Category Archives: Corruption

Arab Revolutions, Corruption, Lebanon, Syria

Surprise, Surprise: Embezzlement in Lebanon………

      

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“The head of Lebanon’s governmental aid body, through which millions of dollars are funnelled, and his wife have been arrested on embezzlement charges, judicial sources said on Monday. The criminal investigation against High Relief Council (HRC) Secretary General Ibrahim Bashir comes as Lebanon appeals for direct aid to help it provide for more than 800,000 Syrian refugees who have flooded into the small Mediterranean state to escape civil war. Bashir has denied media reports that he embezzled $10 million of public funds…………..”

I don’t know. He denies it, but would you admit to stealing $10 million from Syrian refugees? Some people arrapently strongly suspect that he, they, did it. I know, just because he looks it doesn’t mean that they did it. Anyway, just take a peek at the photo. What do you think? Of course this might have been just  “a bad-picture day” for him.
Still a man or/and a woman is innocent until proven guilty, etc, etc. That might apply even to a prince. But stealing from the poor Syrian refugees? Probably the most vulnerable people in the Middle East now?

Cheers
mhg

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Arab Revolutions, Bahrain, Corruption, GCC

The Fire in Bahrain: Futile Dialog and Dirty Compromise and an Extended Pogrom………

      

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The People of Bahrain will gather for huge protests on Wednesday August 14. The people of Bahrain, most of them, have been in a state of rebellion since February 14, 2011. The ruling family is determined to thwart them by imposing a lock-down across the country, especially the capital Manama. Barbed wire and tear gas and contingents of foreign mercenaries are being used to keep the people out of the capital. Much of uncooperative foreign media is being kept out.
The ruling Al Khalifa clan of Bahrain have been whittling away the basic freedoms that were guaranteed under the covenant they made with the people who voted for independence and a constitutional monarchy some 42 years ago. Repression and corruption have become a hallmark of Bahrain, as the rulers and their tribal and foreign allies painted a phony picture to the outside world, focused on the capital Manama, of a peaceful progressive financial center and tourist destination. As the people protested, the rulers took a page form the Saudi book of repression and ended the experiment in parliamentary politics for a generation. Which gave them the chance to establish one of the most corrupt systems, of its size, for looting the potential wealth of any Arab country.
When they finally agreed under pressure to restore some form of electoral politics, they had by that time unilaterally changed the constitution to make the elected legislature only partly elected, then they made it toothless. When the people protested, the rulers responded with an extended island-wide pogrom that has lasted since February 2011 and continues today.
The politics itself angered the people of Bahrain, people of all sects, but what made this an even more serious matter was the regime policy of discrimination, in effect a form of Gulf apartheid, against a majority of the population. There can always be room for compromise over politics, but there can be no compromise over the basic human rights, especially equality. That is why all the attempts at a “dialog” have been and will continue to be fruitless. When the basic right of equality is at stake, words like “dialog” and “compromise” sound like dirty words, at least they do to me. And in the context of the basic right of equality words like “dialog” and “compromise” are in fact dirty words that lead nowhere, except maybe to more “dialog” and compromise”.

Cheers
mhg

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Corruption, Saudi Arabia

Prince Bandar and Tony Blair off the Hook? SFO BAE Systems Data Lost……….

      

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“The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) says it has lost thousands of documents relating to a probe into BAE Systems. The UK agency said it lost 32,000 pages of data and 81 audio tapes linked to a bribery probe into BAE’s al-Yamamah deal with Saudi Arabia. The investigation into the huge arms deal was discontinued in 2006 after intervention from then-Prime Minister Tony Blair. The SFO said the lost material comprised 3% of data about the deal. It said it lost the items when it returned more material than intended to a source in the investigation…………The al-Yamaha deal involved the sale of tens of billions of pounds worth of arms by BAE Systems to Saudi Arabia, beginning in the 1980s and ending in 2006 with the sale of 72 Typhoon fighter jets. Allegations of corruption and bribery led to an SFO investigation in 2004, but it was closed in 2006 on grounds of public interest, amid concerns that relations with Saudi Arabia were being harmed. The firm paid $450m (£289m) in fines in the UK and US three years ago to end other corruption investigations in both countries…………….”

