The southern districts of Tamil Nadu, from Rameshwaram to Kanyakumari, span 500 kilometres – about half the Tamil coastline, and are home to the most densely populated fishing-community belt in the state. And here we have a developmental project every 5 kilometres. Why is this happening? For whom? It is to satisfy the insatiable hunger of the corporate sector of the world, for which the sea and the forsaken people are being wiped out?

The sea is not just the water. It includes the sand, the land at the edge, the living beings in it. Take the turtle. It needs land to nest, and it returns to the same spot to lay eggs every year. What a wonder of nature! But with tourism, the same land won’t be there, as it is destroyed or changed. People don’t even believe that sand has life, that life originated in the sea is now being studied – which means that the sea and the coast are alive.
Voices from Manapadu: ‘This project will hurt us’

They [the government] say that the earth is heating up, so we need to do this [find other sources of energy than coal]. They say that it won’t be like coal – there won’t be fly ash. What they will say if we oppose this is that it is necessary for development. Fine, but we will accept it if there are no bad impacts. This project will be very negative for us, and for fishing, as it will be within 3-4 nautical miles [of the coast]. Something happening in Chengalpet will affect the sea up to Chennai. For instance, the anchors lost by small boats even years ago still damage our nets. This project will completely destroy our livelihood. If there are cables running for a kilometre from the shore into the sea, they will restrict fishing; it will become a private area. The very conditions it will create will hamper us. Any scheme within the sea will affect fishing. There is no scheme that can happen in the sea that won’t negatively impact fishing and fishermen.



The Manapadu estuary, one of eight prime locations for port investments under Tamil Nadu’s ‘Blue Economy’ initiative. The primary purpose is to develop infrastructure for coal and LNG jetties, to support coal-based thermal plants. The local fishing communities have opposed the project. Photo: Madhu Ramnath

If they introduce a scheme that impacts 20% of fishermen, can they create a project that takes care of these 20%? They don’t even have such an intention. Can the government show that because a certain project in an area, the people of that area are doing better? Such an example – of a people satisfied with a project – who say that a hundred people were educated in their village and they got jobs, and that their village was now doing well – that cannot be said about any scheme of theirs. The government can point to any four villages where they have implemented some scheme and ask two of the villages to speak about the benefits they have received…that they were satisfied, that they had better water, etc., but there is nothing like that. [They only say] that they have been impacted negatively, that promises were not kept. There is nothing like employment for us. Even here, only the people who come from the north are given employment.

Many of our nets get damaged in the jetty. They [the government] had said that if we lose Rs 10,000, we will get that back, even Rs 1 lakh will be compensated. But nobody even comes to see the damage, let alone pay for it. Actually, we have to see the damage, make a complaint and take it to the officer concerned, which is then processed… As far as I know, only one complaint has made it the whole way, but even that has not been paid [compensated]. They said there were no funds for it – even for such a large project, no fund was kept aside for this. They never seem to do anything right.
From Idinthakarai

Idinthakarai is a coastal village about 25 kilometres from Kanyakumari, the site of protests against the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant in Tirunelveli district. “Idindhakarai” means broken shore, a reference to the damaged coastline of the region. Here is what several locals said:

The government tells us that projects will bring more jobs. But does one livelihood have to be wiped out for another?

There used to be an abundance of lobsters on our coast, now that has declined. Nor is there much seaweed. The ribbon fish, also known as cavalai meen [Lepturacanthus savala], is hardly found now.

There is much erosion of the seashore; the groynes meant to prevent damage create new sand formations, which cause conflicts among fishermen who need that space to land their boats.

According to a shoreline assessment report by the National Centre for Coastal Research (NCCR), a branch of the Ministry of Earth Sciences, Tamil Nadu lost 1,802 hectares to sea waves at 22 locations identified as ‘erosion hotspots’. Several southern and delta districts are mentioned in this report, including Thoothukodi and Ramanathapuram. The latter has lost 413 hectares of shoreline, the most in the state. As one fisherman said:

My personal understanding of agitations came with the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant. Leaders don’t emerge nowadays, and there is no popular support for a cause. Opposition parties support an agitation until the elections are over, and then they leave.

