After the Rain : how the West lost the EastVaknin, Samuel
History
After the Rain : how the West lost the East
Vaknin, Samuel
Europe, Eastern -- Economic conditions -- 1989-; Europe, Eastern -- Politics and government -- 1989-
People know that this is highly improbable and that the likelihood that
they will lose all or part of their money grows with time. But they
convince themselves that the high profits or interest payments that
they will be able to collect before the pyramid collapses - will more
than amply compensate them for the loss of their money. Some of them
hope to succeed in drawing the money before the imminent collapse,
based on "warning signs". In other words, the investors believe that
they can outwit the organizers of the pyramid. The investors
collaborate with the organizers on the psychological level: cheated and
deceiver engage in a delicate ballet leading to their mutual downfall.
This is undeniably the most dangerous of all types of financial
scandals. It insidiously pervades the very fabric of human
interactions. It distorts economic decisions and it ends in misery on a
national scale. It is the scourge of societies in transition.
The second type of financial scandals is normally connected to the
laundering of capital generated in the "black economy", namely: the
income not reported to the tax authorities. Such money passes through
banking channels, changes ownership a few times, so that its track is
covered and the identities of the owners of the money are concealed.
Money generated by drug dealings, illicit arm trade and the less exotic
form of tax evasion is thus "laundered".
The financial institutions, which participate in laundering operations,
maintain double accounting books. One book is for the purposes of the
official authorities. Those agencies and authorities that deal with
taxation, bank supervision, deposit insurance and financial liquidity
are given access to this set of "engineered" books. The true record is
kept hidden in another set of books. These accounts reflect the real
situation of the financial institution: who deposited how much, when
and under which conditions - and who borrowed what, when and under
which conditions.
This double standard blurs the true situation of the institution to the
point of no return. Even the owners of the institution begin to lose
track of its activities and misapprehend its real standing.
Is it stable? Is it liquid? Is the asset portfolio diversified enough?
No one knows. The fog enshrouds even those who created it in the first
place. No proper financial control and audit is possible under such
circumstances.
Less scrupulous members of the management and the staff of such
financial bodies usually take advantage of the situation. Embezzlements
are very widespread, abuse of authority, misuse or misplacement of
funds. Where no light shines, a lot of creepy creatures tend to develop.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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