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 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.

The Mississippi Welfare Scandal that Blindsided Brett Favre

In May 2020, reports of a wide-ranging corruption scandal involving the Mississippi Department of Human services emerged. An article in the local paper, Mississippi Today, stated that a report by the state auditor highlighted concerns that up to 94 million dollars in Mississippi DHS funds were allotted to charities that had close links to prominent Mississippians. In one of the most high-profile cases, the Mississippi Community Education Center (MCEC), run by Nancy New, funneled 5 million dollars into building a new volleyball facility at the University of Southern Mississippi. The person pushing for the facility to be built was none other than former Super Bowl winning quarterback Brett Favre, a graduate of USM. Favre’s daughter attended the school at the time and played on the volleyball team. At around the same time, John Davis, the head of the Mississippi DHS, awarded 2 million dollars to the Heart of David Ministry, owned by a friend of Davis, Ted Dibiase, a former WWE wrestler better known as the “Million Dollar Man.” Fast forward to September of last year, and Davis pled guilty to two federal charges, one of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit theft concerning programs receiving federal funds.

It is suggested that former Republican governor Phil Bryant and Ms. New helped Favre obtain federal money that would be directed toward the volleyball facility. One of the main reasons this scandal has caused such an uproar is that for many years the state of Mississippi has turned down federal money to help improve its health and education systems, which are among the worst in the nation. Last week Favre released a statement saying that he had nothing to do with the scandal despite solid rumors to the contrary.

The Capture of “Fat Leonard.”

Recently, Venezuelan police captured Leonard Glenn Francis, better known as “Fat Leonard,” after he fled from his San Diego home while under house arrest. Francis, a Malaysian defense contractor was involved in a massive 35-million-dollar bribery and fraud scandal. Earlier this month, according to The Guardian’s Edward Helmore, Francis, who is due to be sentenced for his part in the scandal, cut off his ankle bracelet and left the U.S with the possible intention of going to Asia or Russia. Fat Leonard was brazen in his methods for winning lucrative U.S Navy contracts. He would host lavish parties for members of the U.S. navy in Asian ports, wining and dining the right people to gain preferential treatment in the bidding for resupplying contracts.

On the 27th of September of last year, Aljazeera reported that Fat Leonard has kidney cancer and was attempting to apply for political asylum in Venezuela. According to the report, it has been suggested by the State Department that the socialist government in Venezuela, led by Nicolas Maduro could use him as a bargaining chip to reduce U.S. sanctions. According to PBS, the sanctions toward Venezuela prevent U.S banks from dealing with the Venezuelan government or the state oil firm PDVSA. While the U.S does have an extradition treaty with Venezuela, it does not have an embassy in Caracas, which could make any deal more complicated.

Viktor Gusan: the Corrupt Sheriff of Transnistria.

Recently, in a Europa League match, Manchester United, one of the most recognizable names in world football (soccer), played a team from Moldova called FC Sheriff. The background of FC Sheriff is fascinating and mysterious. The club are based in Transnistria, a breakaway self-governing republic of Moldova that has close geopolitical ties to Russia. A company, also called Sheriff, owns the football club and additionally has its hands in many other businesses, including gas stations, supermarkets, and the local mobile phone network. Viktor Gusan, the owner of Sheriff—both the club and the company–is also allegedly involved in the illegal smuggling of many goods, including weapons. Gusan called his company Sheriff due to a love of old western movies. According to Foreign Policy magazine’s Robert O’Connor, the Sheriff company increased its bottom line through smuggling. Most of these goods make their way towards Odesa, Ukraine, a haven for illicit activities before the recent conflict with Russia.

With his accumulated wealth, Gusan built a $200 million stadium and spent lavishly on new players from foreign countries to help drive FC Sheriff to the top of the Moldavan League standings. Gusan is also heavily involved in local politics, and, according to Radio Free Europe’s Timothy Wesolowsky, he has close ties with almost every politician in the Transnistrian parliament. It is probably safe to say that not much happens in Transnistria without his approval.

Zelenskyy’s House Cleaning.

Recently. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has fired several high-ranking officials in what is becoming an ever-widening corruption scandal. Reports emerged on Monday, the 23rd of January, that Zelenskyy had fired his deputy infrastructure minister Vasyl Lozinskyi for allegedly stealing $400,000 that was intended to support the war effort. According to an article in The Guardian, Lozinskyi colluded with contractors to inflate the prices of items such as generators, and he would pocket the difference. According to a Reuters article from the 22nd of January, the defense minister Oleksiy Reznikov had secured food on contracts at highly inflated prices. Zelenskyy’s deputy cabinet minister was also fired after allegations emerged that he drove luxury cars around Kyiv shortly after Russia invaded.

A Washington Post article published recently highlights the role journalists and NGOs in Ukraine have played in exposing corrupt schemes. Also, according to a recent report by The Guardian, Oleksandr Novikov, the country’s lead anti-corruption tsar, has vowed not to let up on pursuing corrupt individuals despite being in the middle of a war. According to polling done in Ukraine before the war, only 40 percent of the Ukrainian population was willing to report corruption. However, 84 percent of the population is now ready to report wrongdoing. Surely if Countries such as the US and the UK are going to continue giving military aid to Ukraine, they will want to see some progress on the anti-corruption front.