#001://_lore

[financieur]

#FINANCIALBRANCH. Money makes the world go round, and the same saying was true for Spectre, and its' successor, Quantum. The finance branch was born the same day as Spectre itself, along with other ever-present branches like Counter-Intelligence and Tactical Operations [ known as Soldiery until the 70s ]. Despite those antique roots, the financial branch evolved constantly to remain at the vanguard of their trade, often being ahead of the competition.

The branch's primary reason to be was to manage Spectre's financial assets and keep those well invested, as well as making sure those funds were ready for use. As time passed it evolved to offering similar financial services for organizations that were, for one reason or another, restricted from accessing legitimate banking systems. Any organization was welcome to their services, as long as they could find it and afford it.

Like all other branches, the Finance Branch operates behind the mask of multiple other front companies, all in order to hide the true name and nature of their organization. There are five major companies that act as pillars to the branch: Nexus Investment & Management, Suisse de L'Industrie, Eisenband, CX Worldwide and Qoya Capital. All of those fronts operate in legal means, providing clean profit and a way to clean their own illegal funds.

The branch holds headquarters in 29 countries [ Monaco, New York, Dubai, London and Tokyo being the biggest ones ], servers in 9 countries and it operates in all 253 territories [ 193 U.N recognized countries, 55 dependent territories and 4 territories with ongoing struggles ] with only Antarctica being uncovered.

The current triad in control of the Financial Branch is composed by Le Chiffre [ Alias, real name Marcel Renè Venier-Couvillon, operating as Jacquin Allard and other 12 identities ], Beatrice Trauschke and Cissonius  [ Alias, real name Daniel Wright, operating as Henry Thompson and other 5 identities ]. This is the team responsible for overseeing all the activities, legal and otherwise, under the umbrella of the Financial branch, and are the arbitrators behind every dispute regarding the path of the branch, furthermore, they each oversee one of the subsidiaries controlled by the branch, respectively Nexus, La Banque Suisse de L'Industrie and Eisenband Capital.

Nexus in an asset management company, with its expertise laid in private banking, brokerage, consultation and management of wealth for both individuals and companies. La Banque Suisse de L'Industrie is a multinational bank with focus in providing international banking services and financial support lines for companies and organizations. Eisenband Capital is a capital market group, specialized in locating and funding or acquiring companies that are branded as promising in their respective areas.

All those companies serve the true purpose of acting as the backbone of Quantum, controlling the entirety of the Group's financial transactions, investments, liquid assets and casinos.

The front companies have plenty legitimate clients, being well known companies in the international economic landscape, and their public services can be hired as any other bank, however that process is more complex when regarding their backdoor business. For an organization or individual to be able to utilize Quantum's international banking services they must be given referral by another organization that runs money through them or pass a screening process in person done by someone assigned by the Financial Branch [ this is the process that determines operational costs, liabilities, calculate management fee and open space for negotiation before drawing a contract ], as well as offer an initial amount of 50 millions USD or more. Management fee for illicit businesses vary between 3% and 12% of the total value, depending on region, risk, logistics and nature of business.

Those accounts must name a successor or benefactor for the managed assets in case of death of the account's responsible or the hiring organization's leadership. In case one of those stances happen, the successor musr claim ownership of the account within 90 days or the assets become permanent property of Quantum.

All of their financial services count on extensive infrastructure: offices in most major cities, digital applications and management tools, multiple payment methods, liquid assets transportation and storage services, and dedicated managers to larger accounts. For clients who can't afford any form of visibility, alternative methods of access are offered, such as in-person services for added management fees or 1-to-1 kinds of cryptocurrency.

The financial branch is also responsible for any transactions, payments and debt collections that might be necessary to Quantum's operations. For the funding of their underbelly operations, the financial branch provides the other branches or the service providing organizations with payment options in cryptocurrency or unmarked gold bars, as those are untraceable. For payment of bounties or first-serve-first-come opportunities, to-the-bearer medallions are given and can be collected in any casino controlled by Quantum in the currency of choice. And finally, for collaborators who need to take a large amount of cash abroad, torn playing cards [ digitally marked for authentication ] can be traded for money or gold in any CX Worldwide agency.

