DATE=10/6/1999
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=RUSSIA CORRUPTION (LO)
NUMBER=2-254736
BYLINE=BARRY WOOD
DATELINE=WASHINGTON
INTERNET=YES
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: A leading U-S scholar on corruption says the
financial scandal involving the Bank of New York and
deposits from Russian criminal interests is merely the
tip of an iceberg. V-O-A's Barry Wood reports that
researcher Louise Shelley believes the scandal will
implicate leading politicians in Russia.
TEXT: Professor Shelley says this is the biggest money
laundering scandal in U-S history. She told a forum at
American University (in Washington, where she heads
the Transnational Crime and Corruption Center), that
the investigation into the Russian operations of the
Bank of New York may go on for years. Ms. Shelley
says the investigation is likely to reveal that
prominent Russian politicians and business leaders are
involved in the scandal.
/// FIRST SHELLEY ACT //
We're going to find very many top Russian
leaders involved in this. And if we really
pursue this investigation from our side, as we
should, we are going to find American complicity
and complicity from other countries also at very
high levels, from our political spheres, our
legal spheres and other parts of the elite in
our societies.
/// END ACT ///
Professor Shelley says high level corruption has been
common in Russia and other states of the former Soviet
Union. She says the existence of such corruption
should not come as a surprise. She says western
business executives are accomplices because they often
are prepared to pay bribes and use false invoicing to
permit local partners to skim off investment dollars.
Professor Shelley says capital flight from Russia is
huge. She calls the theft of state assets by criminal
interests the plundering of Russia. Ms. Shelley says
some American banks want to stop congressional
investigations into Russian money laundering because
they fear American banks will lose business to their
foreign competitors.
/// SECOND SHELLEY ACT ///
There's been pressure placed by banks on the
banking committee to only go so far because what
this does in undermining American banking
interests. One high-ranking official said maybe
someone on Capitol Hill needs to supoena these
banking records and put this out in public view,
so people can go and start to investigate from
the private sector. Because the government may
not be able to do this as far as it should.
/// END ACT ///
This week investigators in New York issued their first
indictments in the Bank of New York case. A senior
bank official (Lucy Edwards) and her husband have been
charged with breaking U-S law in making certain
Russian originated deposits. Mrs. Edwards, in addition
to handling the bank's Russian operations from London,
was also its in-house authority on money laundering.
Researcher Shelley says the problem of financial
corruption will worsen as long as global financial
markets remain largely unregulated. (Signed)
NEB/BDW/ENE/gm
06-Oct-1999 16:25 PM EDT (06-Oct-1999 2025 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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