The Ongoing Influence-Peddling Scandal Between the EU and Qatar.

On December 13th of last year, a major scandal erupted in Brussels, the home of the European Parliament, involving an ever-growing list of high-profile figures within the EU. The central person in the case is Eva Kalli, a Greek Member of the European Parliament (MEP), who also served as the European Parliament’s vice president. According to the BBC, investigators in Brussels found a suitcase that contained €1.5 million. €140,000 was found in Ms. Kalli’s flat, so it became apparent that she had at least some role in a possibly corrupt scheme. The allegations are centered around Qatari officials paying bribes to Kalli and other MEPs so as to influence policy favorable to Qatari interests within the EU. According to a report in The Guardian, an MEP from Cyprus stated that Kalli had encouraged him to water down a forthcoming report critical of human rights in Qatar.

As a result of this Investigation, a proposed vote on whether or not Qataris should be allowed visa-free travel into the EU was suspended. Kalli traveled to Qatar, as per The Washington Post, and described the country as a “front runner in labor rights” despite numerous examples of reports to the contrary. According to The Irish Times, there are reports of MEPs accepting lavish hospitality packages to matches at the recently completed world cup. On December 19th of last year, Qatar threatened to cut off European gas supplies due to the ongoing probe. This could cause even more energy insecurity for European leaders already worried about a lack of natural gas due to the war in Ukraine. This is an ongoing investigation that is likely to expand and possibly ensnare other high-ranking officials.

The Perils of Peronism

Recently, a figurehead of the Argentine political scene, Vice President and former President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, was sentenced to six years in prison on corruption charges. She and her late husband Nestor, who served as President from 2003 to 2007, are prominent in the Kirchnerism political movement, which is an offshoot of Peronism. Kirchnerism opposes international free trade agreements and other neoliberal ideals. According to the New York Times, Kirchner is divisive within Argentina; to her supporters, she is regarded as someone who has lifted many out of poverty. However, according to her detractors, her policies have triggered massive inflation and high poverty rates. As an example of her divisiveness, an attempt was made on her life in September.

According to Reuters, Kirchner was involved in a scheme to award public works contracts to businessman and close political ally Lazaro Baez. After the contracts were awarded, money was funneled back to the Kirchners. These public works contracts were based in the province of Santa Cruz, which is the Kirchners’ political stronghold. Kirchner will likely appeal her conviction in hopes of avoiding prison. Nonetheless, it appears that her days in the political spotlight may be coming to an end.

Going Bust: The Troubles of Michelle Mone

Recently, Baroness Michelle Mone, a member of the House of Lords in the United Kingdom, has been facing allegations that she and her family have unethically profited from government contracts awarded at the beginning of the pandemic. Mone is well known in the UK for founding Ultimo, a designer lingerie brand, leading to the nickname in some quarters of the UK media as “Baroness Bra.” On November 23 of last year, The Guardian published an exclusive saying that Mone and her children received £29 million ($36 million) from the profits of a company called Medpro PPE. Medpro was given a £200 million contract to provide Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) through the so-called “VIP lane,” where the government appeared to hand out contracts to companies with close links to people in government. Some of the PPE Medpro provided to the government proved defective and is currently sitting in warehouses.

In the case of Mone specifically, according to a follow-up article in The Guardian, it is clear that the Baroness had a much less stressful pandemic than most people. She and her then fiancé, a businessman named Douglas Barrowman, bought a luxury yacht called the Lady M. It is alleged that Barrowman received 65 million pounds in profits through the same scheme and then passed 29 million pounds of that on to an offshore trust that Mone and her children control. recently, The Guardian published an article saying Mone is taking a leave of absence from the House of Lords to try and clear her name. It is unclear what will happen next, but it appears that Baroness Mone has some explaining to do about how she may have profited off the misery of millions.

Australian National Anti-Corruption Commission Enacted.

I recently wrote about the Australian Parliament enacting new Anti-Corruption legislation. This is my original article https://app.legislata.com/posts/33182/detail.

Recently, The Australian Parliament enacted a law allowing the National Anti-Corruption Commission to be created. According to the statement released online by the Office of the Prime Minister, the main aims of the commission are to investigate corruption in Australia within the public sector. This new body will also be able to investigate previous allegations of corruption before the commission begins. The commission will also be able to hold public hearings in exceptional situations. Work will start in the middle of next year.

