Friendly Dealings With Dictators

[struggle4progress]

Embarrassed US Congress pressed to tighten anti-corruption laws in wake of oil scandal
This report is being distributed by Transparency International

U.S. lawmakers are considering tightening anti-corruption laws after a Senate report this month found that a prominent Washington bank helped top officials of the West African nation of Equatorial Guinea steal hundreds of millions of dollars in oil revenues. The Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations has been probing the corruption case involving Equatorial Guinea and its oil revenues for much of the past year.

The panel's report found that Riggs Bank helped government leaders in Equatorial Guinea siphon oil revenues to accounts set up for them in Washington.
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Beginning in 1995 until earlier this year, Riggs oversaw as many as 60 accounts containing as much as $700 million, making Equatorial Guinea its largest single customer. Some were government accounts, while others were the private accounts of President Teodoro Obiang Nguema, other government officials, and their families.

The Senate report says millions of dollars in the government accounts, which should have gone to help impoverished Equatorial Guineans, were instead funneled to off-shore tax shelters, with help from Riggs officials.
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http://www.progress.org/2004/oil13.htm