In Periyathazhai, I asked whether anyone was making the local communities aware of the issues. The state government? The Union government? What are these development projects? Why were they here? Was there any discussion? And the responses this author got echoed the three persons cited below:

Nothing of the sort. They are afraid to meet people. The Kudankulam protest took place for many years and, after that, they (the government) work only through dadas (goons). In fact, any project, before commencing, requires a public hearing. But for the last 5-6 years, there have been no such hearings. Earlier, any proposed scheme was discussed at the collectorate and the concerned departments would come together and talk about it. They would then meet the people and explain the matter to them. We have an ISRO [Indian Space Research Organisation] project here. For this, there were no public hearings. They announced it sometime earlier, but work began about a year ago. This project was always on the cards, but the last public hearing was held for Kudankulam. We had opposed that too, but they did not listen to us.

On the way here, you must have seen a thermal plant when you crossed Kallamuli, the Udangudi Thermal Plant. But it is not in Udangudi; it’s not even in the Udangudi Panchayat. That [other] project in Kulasekarapatnam is not in Kulasekaram at all, but in Madhavankuruchi Panchayat. None of these projects have asked for people’s opinion or consent.

Seagrass and coral sites. Dugongs feed almost exclusively on seagrass, forming a symbiotic relationship. Source: Centre of Excellence for Offshore Wind and Renewable Energy, 2022. Source: Maritime Spatial Planning for offshore wind farms in Tamil Nadu.

See the sand on the shore. There are thousands of life forms in it. But it is being destroyed due to tourists and tourism, and the filth they leave behind. Go to Marina beach, get some sand. Then go to a village near Dhanushkodi and get some sand. One will be dead sand, one will have some life in it. They have begun to destroy Dhanushkodi, also in the name of spiritual tourism. The sand at the shore is food for the mosses, for the turtles. Not only that, where the sea and sand meet there is oxygen. There are many elements in these sands, and it is only when these sands mix with the water that the sea water gets its required density.

Reactions in Nagercoil

The existing windmills are more than sufficient for the energy we need. If we need more, why not use some lands in Ramnad for solar farms? The economics of OWE is incorrect – more input than output. You need to count the impacts as input. Windmills are being planned in the fishing grounds of the people and that will impact their livelihood.

Government records show that temperatures are rising and the shore is eroding, leading to a decline in fish. In Kanyakumari, the sea has advanced 26-27 metres over the last decade. OWE will change ocean currents and wind directions, which will affect the small boats of the fishermen, especially their ability to steer. There will be problems during the drilling – noise and earth shaking – which will affect the migration of fish. Pollution will affect the food chain and biodiversity. There will be problems when the equipment wears out and needs repair or replacement.

Marine ecology of proposed project area

Twenty-seven species in the Gulf of Mannar and Palk Bay region are vulnerable and eight are critically endangered. The government’s website on Ramsar reports that, “4 of the 7 sea turtle
species found worldwide are reported here – Olive Ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea), Green Turtle
(Chelonia mydas), Hawksbill Turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) and the Leatherback Turtle (Dermochelys coriacea). All 4 species are protected under Schedule-I of the Indian Wildlife Protection Act (1972), and also listed in Appendix-I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES)”.

It is quite obvious that the locations for the offshore wind energy projects lie close to, or within, the Gulf of Mannar and Palk Bay regions, which host a multitude of vulnerable, endangered and threatened marine and other species. In addition, the coastal length used for fisheries in Tamil Nadu runs parallel to the project sites.

The gulf region consists of estuaries, mudflats, beaches and forests in the near-shore environment and includes algal communities, seagrasses, coral reefs, salt marshes and mangroves. There are 21 islands in the area, where fishermen land during their expeditions, using these islands as their landing spaces.

The Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Reserve hosts 3,600 species, including the globally endangered dugong, and six species of mangrove endemic to India. There are 117 species of corals (live coral was observed within a 10-kilometre radius of the project area, and dead coral within a 12-kilometre radius), ten divided into 14 families and 40 genera (of the 89 found in India).

