In the midst of the “offshore scandal” associated with corruption and tax evasion, business German newspaper “Die Welt” published an article with the eloquent title “Forget about Panama for real money launder much closer to Europe!”. This analytical material in the daily German newspaper “World” (ger. “Die Welt”, 12.04.2016) with a circulation of 700 thousand copies caused resonance not only in Germany but in other European countries.
“Die Welt”, for example, writes: “In the countries located much closer (than Panama. – V. P.), laundered more significant amount. In Germany, it turns out that the capacity to do much more than expected”. And further: “the Number of suspected cases in Germany in recent years significantly increased: in 2014, the International organization of financial intelligence units (Financial Intelligence Unit), there were 24 thousand of such messages, whereas in 2003 they were four times less”. According to unofficial information, the newspaper reports, speech can go about 100 billion euros or more annually.
I will add that, according to sociological polls, the German firm reported one of the highest levels of corruption in the world: one in four Director claims that in the last two years encountered a case of serious fraud. Deceit and fraud on a large scale have recognized the firm only from those countries which traditionally “famous” corruption, for example, Nigeria, Egypt, Namibia and Kenya. This is evidenced by the results of the audit conducted by Ernst &Young (EY) survey of 2,700 managers in 59 countries. The survey (2014 Global Fraud Survey) also showed that only 6% of German companies believe the deception and fraud widespread, yet 26 percent reported serious cases of fraud in the past two years. This is the highest rate in Europe along with Norway. It is higher than in Russia and USA (16%), Australia (13%) and is approaching the level of Nigeria (30%). Note that the average in Europe is 12%.
The newspaper and another address corruption “nest” has long been known around the world, but to say aloud which in Europe is considered bad manners.
“…about the United Kingdom in this respect is almost unheard of. And this is strange: “the EU in Britain has become the “front door” in the offshore havens,” believes Carsten rant of the German bar Association Flick Gocke Schaumburg”. “”The door leading to the black hole of tax havens, is in London,” says Michael Weber-Blank, tax expert of the legal company Brandi from Hanover. It is from London wealthy people effortlessly gain access to tax havens, primarily in the virgin Islands,” notes “Die Welt”.
Last year, the organization “Transparancy International” published the results of the investigation, which implies that the UK capital has become a center for money laundering of corrupt officials from around the world. This occurs through the purchase of real estate. The owners are a little-known offshore company. The ultimate owners of, suspected of “Transparancy International”, are dishonest characters. For example, it may be money received from the sale of drugs or weapons. In the countries from which “leak” corruption money, it has a devastating effect, according to the statement of the British branch of Transparency International. I note that the slogan of the fight against corruption is, as a rule, one of the main during the organization of “color revolutions”, that is legalized, so coup d’état. Last (for now!) an example of this is Ukraine, where one corrupt regime was replaced by another same, but convenient to the West.
The paper emphasizes particularly that the U.S. is not even mentioned in connection with an offshore scandal. “This is despite the fact that in States like Delaware, a wide range of offshore firms is among the typical models of doing business. Thus for several years the Americans by using economic pressure to force other States to provide information about the financial and tax Affairs of its citizens abroad. Themselves to share similar data are not in a hurry,” notes “Die Welt”.
Still in the West almost all the corrupt “dogs” hung solely on Russia. In particular, political observer of Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty’s Brian Whitmore in the podcast “Daily Vertical” wrote: if, say, look at the “Panamanian documents”, it is obvious that the difference between corruption in the West and in Russia. “In the West corruption is as an error in the system. And in Russia – this is not a bug or even a feature of the system, it is the system itself,” he repeats very popular in the West the idea.
In this “diatribe” campaign, waged by the West against Russia in recent years, very active and involved and the so-called Russian opposition, the opinion of the West, especially the USA, because the only right and indisputable.
But, gentlemen, the liberals, because we have no one hides, especially at the highest level that corruption in Russia is very developed. All the acts of corruption declared a decisive battle, and to this end adopted a number of legislative acts. Recently, Sergei Ivanov, head of presidential Administration of the Russian Federation, noted: “Thanks to this approach last year for corruption-related crimes are convicted almost 9000, 11000 punished disciplinary. But the main thing is the number seems to translate into quality. 2015 is best remembered for the arrest of officials of the highest level”.
