The vice that transcends national barriers

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From Fazle Rashid
NEW YORK, June 8: The lust for money is as intense in a rich man as it is in a poor man. It is one aspect of like that does not discriminate between the rich and the poor. A poor lowly paid official in the National Board Revenue in Bangladesh for instance is as susceptible to graft as a Saudi Prince is.
Prince Bandar bin-Sultan, an influential member of the Saudi royal family has been charged with accepting bribe of more than $2 billion from a British arms contractor, BBC and the Guardian reported last Thursday. The story has been carried by the New York Times today. Prince Bandar who was Saudi Ambassador to Washington and was very close to Bush family has stoutly denied 'accepting improper secret commissions'. The alleged underhand dealing was tied to a arms deal negotiated in 1985 and was worth $43 billion. A major British arms contractor namely BAE allegedly made the payment. The BAE denied acting illegally. The BAE deposited the money surreptitiously to Prince Bandar's account with a bank in Washington.
Prince Bandar is currently Secretary General of the all important office of the Saudi National Security Council. Tony Blair, the outgoing British Prime Minister attending group of 8 (G8) meeting in Germany implicitly expressed his disapproval of the probe saying it could wreck a vital strategic relationship between Bitain and Saudi Arabia. Roger Berry chairman of the parliament's oversight committee said the matter needs to be properly investigated. British ministry of Defence refrained from making any comment.
The ties between Saudi King Abdullah and Prince Bandar are not at a comfortable level. King happens to be an uncle of Bandar. King Abdullah acted against the wishes of Prince Bandar by directly accusing America of illegally occupying Iraq and scuttled the much vaunted Israel-Palestine summit on Saudi soil.
In another case of graft Sanjaya Bahel, an Indian, who was chief of the UN's Commodity Procurement Section, was found guilty of accepting bribe from an Indian business house for the lucrative contract of supplying computers to the world body. Bahel who was arrested in November last year maintains his innocence, the NYT reported from an AP story. Bahel who has been convicted of bribery, wire and mail fraud faces the grim prospect of a penalty of 30 years in jail. Nishan Kohli, another Indian, whose business Bahel intended to promote in exchange of money pleaded guilty and deposed against Bahel. Bahel received as 'gifts' two luxurious apartments in Manhattan, the most expensive area in the world. Kohli had also bribed two other UN officials.
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo of the Philippines whom the opposition say is mired in corruption faces the uneasy prospects of impeachment. The opposition now has a clear majority in the Senate. The opposition is demanding Arroyo's resignation on charges of corruption and rigging the 2004 presidential poll.