Note that under the Indian Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, all coral species are protected. There are about 100 species of echinoderms – Sea stars, sea urchins, sand dollars, etc. – in the Gulf of Mannar that live among the corals and have been observed about 5 kilometres from the project area. Also, 321 species of sponges of 129 genera have been recorded. Of these, 63 genera (and 257 species) are endemic to the area. In addition, 67% of the sponges in India are found in the Gulf of Mannar and Palk Bay regions.

The dugong is a flagship species in the Gulf of Mannar and Palk Bay region, with a symbiotic relationship with seagrass, and highly endangered worldwide. It is now recognised that both dugongs and seagrasses are endangered due to several factors, chiefly habitat destruction and climate change.

As recently as June 2025, the Tamil Nadu government issued an order declaring the 524.78 hectares of Ramanathapuram district as part of the Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Reserve. It recognised that the area is extremely important for both resident and migratory birds and serves as a key stopover along the Central Asian Flyway with essential feeding and resting grounds. Some 128 species of both migratory and resident birds have been recorded in the area, and in the 2023-24 census, 10,761 birds were recorded there. The Dhanuskodi village and its surroundings in the Ramanathapuram district is to be declared a Greater Flamingo Sanctuary for the conservation of this ecology, particularly bird species.

Map showing ecological sensitive zones and fishing related sites along the proposed project areas.
Source: Centre of Excellence for Offshore Wind and Renewable Energy, 2022. Maritime Spatial Planning for offshore wind farms in Tamil Nadu.

Tamil Nadu has five bird sanctuaries, two national parks, one wildlife sanctuary and one biosphere reserve. In addition, it has ecologically important coastal areas, such as the Pulicat Lake (with lagoons), the Gulf of Mannar (sensitive for coral reefs) and Pichavaram, Vedaranyam and Muthupet (sensitive for mangroves).

Cautionary note

An EIA was conducted as per norms approved by the Ministry of Environment and Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC), after ‘discussions’ with NIWE. The report was submitted to the CRZ Board (It is not in the public domain but was available through one of the board members). The Gulf of Mannar Marine National Park (GMMP) has a core area of 560 square-kilometres (from Rameshwaram to Tuticorin) within the Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Reserve, an area of about 10,500 square-kilometres on the southeastern coast of India.

It is the first Marine Biosphere Reserve in Southeast Asia, established in 1989 and recognised by UNESCO, it is also a Ramsar site, recorded as No. 2472, and was intended to conserve and protect the dugong and the whale shark, among thousands of other species. It is the world’s richest region in terms of marine biodiversity. Some marine species have a range of 15 kilometres (such as dugongs) but others (like the turtles) may have ranges of many thousands of kilometres. The buffer and core zones of the biosphere reserve would be impacted by the project as well as each stage of its implementation.

The Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) – the total environmental impacts generated by a system, process or activity over an ecosystem or persons throughout its lifespan – of the materials used in the construction of the turbines is detrimental to the environment. Most of the material used in OWE are harmful to human and environmental health.

These materials include metals, concrete, laminar compounds, fibreglass, plastics, epoxy resins, rubber, oil derivatives (lubricants), rare earth elements and oil (fuel). The metals are essentially Aluminium (Al), Iron (Fe), Zinc (Zn), Copper (Cu), and Steel, all of which demand land and freshwater during their extraction and generate industrial wastewater discharges when the turbine parts are fabricated. A number of conflicts in the world can be traced back to the extraction or control over some of the critical minerals (cobalt, lithium, nickel, molybdenum), which are concentrated in a few countries, as in the DRC and the Sibuyan Islands in the Philippines.

The noise level due to the construction, especially by pile driving, will be very high. Studies say that the levels will be as high as 208 dB, peaking at 244 dB re 1 μ Pa20 at 1 metre; the EIA, however, only mentions a noise level of 120 decibels (dB) at 3 metres (or 129.5 dB at 1 m), which is misleading.

Pile driving will remove the biota at the foot of the wind mast in a marine geological formation consisting of calcareous reef; these negative effects will be repeated in the construction of a jetty.

According to a report by FOWIND, a partnership between the European Union and India on Clean Energy and Climate, several important parameters of the Tamil Nadu offshore wind projects require more scrutiny. These include:Wind resource assessment, which carries high uncertainty.