However, the question arises, which, I think, ought to ask ourselves: what will Russia alone to fight corruption? Despite the fact that the level of corruption in the West, primarily from our European neighbours, as they say, off the charts? As the proposal is known, gives rise to the demand, and the higher the offer the higher the demand. In other words, the more you steal in Russia, the large sums deposited in Western banks. “Die Welt” described this scheme on the example of the UK: “He who registers in the metropolis on the Thames his residence, pays taxes only on income earned in the UK. Money often find themselves in financial structures that exist only here: it is the British trust funds, which allow you to remain anonymous. It is from London to wealthy people effortlessly gain access to tax havens, primarily in the virgin Islands. As noted by Andreas Peichl from the Centre for European economic research (ZEW), such provisions enable London to strengthen its financial position, providing jobs within the country: “So the UK is not interested in cutting the ground from under the feet of tax havens that are in its sphere of influence””. If these “black holes” yeah managed to close?..
According to the organization “Transparancy International” (2015), almost 37 thousand of properties in London owned by offshore companies registered in the British virgin Islands, Jersey, Isle of man, Guernsey and other “tax havens”. The value of these objects is on average 1.5 million pounds (2.3 million dollars), and the most expensive of them is estimated at 9 million pounds (almost 14 million). In General, the amount laundered in the UK criminal money was estimated by the Office of financial regulation and supervision (now disbanded) in the amount of from 23 to 57 billion pounds. The police claimed that 75% of real estate owned by persons who are under criminal investigation into allegations of corruption, formally, are owned by offshore shell companies.
At the same time, according to Rosfinmonitoring, the amount of funds that were withdrawn from Russia as a result of suspicious transactions, amounted last year to 11.7 trillion rubles. However, as aimed at the laundering of these funds, only the courts. And yet let’s compare: in 2013 abroad on dubious schemes were derived at 16.2 trillion roubles, in 2014 the volume of such transactions declined to a level comparable to the results of 2015.
But according to some Russian researchers, for the period from 1991 to 2011 from Russia over the border illegally “went” about 10 of the annual state budget.
The question is: what proportion settled on “the island” and instead its “feeds” the British economy?
According to the estimates of one of the world’s oldest real estate companies, “Intermark Savills” (London), only in 2013, Russians spent on the real estate market in London 180 million pounds. According to last year, buyers from Russia in Central London accounts for a fifth of the market and the average purchase price exceeds 10 million pounds. In General, according to the Bank of Russia of half a trillion dollars (the same amount the Russians are stored outside of your country) about two-thirds are in accounts in just three countries — Cyprus, the Netherlands and the British virgin Islands, considered a tax haven for Russian capital. And here’s the joint report of the European anti-corruption Agency OLAF and the Directorate of justice of the European Union contains very disappointing findings about corruption in the EU: “…corruption-EU countries annually lose 323 billion euros, representing almost one third of the EU’s seven year budget for 2014-2020. Police and prosecutors of the countries of the Union under articles “Abuse of office” and “Bribe” in 2013 instituted 67 800 criminal cases”. Half of European businesses believes corruption in the EU a serious problem. The same number of them believe that the level of corruption is growing.
Corruption in the EU is widespread, “zones, free from corruption, no,” said the report. And the USA are not much different from Europe. According to a survey by Gallup Institute, about 80% of Americans believe the U.S. government corrupt.
While at least corruption and is an integral part of life, effective methods of combating the American society has not worked out. Even the institution of “civilized corruption” of lobbying – has not helped to reduce the number of abuses in the allocation of budgetary resources. Information about abuse and corruption in the American government is carefully guarded from the spillover into the public sphere so as not to damage the flawless reputation of the United States. But former U.S. President Jimmy Carter spoke directly: “the United States is oligarchic, and not democratic country,” with all the ensuing definition of the vices. So that places US in a different kind of “corruption” rankings, we can say no more than fiction, as in many other Western European countries.
However, between Russia and the USA there is a fundamental difference. In USA itself the legal system is designed so that corruption in fact the scheme can be carried out in the framework of the law. For example, through donations to the election campaign or the conclusion of lucrative contracts with firms owned by relatives of congressmen, senators, judges and other officials. Of course, in exchange for favorable laws, priority in the awarding of public contracts or tax exemptions. In our country, any corruption schemes in law are crimes, and the investigation in a fair and objective trial the perpetrators cannot escape punishment. Is it because there is no known case in which the West sought to corrupt officials in Russia, as well as ill-gotten money?
By the way, if you compare the amount that flows away from Russia was about three times more money than comes in from outside. And we suspect that this return of the Russian money, laundered in offshore companies. Because from my point of view, international corruption resembles a system of communicating vessels: the level of the liquid in them is always the same, one cant. The conclusion is simple: neither the West nor Russia corruption alone can never defeat or at least reduce its level before the so called acceptable because in itself this phenomenon is ineradicable. And here too, as in many other spheres, close cooperation is required.
