FIFA Officials Suspended over Bribery

by Aaron Kessler / Published March 12, 2012 in The Big Sweep | Leave a comment

REUTERS

Two former FIFA officials lost their corruption appeals Monday, after a final ruling by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

As the Associated Press reports, former FIFA executive committee members Amadou Diakite and Ahongalu Fusimalohi had received “two-year bans for corrupt behavior during bidding for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups” and have been appealing those decisions.

Those appeals are now over, after the arbitration court’s decision.

The two officials were originally suspended after reporters from British newspaper The Sunday Times went undercover as lobbyists seeking advice on bribing the soccer body, and documented their encounters with Diakite and Fusimalohi. The two men “advised undercover reporters posing as lobbyists how to bribe FIFA officials with $1 million,” the AP reports.

Sweep to Two former FIFA officials lose corruption appeals

A U.S. businessman is facing a host of fraud and human trafficking charges after allegedly luring foreign nurses to the United States with the promise of making up to $72,000 teaching at a Colorado university.

There was only one problem: there were no jobs.  What’s more, there was no university.

In what federal prosecutors call an “elaborate scheme,” Kizzy Kalu of Highland Ranch, Colo. and an accomplice in Georgia are charged with “luring foreigners to the United States to work for a nonexistent university and then stealing portions of their salaries after setting them up with other jobs,” ABC News reports.

Kalu is accused of recruiting the foreign workers, fraudulently obtaining visas for them to teach at a school that didn’t exist, and then once they arrived coercing them into working for a fraction of their promised pay at various Colorado nursing homes.

He faces 132 charges, including “visa fraud, forced labor, money laundering, human trafficking, criminal forfeiture and mail fraud,” ABC reports. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison.

Sweep to Colorado man indicted for human trafficking, money laundering

The health minister of India’s Himachal province, Rajiv Bindal, dramatically and publicly submitted his resignation Monday, amidst allegations of corruption over assets acquired by him and his family.

As the Hindustan Times reports, Bindal made the sudden announcement during a state assembly session, where he proclaimed his innocence but then said he intended to step down — walking up to the state’s chief minister and handing him his resignation letter.

Bindal claimed he had become a “victim of politics” and that the “charges against him held no ground,” the Times reports. The allegations involve a series of land deals in Himachal that benefited Bindal.

Sweep to HP health minister Bindal submits resignation to CM

 

Folding on Corruption

by Leslie Wayne / Published March 9, 2012 in The Big Sweep | Leave a comment

U.S. General John Allen shakes hands with Afghan Defense Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak, after signing an agreement for Afghan takeover of U.S.-run detention center Friday. / REUTERS

Corruption, estimated to have already claimed tens of billions of dollars in American aid to Kabul, is shaping up to significantly complicate the American exit from Afghanistan.

The New York Times reports that President Hamid Karzai has failed to follow through on pledges to prosecute high-level corruption cases, and the U.S.’s top general on the scene, John Allen, appears unwilling to press him on the matter as the NATO combat mission prepares for a 2014 drawdown.

American officials fear that pressing the fight against Afghan corruption could alienate members of the Karzai administration that Washington is increasingly relying on as it begins to withdraw from the country.  Part of the problem is one of Washington’s own making: The United States has pumped billions of dollars in aid and logistical support into the country, that have represented a boon to dishonest government officials and their cronies.

That has only led to anti-American sentiment against the business and political elites who have profited from the American intervention, and who are despised by most Afghans. According to an August 2011 report by the bipartisan Commission on Wartime Contracting, some 15 to 29 percent of the $206 billion spent in both Iraq and Afghanistan has been lost to waste and fraud.

One major scandal that has rocked the country involves the near-collapse of the Kabul Bank.  Many of the players at the center of that scandal are members of President Karzai’s inner circle.  In spite of the linking of anti-corruption and anti-American sentiment, neither Washington nor the Karzai regime appear to be interested in doing much about it.