Cheers
mhg

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Britain, Corruption, Syria, Tony Blair

The Poodle Roars: Tony Blair is Back, Like a Bad Dream, Calls for War in Syria and Iran and………

      

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“Britain should arm the Syrian rebels and consider imposing a no-fly zone over Syria to prevent “catastrophic consequences”, Tony Blair has said. The former prime minister said the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian government and the involvement of Iran in the civil war meant intervention was necessary. “You’ve got the intervention of Hezbollah, at the instigation of Iran. The other big change is the use of chemical weapons. Once you allow that to happen – and this will be the first time since Saddam used them in the 1980s – you run the risk of it then becoming an acceptable form of warfare, for both sides,” he told the Times…………………”

In the past Tony Blair has frequently called for war against Iran. Now he has his greedy neo-colonialist sights set on Syria as well. Britain imposing a no-fly zone in Syria? He must think we are back in the pre-Suez glory days.
Nothing corrupts Western leaders, even discredited former leaders, more than association with corrupt potentates, especially petroleum potentates in the Middle East and Central Asia. Add to that some Western bankers and you have a very high low bar indeed. And boy, nobody mingles with these characters better than Tony Blair, perhaps the most undignified of former British prime ministers. From the Persian Gulf to Central Asia to North Africa (Qaddafi) and back, Blair has schmoozed and kissed and done whatever he has had to do after leaving office.
I will not repeat here about the most famous case of Tony Blair and SFO and BAE Systems. The BAE Systems has had a long and cozy inglorious history with the Saudi princes. It goes back at least to the famous Al Yamama scandal when they paid prince Bandar Bin Sultan $2 billion as bribe commission for a weapons deal with Saudi Arabia. Tony Blair (as New Labor prime minister) famously killed an investigation of the scandal by the British Serious Frauds Office (SFO). Gulf potentates have been quite grateful to Tony for that. So, no need for me to repeat that shameful case. No need to repeat all that. Perhaps a few links to earlier posts, leading to other media sources, would help:
 
Netanyahu, Ahmadinejad, and Tony Blair all Pleased with NYC Trip, not Romney

True Arab Opinion of Tony Blair Expressed by a Gulf Man

Return of Tony Blair, Elder Statesman (not)

Bribes and Monkeys and Aesthetics: Babanov of Kyrgyzstan vs. Princov of Arabia

Ugh: More on Tony Blair

The Tony Blair Israeli-Palestinian Barbershop Quartet

Tony Blair Bin Bandar Meets Borat: the Great Money Machine Moves to Kazakhstan

Another Huge Saudi-British Bribery Scandal, Missing Tony Blair

Tony Blair as Scarlett O’Hara: Blair-Gate and the never Ending Saga of International Corruption

ony Blair’s Never Ending Lobbying Act: Living on Uranus

Qaddafi and his Friends, the Rendition of Tony Blair

Miliband and Blair Straddling the Atlantic: Greedy, Selfish, and Immoral

BAE Systems Flexes its Arabian Muscles Again, Ghosts of al-Yamama

Cheers
mhg

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Corruption, Nobel Prize, Saudi Arabia

Saudi Cleric Declines Nobel Peace Prize IF Offered, Funny Royal Awards………

         

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إذا كان رب البيت بالدف ضارباً،    فشيمة أهل البيت كلهم الرقص

Speaking of the Nobel Prize in some of my recent posts: here is a new gem:

