「盜賊統治」的定義
Kleptocracy（其他寫法：Cleptocracy or Kleptarchy）是政治學術語，由兩個希臘文字所合併而成：Kleptēs（盜賊）＋Kratos（統治）＝（英文）the Rule of Thieves ＝（中文）盜賊統治、竊盜統治。意思是某國政府透過高度集中的權力，侵吞本來屬於全國人民的財產，而且是大規模地進行。廣東話的說法：（當權者）穿櫃桶底。近期的好例子，莫過於馬來西亞的「一馬弊案」（搜尋：Malaysia + 1MDB scandal + Prime Minister Najib Razak）（黃色背景的插圖），欲知詳情，請上網。
由於某國的權力高度集中，再加上政治腐敗，令（非民選的）當權者（竊國者）有機可乘，透過各種手段侵吞公款，然後把國家的財產轉移至對資產提供較佳保障的西方國家。這種情況經常發生於獨裁專政、寡頭統治及軍事統治的政府。如果是依賴某種天然資源的國家，竊國者可能會把那種資源據為己有，交由親信或家人管理營運，然後把所得的收入轉移，在海外建立小金庫，萬一他日倒台，家人也有錢用。如果當權者（竊國者）透過官府補貼或政府資助把公帑轉移至由親信所管理的組織或企業，便是經濟學上的尋租行為 (Rent seeking)。（提示：自己友資本主義 Crony capitalism）
結果是：本應用於社會基建的資金被竊國者所侵吞及轉移，令國家財政只能依賴無法逃稅的打工仔女支撐，公營的教育、醫療和房屋系統缺錢，直接影響老百姓的生活質素，尤其是在政治上缺乏影響力的低下階層，令貧富懸殊加劇，民怨累積或爆發，社會動盪不安，中產及年輕人離開（移民或偷渡），人口急速老化，影響長遠經濟發展，形成惡性循環。去到最後關頭，國家財政處於崩潰邊緣，政治制度無法處理階級矛盾，社會無法運作，鄰近國家被迫接收難民，國際社會齊聲譴責「竊國者」。這種不公平不公義的事情，久不久就發生，讀者應可舉一反三。
對，真正威脅國家安全的，是貪污腐敗的當權者。在網上世界，不難找到用中文或英文寫的評論文章，探討今日的中國或俄羅斯是否符合「盜賊統治」(Kleptocracy) 的定義，請參考＜延伸閱讀＞部份提供的資料。
跟洗黑錢活動的關係
盜賊統治 (Kleptocracy) 跟洗黑錢活動關係密切，有如連體嬰，或錢幣的兩面。
Kleptocrats 是指貪污腐敗的當權者（竊國者），這個詞經常在英語傳媒對於洗黑錢活動的調查報導中出現。金錢無國界，竊國者透過離岸公司及複雜的股權結構，把不義之財轉移至對資產提供較佳保障的西方國家，然後隱藏起來，而英國和美國是（竊國者）的熱門選擇。竊國者要保護自己的權力以及家族利益，必定會全力摧毀本國的法治及設法打壓公民社會（因此反對派的傳媒或學者首先遭殃），同一時間卻享受著西方國家所提供的法律保障，卑鄙無恥，對不對？
被侵吞的錢財得以跨越國界轉移，一方面要歸功於西方國家金融系統的「包容」（也可以是內部合規制度的不足所導致），另一方面也得力於一群西方國家的專業人士，包括：律師、會計師、稅務顧問、地產經紀、藝術品拍賣行、商人、藝人、跨國公關公司和職業說客（即：前政客或傳媒人）。這群人，英語傳媒統稱為 Enablers，作用是協助竊國者建立起一個跨越國界的人脈網絡，用來保護自己甚至是（透過黑錢）影響別國的政策。對，威脅別國的國家安全。金錢萬惡，串起陰謀。如果黑錢跟間諜活動掛勾，所導致的後果，應該不難想像。
外國學者說，竊國者（透過打壓反對派的學者及新舊媒體）摧毀了本國的公民社會 (Civil society)，但是卻用不義之財在西方國家建立了一個 Transnational uncivil society，影響別國的國家安全。竊國者不但把黑錢洗白，也為自己進行形象工程（英語傳媒叫 Whitewashing reputation），例如：扮演慈善家向外國的著名大學捐款，收購財困的英國足球隊（因為某國的領導人很想振興本國足球），投資電影或娛樂事業，諸如此類。外國學者說，竊國者是全球化 (Globalization) 的得益者，單一國家的法律制度對付不了這種壞人，國際社會必須要有一致和協調的執法行動，才能制裁國際級的竊國者，把不義之財追回來，然後用於老百姓身上。
結論
竊國者既影響本國的國家安全，也威脅別國的國家安全。他們把貪腐病毒向全世界散播，威脅民主國家的生存，也影響某個地區的安全，令到這個世界更加動盪。某國是否應該首先對付這種魔鬼？對，貪污可以亡黨亡國。上街的老百姓也許可以填滿電視的畫面，街道上染滿鮮血的屍體更會牽動外國人的情緒，令國際社會有藉口干預別國的內政。訴諸情感，簡單直接，不難理解。相比之下，竊國者所造成的傷害卻比較隱閉和曲折，並非三言兩語可以解釋，電子傳媒的光影也難以描述。等到竊國者動搖了國家的根基，執法部門才動手剷除，就已經太遲。對國家安全的最大威脅，深藏於扭曲體制的內部。外面的敵人，是用來轉移視線的。對某些人來說，沒有敵人，過不了日子。
插圖來源：互聯網
YouTube 精選：
What is KLEPTOCRACY? What does KLEPTOCRACY mean? (2:32)
KLEPTOCRACY definition, pronunciation
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LuuYF07RqV4
What Is A Kleptocrat & Who Are The Most Notorious? (3:59)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hgGBDhCcpY
延伸閱讀／參開資料：
Cambridge Dictionary - Kleptocracy
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/kleptocracy
Definition: A society whose leaders make themselves rich and powerful by stealing from the rest of the people.
Merriam-Webster - Kleptocracy
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/kleptocracy
Definition: Government by those who seek chiefly status and personal gain at the expense of the governed.
Investopedia - What Is Rent Seeking?
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/r/rentseeking.asp
Definition: Rent seeking (or rent-seeking) is an economic concept that occurs when an entity seeks to gain added wealth without any reciprocal contribution of productivity. Typically, it revolves around government-funded social services and social service programs. Key points:
- Rent seeking is an economic concept that occurs when an entity seeks to gain wealth without any reciprocal contribution of productivity.
- The term rent in rent seeking is based on the economic definition of “rent,” which is defined as economic wealth obtained through shrewd or potentially manipulative use of resources.
- An example of rent seeking is when a company lobbies the government for grants, subsidies, or tariff protection.
Investopedia - Capitalism
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/capitalism.asp
- Capitalism is an economic system characterized by private ownership of the means of production, especially in the industrial sector.
- Capitalism depends on the enforcement of private property rights, which provide incentives for investment in and productive use of productive capital.
- Capitalism developed historically out of previous systems of feudalism and mercantilism in Europe, and dramatically expanded industrialization and the large-scale availability of mass-market consumer goods.