Debt is collected after a 90 days tolerance period, during which no large transactions are allowed to the debtor's account, and in case of failure to provide payment, all assets are seized. If the amount within the accounts lack enough funds to cover the debt, Tactical Operations are contacted for direct interference and seizing of any found liquid asset. Attempts to interrupt the seizing are answered with significant force.

FOR FURTHER DETAILS, DOUBTS OR WANTED INFORMATION: ASK!

[financieur]

V.01 ━━ M/Y Étoile. Commissioned in 2017 from an Italian Shipyard and delivered during the Summer 2019 in Monaco, the M/Y Étoile is a 6 levels yacht, and the replacement to the 'Nëperke' Yacht, his 2005 Sunseeker Predator 108. It was a much needed [ and desired ] upgrade to make justice to the position Le Chiffre now occupied within Quantum. It remained useful even past the takeover that Spectre went through by his hands in late 2019.

The boat's furniture was bespoke to his necessities, design to reflect little to nothing of his own personality and much of what he was perceived by others, and then crafted by an Italian atelier. As for the ship's internal structure, all finishes, such as the hardwood floors and ceilings, and details, such as the illumination coloring, were carefully chosen by Le Chiffre himself. The decor is nearly monochromatic, with the wood, soft lines and warm indirect lightening being a way to break the coldness of the palette and feign a sense of comfort to make it livable. The hull is painted in a mirror-like coating that uses a special coverage to avoid overheating the surfaces.

Another heavily customized feature of Étoile is the security infrastructure. The decks are all equipped with deck sensory arrays, which give an alert whenever people walk over it, as well as infrared beam sensors , lock-down vessel system, live CCTV and real time tracking by his team of choice. The ship is also equipped with an infirmary and an extremely well stocked armory. The Crew counts with a minimum of 4 security guards and an emergency surgeon in every trip it does.

The main deck is where all guest accommodations can be found, as well as the main lounging and guest entertainment areas. The vessel can comfortably fit 60 guests for events and 10 guests for travels in 5 rooms, divided between a VIP Stateroom, almost as well equipped as the Master Suite, two double cabins and two twin cabins. The upper deck holds the dining rooms and a private kitchen, as well as a sunbathing area and a bar. The fly deck, also known as owner's deck, is where the master suite can be found, equipped with a master bathroom and a walk-in closet, a small office space and a security control room can also be found at this deck. The sun deck holds only a small lounging area with a bar and another sunbathing area.

The lower deck is where the crew is accommodated, as well as most of the functional rooms, such as the laundry room, storage and pantries, can be found. The engine deck is where the technical rooms are found, such as the boat engine room, the infirmary and the armory.

Despite being considered his primary residence for many years, now the yacht spend most of the year docked either at Port Cala del Forte in Italy or the Falmouth Harbour Marina in Antigua, being only used by Le Chiffre when he want to travel in a more secure manner, or to entertain certain guests.

[financieur]

#QUANTUM. The 20th century was a century of change, a direct consequence of humanity moving towards a more interdependent world, prompted by advances in transport, communications, trade and finance. This progress also reached the underbelly of the world, forcing the creation of all manners of organizations, and enabling transcontinental crime. S.P.E.C.T.R.E, a clever acronym for 'Special Executive for Counter-intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge, and Extortion, was born from this scenario, emerging in 1951 as a joint effort of wide reaching criminal organizations from Serbia, Colombia, Italy, Russia, England, Ireland, China, Taiwan, Japan and United States, with the following decades being marked by their consolidation as an organization of its own seat of power, network expansion and the welcoming of new organizations.