Sweep to Intractable Afghan graft hampering U.S. strategy

Siemens President and CEO Eric Spiegel. /REUTERS

In economically downtrodden Greece, past corporate misdeeds may actually turn out to provide some much-needed cash to the country.

The Greek government and Siemens announced they had reached a settlement into allegations of bribery that took place several years ago.  Siemens, the engineering giant, has been at the center of a widespread global investigation over incidents of bribery that took place in many countries where it did business. So far, the company has paid $1.6 billion to settle charges brought by the United States and Germany.

Now it is Greece’s turn.  The settlement comes over charges that Siemens paid bribes to Greek politicians and telecom officials in order to land contracts in the country.

Under terms of the deal, which were reported by Bloomberg, Siemens will invest $133 million in its Greek operations and will look to build a $90 million production plant that could create 700 new jobs.

Rarely is there a silver lining to charges of corruption.  For Greece, this might be the rare exception.

Sweep to Greece, Siemens reach corruption deal

Not guilty on all counts. That was the verdict in Alabama, where federal prosecutors, for the second time, failed to convince jurors of its case against a prominent casino owner and a number of current and former state senators.

Milton McGregor and five other defendants were acquitted after seven-days of jury deliberations over charges that they had bribed state lawmakers to get their votes on pro-gambling legislation.  For two years, and two trials, prosecutors tried to get the charges to stick, and could not.  Prosecutors brought nine witnesses to court. The defense did not call any witnesses, saying that the Government did not prove its case.    The jury agreed.

“I’m going to have a lot to say, but not today,” McGregor said in a brief statement outside the courthouse. He also thanked his family, friends and supporters.  His defense attorney, however, told the Montgomery Advertiser that his hardest job and probably biggest accomplishment was keeping the voluble McGregor quiet.

Sweep to Not guilty: Former defendant says “jury got it right”

 

FIFA: Council of Europe Alleges Corruption at the Top

by Aaron Kessler / Published March 7, 2012 in The Big Sweep | Leave a comment

FIFA President Sepp Blatter (2nd R) speaks with Benin's President Thomas Boni Yayi at final match of African Cup of Nations in Gabon. In front are Equatorial Guinea's president, Teodoro Obiang Nguema and Gabon's Presdient Ali Bongo Ondimba. / REUTERS

It’s more bad news for FIFA, the world soccer body that’s been embroiled in scandal over both fixed matches and fixed votes. An advisory group of European lawmakers is now demanding that FIFA “investigate Sepp Blatter’s re-election as president and publish documents relating to a kickbacks scandal,” the Associated Press reports. The 47-nation Council of Europe panel says that FIFA “should examine whether Blatter exploited his position to obtain ‘unfair advantages’ ahead of the balloting last June.” He ran unopposed, largely because the other candidate, Mohamed bin Hammam, dropped out of the race after being accused of bribing voters, according to the AP. The Council also wants FIFA to disclose the juicy details – including all documents in its possession – related to its investigation of soccer officials accused of taking bribes related to broadcasting the World Cup.

Sweep to Council of Europe calls for FIFA corruption probes

"John Carter" star Taylor Kitsch gets the airport shakedown in Indonesia.

Even Hollywood actors aren’t immune from bribe shakedowns in Indonesia, apparently.

Indonesian officials confirmed Tuesday they are investigating a customs agent after he allegedly tried to solicit a bribe – in this case an iPhone – from actor Taylor Kitsch. Kitsch is known for his role in the film “John Carter” and in the TV series “Friday Night Lights,” and was entering Indonesia to shoot a new Oliver Stone movie.

The investigation was prompted after Kitsch told the story of his encounter with the agent on  ”The Late Show” with David Letterman – though there was initial confusion over whether he was referring instead to the Philippines. As Agence France-Presse reports, Kitsch arrived at Bali island’s Ngurah Rai airport last month, and was held up by an agent that threatened to refuse him entry.

“Kitsch said he was finally allowed in after proving he was an actor by showing the officer on his iPhone the trailer for his recently completed film ‘John Carter,’ in which he plays a Civil War veteran transplanted to Mars,” AFP reports.