- Pure capitalism can be contrasted with pure socialism (where all means of production are collective or state-owned) and mixed economies (which lie on a continuum between pure capitalism and pure socialism).
- The real-world practice of capitalism typically involves some degree of so-called “crony capitalism” due to demands from business for favorable government intervention and governments’ incentive to intervene in the economy.
The Rise of Kleptocracy: Does China Fit the Model?
Andrew Wedeman
https://www.journalofdemocracy.org/articles/the-rise-of-kleptocracy-does-china-fit-the-model/
Summary: In recent years, China has undertaken a massive crackdown on corruption that has led to charges against a number of high-ranking officials. But should China be considered a kleptocracy? This paper argues that for a country to merit this label, several key features beyond just endemic corruption must be present. A kleptocracy is a regime organized for the purposes of plunder, in which the state leadership acts as a vertically integrated, organized-crime syndicate with a degree of monopolistic control over the state and economy. Recent analysis has highlighted other important characteristics of kleptocracies, including the export of ill-gotten gains to foreign safe havens and their deployment for political purposes abroad. Considered against these criteria, China diverges markedly from the kleptocratic model and instead illustrates a distinct, more diffuse form of widespread corruption.
How a convicted criminal
can buy a famous English football club
By David Harrison and Al Jazeera Investigative Unit
Al Jazeera, 10 August 2021
https://kyc360.riskscreen.com/news/how-a-convicted-criminal-can-buy-a-famous-english-football-club/
Extract: In a plush suite at a boutique hotel in London, a man known as The Magician is lounging on a sofa, his right arm snaking out across the top. “The Magician” is Christopher Samuelson, a football dealmaker and offshore finance specialist. He owes his nickname to his expertise in hiding clients’ money, and their identities. He has just been told by an undercover reporter, posing as the agent for a fictitious Chinese investor who wants to buy an English football club, that the investor has criminal convictions. He was found guilty of bribery and money laundering and is on the run – which should automatically disqualify him from football club ownership.
We wanted to find out whether – and how – a convicted foreign criminal could buy a football club to launder his ill-gotten gains. We thought the revelation of our investor’s crimes might prompt The Magician to make himself disappear, but Samuelson did not bat an eyelid. Instead, he offered to find a home for the criminal’s funds. “If he wants help with moving assets and he wants secure locations, I can do that too,” he said. “Then I can organise the financial institutions who will hold them for him. Banks where he can move his money to. I have a close relationship with banks in Liechtenstein.”
Few people outside the arcane world of offshore finance have heard of Christopher Samuelson. Yet in the 1990s, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, he helped to build one of the world’s biggest offshore trust companies, Valmet, with offices in Gibraltar, the Isle of Man and other tax havens. His clients included some of the richest people on the planet: Middle Eastern sheikhs and Russian oligarchs – such as Boris Berezovsky and Arkady “Badri” Patarkatsishvili – whom he helped to move billions of dollars out of Russia. Samuelson has been investigated by police in several countries for alleged money laundering, but never charged. In recent years, he has brokered the controversial sale of two of England’s oldest football clubs, Reading and Aston Villa.
Both were taken to the brink of financial collapse under secretive new owners. A third deal he arranged, for an unnamed wealthy Russian to buy a controlling stake in Premier League club Everton in 2004, was called off when the buyer’s name – Boris Zingarevich, a pulp and paper magnate – was leaked to the press. We set up a fake company and contacted Samuelson. We told him we represented three rich investors looking for a “sleeping giant”, a once-great football club with a big fan base and ambitions to return to the lucrative top flight of the game. Samuelson took the bait and agreed to meet. We briefed two undercover reporters. “Billy”, as we called him, would ask most of the questions; “Angie” would play the role of Billy’s assistant.
He would tell Samuelson that the criminal investor, who we call Mr X, wanted to own 60 percent of an English football club; had fled to Hong Kong and smuggled his money out of China through Macau casinos, and was sentenced to seven years imprisonment in absentia. Now Mr X wanted to clean his money. One big hurdle for Mr X was the football authorities’ Owners’ and Directors’ Test, which bans anybody with an unspent criminal conviction, and a minimum 12 months’ jail sentence, from owning a football club, Samuelson said he had almost bought Chelsea, with the West Ham and England World Cup-winning captain Bobby Moore, in the 1980s when he ran a sponsorship company. He claimed that Abramovich bought Chelsea, some 20 years later, after he had advised the oligarch to buy a football club to protect himself from a political change in Russia.
（Auntie 的推介：這是一次非常有趣的放蛇行動，卧底記者扮演想收購英國足球隊的中國商人的代表，跟中間人見面，對方聲稱曾經代表俄國佬收購英國足球隊，有提到英超球隊車路士 (Chelsea) 的班主艾巴莫域治 (Roman Abramovich)。）
Only action against corruption can solve the world’s biggest problems
In a message from his prison cell, the jailed Russian opposition activist calls for the west to take sanctions against oligarchs
Alexei Navalny
The Guardian (19 Aug 2021)
Extract: After the implosion of the USSR and the end of the global ideological confrontation, it was corruption – in its classical definition, “the exploitation of an official position for personal gain” – that became the universal, ideology-free basis for the flourishing of a new Authoritarian International, from Russia to Eritrea, Myanmar to Venezuela. And corruption has long ceased to be merely an internal problem of those countries. It is almost invariably one of the main causes of the global challenges that face the west. A new “hot” war in Europe with the use of airstrikes and artillery? That is Putin taking revenge on Ukraine for the anti-corruption revolution that deposed his protege, Viktor Yanukovych. Religious extremists of all stripes find it easier to conduct propaganda when their opponents are driving Rolls-Royces through the streets of penniless countries. Migration crises are caused by poverty, and poverty is almost always caused by corruption.
The following five steps are entirely realistic, easy to implement, and can make a highly effective start to combating global corruption. First, the west should formulate and recognise a special category of “countries that encourage corruption”, which will enable the taking of uniform measures against groups of countries, rather than imposing sanctions on particular states…Third, combating corruption without combating corrupt individuals is the merest hypocrisy and undermines voters’ trust. Until personal sanctions are imposed on oligarchs, primarily those in the entourage of Putin – the role model for all the world’s corrupt officials and businessmen – any anti-corruption rhetoric from the west will be perceived as game-playing and hot air.
There is nothing more frustrating than reading the latest sanctions list, replete with the names of intelligence service colonels and generals nobody has ever heard of, but meticulously cleared of the people in whose interests these colonels act. The west needs to free itself of a semantic mindset where the label “businessman” acts as an indulgence, making it very difficult for them to figure on sanctions lists. Putin’s oligarchs, those heading “state-owned” companies and companies that are formally private but whose prosperity is linked to Putin’s group, are not businessmen but leaders of organised crime groups. At present, alas, the western establishment acts like Pavlov’s dog: you show them a colonel of the intelligence services and they yell, “Sanction him!”; you show them the oligarch paying the colonel, and they yell, “Invite him to Davos!” Fourth, the US, UK and Germany already have excellent tools for combating foreign corruption, such as the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the Bribery Act, and so on. Guess how many cases have been brought following reports by our Anti-Corruption Foundation, now categorised as an extremist organisation by Putin’s government?
（Auntie 的推介：中毒不死的俄羅斯反對派領袖納瓦爾尼 (Alexei Navalny) 指名道姓罵普京。）
Russian Foreign Minister Has a Longtime Female Companion With Over $13 Million in Unexplained Assets
by Roman Anin, Dmitry Velikovsky, Roman Romanovsky
14 September 2021, published on OCCRP
Extract: “Your Holiness! Dear friends! I’m more excited than ever to speak today,” said Sergei Lavrov, Russia’s foreign minister. Standing at the altar, surrounded by priests wearing gold-trimmed vestments, Lavrov was addressing Patriarch Kirill and other church and lay officials at an elaborate consecration ceremony.
The Church of St. Sergius of Radonezh, near the old Tsarist estate of Tsarskoe Selo, had been rebuilt after being destroyed during the Soviet era. Lavrov, who rarely betrays much emotion in his public appearances, said he was moved to have been invited to head up the board of trustees.
President Vladimir Putin himself was in attendance. The longtime Russian leader toured the church with Lavrov, the patriarch, and a representative of the church museum, admiring a uniform worn by Emperor Nicholas II and other historical artifacts.
But a video of the December 8, 2014 event, posted on YouTube by the Russian Orthodox Church, reveals a curious detail. During the entire visit, an unknown woman wearing a black cloak and white shawl was seen accompanying the group. Her identity was revealed later that day, when the patriarch presented her with an award for her help restoring the church.
“Svetlana Alexandrovna Polyakova, an employee of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, is awarded the Order of the Russian Orthodox Church of St. Euphrosyne, Grand Duchess of Moscow, III degree,” a clergyman intoned. But Svetlana Polyakova is no ordinary bureaucrat. For years, a source close to a foreign ministry official told reporters, she has had a very close relationship with Lavrov.
Polyakova also has substantial assets that a mere “employee of the Foreign Ministry” would almost certainly not be able to afford. Property records show that she and her family own real estate in Russia and Great Britain worth about 1 billion rubles ($13.6 million).
What is a Kleptocratic Government and Why People Hate It?https://opinionfront.com/what-is-kleptocratic-government
Extract: Kleptocracy, also known as cleptocracy or kleptarchy, is essentially a term used to describe a form of government, which is so corrupt and incompetent that there is absolutely no transparency whatsoever. The term itself has been derived from two Greek words―kleptēs, meaning thief, and kratos, meaning rule, which when brought together, literally mean “the rule of thieves.” Such a governance is typically characterized by a large-scale embezzlement of funds from a nation’s treasury.
How Does Kleptocracy Thrive? Usually, a situation of kleptocracy arises when a government is particularly of an authoritarian nature. An authoritarian government is the one that is typically characterized by an absolute and unquestioning obedience to the ruling authority. Such a regime is headed by an individual who is not elected by people, but rather, often exercises brutal means to control the state, such that people submit to his rule more out of fright than out of respect.
Authoritarian regimes have been broadly divided into three types, viz. monarchy, in which a ruler is determined by his birth in a particular clan or dynasty; oligarchy, in which a group of a few powerful and wealthy people control an entire nation; and dictatorship, in which one person forcefully takes over the country (in most cases) and often uses unfair and unethical means to dominate the masses. It has been observed that an authoritarian ruler appoints his/her close friends and relatives as his/her subordinates, and hence, all the corrupt and unethical practices that take place are sort of an in the family affair. This gives rise to a ruling class, which then can freely access and (mis)use government funds according to its personal will.
Wikipedia - Kleptocracy
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kleptocracy
Extract: Kleptocracy is a government whose corrupt leaders (Kleptocrats) use political power to appropriate the wealth of their nation, typically by embezzling or misappropriating government funds at the expense of the wider population. Thievocracy means literally the rule by thievery and is a term used synonymously to kleptocracy. One feature of political-based socioeconomic thievery is that there is often no public announcement explaining or apologizing for misappropriations, nor any legal charges or punishment levied against the offenders. Kleptocracy is different from plutocracy (rule by the richest) and oligarchy (rule by a small elite). In a kleptocracy, corrupt politicians enrich themselves secretly outside the rule of law, through kickbacks, bribes, and special favors, or they simply direct state funds to themselves and their associates. Also, kleptocrats often export much of their profits to foreign nations in anticipation of losing power.
Contemporary studies have identified 21st century kleptocracy as a global financial system based on money laundering (which the International Monetary Fund has estimated comprises p2-5 percent of the global economy). Kleptocrats engage in money laundering to obscure the corrupt origins of their wealth and safeguard it from domestic threats such as economic instability and predatory kleptocratic rivals. They are then able to secure this wealth in assets and investments within more stable jurisdictions, where it can then be stored for personal use, returned to the country of origin to support the kleptocrat's domestic activities, or deployed elsewhere to protect and project the regime's interests overseas.
Illicit funds are typically transferred out of a kleptocracy into Western jurisdictions for money laundering and asset security. Since 2011, more than $1 trillion has left developing countries annually in illicit financial outflows. A 2016 study found that $12 trillion had been siphoned out of Russia, China, and developing economies. Western professional services providers are an essential part of the kleptocratic financial system, exploiting legal and financial loopholes in their own jurisdictions to facilitate transnational money laundering. The United States is international kleptocrats' favoured jurisdiction for laundering money. The Department of Treasury estimates that $300 billion is laundered annually in the United States. This kleptocratic financial system flourishes in the United States for three reasons.
MBN Market Business News
What is kleptocracy? Definition and examples
https://marketbusinessnews.com/kleptocracy-definition-meaning/
Extract: A kleptocracy is a thieving, corrupt government whose politicians and civil servants abuse their powers of state to steal money for personal gain; to feather their own nests, i.e., rule by a thief or thieves. Those in power steal the country’s national resources. In a kleptocracy, people in charge seek personal gain and status at the expense of taxpayers and other citizens. In most cases, the leaders in a kleptocracy aim to remain in control through collusion, corruption and nepotism (favoring relatives and friends). Those in a kleptocracy who abuse their powers and steal from the country are called kleptocrats. Kleptocrats exploit the national wealth and use the proceeds for their own gain.
Examples of kleptocracy. Russia: immediately after the fall of the Soviet Union, Russia became ruled by Mafia-friendly government members who allocated themselves valuable shares during the privatization of many of the country’s companies. They also accepted bribes to the tune of billions of dollars from foreign businesses, and siphoned off international aid into their own private offshore bank accounts. Below is a list of kleptocracy leaders and their estimated net worth (Source: Transparency International): $15 billion – $35 billion: Hajji Muhammad Suharto (1921-2008), former president of Indonesia. $10 billion or more in 1986 ($21.6 billion in 2014 dollars): Ferdinand Marcos (1917-1989), former president of the Philippines.
On kleptocracy
Professor Jason Sharman explains why the current crackdown on kleptocracy has the potential to be revolutionary.
CAM (Cambridge Alumni Magazine), Issue 86.
Mansions. Private jets. Art. Handbags. Cash.
https://www.cam.ac.uk/kleptocracy
Extract: When political leaders steal from their nation’s coffers the theft is called kleptocracy. Professor Jason Sharman explains why the recent international crackdown could be revolutionary.
I have spent the past 10 years investigating kleptocracy. The word means literally, rule by thieves, and describes the specific corruption that occurs when state leaders, generally from poorer countries, routinely loot millions or even billions of dollars from their national treasuries. All too often, the money is spent or stashed in rich countries. And until very recently, rich countries had no moral or legal obligation to do anything about these flows of dirty money.
What does kleptocracy look like? Imagine a nation rich in natural resources. Multinationals vye with each other for government contracts to exploit these resources and, as the years go by, money – large sums of money – begins to pour into the state coffers. Per capita GDP goes through the roof. Yet mysteriously, the population continues to live in poverty. State services remain non-existent. Medicine is scarce. Malnutrition becomes commonplace.
Are you wondering where that imaginary country’s money has got to? Finding the answer is simple. Shift your attention to the world’s financial capitals – London, New York, Geneva and their associated playgrounds – and search for the family name of its leader and the answer is clear. You read in a national newspaper that the country’s leader is buying a $40m mansion in London (purchased alongside a $30m beach house in the south of France and a $50m estate in the Hamptons). The Instagram feed of the leader’s daughter features exotic holidays, designer handbags and private jets.
But now, for the first time in history, there is a public consensus that for a state to host money stolen by an official of another state is morally wrong. Rather than lecture poor foreign governments about the error of their ways, rich countries are inviting scrutiny from international organisations and peer countries of their own performance in the sensitive areas of money laundering and corruption.
Beating kleptocrats at their own game:
Learning how to tackle kleptocracy more effectively
Elsa Peraldi
Global Integrity (June 13, 2019)
https://www.globalintegrity.org/2019/06/13/kleptocracy/
Extract: Kleptocracy – a global phenomenon, with local consequences. Kleptocracy, a government or state in which those in power loot state resources for private benefit, is a “side effect of globalization.” Despite kleptocracy’s being around for so long, anti-corruption advocates have only begun to scratch the surface in addressing its challenges. Today, there is growing consensus that kleptocracy is rapidly becoming one of democracy’s biggest threats, although the scale and impact of its corrosive effects have yet to be fully assessed. Kleptocrats bypass anti-money laundering regulations in Western democracies and infiltrate the political system through donations, weakening the rule of law and corrupting the basic pillars of democracy from within.
In fact, democracies provide a network of services that enable kleptocratic behavior. White collar professionals – lawyers, accountants, bankers, and public relations agents – in Paris, London, and Washington, DC, provide creative mechanisms through which kleptocrats channel their ill-gotten gains by giving donations to universities, for example; get reputation makeovers, including granting prize awards to multilateral organizations or having former democratic leaders lobby on their behalf; and avoid prosecution. Traditionally, Western policymakers and stakeholders fighting this type of corruption have failed to tackle the “transnational networks and global services that enable kleptocracy,” focusing instead on the countries where the money is stolen and on kleptocrats themselves.
Sanction lists in the United States have been created to prevent certain corrupt officials from continuing to operate freely. Unfortunately, the sanctions focus on individuals and do not affect the networks that enable kleptocratic behaviour. Beneficial ownership registers in the United Kingdom have increased transparency to identify the true owners of shell companies. Yet, in the United States, efforts to pass beneficial ownership legislation have been thwarted by the American Bar Association, mostly over concerns around attorney-client privilege and anti-money laundering reporting. As a result, kleptocrats still have easy access to legal vehicles in which they can shelter their ill-gotten gains abroad.
Investigative reports have exposed kleptocrats’ networks in some cases, but the threat of libel lawsuits continues to obstruct efforts to investigate. Corporations and individuals, particularly in the United Kingdom, use lawsuits to cripple journalists’ ability to investigate and expose corruption-related crimes. Many governments have leapt on the anti-corruption bandwagon to win global esteem. This includes authoritarian and populist regimes, who often end up misusing anti-corruption rhetoric or processes to reinforce their own kleptocratic behavior while at the same time delegitimizing or getting rid of the opposition. These experiences demonstrate that there is no single, replicable blueprint for solving complex and ever-evolving kleptocracy challenges, particularly when an interconnected transnational web facilitates the mobilization of stolen resources and whitewashing of images.
The Rise of Transnational Kleptocracy
Posted on January 18, 2018
By Melissa Aten
https://www.power3point0.org/2018/01/18/the-rise-of-transnational-kleptocracy/
Extract: As Oliver Bullough argues in his article “The Origins of Kleptocracy” in the Journal of Democracy, the emerging forces of globalization allowed large-scale but still garden-variety corruption confined within state borders to become supercharged. This “dark side” of globalization, coupled with the ease and speed of offshore finance, enabled corruption at the national level to metastasize into a far more complex international problem. While often legal, the secrecy and complexity of offshore finance allows kleptocratic leaders to exploit the inter-connectedness of the global financial system for their own gains and at the expense of their citizens.
In “Laundering Cash, Whitewashing Reputations,” Alexander Cooley, John Heathershaw, and J.C. Sharman have recently argued that, in practice, modern kleptocrats not only entrench themselves in the international financial system as described by Bullough’s typology. They also embed themselves in the fabric of democratic societies, using public relations firms to whitewash their reputations and engaging in philanthropic activities to ingratiate themselves and avoid international scrutiny.
To get a sense of modern kleptocracy’s scope and scale, consider the cases of Russia and Malaysia. Russia is among the most enthusiastic participants in the kleptocratic system. While exact numbers are challenging to determine, there are reports that Russian President Vladimir Putin has enriched himself to the tune of $200 billion dollars, potentially making him the richest man in the world. As the system has evolved, Russia’s leadership has “weaponized” Russia’s kleptocracy, using corruption internationally as a means to undermine democratic resolve and principles in established democracies.
Miriam Lanskoy and Dylan Myles-Primakoff write in “Power and Plunder in Putin’s Russia” that the proceeds from looting the state puts enormous resources at the Russian government’s disposal, allowing them to co-opt foreign business and political elites, as well as ensuring Russian oligarchs tow the Kremlin line. The enormous theft of public funds in Malaysia is well-known, and the much publicized 1MDB trials are a step in the right direction, but they also reveal dire challenges. In “Malaysia’s Missing Billions,” Cynthia Gabriel reveals that Prime Minister Najib Razak, facing an irate polity after the exposure of his theft, has turned to dangerous identity politics and cracked down on independent civil society in the wake of the exposure of his financial crimes.
Kleptocracy’s Impact on Democracy. Kleptocracy’s impact on the countries where the theft occurs is well documented. Political and economic development is stifled, and budgets for public goods such as health care are decimated. Civil society, independent media, and other accountability mechanisms are subdued. The activists who remain are far out-matched in terms of resources and access to information. Knowing that their wealth is unlikely to be safe at home, today’s kleptocrats launder their money overseas, storing it in settings where it is protected by strong rule-of-law norms that are lacking in their own countries. This looted money, channeled through a complex web of offshore accounts and shell companies to obscure the beneficial owners, often lands in high-end real estate in major Western cities such as London, New York, and Miami. To purchase this high-end real estate, kleptocrats employ a cadre of bankers, accountants, real-estate agents, and lawyers to scrub their corrupt money. While many of the vehicles used to launder money, such as anonymous companies, are not illegal in the United States or the United Kingdom, members of these professions are required to report suspected cases of money laundering to the authorities.
‘A Kleptocrat’s dream’:
US real estate a safe haven for billions in dirty money, report says
By Sean McGoey
ICIJ (August 10, 2021)
Extract: Based on a review of more than 100 money-laundering cases, a new study finds that the U.S. has become a preferred destination for those looking to stash illicit funds through property. At least $2.3 billion has been laundered via U.S. real estate transactions in the last five years, according to a new report by a Washington, D.C.-based think tank. By using a database of over 100 publicly reported real estate money laundering cases in the U.S., United Kingdom and Canada, Global Financial Integrity says the U.S. has become a preferred destination for those looking to use real estate to stash illicit funds — making it a “Kleptocrat’s dream.”
Public officials and their associates, known as politically exposed persons, were involved in more than half of the U.S. cases that GFI reviewed. Those PEPs include Genaro García Luna, a former Mexican security minister who bought millions of dollars of U.S. property while accused of taking bribes from the Sinaloa cartel, and the stepson of former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, who was arrested in 2019 for his alleged role in the 1MDB scandal. “[Real estate] provides a really easy way to hide ill-gotten gains with little oversight and few questions asked,” GFI policy director Lakshmi Kumar told the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. “A lot of the money laundering cases we saw reported in the U.K. and Canada were really concentrated in what you’d call real estate hubs in the country,” Kumar said. “In the U.S., that was not the case. It was spread far and wide.”
Journal of Democracy
The Rise of Kleptocracy: Malaysia’s Missing Billions
Cynthia Gabriel
https://www.journalofdemocracy.com/articles/the-rise-of-kleptocracy-malaysias-missing-billions/
Summary: A recent scandal involving a colossal theft from the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) has shaken Malaysia to its core. Filings by the U.S. Justice Department allege that more than US$4.5 billion was stolen between the creation of 1MDB in 2009 and 2015, with some reportedly going to pay for such luxury purchases as a $260 million superyacht. Intimidation and personnel changes worked to stifle investigations by domestic enforcement agencies, and Prime Minister Najib Razak, facing heavy criticism over the scandal, is seeking to shield himself through dangerous identity politics and purges of detractors in his party.
Over $1 Billion in Misappropriated 1MDB Funds Now Repatriated to Malaysia
The Justice Department of US
August 5, 2021
https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/over-1-billion-misappropriated-1mdb-funds-now-repatriated-malaysia
Extract: The Justice Department announced today that it has repatriated an additional $452 million in misappropriated 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) funds to the people of Malaysia, bringing the total returned to over $1.2 billion. According to court documents, the funds from 1MDB, formerly Malaysia’s investment development fund, were laundered through major financial institutions worldwide, including in the United States, Switzerland, Singapore, and Luxembourg. As alleged in the civil forfeiture complaints, from 2009 through 2015, more than $4.5 billion in funds belonging to 1MDB were allegedly misappropriated by high-level officials of 1MDB and their associates, and Low Taek Jho (aka Jho Low), through a criminal scheme involving international money laundering and embezzlement. Some of the embezzlement proceeds were also allegedly used to pay bribes.
1MDB was created by the government of Malaysia to promote economic development in Malaysia through global partnerships and foreign direct investment. Its funds were intended to be used for improving the well-being of the Malaysian people. Instead, funds held by 1MDB and proceeds of bonds issued for and on behalf of 1MDB were taken and spent on a wide variety of extravagant items, including luxury homes and properties in Beverly Hills, New York, and London; a 300-foot superyacht; and fine art by Monet and Van Gogh. The funds also were sent into numerous business investments, including a boutique hotel in Beverly Hills, a movie production company that made “The Wolf of Wall Street” while the embezzlement scheme was ongoing, the redevelopment of the Park Lane Hotel in Manhattan, and shares in EMI, the largest private music-rights holder. As alleged, other funds were provided to various public officials and co-conspirators.
一馬弊案新進展 美國司法部退還 125 億給馬國當局
四方新聞 2021-08-12
https://4wayvoice.nownews.com/news/20210812/656482/
節錄：在 2015 年曾轟動馬來西亞的「一馬弊案」（1MDB scandal）近期傳出陸續新的相關進展，美國司法部於 8 月 5 日宣布已經將一筆涉及該案、總價 4 億 5200 萬美元（約新台幣 125.6 億元）的金額交還給馬來西亞。根據美國司法部 5 日發布的聲明，從 2009 年至 2015 年，馬來西亞國有的一馬公司高層、時任首相納吉及相關人員涉及盜用公司公款並在全球多國洗錢，其中就包含美國，因此自 2016 年起美國司法部的洗錢和收復資產組（Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section）就開始追討並充公失款，並於 2019 年 5 月起陸續將款項退還給馬來西亞。加上本次退還的 4 億 5200 萬美元，目前已經退回超過 12 億美元的金額（約新台幣 333 億元）給馬國當局，美國司法部也將持續對其他涉嫌洗錢的資產提出訴訟。一馬弊案（1MDB scandal）為一宗非法盜用一馬公司大筆資金並牽涉國家政治的貪汙醜聞。 2015 年，馬來西亞首相納吉遭媒體爆出將馬來西亞政府管轄的一馬公司資金轉入他的個人銀行戶口，涉及金額超過 26.7 億令吉（約新台幣 175.3 億元）。
創紀錄罰款！一馬洗錢案 高盛被美國罰款逾 870 億
自由時報 2020-10-23
https://ec.ltn.com.tw/article/breakingnews/3329697
節錄：路透和彭博報導，針對一馬發展公司（1MDB）貪瀆賄賂醜聞案，華爾街投資銀行高盛集團馬來西亞子公司 22 日同意支付超過 29 億美元（超過新台幣 870 億元），以了結美國司法部多年來就其違反海外反腐敗行為法（FCPA）的相關調查，包括逾 23 億美元罰金及回吐約 6 億美元不法收入；這創下美國史上違反 FCPA 的最高罰金。在法院聽審上，高盛馬來西亞公司對在 1MDB 醜聞中違反 FCPA 的不法作為、挪走馬來西亞籌募經濟發展用的數十億美元，表示認罪；高盛集團並將要求執行長索羅門（David Solomon）和前任執行長貝蘭克梵（Lloyd Blankfein）回吐他們的部分薪酬。根據紐約布魯克林法院週四訴訟文件，母公司高盛集團和美國政府達成緩起訴協議，避免被定罪或留下刑事犯罪紀錄。
華爾街日報報導，此次和解將為高盛 151 年歷史上最大污點之一，畫上句號。了結 1MDB 醜聞總計將花費高盛 50 多億美元，相當於該公司 1 年利潤的約 3 分之 2 。不過，高盛將能避免美國檢方要求的最嚴厲制裁，並已將相關懲罰計入向股東提交的財務報告中。彭博報導，今年 7 月，高盛在馬來西亞同意支付 25 億美元罰款，以及提撥罕見的款項，確保馬國可從 1MDB 在世界各地被扣押資產拿回額外的 14 億美元。高盛在 1MDB 醜聞案在全球合計罰款超過 50 億美元。另外，香港證監會 22 日也對高盛（亞洲）有限責任公司在 1MDB 發債籌資的 65 億美元中有 26 億美元被挪用，管理層監督、風險管理、法遵、打擊洗錢等方面存在嚴重缺失，予以譴責，並處以罰款 3.5 億美元。
1MDB-linked banker’s RM652mil money laundering case next week
Bloomberg (September 24, 2021)
Extract: The former boss of a defunct Zurich private bank that was mired in the multibillion-dollar 1MDB scandal faces a trial next week accused of money laundering for a Gulf businessman convicted in the affair.
Eduardo Leemann, who denies any wrongdoing, is set to appear at Switzerland’s Federal Criminal Court to answer charges that between 2012 and 2016, he exploited his role as chief executive officer of Falcon Bank to launder $133 million euros (RM652 million) in illicit proceeds for Khadem Al-Qubaisi. While prosecutors say the money wasn’t embezzled or misappropriated from 1MDB, the trial puts the spotlight back on how the Swiss lender and its former chief allegedly greased flows of cash for a key player in the scandal that engulfed 1MDB.
The 64-year-old native of Zurich used escrow accounts, funds and sub-funds in the British Virgin Islands and Luxembourg to put “personal, material and geographical distance” between the money and its owner, the prosecutors say. Falcon Bank was then owned by Aabar, in turn controlled by Abu Dhabi’s International Petroleum Investment Co (IPIC), which was also headed by Al-Qubaisi. IPIC merged in 2016 with Mubadala Investment Co, which declined to comment on the case. Al-Qubaisi, whose LinkedIn profile also says he’s been chairman of Falcon Bank since 2007, was accused by US prosecutors of helping to launder billions of dollars embezzled from 1MDB. The US Department of Justice last year reached a settlement with Al-Qubaisi’s wife to forfeit $49 million (RM204 million) in assets, including properties in Manhattan and Beverly Hills. Al-Qubaisi himself was sentenced in Abu Dhabi in 2019 to 15 years in prison and ordered with another IPIC executive to repay $336 million (RM1.4 billion), according to the Wall Street Journal.
Falcon Bank faces criminal charges for its alleged negligence that allowed money laundering. The lender has its own troubled history with 1MDB. Its Singapore unit was closed by regulators in late 2016 for failing to adequately flag $1.27 billion (RM5.31 billion) in suspicious deposits linked to the sprawling 1MDB scandal. Switzerland’s finance regulator also fined Falcon for its role in the 1MDB affair in 2016.
Corruption Threatens National Security
Jack Gaines
2018-01-07
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/corruption-threatens-national-security-what-we-can-do-jack-gaines
Extract: “The corrupt practices of bad actors threaten our national security in three ways,” says Jodi Vittori, an advisor to the Hudson Institute’s Kleptocracy Initiative. “First, groups like this destabilize their own country by shifting institutions to serve them instead of the nation and its public. Second, these regimes facilitate ‘bad actors’ in their territory, from criminal groups to terrorists. Third, kleptocratic regimes and criminal networks often launder their money through the Western financial systems.”
Destabilization of infrastructure. According to Vittori, bad actors destabilize their own country by shifting its institutions to serve themselves instead of the nation and its public. Public funds are plundered, while legitimate profits from industries and trade are siphoned off for payoffs. As a country's institutions shrink, the economy erodes, and the infrastructure falters. Civil unrest results. Often, growing instability has a ripple effect throughout the region and world. Citizens migrate for work and better living conditions, amplifying volatility that promotes further violence and criminality in the region.
When this instability reaches the level of a regional crisis, the international community is often compelled to intervene. The United States may deploy assets from USAID, the State Department, or its military to help stabilize conditions and protect its citizens and US interests. “Actually, that’s what the ‘Arab Spring’ was all about,” notes Vittori. “The protests and revolts were due to massive corruption and brutality, resulting in civil wars, terrorism, and even greater authoritarianism.”
Negative Effects of Money Laundering on the Economy
https://sanctionscanner.com/blog/negative-effects-of-money-laundering-on-the-economy-132
Extract: Effect on money demand. With the rapid and uncontrolled inflow of money to the country, the consumption rates and especially luxury consumption are increase. However, there may be significant increases in exports, imports, foreign payments deficit, inflation, interest, and unemployment rates. These instabilities in demand for money caused by black money will naturally affect the monetary policy negatively. False signals of money laundering activities prevent taking necessary measures to solve problems such as budget deficit and high inflation, especially in developing countries, and adversely affect the economy's effective management. The effect of central banks on monetary policies depends on whether the demand for money is predictable or not. Due to black money on money demand, failures in central banks' policies can be observed.
Effect on income distribution. One of the most critical damages of black money to be determined is its negative effect on income distribution. The gap between individuals in terms of income distribution increases the tendency to commit crimes and makes money attractive. Since tax evasion is common in informal economies, the tax burden of those operating in the official sector increases, and income distribution is adversely affected.
Effect on tax revenues. Revenue from taxes has the most significant share in public revenues. If this income is low, it will raise the possibility that public revenues will not meet the public expenditures, and if this possibility occurs, budget deficits will occur. Income generated by black money is earnings that countries do not tax. These gains will result in reductions in tax revenues. The state with decreasing tax revenues has two choices, the first of which is borrowing. It reduces the private sector's productive investments with the effect of government crowding-out, which attracts productive investors by the private sector with borrowing. Besides, as the value of bonds increases as a result of borrowing, interest rates in the market increase, creating many problems.
相關的文章：
離岸中心（二）
2009 年 1 月 4 日
http://xiaoshousha.blogspot.hk/2009/01/blog-post_04.html
節錄：近年俄羅斯黑幫被英語傳媒冠名 The Communist Mafia（共產黨式黑手黨），他們在西方的影視作品中往往被描寫為十惡不赦的壞蛋。他們的影響力開始滲入國際體壇，例如：俄羅斯富豪、英超球隊車路士 (Chelsea) 的班主艾巴莫域治 (Roman Abramovich)，他的財產據說就來自賤價收購國有資產。有評論認為，俄羅斯黑幫既擁有全球網絡，又掌握了國防技術，威脅程度比正牌恐怖份子更大，論實力絕不遜於恐怖大亨拉登 (Osama Bin Laden)。
離岸中心（三）
2009 年 1 月 11 日
http://xiaoshousha.blogspot.hk/2009/01/blog-post_11.html
節錄：透過英國或者歐洲的金融體系匿藏和調動資產的，當然不止前蘇聯的共產黨官僚，還有來自世界各地的貪官和政客，他們都懂得利用西方的銀行系統，在海外建立小金庫，為自己及家人舖定後路。而香港作為國際金融體系的一份子，又跟大英帝國有深厚淵源，在資金的流轉過程中，也扮演了一定的角色。近期的例子，有泰國前總理他信 (Thaksin Shinawatra) ，還有「台灣之恥」陳水扁一家。
離岸中心（四）
2009 年 1 月 18 日
http://xiaoshousha.blogspot.hk/2009/01/blog-post_18.html
節錄：銀行家來自潮州，戰後在香港創業。新中國成立的那一年，他受一位中國共產黨黨員的委託，接收了一筆來自廣東省政府的五億港元巨款，另外還有一筆數目不明的美元。那筆錢當中有沒有國民政府來不及調走的資金、因戰亂而被凍結的海外華僑匯款，以及共產黨抄家得來的財富，天曉得。銀行家把錢存入香港的獅子錢莊生息，那是大英帝國的金融旗艦。跟銀行家接頭的共產黨員，是個帶兵的客家人，來自廣東梅縣。
離岸中心（五）
2009 年 1 月 25 日
http://xiaoshousha.blogspot.hk/2009/01/blog-post_25.html
節錄：表面上，貪官輸光了公款，暗地裡就由賭場或其附屬公司開出支票，上面的數字是扣除手續費之後的金額，貪官在第三地兌現支票，然後把錢轉移到海外的小金庫。就算日後被捕，亦可以堅稱錢已經輸清光。有需要的話，貪官亦可以辯稱手頭上來歷不明的巨款是在賭場贏回來的。換言之，輸贏都有辦法說得過去。所以，賭桌上的勝負根本不重要，重要的是錢的流向。
離岸中心（六）
2010 年 8 月 1 日
http://xiaoshousha.blogspot.hk/2010/08/blog-post.html
節錄：理論上，凡是可供巨額資金停泊的投資產品，包括股票、房地產、私人信託、珠寶首飾以及古董文物，都可以成為不法之徒清洗黑錢的工具，人壽保單亦不例外。洗錢者選中一家保險公司，先將贓款交給保險經紀，購買大量的保險單，然後解除保險，保險公司的退款支票到達指定的帳號後，黑錢就被洗淨。
洗黑錢督數偽術
2018 年 4 月 14 日
http://xiaoshousha.blogspot.com/2018/04/blog-post_14.html
節錄：中資機構也懂得洗黑錢，所以有「影子員工」或「影子觀眾」的做法，用來誇大營運開支或票房收入，作用是掩飾資金的去向或來源，亦可以是把維穩費落格或者瓜分（即：食夾棍、內鬼運財）。應用於新聞機構或娛樂事業的話，便是長期不上班但是名字出現於員工名單內，定時支薪的記者編輯，又或者是沒有參與電影製作，但是名字出現於幕後工作人員名單中的大陸人。
戲如人生（二）
2015 年 5 月 29 日
http://xiaoshousha.blogspot.hk/2015/05/blog-post_29.html
節錄：活地亞倫的版本：時代背景是上世紀二十年代末的美國。才子編劇想把自己的作品搬上百老匯舞台，為了籌集資金，不惜答應黑幫大哥的要求，起用他的女友。那女子既沒有演技也非常麻煩，但她的保鑣卻是真正的戲劇天才，他對劇本作出的改動，足以化腐朽為神奇。
炒黃牛飛
2019 年 4 月 12 日
https://xiaoshousha.blogspot.com/2019/04/blog-post.html
節錄：在網上世界炒賣演唱會門票，其真正作用，是把需要轉移或清洗的黑錢放大很多倍，令每次行動可以發揮最大的效果，是人為的抬價。香港的地產商透過賣樓（過千萬的豪宅）協助大陸權貴清洗黑錢，一樣會透過第三者（例如：名人、藝人、風水師）抬價。是同一招來的，由財經版轉移至娛樂版，明白未？
唱片店
2018 年 12 月 7 日
https://xiaoshousha.blogspot.com/2018/12/blog-post.html
節錄：唱片公司要替歌手造勢，想安排簽名活動，要尋找適合的地點也不容易，因為唱片店已經所餘無幾。換言之，這個行業已經捧不紅甚麼人。因此新人必須帶錢入行，補貼或包起唱片的製作費用，否則由富貴父母入股或開設唱片公司也可以，情況跟香港的電視或電影業很相似。那些自資出碟或開演唱會的年輕人，通常是外國回流，資金從何而來，是否牽涉洗黑錢活動，自己想。
黑金
2012 年 4 月 10 日
http://xiaoshousha.blogspot.hk/2012/04/blog-post.html
節錄：旅美華人學者陳國霖（Dr. Ko-lin CHIN）的＜黑金＞（商周：2004），是研究「台式黑金」這個題目的必備參考書。第四章寫黑道如何漂白，透過經營合法的生意，成功轉型，從地下走到地上，最後大哥變大亨。黑道從經營餐廳酒吧開始，然後滲透流行音樂以及演藝事業。另一個相關的行業，是台灣的有線電視，基本上是黑道所建立的。
燒錢生意、湊客之道、中港足球
2014 年 6 月 10 日
http://xiaoshousha.blogspot.hk/2014/06/blog-post_10.html
節錄：有些昂貴的玩意或燒錢的生意，是用來「湊客」的，即是跟 VIP 建立更緊密關係，方便「埋堆」（打入小圈子）。前者的例子：紅酒、茅台、錦鯉、古董、沉香木、羅漢松、高爾夫球。後者的例子：足球隊、主流傳媒、娛樂事業。既然只是工具，又或者是用來娛賓的歌姬舞女，燒錢的生意，死亡率高，不得善終，不是賣盤收場，便是關門大吉。
隱身術
2019 年 9 月 27 日
https://xiaoshousha.blogspot.com/2019/09/blog-post_27.html
節錄：早於 2018 年初中美貿易戰爆發之前，紅色資本的海外併購活動已經遇到困難。西方國家基於國家安全考慮，對中資說不（提示：倫敦交易所），又或者設置障礙。中資的回應方式，是動用港人、台商、南洋華僑甚至親共洋人(Panda Hugger) 當人頭或 Frontman，讓大股東可以退居幕後。
諜影
2016 年 4 月 22 日
http://xiaoshousha.blogspot.hk/2016/04/blog-post_22.html
節錄：根據 Washington Post 的報導，負責分析文件的國際調查記者聯盟 (The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, ICIJ) 背後的美國公共誠信中心 (Center for Public Integrity)，金主是國際大鱷索羅斯 (George Soros)。他較早前表示會「沽空亞洲貨幣」，令偉大祖國非常緊張，官媒輪流開炮。索羅斯戰績彪炳，利用在金融市場賺來的錢，資助共產黨的對頭人。中國和俄羅斯的領導人首當其衝，被爆陰毒，理所當然。
從查冊中學會的事
2021 年 4 月 14 日
