英语语言学习18谈腐败Word文档格式.docx

英语语言学习18谈腐败Word文档格式.docx

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sTeodorí

nObiang.SohisdaddyispresidentforlifeofEquatorialGuinea,aWestAfricannationthathasexportedbillionsofdollarsofoilsincethe1990sandyethasatrulyappallinghumanrightsrecord.Thevastmajorityofitspeoplearelivinginreallymiserablepovertydespiteanincomepercapitathat'

sonaparwiththatofPortugal.SoObiangjunior,well,hebuyshimselfa$30millionmansioninMalibu,California.I'

vebeenuptoitsfrontgates.Icantellyouit'

samagnificentspread.Heboughtan€18millionartcollectionthatusedtobelongtofashiondesignerYvesSaintLaurent,astackoffabuloussportscars,somecostingamilliondollarsapiece--oh,andaGulfstreamjet,too.Nowgetthis:

Untilrecently,hewasearninganofficialmonthlysalaryoflessthan7,000dollars.

Andthere'

sDanEtete.Well,hewastheformeroilministerofNigeriaunderPresidentAbacha,anditjustsohappenshe'

saconvictedmoneylaunderertoo.We'

vespentagreatdealoftimeinvestigatinga$1billion--that'

sright,a$1billion—oildealthathewasinvolvedwith,andwhatwefoundwasprettyshocking,butmoreaboutthatlater.

Soit'

seasytothinkthatcorruptionhappenssomewhereoverthere,carriedoutbyabunchofgreedydespotsandindividualsuptonogoodincountriesthatwe,personally,mayknowverylittleaboutandfeelreallyunconnectedtoandunaffectedbywhatmightbegoingon.Butdoesitjusthappenoverthere?

Well,at22,Iwasverylucky.MyfirstjoboutofuniversitywasinvestigatingtheillegaltradeinAfricanivory.Andthat'

showmyrelationshipwithcorruptionreallybegan.In1993,withtwofriendswhowerecolleagues,SimonTaylorandPatrickAlley,wesetupanorganizationcalledGlobalWitness.OurfirstcampaignwasinvestigatingtheroleofillegallogginginfundingthewarinCambodia.

Soafewyearslater,andit'

snow1997,andI'

minAngolaundercoverinvestigatingblooddiamonds.Perhapsyousawthefilm,theHollywoodfilm"

BloodDiamond,"

theonewithLeonardoDiCaprio.Well,someofthatsprangfromourwork.Luanda,itwasfulloflandminevictimswhowerestrugglingtosurviveonthestreetsandwarorphanslivinginsewersunderthestreets,andatiny,verywealthyelitewhogossipedaboutshoppingtripstoBrazilandPortugal.Anditwasaslightlycrazyplace.

SoI'

msittinginahotandverystuffyhotelroomfeelingjusttotallyoverwhelmed.Butitwasn'

taboutblooddiamonds.BecauseI'

dbeenspeakingtolotsofpeopletherewho,well,theytalkedaboutadifferentproblem:

thatofamassivewebofcorruptiononaglobalscaleandmillionsofoildollarsgoingmissing.Andforwhatwasthenaverysmallorganizationofjustafewpeople,tryingtoevenbegintothinkhowwemighttacklethatwasanenormouschallenge.AndintheyearsthatI'

vebeen,andwe'

veallbeencampaigningandinvestigating,I'

verepeatedlyseenthatwhatmakescorruptiononaglobal,massivescalepossible,wellitisn'

tjustgreedorthemisuseofpowerorthatnebulousphrase"

weakgovernance."

Imean,yes,it'

sallofthose,butcorruption,it'

smadepossiblebytheactionsofglobalfacilitators.

Solet'

sgobacktosomeofthosepeopleItalkedaboutearlier.Now,they'

reallpeoplewe'

veinvestigated,andthey'

reallpeoplewhocouldn'

tdowhattheydoalone.TakeObiangjunior.Well,hedidn'

tendupwithhigh-endartandluxuryhouseswithouthelp.Hedidbusinesswithglobalbanks.AbankinParisheldaccountsofcompaniescontrolledbyhim,oneofwhichwasusedtobuytheart,andAmericanbanks,well,theyfunneled73milliondollarsintotheStates,someofwhichwasusedtobuythatCaliforniamansion.Andhedidn'

tdoallofthisinhisownnameeither.Heusedshellcompanies.Heusedonetobuytheproperty,andanother,whichwasinsomebodyelse'

sname,topaythehugebillsitcosttoruntheplace.

sDanEtete.Well,whenhewasoilminister,heawardedanoilblocknowworthoverabilliondollarstoacompanythat,guesswhat,yeah,hewasthehiddenownerof.Now,itwasthenmuchlatertradedonwiththekindassistanceoftheNigeriangovernment--nowIhavetobecarefulwhatIsayhere—tosubsidiariesofShellandtheItalianEni,twoofthebiggestoilcompaniesaround.

