Former senior policy advisor to Obama White House charged with child sex offences in British court
- Rahamim “Rami” Shy, 46, coordinated the U.S. strategy to fight terrorists
A former senior policy adviser to the Obama administration has appeared in court in Britain on child abuse charges.
Rahamim “Rami” Shy, 46, who coordinated the U.S. government’s strategy to combat Al Qaeda and Taliban terrorists, is accused of arranging to commit child sex crimes, court documents show.
He is also charged with possessing two category C indecent images of children and possessing a prohibited image of a child.
Shy, a U.S. citizen living in New Jersey who worked for the White House under President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, was arrested by Bedfordshire police in late February. He was charged the following day and appeared at Luton Crown Court on Friday via video link from HMP Bedford, wearing a gray prison tracksuit.
He was not asked to enter a plea to any of the charges and was remanded in custody ahead of a hearing in June.
Rahamim ‘Rami’ Shy (pictured) is accused of arranging to commit a child sex crime, court documents show
Former US President Barack Obama in 2014. Shy worked for the White House under President Barack Obama. Bedfordshire Police arrested Shy in February and has since been charged with child abuse
Luton Crown Court, where Shy appeared via video link from HMP Bedford on Friday wearing a gray prison tracksuit
Shy, a US citizen living in New Jersey, worked for Hillary Clinton when she was secretary of state
Obama and his Cabinet watched the 2011 assassination of Osama Bin Laden. Shy coordinated the US government’s strategy to combat Al Qaeda and Taliban terrorists
Shy worked as an executive at the Citi banking group from 2008 to 2014 and served in a senior role at the U.S. Treasury Department from 2008 to 2014, where he advised officials on countering terrorist financing and assisted foreign governments in imposing sanctions to hostile regimes. Shy not only served as a senior advisor to the late US diplomat Richard Holbrooke, who served under the last three Democratic presidents, but also provided strategic policy analysis to the Chiefs of Staff of the US Department of Defense.
He was deployed to Afghanistan to provide expertise to the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), which was established to maintain stability following the American-led invasion of the country.
According to his LinkedIn page, Shy provided ISAF with counterterrorism expertise and then presented U.S. strategy toward Afghanistan at a 2010 Congressional hearing.
Shy attended Rutgers University in New Jersey and then studied international security policy at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs in New York.
A Citi spokesperson said Shy was no longer employed by the banking group. Shy is scheduled to stand trial in August.