When he showed the official the iPhone, the customs agent allegedly asked for one. He’s now being interrogated by Indonesian authorities.

Sweep to ‘John Carter’ star Taylor Kitsch asked for ‘bribe’ by Indonesian official

The jury continues to deliberate in a high-profile corruption trial in Alabama – it returns Wednesday for its seventh day of hashing out the fate of a group that includes a casino owner and several current and former state senators.

As the Montgomery Advertiser reports, casino owner Milton McGregor “is accused of leading an alleged conspiracy in which he and fellow casino owners and those who worked for them bribed state lawmakers with cash and campaign contributions in exchange for their votes on gambling legislation.”

The trial is actually the second bite at the apple for federal prosecutors: a previous corruption trial against McGregor and nearly a dozen defendants resulted in the jury being unable to reach a verdict on 33 of the counts charged (it acquitted several defendants on other charges). The undecided counts are now being brought again in the second trial.

Sweep to Jury deliberations continue in gambling corruption trial

Aristide Redux

by Diana Jean Schemo / Published March 5, 2012 in The Big Sweep | Leave a comment

Supporters of Jean-Bertrand Aristide demonstrating in Haiti on the eighth anniversary of the 2004 coup d'etat that led to his exile to Africa. Aristide returned to Haiti in March 2011. / REUTERS

Who is the mystery foreign official at the heart of a bribery case unfolding in a Miami courtroom?

Sources have told The Miami Herald and other publications that it is none other than Haiti’s former president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, who is accused of pocketing $1 million in kickbacks from two Miami companies doing business in Haiti.

The companies, Cinergy Telecommunications and Uniplex Telecom Technologies, held contracts to provide long-distance service through Haiti’s government-owned telecom service under Aristide.

The case against Cinergy was dismissed last week, but the suit accused the firms of setting up a shell company, Digitek, that funneled cash from the contract to the former president and other senior officials in Haiti, rather than to the state-owned phone company, Haiti Telecom.

In earlier years, the United States government accused Aristide of involvement in drug trafficking, money laundering and corruption. But U.S. prosecutors  failed to convince a grand jury to indict the former president.

Aristide is not actually charged in the current case, and his attorney, Ira Kurzban, dismissed the accusations contained in the case as “part of the same smear campaign that the United States has orchestrated against Aristide since he was first elected in 1990.”

Haiti watchers interpreted the timing of the telecom case as a warning from the U.S. to the ex-president, who returned from exile last year, to stay out of politics.

Sweep to Miami bribery probe zeroes in on Haiti’s ex-leader Aristide

The FBI investigation of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation, which began with the phone hacking and police bribery scandal at one of his London newspapers, is now examining News Corp.’s actions in Russia.

The Associated Press reports that the FBI is  studying the company’s involvement with a Russian billboard company, News Outdoor Russia, and allegations that the company bribed government officials to secure choice billboard locations.

Though Murdoch sold his company’s majority interest in News Outdoor Russia in July, his firm could still be held liable for any bribes paid during its ownership of the company.

So far, more than 20 former employees of Murdoch’s British newspapers have been arrested in connection with the phone hacking and bribery scandal, though none have yet been charged.

Sweep to AP sources: FBI’s News Corp. probe heads to Russia

The road from Zimbabwe’s capital, Harare, to its second city, Bulawayo, is 275 miles. But drivers going from one city to the other face some 13 police roadblocks, each one representing another demand for a bribe.

Independent anti-corruption commissions call Zimbabwe’s police force the most corrupt in the region, with the ubiquitous police checkpoints the public face of that corruption. Some lawmakers called last week for the police to dismantle the roadblocks.

But at a press conference, the country’s chief of police, Augustine Chihuri, dismissed the demands to shut down the roadblocks as a “non-starter.” Chihuri is close to Zimbabwe’s notoriously corrupt President Robert Mugabe.

According to police sources quoted in The Africa Report, a news website, the roadblocks appear more a  product of well-organized crime than of random efforts by police to boost their meager salaries. Police in Zimbabwe earn about $200 a month.