The first council S.P.E.C.T.R.E had formed a hierarchical structure to divide the control of it in equal parts among the 'chairs', term used then to describe a member ahead of one of the divisions. With advances made in political and military power held by the group in the first decade of activity, their name was changed from an acronym to a simpler Spectre, which was deemed by the members a better fit to their unseen role in the world stage, that had grown exponentially since the 50s. The change in name came followed by a shift to a more efficient and safe council, limiting the members to 44, to be placed in 11 groups of 4 and given shared control over one of the 11 divisions that were functional at the time, lastly, those changes in the group inaugurated the use of companies to further expand profit and reach, with a number of members rising to the command of such enterprises and new members being found among the rolls of legitimate industry moguls, brand heirs and scientists. This lasted until September 2018. The organization's command was targeted by Safin, as revenge for an assassination carried in 1987, which left a vacuum in power and exposed Spectre to the world [ while simultaneously making the favor of labeling them as dead threat. ] The high-ranking members who didn't die, due to anonymity or luck of having matters to attend instead of Blofeld's birthday event, were only 8.

With the abrupt change in scenery, three of the remaining eight members took quick action to gain full control of the array of assets that belonged to both Spectre, its subsidiaries and its dead members, rebuilding the entire operation under the name of one of the most prominent branches: Quantum. While the entirety of Spectre's physical infrastructure was maintained, the trio chose to change the organizational structure to better accommodate their new ideas and hopes for the future of their organization. The number of people in command went from 44 to 36, which were then divided in 12 trios, dedicated to ruling over one of the 12 branches. Dealings in what was formerly known as 'leisure sector' were immediately cancelled and promptly dismantled. What was known as the 11 branches were changed into new 12 sections: Communications [ New York ], Commerce [ Rio de Janeiro ], Counter-intelligence [ Berlin ], Finance [ Monaco ], Infrastructure [ Singapore ], Legal & Foreign Affairs [ Seattle ], Logistics [ Hong Kong ], Personnel [ Johannesburg ], Industry & Mines [ Ciudad de México ], Research & Development [ Seoul ], Tactical Operations [ Lagos ] and Weapons System [ Kuwait ].

Following this rebirth, the following year was dedicated to finding new members, disposing of old loyalists and overly ambitious former members and migrating the existing physical structures to more modern and secure locations. The 12 branches were given each a central operational facility that best fit the demands required of them. Under control of those are the 180 satellite facilities under around the world, from research labs to mining operations, all to ensure peak performance. This decentralization was a form to protect and insulate each of the sections should any form of investigation reach that deep within their structure.

The process of finding new members of the high council is delicate but fast paced. The candidates are selected from existing organizations, both legal and illegal, or by merits within Quantum itself. An invitation is sent only after the candidate is approved by at least 24 members and go through a process of thorough investigation of the nominee's financial and personal affairs to rule out any behavioral traits that aren't desirable for the organization and measure potential risks. If the candidate fails the process, they remain oblivious to their nomination and are never considered again. Any member of the high council can be removed by the ruling trio if there is at least two that approve the demotion. Anyone who is part of the high council can only be removed from their position for one of the following causes: death, treason, gross failure or demotion. Cases of treason and demotion means death, failure can be remediated in the span of 6 months, and if repeated, will also mean death.

Meetings are arranged every 4 months when the command switch happens on all sections, but can also be scheduled in case there are pressing matters to be voted on, if their existence is under some form of threat from outside organizations, or in case one of the sections needs to make a public announcement to the council. Those meetings always happens in sports events, galas, ballets, operas or other cultural events, with the members being given means to communicate freely and discreetly from among the crowd, which keeps not only with anonymity among members [ which is not a necessity but can be a choice ], but also can keep their presence hidden in plain sight.

The final organizational structure of Quantum counts with 36 members of the high council, 72 aides, 180 wardens and over 200.000 members that deal with day-to-day demands from all sections. Like their predecessors, Quantum is everywhere.

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