ACCOUNTABILITY
Independent institutions stand between state capture and total Russification
The recent cabinet reshuffle was a clear attempt to remove obstacles from the path of those individuals who seek to profit from the state. South Africans are increasingly concerned that a culture of impunity is eroding hard-won gains in the form of democratic state institutions. Recent revelations from Russia reveal the extent of looting possible when institutions of accountability for both the public and private sector are disabled. This has been laid bare following an investigation by the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Network — dubbed the #GlobalLaundromat. It reveals that prominent oligarchs in Russia, many with suspected links to Russian intelligence, organised crime and the Kremlin, have shifted at least R260bn offshore in a complex money-laundering system. Using several shell companies (most registered in the UK), fake loans and bribery of judges and other officials, money has been looted from Russia and siphoned off to cities such as London, New York and Dubai, to ...
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