According to the site, each highway traffic patrol unit is under orders from on high to raise $3,000 a week. Police stations must cough up $1,000 a week in fines, and traffic sections have to turn in $1,500 each week. “The money is reportedly earmarked to service the force’s new fleet of vehicles,” the site reports.

Sweep to Zimbabwe’s police is getting rich fast

 

The Strength of his Convictions

by Leslie Wayne / Published March 2, 2012 in The Big Sweep | Leave a comment

A man walks past a banner featuring Nigeria's currency, the naira. / REUTERS

On Monday, James Ibori, the former governor of Nigeria’s oil-rich Delta state, pleaded guilty to corruption charges in a London Court. On Thursday, he said he didn’t mean it.

Ibori said he admitted guilt not because he was guilty, but only as a plea bargain that would avoid a trial and spare Nigeria’s name from being sullied in court.

AllAfrica.com quotes Ibori’s attorney as saying that the plea was not really an admission of guilt, nor a turnaround from Ibori’s previous full-throated denial of the 10 charges against him—all related to corruption.

“The world was made to believe that Ibori’s guilty plea was a sudden turnaround,’’ said his attorney Tony Eluemunor, “and not a well-deliberated act that as part of a plea bargain deal.” His client admitted guilt only because “Ibori did not want a long-drawn trial where Nigeria’s name would be bandied about in a foreign court.”

Ibori was a powerful figure, well-known in Nigeria for living large on oil wealth in an otherwise dirt-poor

James Ibori / REUTERS

state. As governor from 1999 to 2007, Ibori’s official salary was less than $25,000 a year, but he managed to buy six houses in London, including one that he purchased for $3.5 million in cash. He will be sentenced at a later date. Ibori was arrested while on a trip to Dubai in May 2010 and extradited to London a year later.

If Ibori was so concerned about protecting the good name of Nigeria, perhaps he might have refrained from the actions that led to his guilty plea this week.

Sweep to Nigeria: I didn’t plead guilty to corruption charges

The Feds are coming after the crooked officials in Detroit, and there are plenty to go after.

The FBI office in Detroit, which now considers public corruption its top priority after terrorism, announced it was setting up a special task force, along with other federal state and local law enforcement agencies, to go after public corruption in the Detroit area.

The agents won’t have to look far. For them, Detroit is a target-rich environment. Various investigations have already resulted in numerous criminal charges against former Detroit officials, including the former mayor and city council members, officials in City Hall and at the city’s pension fund and others in the Wayne County government.

At a press conference, Andrew Arena, the head of the Detroit FBI, said that the “task force will leverage the best assets of the partners to better focus on the problem.”

“We’re at an opportunity point to really do some damage,” he added.

He was joined in the announcement by the state’s attorney general and top officials from the U.S. Attorney’s office, the IRS, EPA, Michigan State Police, the Detroit Police Department and other agencies.

With Detroit’s auto industry in a turnaround, perhaps it is time for a turnaround in the quality of the city’s public officials.

Sweep to FBI unveils corruption task force in Metro Detroit

In the waning days of his tenure as Hong Kong’s Chief Executive, Donald Tsang is having to defend himself against corruption charges that include overseas trips on the yachts and jets of businessmen.

Tsang, 67, is about to step down after six years in office. Rather than ending on a high note, he is facing an investigation by the city’s anti-corruption bureau, which is looking into the ties between politicians and local businessmen.

The trips took place late last year and Tsang has made a public apology, according to Bloomberg.  The front-runner to replace him in a March 25 election is Henry Tang, his former deputy, who is embroiled in a scandal of his own over building a basement without government permission.

The corruption investigation is the first ever into the chief executive of Hong Kong and threatens to shake public confidence. Tsang addressed that concern in his remarks.

“The chain of events has created worries among the media and public, civil servants and lawmakers and also shaken the public’s belief in Hong Kong’s system,” said Tsang.  “For this, I sincerely apologize to the public.”

Sweep to H.K. Tsang seeks to restore trust

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