Metocean climate (water), with limited wave and current data and high uncertainty.
Geotechnical conditions, due to limited seabed geology information.
Grid connection, which also carries uncertainty.

The report also notes that, as yet, “there is no regulation in place stipulating ESIAs for the wind sector in India.” The impacts of offshore wind developments depend on the site and scale of the project, making pre-construction analysis essential. Currently, India has a framework—the 2015 National Offshore Wind Energy Policy—that mandates EIA studies. However, there is no unified national EIA law for offshore wind projects. Work on the ground proceeds based on rapid EIAs and specific guidelines that attempt to ‘balance’ development and environmental protection in sensitive zones.

In its feasibility study report, FOWIND categorised almost all parameters as either ‘medium risk’ or ‘high risk’; none were placed in the ‘low risk’ category. Other considerations include bathymetry, soil conditions, jack-up vessels, ports and logistics, and ESIA. FOWIND has made detailed recommendations to mitigate these risks.

Beyond technical and ecological drawbacks, India’s legal framework emphasises the need to protect marine biodiversity. Yet the human angle remains largely unaddressed, as evident from the testimonies we have read. There has been little attempt at public hearings, or to take people’s views, cultural practices, or livelihood concerns into account when designing the demonstration facility or the larger envisioned project.

Thermal plants like this one, photographed at night, generate tremendous flyash that pollutes the water, air and soil, leading to declines in fishing yield.

Photo: Madhu Ramnath

Though renewables now constitute about 50% of the installed power capacity, thermal power is still the source of much of the country’s round-the-clock electricity demand. There is little chance that India will be able to deal with its climate commitments before 2047 without compromising its economic ambitions.

The key issue in energy, as renewables expand in the power sector, is energy storage. Other aspects include better distribution, including better metering and improved technology. Before going ahead with the planned installation of offshore wind farms, it is crucial to make existing thermal plants more efficient. Alongside the obvious and important considerations of marine ecology and seascapes, the impacts on human lives and livelihoods need to be taken into account.

Madhu Ramnath is a botanist, anthropologist and writer. He is the author of Woodsmoke and Leafcups.

AU

 

Poland has more gold than the European Central Bank and has no intention of slowing down

Copyright Narodowy Bank Polski

By Glogowski Pawel

Published on 20/01/2026 - EURONEWS

The National Bank of Poland has increased its bullion reserves to around 550 tonnes, valued at more than €63 billion.

The President of the National Bank of Poland (NBP), Adam Glapiński, has emphasised for years that gold plays a special role in the structure of reserves.

It is an asset free of credit risk, independent of the monetary policy decisions of other countries and is resistant to financial shocks.

High gold reserves also contribute to the stability of the Polish economy.

The bank's ambitions are far-reaching: the target is to have 700 tonnes of gold and the total value of bullion reserves to be around PLN 400 billion (€94 billion).\\

As recently as 2024, gold accounted for 16.86% of Poland's foreign exchange reserves. Estimates at the end of December 2025 showed a jump to 28.22%, marking one of the fastest changes in the structure of reserves among central banks worldwide.

The largest transactions were carried out in the final months of 2025, during a period of heightened market volatility and geopolitical tensions.

Poland is steadily increasing its gold reserves. Euronews/Paweł Głogowski

On the initiative of Glapiński, the NBP's management board has decided to further strategically increase the share of gold.

Glapiński announced earlier in January that he would ask the board to adopt a resolution to increase reserves to 700 tonnes of bullion.

Investing in gold

According to analyses by the World Gold Council, 2025 brought a continuation of the global trend of gold accumulation by central banks. With few exceptions, most countries increased their holdings, treating bullion as a strategic hedge against currency and financial crises.

In 2025, as many as 95% of central banks surveyed expect global gold holdings to increase over the next twelve months.

The reasons why central banks invest in gold are explained by Marta Bassani-Prusik, director of investment products and foreign exchange values at the Mint of Poland.

