Monday, November 16, 2009

They call it the Revolutionary Tax

The Justice Department memorandum, dated Sept. 4, 2007, and obtained by The New York Times, said the government believes Mr. Obiang’s assets are derived “from extortion, theft of public funds or other corrupt conduct.” From April 2005 to April 2006, the memo said, Mr. Obiang funneled at least $73 million into the United States, using shell corporations and offshore bank accounts to launder the money and ultimately buy his Malibu estate and a luxury jet.

The memo identified several specific wire transfers by Mr. Obiang from 2005 and 2006, beginning with a bank in Equatorial Guinea, then going to the central Banque de France, and landing in American accounts at Wachovia, Bank of America and UBS. In one six-week period alone in 2006, Mr. Obiang transferred $33,799,799.99 to the United States, the memo said, which was used to purchase a Gulfstream V jet.

Part of his wealth, the memo said, comes from a “revolutionary tax” that Mr. Obiang placed on timber. Instead of sending the payments to the coffers of Equatorial Guinea, Mr. Obiang, who is considered likely to be a successor to his father, has “insisted that the payments be made directly to him,” the memo said.

-U.S. Door Stays Open in Face of Swirl of Corruption

Sunday, November 8, 2009

Gods of Lending


The World Bank and the Gods of Lending

Table of Contents:
Introduction: Broken Promises and the Gods of Lending; 1) Managing for Mediocrity; 2) The Economist Managers; 3) Confucius and the Bank; 4) Feeding the Beast; 5) Groping in the Dark; 6) And Darkness was Upon the Face of the Implementers; 7) A Very Special Account; 8) Playing with the Books; 9) "C" is for Corruption; 10) As the Train Left the Station; 11) A New Regime; 12) The Potemkin Village; 13) Death by a Thousand Cuts; 14) Alhaji the Car Dealer; 15) Bigger than Wal-Mart; 16) Lamin Tells All; 17) In the Eye of the Beholder; 18) And the Dance Begins; 19) The Fifty Year Dilemma; 20) The Cost of Corruption; 21) So Easy to Steal; 22) The Essence of Knowledge; 23) Reporting the Truth; 24) Money Can’t Buy Happiness; 25) Taming the Gods of Lending


Related;
Zedillo Commission Offers G-20 a Blueprint for Fixing the World Bank
When the Culture of Disbursement Meets the Culture of Corruption

You don't fight corruption by fighting corruption

Daniel Kaufmann and Mushtaq Khan debate the role and importance of tackling corruption as part of a development strategy


Download the podcast.

Saturday, October 10, 2009

Welcome to Control of Corruption


Welcome to our new anti-corruption and governance matters blog