FAST DOWNLOAD
A look at some of the biggest corruption scandals of the past 20 years after Vietnam on Thursday sentenced to death a property tycoon accused of corruption causing an estimated $27 billion (25 billion euros) in damages.
– Malaysia’s wealth fund –
Former Malaysian premier Najib Razak was jailed for his role in the embezzlement of billions of dollars from the country’s sovereign wealth fund, 1Malaysia Development Berhad.
The scandal, which led to investigations around the world — two men went on trial in Switzerland earlier this month in connection with the case — led to the fall of Najib’s government in 2018.
– Brazil’s ‘Car Wash’ –
Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht was at the centre of the so-called Car Wash corruption scandal that erupted in 2014 and resulted in dozens of top businessmen and politicians in Brazil and elsewhere in Latin America being sent to jail.
The investigation uncovered a vast network of bribes paid by large construction companies to politicians in several countries to obtain major public works contracts.
According to the US Justice Department, Odebrecht paid more than $788 million in bribes from 2001 to 2016, resulting in $3.3 billion in ill-gotten benefits.
– Panama Papers –
The 2016 revelations known as the “Panama Papers” tax evasion scandal revealed how some of the world’s richest people hid their assets in offshore companies.
Former British Prime Minister David Cameron, football star Lionel Messi, Argentina’s then President Mauricio Macri and Spain’s filmmaker Pedro Almodovar were among those implicated by the leaked trove of 11.5 million files from Mossack Fonseca, a Panama-based law firm.
Since the leak, governments have clawed back over $1.24 billion in unpaid taxes, according to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists.
– Siemens ‘black funds’-
German engineering giant Siemens in 2006 was at the heart of the largest corruption scandal in recent German history.