The History of Transparency International

Transparency International was formed in 1993. Before then, corruption was not studied in depth by international organizations. Corruption and bribery in the developing world were often a necessary part of doing business. However, by 1995, TI established its head office in Berlin, Germany, and subsequently opened 26 chapters worldwide. They started the first global Corruption Perceptions Index, which ranked countries on the level of corruption domestically. In the first decade of the 2000s, TI had advocated for international organizations to create their own anti-corruption bodies. An example of this was the United Nations Convention Against Corruption, which required UN members to enforce anti-corruption laws and encourage global cooperation on corruption.

In the 2010s, Transparency International started to expand its focus. For example, they began to focus on the connection between corruption and climate change and how funds intended to reverse the effects of climate change could be mismanaged. As the 2010s progressed, TI became more focused on combating the use of shell companies and increasingly elaborate methods that heads of state and business people employ to hide away ill-gotten gains. In 2019 Transparency started to focus on the link between corruption and democracy. In particular, they have looked at the connection between democracy in a given country and the level of corruption.

A follow-up on Brazil

Recently Lula da Silva won the run-off to decide the winner of the Brazilian election. While this comes as a great relief to left-wing political movements in Brazil and around the world, Brazil still faces questions about corruption. In a statement released by Transparency International, it is alleged that despite the harsh anti-corruption rhetoric put out by the previous government, Bolsonaro and his administration engaged in corrupt practices. It is alleged that money was funneled to allies of Bolsonaro without government oversight which was spent on multiple pet projects. The Bolsonaro administration has also gutted previous anti-corruption legislation to cover their crimes. One of the goals of the new government will hopefully be to reinstate and build on anti-corruption legislation, although given Lula’s previous history of alleged corruption, this remains to be seen.

Tom Barrack: Just a Friend of Trump or a Friend with Benefits.

Recently, the trial of one of former President Trump’s closest friends started in Brooklyn. Lebanese-American Tom Barrack, a real estate mogul like Trump, has been charged with acting as an unregistered foreign agent. Barrack was the head of Trump’s inaugural committee and is close to other Trump allies, including Paul Manafort, a well-known lobbyist. According to The Guardian, Barrack speaks fluent Arabic and views himself as someone who can operate and deal with Middle Eastern leaders and power brokers. He was the head of Miramax films from 2013 until 2016, when it was sold to Qatar-based Bein Group; he also runs Los Angeles-based Colony Capital, a private equity real estate firm.

This is not the first time Barrack has been linked to Middle Eastern countries. When he was younger, he worked in the oil industry in Saudi Arabia and made connections with the royal family. Prosecutors allege that Barrack tried to influence former President Trump to pursue a foreign policy favorable to the United Arab Emirates. In return, the UAE would allow Barrack to invest in the lucrative real estate market in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. According to Bloomberg, there was also hope from the UAE government that Trump would make Barrack Secretary of State so that UAE could have a direct line to the government to influence foreign policy further. Barrack’s fate hangs in the balance, as the trial is not over, but if he is found guilty, his usefulness to Trump will end.

EA: Effective Altruism or Effective Greed.

In the 2000s, a concept called Effective Altruism was created by Scottish philosopher William MacAskill. MacAskill’s idea was to encourage bright young college students to get into the financial world, make money, and then give it to charity. According to an article in The Washington Post, an ever-growing network of charities and think tanks have developed over the last two decades to expand the EA movement. EA charities have focused on issues such as Pandemic Presentation and Nuclear non-proliferation. According to an article in The New York Times, EA went from being an obscure theory to a booming industry.

EA came under the spotlight recently due to Sam Bankman-Fried, the now-former CEO of FTX, the Cryptocurrency exchange. Bankman-Fried set up a foundation called the FTX Future Fund that was devoted to Effective Altruism causes. The Future Fund had given away $140 million to other foundations furthering the goals of the EA movement. However, the future of donations has been called into question because Bankman-Fried lost his fortune overnight due to FTX’s collapse. All of this raises questions about Effective Altruism’s future and whether the movement is genuinely trying to improve the world or just lip service spouted by crypto bros.

The Ugly Game: How the Qatar World Cup has Tarnished Football’s Reputation.

This Sunday, the FIFA World Cup in Qatar kicks off. For 11 years, there have been many ongoing controversies over the awarding of the tournament to Qatar. The first significant controversy was over the bidding process due to allegations of corruption. The second major controversy is over the treatment of migrant workers building stadiums and other infrastructure in Qatar. Thirdly, there are well-documented human rights abuses toward women and the LGBT community in Qatar. Finally, there are concerns over the temperature in Qatar during matches, despite the tournament being held in the winter and Qatar not living up to the environmental promises listed in their bid.

