57 Andrew Rettman, Illicit Russian Money Poses Threat to EU Democracy
EUobserver, Apr.
21, 2017. Oliver Bullough,
Stage Hands How Western Enablers Facilitate Kleptocracy, Hudson Institute, at 2 (May 2016).
342
Dev
Kar and Joseph Spanjers, Illicit Financial Flows from Developing Countries 2004-
2013,’’ Global Financial Integrity, at 8 (Dec. 2015). Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project,
The Russian Laundromat Exposed, Mar. 20, 2017. Jake Bernstein, et al., International Committee of Investigative Journalists, All Putin’s Men Secret Records Reveal Money Network Tied to Russian Leader Apr. 3, 2016. Ed Caesar, ‘‘Deutsche Bank’s
Billion Scandal The New Yorker, Aug. 29, 2016. THE EXPORT OF CORRUPTION
The Kremlin has also exported economic corruption to its periphery and throughout Europe. Anton Shekhovtsov, a scholar who studies the Kremlin’s links with far-right and extremist groups, believes that the Kremlin even prefers using corruption over cultivating such groups, saying that Russia would rather destroy the EU through corruption . . . than through the support of anti-EU forces.’’
340
In the report Stage Hands How Western Enablers Facilitate Kleptocracy journalist and author Oliver Bullough describes how Western countries are used by corrupt officials to protect their ill- gotten gains In Stage One, the kleptocrat secures his newly acquired assets by getting his money and company ownership offshore. This successfully insulates him against unexpected political changes at home.
In Stage Two, the kleptocrat secures himself and his children by physically moving his family offshore. This insulates those closest to him against the consequences of the misgovernment that made him rich, while providing both them and him with a more amenable environment in which to spend his wealth. In Stage Three, the kleptocrat secures his reputation by building a network among influential people in Western countries. In simple terms, the goal of Stage Three is to make sure that a Google search returns more news stories about good deeds than about allegations of corruption and loutish- ness.
341
The scale of how much illicit money has moved out of Russia is staggering. A report by Global Financial Integrity that tracked illicit financial flows from developing countries found that, between
2004 and 2013, over $1 trillion left Russia, averaging over $100 billion a year.
342
Several recent investigations have uncovered how that illicit money flows out of Russia. An exhaustive investigation by the Organized Crime and
Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) tracked over $20 billion in illicit money that travelled from 19 Russian banks to 5,140 companies with accounts at 732 banks in 96 countries, including nearly every country in the EU.
343
The International Committee of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) Panama Papers probes have traced $2 billion in illicit funds linked to Vladimir Putin that were moved abroad using a Cypriot bank and a Swiss law firm.
344
Investigations of Deutsche Bank have found that it assisted Russian clients covertly transfer $10 billion to other jurisdictions.
345
In 2015, Deutsche Bank reported that $1.5
VerDate Mar 15 2010 04:06 Jan 09, 2018
Jkt PO 00000
Frm 00063
Fmt 6601
Sfmt 6601
S:\FULL COMMITTEE\HEARING FILES\COMMITTEE PRINT 2018\HENRY\JAN. 9 REPORT
FOREI-42327 with DISTILLER
58 Peter Hobson, How Europe Became a Russian Gangster Playground
The Moscow Times, May 12, 2016. Neil Buckley & Richard Milne, French Probe Danske Bank
Link to Alleged Russian Fraud Financial Times, Oct. 12, 2017; Russian Untouchables, Attack On Hermitage, $230 Million Tax Theft June 23, 2012. Neil Buckley, ‘‘Magnitsky Fraud Cash Laundered Through Britain, MPs Hear
Financial Share with your friends: