The South Dakota EB5 abuses continue to raise concerns.

The State is now suing to get the financial records of Joop Bolen.  Finally.

Bob Mercer reports that the Federal government is considering a move kick South Dakota out of the entire program because of the problems.  Mercer lists a few of those problems:

• Three payments totaling $1.7 million inexplicably went to a holding company in Cyprus that owns Russian railway companies;

• More than $5.1 million was used to purchase a Hong Kong-based lender;

• That lender had previously provided $2.85 million as bridge financing at 29 percent interest for Northern Beef Packers in Aberdeen. The loan cost nearly $7.5 million before the purchase of the lender;

• Some $5 million can’t be found;

• Approximately $3.3 million was improperly spent on expenses;

• Money was loaned between projects;

• Incomplete and inaccurate reports were filed five consecutive years to the federal agency, including after state government took back control of South Dakota’s program on Sept. 24, 2013;

• The outside contractor who previously managed the program for state government has continued to run a website identified as South Dakota Regional Center Inc.;

• Investor agreements sometimes appeared to have been altered;

• Investors sometimes complained they couldn’t get their money back after their visa applications were refused;

• Four South Dakota dairies involved with the program filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy; and

• The federal government received 1,002 immigrant petitions by alien entrepreneurs associated with 32 projects in South Dakota, with 705 approved to date.

Not much attention has been given to the “Extra Money” that was flowing to some people through the EB 5 program.

The serious question that should be posed is, “Can current Republican leaders in South Dakota be trusted to objectively and completely investigate this corruption?”  Consider that the EB5 program is a product of the Rounds-Daugaard administration.  Then Governor, now US Senator Mike Rounds was leading the EB5 program, but where was then Lt. Governor, now Governor Dennis Daugaard?  Did he sleep through the eight years he was 2nd in command?  I doubt it.  He may have been somewhat distracted when he was channeling Millions of dollars state funds to the Black Hills Childrens Home (where he was CEO while he was in office), but to think he was not in the EB5 loop would be kidding yourself.  The Attorney General, Marty Jackly was appointed by then-Governor Rounds.  Jackley, who is now running for Governor himself, was successful in prosecuting (most South Dakotans saw it as political retribution) the challenger (Bosworth) to the Rounds run for US Senate.  With that as a factual background, is it reasonable to think we can depend on current leadership to take a complete, accurate and honest look at the corruption of the EB5 program in South Dakota?  Hardly.

Questions have been raised about the “patterns” of political contributions that parallel EB 5 fund distribution.

South Dakota needs a special committee with a Trey Gowdy type of chairman.  But South Dakota doesn”t have a Trey Gowdy, you say?  Guess again.  Attorney and long-time State Representative Lance Russell would fill the bill very nicely.  He is competent, honest and not beholden to the political establishment in South Dakota.  Given committee members who do not have any political agenda, a committee led by Russell could give South Dakota that transparent disclosure the state deserves.

Let the real evidence lead us to the truth.

***Gordon Howie is an author and CEO of Life and Liberty Media***

“It’s not about right or left, it’s about Right or Wrong.”

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