“A prominent Saudi Islamic scholar who was previously accused of plagiarism and famous for his best-selling book “Don’t Be Sad” (La Tahzan) has announced that he would reject the Nobel Peace Prize if it is offered to him. Sheikh Aaidh al-Qarni made his statement on Twitter after Saudi writer Ibrahim al-Majari wrote in a column on the daily Al-Sharq newspaper that the preacher deserves the prestigious award because he is “sympathetic to women’s rights” and because he stands against terrorism. “If those in charge of the Nobel Prize are unbiased Sheikh Aaidh would be the first winner,” Majari wrote in his article. The Sheikh, however, responded in a tweet saying: “I refuse the Nobel Peace Prize and hope the committee overseeing it will not put my name on the list, with many thanks to the writer from Al-Sharq, Ibrahim al-Majari.” Sheikh Aaidh is famous for his book “don’t be sad” (la Tahzan) which sold more than 10 million copies. But the prominent Sheikh, who has more than 2.5 million followers on Twitter, recently faced a credibility crisis after a fellow Saudi female writer and author accused him of plagiarizing her work in another book…………….”

About plagiarism and stealing. There is that excellent Arab saying, I roughly and quickly translated above as: “If the master of the house plays the drum, than no wonder the rest of the household would take up dancing”
After a PhD (from anywhere possible) and millions of Twitter followers, the new unattainable Gulf chic is: the Nobel Prize (nomination not actually winning). There was a time on the Gulf when all kinds of potentates and their retainers and plutocrats and clerics showed up almost every day with some kind of doctorate. Not sure how they got them since they rarely left town long enough to read a book. They are still at it, getting them online or from places as far as some offices overlooking Times Square or der Kärtnerstrasse or Place Pigalle, especially Pigalle, although Place de Clichy would do as well.
Now the Nobel Prize is in vogue. I am beginning to suspect that every crackpot cleric, prince and shaikh and tribal chief in the Middle East has a website or Facebook account nominating him for some Nobel Prize (usually for Peace). I think there is a permanent site lobbying for Saudi King Abdullah; fine and dandy, but they ought to make it generic, just “Saudi King”: one never knows who will be king six months from now. I know one Gulf shaikh (and a major thief to boot, but what else is new) who has a website dedicated to “what great guy he is”: possibly set up by some minion of his. A prelude to a Nobel nomination for fleecing?


I was told by a Beirut (or was it Paris) source once that Foaud Saniora was thinking of nominating Saad Hariri (can one do that?), before he realized there is someone else who has priority, someone who has oil and pays the bills. I even know one Gulf academic from one tribe who nominated an academic from another tribe: I suspect with the goal of making himself look good and magnanimous and perhaps be considered for the Nobel Prize. I wish I knew how to nominate for the Nobel, I might nominate myself since I am mostly peaceful most of the time.

BTW: the princes give themselves a lot of prizes, usually within the family (i.e. incestuous). Prince X foundation awards Prince Y the kleptocracy award of the year. They, and possibly the rulers of Qatar, have probably offered to donate a lot of money to the Nobel Committee. Hint, hint.
Cheers
mhg

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Arabian Peninsula, Corruption, Saudi Arabia

Saudi Prince Downsizes: Sells A380 Flying Combo Mosque-Night Club-Ali Baba Cave………

         

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“Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, ranked #29 on the list of global billionaires by Forbes magazine, has sold off his ‘off-plan’ Airbus A380, according to media reports. Prince Alwaleed, whose net worth in March 2012 was estimated at $18 billion by Forbes magazine, ordered the A380 way back in 2007, and had ordered multi-million-dollar customisations to it, which made the media dub his aircraft as ‘the flying palace’. According to unconfirmed reports, among the customisations that Saudi Arabia’s richest businessman had ordered included a parking spot for his Rolls-Royce, five suites with king-sized beds and en-suite bathrooms with showers, first-class ‘sleepers’ for an additional 20 guests, a steam room for spa treatments and a marble-finished Turkish bath, a boardroom with holographic displays, a prayer area in which computer-generated mats move to point towards Mecca……………..”

