draining development.pdf - Khazar University

The Kleptocrat’s Portfolio Decisions 437consent to removal of the monies. The matter is before the courts inGuernsey again at the time of writing.If the monies are ultimately released, it will obviously be an extremelyunfortunate result for Indonesia, but the question has to be asked: Whyhas it not been possible for the authorities in Indonesia to bring a successfulprosecution against Tommy? This is particularly so in light of thesubstantial allegations of corruption that have been made against theSuharto family in general and Tommy in particular. It may have to berecognized that the Indonesian authorities face insurmountable difficultiesin bringing successful proceedings against members of a family thathas been protected by years of political immunity in Indonesia, amountingto near total impunity under Indonesian law.Following the failure of the proceedings in Guernsey, various eventstook place in Indonesia that may shed light on the difficulties the governmenthas faced in succeeding against Tommy. A number of revelationscame out in the wake of a botched attempt to discredit two of thecommissioners at Indonesia’s anticorruption agency, the KPK. One revelationwas that anyone with sufficient monies could hire markuse, who,in the words of the New York Times, are “middlemen who can persuadecorrupt police officers, prosecutors and judges to drop a case against aclient for the right amount of money.” 19This case does not represent a failing by the offshore haven involved,Guernsey, which has tried to assist Indonesia by continuing to freezethese assets for as long as possible within the limits of Guernsey law, butit does demonstrate the huge difficulties a government faces bringingproceedings in a foreign jurisdiction if it is, for whatever reason, unableto bring a successful case in its own jurisdiction.Kenya: The Anglo Leasing AffairIntroductionThis is a rather different type of case. It does not involve a single kleptocrat,but rather a conspiracy among high-ranking members of the governmentand dishonest businessmen to defraud Kenya of huge sums ofmoney. The methods used and the failings in the Kenyan system arerevealing.