A worker lays out one kilogram gold cast bars at the ABC Refinery in Sydney, 30 April, 2025 AP Photo

"One of the key motivators for central banks is the independence of the gold price from monetary policy and credit risk. Equally important is asset diversification and reducing the share of the dollar and other currencies in reserves," she explains.

Experts point out that not all central banks report the full scale of their purchases. China or Russia are often pointed to in this context. Some market observers interpret these actions as part of preparations for an alternative money model, in which gold could play a much greater role than before.

More gold than the ECB

The information that Poland now holds more gold than the European Central Bank (ECB) is not only symbolic. The ECB manages the monetary policy of the eurozone, but its own gold reserves are relatively limited and the burden of owning bullion lies mainly with the national banks of the member countries.

The ECB's gold reserves amount to around 506.5 tonnes. Against this background, the scale of the NBP's holdings - 550 tonnes - is impressive and strengthens Poland's position in the European financial architecture.

However, critics of the NBP's extensive acquisition of gold point out that the funds earmarked for the purchase could be placed in bonds, which generate interest income. Indeed, gold does not provide current income.

The US Depository at Fort Knox opened for inspection for members of Congress, 24 September, 1974 AP Photo

Record prices and forecasts for 2026

The NBP's purchases have coincided with historic records for gold prices. Although the rate of listing growth may slow down in 2026, forecasts from major financial institutions remain optimistic. ING estimates an average price of around $4,150 per ounce, Deutsche Bank says $4,450 and Goldman Sachs raises its forecast to $4,900. In a scenario of strong global demand, J.P. Morgan allows for as much as $5,300 per ounce.

"Rising demand from central banks is a response to economic tensions and dynamic geopolitical changes. Although institutional purchases do not directly translate into prices, they indirectly influence the decisions of individual investors," Bassani-Prusik emphasises.

Relate

Gold returns to the favour of investors

For the NBP, gold is an element of the country's long-term financial security strategy.

As Mint of Poland experts note, the greater the uncertainty in the markets, the greater the interest in assets perceived as a "safe haven." There is also a growing awareness among retail investors of the role of gold in long-term capital protection.

However, some economists oppose this thesis and feel that a high proportion of gold may not meet the needs of flexible reserve management in a modern economy and funds could be better allocated in other, more productive investments.

Reaching 550 tonnes is an important milestone, but announcements of further purchases suggest that Poland has not yet said its last word. In a world of rising geopolitical tensions and a changing financial order, gold is once again becoming one of the key assets and Poland wants to be at the forefront of this game.

MONOPOLY CAPITALI$M

Barrick’s North America spin-off hinges on Newmont’s approval

Reuters | January 24, 2026 | 

Nevada Gold Mines is a joint venture between Barrick and Newmont. (Image courtesy of Barrick Mining.)

Canadian miner Barrick’s efforts to spin off its North American assets will hinge on the company’s joint venture partner Newmont, according to documents seen by Reuters and former Barrick executives that demonstrate a reversal of fortunes for two global mining companies.

Denver-based Newmont’s power over Barrick’s strategy is a significant change from a few years ago when the Canadian miner had hoped to buy Newmont’s minority stake in the Nevada mines. A decade earlier, Barrick tried to acquire Newmont.

Newmont has the first right of refusal if Barrick tries to sell its stake in Nevada Gold Mines (NGM), the company’s main North American asset, the documents show. Barrick owns 61.5% and Newmont 38.5% in the mine.

Last year, Barrick announced a restructuring of operations to carve out the North America business from riskier operations in the rest of the world, following former CEO Mark Bristow’s departure.

Barrick’s proposed initial public offering of North American assets includes NGM, Pueblo Viejo mine in the Dominican Republic and the underdeveloped Fourmile mine, also in Nevada.

In filings made with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, the joint venture agreement between Barrick and Newmont specifies that either party must offer its Nevada joint venture interest to the other member before it considers selling to a third party. Any transfer of shares requires the consent of the other party, the documents seen by Reuters show.

Barrick will also need Newmont to fund the capital for Fourmile, according to a person aware of the development which the miner has been touting as its future flagship asset and will also become part of the IPO. During a call with analysts in October 2025, Newmont’s incoming CEO Natasha Viljoen said the company was waiting for some information from Barrick before committing additional capital.