That is a cute touch, the part about pointing toward Mecca. He ought to sail through the pearly gates, or our Muslim equivalent.
It is amusing how Forbes Magazine every year lists Al-Waleed (Male Born Baby) among the “top’ wealthy people in the world, without mentioning other princes and potentates who are even more powerful and more wealthy, as I have pointed out here and in others posts some of which are listed below. It must have to do with the fact that he is accessible to Western media, while the rest of the princes, the richer ones, hide away like bats in the dark.
It is even more amusing how Forbes every year notes that the source of the prince’s wealth is “self-made”. As I opined before: it must be all those teenage years he spent flipping burgers in Riyadh.
 
The Saudi Uprisings: Shi’a Opposition, Wahhabi Opposition, Lost Liberals

Gangs of Arabia: Oil Fiefdoms and Turf Wars, Ivanhoe and Isaac of Qatif

Saudi Legs and Bellies: Roots of Instability, the Coming Age of Warlord Princes

The Coming Brawl for Saudi Succession: a Kingdom of Principalities

Saudi Arabia: the Most Ignored Arab Uprising

Lion of Sunnis, King of Falafel, Pious Prince of Baba Ghannouj

Who is Running Saudi Arabia: Retainers or a Cabal of Desperate Housewives?

Saudi Mufti Diagnoses Arab Uprisings: Sectarian Fitna, Sinful Anarchy, Ali and the Umayyads

PR Nation: Saudi King Appoints Women to Advisory Council

Holy Greed: Paris Hilton Does Mecca, Takes Over Prophet Mohammed’s Childhood Home

A Saudi Timeline for Arab Spring: Omitting Bahrain and Qatif and Hijaz and Nejd

Impact of Lower Oil Prices on Gulf Potentates, Gross Princely Product

Gulf Poverty: Ali Baba and the Potentates, Shameless Hungry Saudi Kingdom of Arabia

The Mufti as Theoretician of Arab Uprisings and Activist of Private Lives

A Saudi Al-Basoos War on Twitter, Mujtahidd and the Royal Court

Saudi Activist Goes Mad, Claims All Princes Want Democracy, Wants Future King Tried

Battle of Saudi Succession Heats Up, Rectal Prince Promoted

Cheers
mhg

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Bahrain, Corruption, GCC, Persian-American Gulf, Weapons deals

Bahrain Navy all Set to Defend the Gulf against NBC and CNN …………

         

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“A special committee at the General Staff of the Bahraini Navy is said to have recommended the necessity of buying advanced defensive systems to confront nuclear, biological and chemical (NBC) threats in the Gulf region. The following 358-word report sheds light on the Bahraini Navy’s recommendation and tells what about the Bahraini plans to buy the necessary NBC equipment and………………”

Field Marshal Admiral Shaikh Bin Technocrat Al Khalifa von Rommel Al Nelson Hornblower getting set to defend the Persian-American Gulf against all comers. Now we can all rest assured. Ever try some of all that teargas you guys have been using every day for two years on your people and their villages?
(Okay, so which Al Khalifa shaikh will get the commission for this purchase? Unless they have a common fund that the whole family shares, just like they do for waiters at restaurants).

Cheers
mhg

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Arabian Peninsula, Corruption, Saudi Arabia

Revisiting “Gangs of Arabia: Oil Fiefdoms and Turf Wars, Ivanhoe and Isaac of Qatif”……………

   

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                                Neck of the woods

I posted about this last year. I am reproducing part of it here although there have been some “cosmetic” changes of names. The main thrust of what I wrote then remains, the repression goes on, the robbery endures. The Crown Prince at the time, Prince Sultan is dead, I should say the “former former” crown prince is dead. The former next in line to be crown prince, Prince Nayef, in fact became crown prince for a few months. Then he died too. He was the former crown prince. The former next in line at the time was Prince Salman; now he is the current crown prince. Nobody has been yet appointed as a second next in line, or a third next in line. The princes are positioning themselves and their sons for the fight over the throne, and it will be a hell of a fight. Get your popcorn and soda, turn off your cellphone, and wait. And enjoy it unfold over the next few months, when King Abdullah dies and the struggle intensifies for power and for the billions of dollars of money that are annually stolen from the peoples of the Arabian Peninsula:
 “Gangs of Arabia:
Oil Fiefdoms and Turf Wars, Ivanhoe and Isaac of Qatif………

