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> How did he get away with all of it for so long? Corruption. He fritter'ed a great deal of this money to precisely the same Prime Minister who selected him.

> How did he get away with all of it for so long? Corruption. He fritter'ed a great deal of this money to precisely the same Prime Minister who selected him. This wasn't unique, either. This sort of corruption is much more pervasive than most people believe. In China many of the top party officials are billionaires. Vladimir Putin is widely believed to have massively enriched himself during his reign. Frankly, the biggest surprise is that the corruption in this case was caught.

stevehawk 8y ago
"massively enriched" is a bit of an understatement. He's believed to be one of the wealthiest people in the world and it's why Obama put those sanctions on him and his buddies.
- wnevets 8y ago
  He's been robbing his country blind to make him and his allies extremely rich.
  - sifoobar 8y ago
    Source? As opposed to US politicians like the Bushes, Clintons and Obamas? Or any of the countless corrupt puppet dictators that the US installed around the world? Listen, I know they're pushing really hard for a war right now; but unless you're right up there at the top of the pyramid, war is hell. The only thing that will ever get us out of this hole is truth, and truth starts with not spreading BS.
    - why_only_15 8y ago
      The Bushes/Clintons/Obamas make their money from because people want to hear what they have to say (e.g. speeches, books), not because they steal money from the public coffers.
      - a11595 8y ago
        I'm too lazy to grab the links, but take a look at when Bill did his speeches and how much he got paid, and when Hillary voted and pushed for legislation greatly benefiting the people paying him for those speeches. It's some crazy shit.
      - sifoobar 8y ago
        Right :) The Clinton's Uranium deal with Rosatom is a nice example of how this works; of course you can't just give politicians piles of money, it needs to come with a bedtime story for the voters.
        dralley 8y ago
        You've done zero research about this, then. A Canadian company owned uranium reserves and wanted to sell the ownership of them to Rosatom. Not the physical resources, which cannot leave the country, just the ownership. This still requires government oversight, so 8 different agencies had to sign off on it. All agencies did, including the state department. Hillary was not involved in the decision to approve the sale, apart from in charge of one of the many departments overseeing it.
        mikeyouse 8y ago
        One last bit that people ignore -- The Clinton Foundation Initiative is a Public Charity (as opposed to a private foundation like the DJT Foundation) managed by a team of professionals subject to regular audits. Everyone one of their financial reports is posted on their website (by law), it would be public knowledge and it would be illegal if the Clintons benefitted financially in any way from the activities of the charity. They didn't. There are reams of pages of IRS guidance around private inurement in 501c groups (aka what was going on at the Trump Family Foundation -- a different type of nonprofit charity). You can safely ignore anyone who claims that the Clintons took money from anyone if they're claiming that money donated to their charity ends up in their pockets. They don't know what they're talking about.
        8y ago
    - wnevets 8y ago
      How is this even up for debate? It's hardly a secret unless you live under Putin's control I guess. [1] Sounds like you got a bad case of Whataboutism [2], I suggest seeing a doctor right a way. [1] https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/putins-way/ https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/putins-way/ [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whataboutism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whataboutism
    - anigbrowl 8y ago
      If you've ever wondered what gaslighting is, this comment serves as a great example.
      - sifoobar 8y ago
        Really now? So appealing to truth and common sense is now gaslighting. Newspeak much?
rajacombinator 8y ago
In America, our politicians are orders of magnitude more clever about their self enrichment.
- B1FF_PSUVM 8y ago
  If you can live the life of great wealth, without actually amassing said wealth, why bother?
  - village-idiot 8y ago
    I’m actually fine with public seevants living decently if it was in line with the quality of our government. Given that our government is literally off right now, you can guess my current opinion.
seanlinmt 8y ago
All because of a whistlerblower. http://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/justo-world-needs-good-whistleblower-story http://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/justo-world-needs-good... The world needs more whistlerblowers. Or at least better tools and protection for those who plan to do it

stevehawk 8y ago

"massively enriched" is a bit of an understatement. He's believed to be one of the wealthiest people in the world and it's why Obama put those sanctions on him and his buddies.

wnevets 8y ago
He's been robbing his country blind to make him and his allies extremely rich.
- sifoobar 8y ago
  Source? As opposed to US politicians like the Bushes, Clintons and Obamas? Or any of the countless corrupt puppet dictators that the US installed around the world? Listen, I know they're pushing really hard for a war right now; but unless you're right up there at the top of the pyramid, war is hell. The only thing that will ever get us out of this hole is truth, and truth starts with not spreading BS.
  - why_only_15 8y ago
    The Bushes/Clintons/Obamas make their money from because people want to hear what they have to say (e.g. speeches, books), not because they steal money from the public coffers.
    - a11595 8y ago
      I'm too lazy to grab the links, but take a look at when Bill did his speeches and how much he got paid, and when Hillary voted and pushed for legislation greatly benefiting the people paying him for those speeches. It's some crazy shit.
    - sifoobar 8y ago
      Right :) The Clinton's Uranium deal with Rosatom is a nice example of how this works; of course you can't just give politicians piles of money, it needs to come with a bedtime story for the voters.
      - dralley 8y ago
        You've done zero research about this, then. A Canadian company owned uranium reserves and wanted to sell the ownership of them to Rosatom. Not the physical resources, which cannot leave the country, just the ownership. This still requires government oversight, so 8 different agencies had to sign off on it. All agencies did, including the state department. Hillary was not involved in the decision to approve the sale, apart from in charge of one of the many departments overseeing it.
        mikeyouse 8y ago
        One last bit that people ignore -- The Clinton Foundation Initiative is a Public Charity (as opposed to a private foundation like the DJT Foundation) managed by a team of professionals subject to regular audits. Everyone one of their financial reports is posted on their website (by law), it would be public knowledge and it would be illegal if the Clintons benefitted financially in any way from the activities of the charity. They didn't. There are reams of pages of IRS guidance around private inurement in 501c groups (aka what was going on at the Trump Family Foundation -- a different type of nonprofit charity). You can safely ignore anyone who claims that the Clintons took money from anyone if they're claiming that money donated to their charity ends up in their pockets. They don't know what they're talking about.
        8y ago
  - wnevets 8y ago
    How is this even up for debate? It's hardly a secret unless you live under Putin's control I guess. [1] Sounds like you got a bad case of Whataboutism [2], I suggest seeing a doctor right a way. [1] https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/putins-way/ https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/putins-way/ [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whataboutism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whataboutism
  - anigbrowl 8y ago
    If you've ever wondered what gaslighting is, this comment serves as a great example.
    - sifoobar 8y ago
      Really now? So appealing to truth and common sense is now gaslighting. Newspeak much?

rajacombinator 8y ago

In America, our politicians are orders of magnitude more clever about their self enrichment.

B1FF_PSUVM 8y ago
If you can live the life of great wealth, without actually amassing said wealth, why bother?
- village-idiot 8y ago
  I’m actually fine with public seevants living decently if it was in line with the quality of our government. Given that our government is literally off right now, you can guess my current opinion.

seanlinmt 8y ago

All because of a whistlerblower. http://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/justo-world-needs-good-whistleblower-story http://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/justo-world-needs-good... The world needs more whistlerblowers. Or at least better tools and protection for those who plan to do it