Barrick’s effort to restructure, potentially by splitting into two entities, is one of the most anticipated mining stories of 2026, given strong investor interest in gold bullion with prices hitting successive record highs. The company is expected to outline its plans in February during its Q4 earnings.

In an email response, Barrick said it respects the joint venture with Newmont and abides by all the terms. Newmont spokesperson said the company’s Nevada Gold Mines joint venture agreement has not changed from what is publicly available.

“Regarding Barrick’s potential IPO of its North American gold assets, Newmont does not have any information above and beyond what is in the public domain,” Newmont spokesperson said. The company did not comment on whether it will fund the Fourmile expansion.

Although Barrick shares jumped 130% in 2025, the company’s returns have been lower than its peers in the last five years, gaining 52% over the period while rival Agnico Eagle jumped 142%. Barrick is still considered undervalued.

Newmont’s say over the sale of the Nevada mines despite having only a minority stake in them is unusual, according to three executives aware of the restructuring efforts. The current contract was set up after years of back and forth between the companies, where Barrick in 2019 was keen to buy Newmont. The merger did not happen, and both companies struck a joint venture for Nevada.

“Newmont has done a really good job of being able to call the shots, it was not long ago that Barrick wanted to buy Newmont,” said a former executive of Barrick aware of the joint venture details.

Barrick had a tumultuous year in 2025. Mali’s military government seized its mine there and incarcerated its employees before the company negotiated a deal to get the mine back and its employees released. Barrick’s CEO left, and the company is looking to restore investor confidence under the leadership of chairman John Thornton.

Interim CEO Mark Hill is running the company while Barrick hunts for a new CEO, who must deal with large institutional investors such as BlackRock and activist firm Elliott. This month, Barrick appointed Helen Cai as new chief financial officer. The North America business is valued at around $42 billion and analysts expect the new company could trade better than the current combined entities.

On Friday shares of Barrick were trading up by 1.90% at the Toronto Stock Exchange and Newmont shares were trading up 1.52% at New York Stock Exchange.

(By Divya Rajagopal; Editing by Caroline Stauffer, Veronica Brown and David Gregorio)

Mali’s president tightens direct control over key mining sector

Reuters | January 22, 2026 | 

Colonel Assimi Goïta. (Image:f Mali’s Presidence Office.)

Mali’s military leader has created a new ministerial-level role to oversee the mining sector, strengthening the presidency’s direct oversight of the critical gold industry, and appointed a former Barrick Mining executive to fill it.

Legal documents governing the role show the minister will have powers to supervise mining policy implementation, monitor compliance with the mining code, and review reports submitted by title holders – responsibilities previously handled by the mines ministry.

According to a January 19 presidential decree, Hilaire Bebian Diarra, an earth-science specialist who switched from Barrick to the government last year while leading negotiations for the company over control of the Loulo-Gounkoto complex, has been appointed to the role.

The Malian national was named special adviser to the presidency during the bitter dispute over Mali’s top industrial gold mine, as Assimi Goita’s government pushed for higher taxes and greater state participation in mining projects.

The move was widely seen as a strategic blow to the Canadian miner.

Diarra was not immediately available for comment.

Stronger structures to oversee mining

Mali is one of Africa’s biggest gold producers, and several national mining forums in recent years have urged the creation of stronger structures to oversee security, compliance, and community impacts in its mining industry.

A senior government official said the presidency has assumed the lead on mining oversight, with key exploitation permits decided by the presidency and contract talks – including the Barrick dispute – also run from the presidential palace.

The finance ministry meanwhile now fronts fiscal matters, and the mining ministry focuses on regulation.

Diarra’s elevation comes as Mali tightens its grip on the mining sector, its biggest revenue generator, under a 2023 mining code that helped recover 761  billion CFA francs ($1.2  billion) in arrears, the government said in December.

The tougher code rattled miners and triggered a two-year standoff with Barrick, pushing industrial gold output down by 23% in 2025, provisional mines ministry data showed.

(By Tiemoko Diallo; Editing by Maxwell Akalaare Adombila, Jessica Donati and Jan Harvey)