The clock is ticking and time is running out for the combatants to position themselves. Here is a summary of the turf wars and how the Saudi pie is being split now among the “next” generation (meaning those in their 70’s and up):
1. The crown prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz is seriously ill and highly unlikely to become king. He spends his time between an undisclosed location at home and American hospitals and Moroccan recuperation. He has appointed his son Khaled as deputy defense minister, meaning he is to inherit the ministry as well as becoming the minister of aviation and inspector general (recalling Danny Kaye now).
2. Prince Nayef Bin Abdulaziz is next in line and almost certainly the next king. He is a seriously conservative man and is against any type of elections. He famously said a couple of years ago that “Elections can never produce good people of the quality that we appoint” (and that was long before the Tea Party gained control of the U.S. Congress!). He is the minister of interior, in charge of police and security and secret police and terrorism and arrests and prisons and prisoners without charges and whatever goes in the dark cells. He has appointed his son Mohammed as a deputy minister, meaning he is to inherit the ministry when the father either becomes king or dies, whichever comes first.
3. Then there is the king himself and he is no slouch when it comes to his interests and the interests of his children. Abdullah was head of the National Guard, a parallel army, since forever. Last year he appointed one of his sons to replace him as head of the Guard. Thus the king has staked the permanent claim of ‘his’ branch of the al-Saud clan.
4. That leaves the Foreign Ministry, forever headed by Prince Saud al-Faisal. He is reportedly ailing without a clear heir. At one time there were two apparent claimants competing for the ministry, or at least there seemed to be, until King Abdullah appointed his son Abdulaziz as Deputy Foreign Minister, thus staking the claim of his own ‘branch’ of the al-Saud clan. Now Abdulaziz has the inside track as compared to Prince Turki al-Faisal brother of the current minister (and the wittiest prince, at least in public) and Prince Bandar Bin Sultan (of the famous BAE Systems bribery case that Tony Blair covered up). The foreign ministry is interesting because has become an area of unexpected competition and turf war. I had assumed it was the private reserve of the al-Faisal clan until Bandar made his move and then Abdullah appointed his own son. Apparently Bandar is a restless type, for he has reportedly made many moves inside and outside the kingdom and was allegedly involved in some palace plots. Apparently all the BAE Systems bribe money has given him more time and funds to pursue his ‘hobbies’. He was even reported at one time to be active in Iraq (not physically, but financially among the Sunni tribes and others). The foreign ministry truly reflects the current territorial infighting among the al-Saud branches: if Abdullah dies before the minister leaves, his son is not guaranteed the top job.
What is at stake is:……………………………..”
Cheers
mhg
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Corruption, Iran, Saudi Arabia

Chutzpah: Iranians and Saudis Exchange Political Prisoners……………

   

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                                Neck of the woods

“A large number of protestors staged a demonstration in front of a Saudi prison in Qassim province to demand the release of their relatives who have been arrested and locked up by the al-Saud regime for political reasons. The Saudi security forces blockaded the roads around a desert prison in Central Saudi Arabia on Monday where relatives of inmates were staging a demonstration to demand their release. The protestors had gathered since Sunday afternoon in the desert around the prison in Qassim province but were told by police they would be arrested if they tried to leave, protesters said by telephone. They complained they had no food or water because of the blockade but said they would keep up the protest……………..”