https://xiaoshousha.blogspot.com/2021/04/blog-post.html
節錄：見識過這些事情，你會明白現有的監管制度存在很多的漏洞，在香港打工和做生意非常不容易。即使是透過查冊找到某人的名字和完整的身份證編號，還是距離真相很遠。如果把查冊的結果進一步收窄至身份證的頭三位或四位數字，以及禁止某個行業的人（傳媒＋記者）查冊，即是透明度開倒車，結果只會是方便壞人，令企業管治水平下降，也會影響正常商業活動（例如：物業買賣＋收購合併）。難怪國際傳媒和外國人社群負評如潮：
翻身的日子
2017 年 12 月 27 日
https://xiaoshousha.blogspot.hk/2017/12/blog-post_27.html
節錄：中資的收購合併活動，不但令港人難以翻身，也令到這個世界變得越來越複雜和脆弱（提示：海航、安邦、萬達、復星）。甚麼時候偉大祖國終於成為席捲全球同時禍及香港的金融風暴的源頭，天曉得。中國人集體「翻身」的日子，恐怕是地球人付出代價之時，而香港會首當其衝，率先陪葬。（原因：香港銀行業的內地相關貸款佔資產總額的比例升至接近兩成，而紅籌國企 H 股佔恒生指數的比重已經超過一半。）
還得起，先好借
2017 年 7 月 15 日
http://xiaoshousha.blogspot.hk/2017/07/blog-post.html
節錄：至於海航、安邦、萬達和復星，已經被揭發是太子黨的走資工具，備受中銀監的關注，日後再收購海外資產，恐怕沒有那麼容易。懂得翻牆的大陸網民說，這幾家公司都是趙家圈養的肥羊（即是日後會被宰殺或出賣），爆料的阿貴（郭文貴）是出走的田園犬，尋常百姓就算不服氣，也只能做（沒有安樂茶飯吃的）喪家犬、流浪狗。哈哈，農村風味，說得對。誰是「趙家人」，你懂的。
假如我是真的（三）
2018 年 8 月 4 日
https://xiaoshousha.blogspot.com/2018/08/blog-post.html
節錄：權鬥白熱化，其中一個派系轉移資產自保，也可能牽涉洗黑錢活動。海航和安邦也是這種玩法，所以要四出收購海外資產（提示：啟德地皮），結果負債累累。至於為甚麼海航（提示：德銀）得到中央支持據說有銀行打救，但是高層卻要在法國跳牆犧牲，而安邦則被國家接管，然後部份海外資產很大機會被分拆出售，又要從派系鬥爭的角度去理解。
金融中心的黑暗面
2020 年 1 月 15 日
https://xiaoshousha.blogspot.com/2020/01/blog-post.html
節錄：外國學者用倫敦做例子，說明金融業過度膨脹之後所帶來的問題：來自共產主義國家（中國和俄國）的黑錢氾濫，令樓價飆升至不合理水平，金融業跟其他行業爭奪資源和人才（而非支援實體經濟的發展），令實體經濟失去生存空間或被掏空或變成賭博工具。金融業發達有助官商勾結（因為利益交換可以透過金融市場進行），危害民主與自由，加劇貧富懸殊（因為權貴可以合法避稅但是打工仔無法避稅），影響社會流動。
德意志＋鐮刀幫＋美國總統
2020 年 7 月 23 日
https://xiaoshousha.blogspot.com/2020/07/blog-post_23.html
節錄：金融罪案＋國際政治＋新舊媒體間諜戰，稱得上＜驚天大陰謀＞。捲入其中的銀行和傳媒都是歷史悠久的百年老店，同樣淪為權鬥工具或棋子。故事還在發展中，牽涉重重黑幕，還有很多未解的疑團（例如：死於非命的德銀高層）。這是一齣真實版的 House of Cards，適合用來拍電影或長篇電視劇。故事情節非常國際化，人物場景跨越德國、俄國、美國、中國和香港，展現人性黑暗和複雜的一面，是陰謀電影的格局。
代理人
2014 年 4 月 2 日
http://xiaoshousha.blogspot.hk/2014/04/blog-post.html
節錄：改革開放之後的做法，是透過把具備戰略價值和影響國家安全的行業（例如：電訊、能源、航空、銀行、保險、傳媒）交給太子黨經營與謀利，換取他們的合作，從而鞏固政權，而這些行業的龍頭國企則透過國有銀行（即：建農工中）得到低成本的營運資金。這樣做，是分贓。即：打劫老百姓，賄賂太子黨。不甘心被剝削的老百姓，把血汗錢投入地下金融體系，溫州民間信貸，影子銀行，便是這樣搞出來的。
雙軌制（一）
2011 年 10 月 14 日
http://xiaoshousha.blogspot.hk/2011/10/blog-post_14.html
節錄：溫州民間借貸爆煲，情節似曾相識。簡單地說，又是雙軌制惹的禍。原因不外是官倒加三角債，國有銀行體系為特權階級服務，無法發揮應有的金融中介功能，而民間的游資太多，老百姓的投資渠道太少，為了抗通漲，於是把錢投進高利貸市場，令火上加油。換言之，舊瓶新酒，借屍還魂。
火燒連環船
2017 年 1 月 14 日
http://xiaoshousha.blogspot.hk/2017/01/blog-post_14.html
節錄：大陸資產市場的亂象持續，民間的游資到處流竄，尋找可供資金停泊以及對沖人民幣匯率風險的渠道。這邊剛剛撲滅了一個泡沫，那裡又冒出另一個泡沫。官府三令五申防泡沫、禁走資，民間的高手卻不斷找到破解之道。官民角力，達到前所未有的水平，令金融系統的壓力和風險增加。香港作為中國的洗黑錢中心，少不免首當其衝。
套戥
2014 年 4 月 26 日
http://xiaoshousha.blogspot.hk/2014/04/blog-post_26.html
節錄：至於大陸散戶當中，財力最雄厚的一群（即：土豪和貪官），他們的一貫做法，是透過人頭（例如：香港商人）或地下管道（即：地下錢莊、澳門賭場）把錢匯到香港，然後開戶口買賣港股、基金、保單、豪宅（提示：西九四小龍），又或者是透過香港的金融體系，把錢轉移到西方國家，注入海外的小金庫。今時今日，大陸黑錢南下的渠道很多，要避開資本管制並不困難。地下直通車，早已開通多時。法庭版的洗黑錢個案，一百幾十億是平常事。
雙軌制（四）
2011 年 11 月 20 日
http://xiaoshousha.blogspot.hk/2011/11/blog-post_20.html
節錄：中產階級很害怕，怕自己和孩子向下流動，怕香港變得越來越似大陸，即是窮人的處境變得越來越艱難，活得越來越沒有尊嚴，有如印度的賤民。當權者不理會窮人的死活，因為他們無須依賴公營的教育和醫療系統，也不需要老百姓的選票（提示：香港的特首是怎樣選出來的？）。當權者彷彿生活於另一個星球，按照另一個軌道運行，跟老百姓各不相干。
賊喊捉賊
2013 年 3 月 27 日
http://xiaoshousha.blogspot.hk/2013/03/blog-post_27.html
節錄：債仔惡過債主，是常見的事。江湖中，欠下巨債的「古惑仔」（小混混）跟有組織犯罪集團（黑社會）談判，要求打折還款，借一億還一百萬，又或者延長還款期，然後潛逃，也很常見。銀行業術語，打折還款，叫 Hair cut，港式翻譯叫「飛髮」或「削髮」。俄國佬的存款被凍結，日後變成新銀行的股票，價值只有原來的幾成，即是「被削髮」。
V 煞、1812、RIC
2013 年 1 月 1 日
http://xiaoshousha.blogspot.hk/2013/01/v-1812ric.html
節錄：趕走了皇帝、外敵或者殖民地統治者，不代表老百姓有好日子過。這些國家的老百姓，彷彿生活於無間地獄，惡性循環，永不超生。他們數千年來求神拜佛，但是沒有得到神明保佑。這些國家，難以被征服，但是也難於治理。研究俄國、中國和印度的歷史，感覺是大而無當，小即是美。管治國家也許跟營運生意一樣，有 Optimal size（最理想的規模），擴張過度，神仙難救。
Revised 25/09/2021
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