Sotherealityis,isthattheengineofcorruption,well,itexistsfarbeyondtheshoresofcountrieslikeEquatorialGuineaorNigeriaorTurkmenistan.Thisengine,well,it'

sdrivenbyourinternationalbankingsystem,bytheproblemofanonymousshellcompanies,andbythesecrecythatwehaveaffordedbigoil,gasandminingoperations,and,mostofall,bythefailureofourpoliticianstobackuptheirrhetoricanddosomethingreallymeaningfulandsystemictotacklethisstuff.

Nowlet'

stakethebanksfirst.Well,it'

snotgoingtocomeasanysurpriseformetotellyouthatbanksacceptdirtymoney,buttheyprioritizetheirprofitsinotherdestructivewaystoo.Forexample,inSarawak,Malaysia.Nowthisregion,ithasjustfivepercentofitsforestsleftintact.Fivepercent.Sohowdidthathappen?

Well,becauseaneliteanditsfacilitatorshavebeenmakingmillionsofdollarsfromsupportingloggingonanindustrialscaleformanyyears.Sowesentanundercoverinvestigatorintosecretlyfilmmeetingswithmembersoftherulingelite,andtheresultingfootage,well,itmadesomepeopleveryangry,andyoucanseethatonYouTube,butitprovedwhatwehadlongsuspected,becauseitshowedhowthestate'

schiefminister,despitehislaterdenials,usedhiscontroloverlandandforestlicensestoenrichhimselfandhisfamily.AndHSBC,well,weknowthatHSBCbankrolledtheregion'

slargestloggingcompaniesthatwereresponsibleforsomeofthatdestructioninSarawakandelsewhere.Thebankviolateditsownsustainabilitypoliciesintheprocess,butitearnedaround130milliondollars.Nowshortlyafterourexposé

veryshortlyafterourexposé

earlierthisyear,thebankannouncedapolicyreviewonthis.Andisthisprogress?

Maybe,butwe'

regoingtobekeepingaverycloseeyeonthatcase.

stheproblemofanonymousshellcompanies.Well,we'

veallheardaboutwhattheyare,Ithink,andweallknowthey'

reusedquiteabitbypeopleandcompanieswhoaretryingtoavoidpayingtheirproperduestosociety,alsoknownastaxes.Butwhatdoesn'

tusuallycometolightishowshellcompaniesareusedtostealhugesumsofmoney,transformationalsumsofmoney,frompoorcountries.Invirtuallyeverycaseofcorruptionthatwe'

veinvestigated,shellcompanieshaveappeared,andsometimesit'

sbeenimpossibletofindoutwhoisreallyinvolvedinthedeal.

ArecentstudybytheWorldBanklookedat200casesofcorruption.Itfoundthatover70percentofthosecaseshadusedanonymousshellcompanies,totalingalmost56billiondollars.NowmanyofthesecompanieswereinAmericaortheUnitedKingdom,itsoverseasterritoriesandCrowndependencies,andsoit'

snotjustanoffshoreproblem,it'

sanon-shoreonetoo.Yousee,shellcompanies,they'

recentraltothesecretdealswhichmaybenefitwealthyelitesratherthanordinarycitizens.

Onestrikingrecentcasethatwe'

veinvestigatedishowthegovernmentintheDemocraticRepublicofCongosoldoffaseriesofvaluable,state-ownedminingassetstoshellcompaniesintheBritishVirginIslands.Sowespoketosourcesincountry,trawledthroughcompanydocumentsandotherinformationtryingtopiecetogetherareallytruepictureofthedeal.AndwewerealarmedtofindthattheseshellcompanieshadquicklyflippedmanyoftheassetsonforhugeprofitstomajorinternationalminingcompanieslistedinLondon.Now,theAfricaProgressPanel,ledbyKofiAnnan,they'

vecalculatedthatCongomayhavelostmorethan1.3billiondollarsfromthesedeals.That'

salmosttwicethecountry'

sannualhealthandeducationbudgetcombined.AndwillthepeopleofCongo,willtheyevergettheirmoneyback?

Well,theanswertothatquestion,andwhowasreallyinvolvedandwhatreallyhappened,wellthat'

sgoingtoprobablyremainlockedawayinthesecretivecompanyregistriesoftheBritishVirginIslandsandelsewhereunlesswealldosomethingaboutit.

Andhowabouttheoil,gasandminingcompanies?

Okay,maybeit'

sabitofacliché

totalkaboutthem.Corruptioninthatsector,nosurprise.There'

scorruptioneverywhere,sowhyfocusonthatsector?

Well,becausethere'

salotatstake.In2011,naturalresourceexportsoutweighedaidflowsbyalmost19tooneinAfrica,AsiaandLatinAmerica.Nineteentoone.Nowthat'

sahellofalotofschoolsanduniversitiesandhospitalsandbusinessstartups,manyofwhichhaven'

tmaterializedandneverwillbecausesomeofthatmoneyhassimplybeenstolenaway.

sgobacktotheoilandminingcompanies,andlet'

sgobacktoDanEteteandthat$1billiondeal.Andnowforgiveme,I'

mgoingtoreadthenextbitbecauseit'

saveryliveissue,andourlawyershavebeenthroughthisinsomedetailandthey