This was eagerly reported by Iran’s semi-official Fars News Agency. Here the Iranians are clearly enjoying this Saudi discomfort: people have been publicly protesting about their relatives being held for years in prison, often without charges. The Iranians of course have their own political prisoners, many of them. Some Saudi dissidents claim that the al-Haer prison, where many Saudi dissidents are held, is the largest in the Middle East. Most others outside claim that Iran’s Evin is bigger, it certainly is better known both inside and outside the country, more notorious. Iran’s population is more than three times that of Saudi Arabia, so it is more likely to have bigger prisons and more political prisoners by sheer numbers. On the other hand there are also many Saudi ways to get in ‘trouble’: there are thousands of corrupt princes (and princesses) that one can insult and get into trouble. Besides, the traditionally subservient Saudi citizens (not just in Qatif) are getting fed up and speaking out more often now.
Things can only get more exciting in the Arabian Peninsula, from the birthplace of Islam in Hijaz to the oilfields of the Eastern Province. Things can only get more exciting in Iran as well, perhaps after the 2013 elections.
I’d say, between the Iranians and the Saudis, it is a toss-up (as in flipping a fifty fils coin to see if it is “chap lo kittib”. You figure that last one out if you can, or call someone on the Gulf).
Cheers
mhg
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Arab Revolutions, Arabian Peninsula, Corruption, GCC

Arab Forum on (Selective) Asset Recovery: Gorillas and Chimps and Grand Robberies…………..

   

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                                Neck of the woods

“Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Advisor for International Economic Affairs Michael Froman and Attorney General Eric Holder will lead a high level delegation consisting of officials from the Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of State, and the National Security Staff to Doha, Qatar from September 11-13, for the inaugural Arab Forum on Asset Recovery. The United States is co-organizing the Forum with the government of the State of Qatar………. Corruption has been a core public grievance in the region, and the United States has worked closely with the new governments and citizens of Arab countries in transition as they fight corruption and seek justice by recovering stolen assets….…………..”

“The inaugural meeting of the Arab Forum on Asset Recovery will be hosted in Doha, Qatar on September 11 to 13, 2012. The meeting is co-organized by Qatar and the United States presidency of the G8, with technical support from the StAR initiative. The Forum will bring together the G8, Deauville Partners and Regional countries for a multi-faceted effort that raises awareness of effective measures for asset recovery, provides a forum for regional training and discussion of best practices on cases, and identifies country-specific capacity building needs………. The primary objective of the Forum is to start a process of collaboration on the issue of asset recovery in the region, through periodic meetings and other activities……….. provide regional training to practitioners engaged in tracing, freezing, and
recovering the proceeds of corruption.……………..”


Are they serious? Is the purpose to help recovery of stolen assets or is the purpose to teach the attending regimes and rulers how to better hide the assets they have stolen, are still stealing, from their peoples? They invite regimes from Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Russia, Lebanon and others to discuss recovery of assets stolen by other despots and oligarchs.
What about billions stolen by absolute tribal ruling clans and their retainers in the Gulf GCC countries? Por ejemplo, just one example, the (very) late Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz al-Saud left a fortune reported (check my past postings for sources, and also here earlier) at around US $ 220-230 billion (BILLION), give or take a few billions. Forbes Magazine would call it “self-made”: as if he made that fortune from his piggy bank change or from flipping falafel in Riyadh? How about recovering the many other billions stashed by the princes, potentates, and shaikhs?

Are these people out of their collectivefuckingminds? Meeting with the biggest Arab thieves to discuss recovery of money stolen by the smaller Arab thieves of poorer places like Tunisia, Egypt, Syria, Yemen, and Libya? The international bureaucrats and Western governments (including the European Union, Canada, and the USA) can sit with straight faces with the grandest thieves of history in the Arabian Peninsula and the Persian-American Gulf and discuss recovery of a few millions or maybe a billion stolen elsewhere. What about right there within a short distance from their forum where the potentates of the UAE and the shaikhs of Qatar and other states continue to usurp the people’s wealth? That, the robbery of the peoples of the Gulf and Arabian Peninsula by their rulers, is almost certainly the grandest robbery in history.

Yet these organizations and governments ignore the huge smelly gorillas sitting with them in the same room and search for the little chimpanzees and their peanut stash. In that they, the Western powers and the international financial organizations they control, are accomplices in the grandest of robberies.
Maybe it is true: it takes a (big) thief to catch a (smaller) thief.
Cheers
mhg
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