Any discussion of the World Cup has to begin with how Qatar won the bidding process. FIFA organized the bidding so the 2018 and 2022 World Cups would be awarded simultaneously. Russia won the right to host in 2018 and Qatar in 2022. A recent article in The Guardian notes that while no official chain of corruption has been proven and the Qatari bid team denies all claims of wrongdoing, the stench of malfeasance is pungent. What is known is that 16 of the 22 FIFA Executive Committee members, the men who run football, have been involved in some form of corruption. The most serious allegations are that representatives of the Qatari bid funneled money to FIFA ExCo members in return for a yes vote for Qatar. These allegations led to the downfall of FIFA President Sepp Blatter and a general sense among those who follow the sport that the bidding process was unfair and that one of the other nations’ bidding, such as the U.S, would have been more suitable.

Not long after Qatar won the right to host the tournament, there were numerous reports documenting the substandard working conditions of those building the infrastructure, including stadiums, transportation, and hotels. Many of these workers came from south Asian countries, such as India, Nepal, and Bangladesh. Chief among the complaints made by the workers was Qatar’s use of the Kafala system. The Kafala system allowed the Qatari government to permit construction companies to sponsor foreign laborers to work and live in the country. According to a recent Council on Foreign Relations report, migrant workers were exploited on many levels. Under the Kafala systems, workers had their passports confiscated and were restricted from moving between jobs. There have also been confirmed reports of workers not receiving their full salary and of unsafe working conditions. According to an article written by the Atlantic Council in 2016, the International Labour Organization, which is part of the UN, sent a delegation to Qatar. The goal was to try and gain more provisions for workers, such as freedom of movement between jobs and better working conditions. These efforts yielded limited success. In a report by The Guardian from last year, more than 6,500 workers died while working in Qatar. However, the actual number is presumed to be much higher.

On top of the already serious issues involving corruption and the mistreatment of migrant workers is Qatar’s general state of human rights. As in many other Middle Eastern countries, women are not allowed fundamental rights. Women in Qatar must obtain permission from a male relative, such as a father or husband, to study abroad, get married, and even in some cases, be able to work. Until 2020 women who wanted to drive had to obtain their guardian’s permission. According to a report by the organization Human Rights Watch, women in Qatar have little recourse in escaping from a dysfunctional marriage. Women in Qatar have stated that it is nearly impossible to get a divorce from an abusive partner or gain custody of children.

Another significant human rights issue is the treatment and discrimination of the LGBT community in Qatar. Under the Qatari penal code, same-sex relations are punishable by up to seven years of imprisonment. In the same Human Rights Watch report, there are incidents of the Qatari police randomly arresting members of the LGBT community and subjecting them to mistreatment in detention facilities. There are numerous reports of the Qatari police forcing confessions out of detainees and reports of physical abuse. Despite the government in 2020 saying that it will allow fans to display rainbow flags, there is a lingering sense that the Qatari authorities are not welcoming of the LGBT community during the World Cup.

The final issue I will highlight are the general concerns surrounding the tournament itself. FIFA had to move this World Cup to the winter because the Qatari summers are too oppressive in which to play football. However, this knock-on effect has forced the European leagues, such as the English Premier League, to pause during November & December. This caused more matches to be played in a tighter window of time, resulting in more players sustaining injuries in the run-up to the tournament. And there are other issues regarding the availability and cost of lodging in Qatar. The organizers have made several cruise ships available for housing. However, there are already numerous reports about a lack of rooms for budget-minded travelers. Finally, there have been concerns about policing in Qatar, particularly in a country where football isn’t mainstream and where there is unfamiliarity with traditional football culture, i.e., singing and drinking. This will be a world cup, unlike any in recent memory, with issues that will continue to exist long after the final whistle.

The Rise and Fall of FTX.

Recently, FTX, one of the world’s largest Cryptocurrency exchanges, was declared bankrupt. According to Fortune magazine, FTX had cryptocurrency assets valued between $10 Billion and $50 Billion. The company’s CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried, had a net worth of around $16 billion before bankruptcy. According to a New York Times article published recently, a rival in the crypto industry suggested that FTX’s finances were not as strong as previously thought. Consequently, organizations and individuals hastily moved their assets off the platform.

Recently, there was hope that Binance, another exchange, would buy FTX and essentially bail them out. However, at the last moment, the CEO of Binance, Changpeng Zhao, decided to back out of the deal because of regulatory concerns and due diligence issues. As a result, FTX had no option but to file for bankruptcy. This collapse has ramifications far beyond investors losing their assets. FTX, in recent years, has forged lucrative sponsorships with sports leagues such as the NBA, MLB, and F1. As a result of the bankruptcy, these partnerships will have to be dissolved. This is an evolving story, but it is clear that the collapse of FTX will have consequences far beyond the complex and murky world of Cryptocurrency.