Ruling elite, generals, judges, media figures held accountable worldwide — VI

World rulers arrested and convicted in corruption and money-laundering etc:

Numerous globally-famous rulers like Israeli Premier Ehud Olmert, Nigeria’s dictator Sani Abacha, former Filipino President Ferdinand Marcos, Panama’s Manuel Noriega, Taiwan’s Chen Shui-bian, former Ukrainian Premier Pavlo Lazarenko, former Guatemala President Alfonso Portillo, Congo’s former head of state Mobutu Sese Seko and Indonesia’s ex-President Suharto etc have been convicted in crimes including money-laundering and corruption etc during the past few decades.

The above-named presidents, premiers and military dictators were found guilty of corruption and for hiding or disguising the financial trail of the dirty money in their possession.

Top Pakistani politicians also faced conviction in money laundering cases, but they had all managed to seek relief from courts and rule the country after they were charged of this serious crime.

In March 2014, Israeli Premier Ehud Olmert was convicted in a bribery case and sentenced to six years’ imprisonment. In 2015, his jail term was reduced by the Supreme Court to 18 months. He had begun serving a 19-months sentence on February 16, 2016.

Former Ukrainian Prime Minister Pavlo Lazarenko was sentenced to 97 months in prison with a fine of $9 million for his role in laundering $30 million of extortion proceeds.

(Reference: The November 19, 2009 post of the American FBI on its website)

An amount of $22,851,000 was also forfeited from the Ukrainian ruler. After a trial that lasted 10 weeks and a half, Lazarenko was convicted in the United States by a jury on June 3, 2004, on 29 counts of money laundering, wire fraud, and interstate transportation of stolen property.

By apprehending all the above-named rulers in money-laundering cases, the world authorities have basically sent a message that no one is immune from criminal charges.

Just over a month ago, as the “Chicago Tribune” revealed in its February 23, 2015 edition, the daughter of the Rev Jeremiah Wright, the former pastor of President Barack Obama, was sent to jail by a federal judge who had revoked her bond in a money laundering case.

The woman Jeri Wright was convicted last March of 11 corruption counts, including money laundering and lying to a grand jury, in a case tied to a state grant. Her father, a lightning rod in Obama’s 2008 campaign, was not involved in the case.

In May 2014, the son of president of oil-rich Equatorial Guinea, Teodorin Obiang, was also charged with money laundering.

In 2008, former Israeli Finance Minister, Avraham Hirschson, was sentenced to five years in prison for theft and money laundering.

In February 2014, as the Associated Press had reported, a Paris court had convicted the spokesman for former French President Jacques Chirac’s party in a money-laundering scandal about 10 years ago.

Ruling elite charged in sexual scandals:

History tells that an uncountable number of high-ranking personalities including presidents, premiers, politicians, ministers, sportsmen and showbiz celebrities have often been found guilty of having ‘spicy relationships.’

As a result, many of these highly placed people were convicted, arrested, fined and ousted for their lucrative positions.

A widely quoted book “A people and a nation: a history of the United States,” has mentioned that former American President John F. Kennedy had numerous extra-marital affairs, including one with a 19-year old girl. Various other writers have claimed that the late Kennedy was involved in a deep relationship with Marilyn Monroe, the leading US actress of her time.

Kennedy did not live much but one of his successors, Bill Clinton, was found guilty of having an affair with a 22-year-old White House intern, Monica Lewinsky.

It was the investigation in this case that had eventually led to the impeachment of Clinton on December 19, 1998 by the US House of Representatives and his subsequent acquittal on all impeachment charges of perjury and obstruction of justice in a 21-day Senate trial that had started on January 7, 1999.

After his trial, Clinton said he was “profoundly sorry” for the burden his behavior imposed on Congress and the American people.

A woman, Paul Jones also alleged Clinton of sexual harassment. According to “The Washington Post,” As governor of Arkansas, former president Bill Clinton allegedly “propositioned [Paula Jones] and exposed himself to her in a Little Rock hotel room.”

Clinton never admitted to the sexual-harassment charges when the Paula Jones case was resurrected in the public eye during the Monica Lewinsky scandal.

Clinton’s wife Hillary was subjected to a smear campaign ahead of the 2008 US Presidential campaign. As “The Times” of UK had reported on November 22, 2007,” The anonymous e-mails and letters began dropping into inboxes and through front doors this summer. One claimed that Hillary Clinton was having a lesbian affair with Huma Abedin, her beautiful aide.”

In his article “Snarls, smears and innuendo for Hillary Clinton as attack dogs get ready for the fray,” writer Tom Reid had mentioned the “the foulest swamp of electoral dirty tricks in America.”

A US writer Edward Klein had earlier written a controversial book “The truth about Hillary: What She Knew, When She Knew It, and How Far She’ll Go to Become President” about the Secretary of State’s private life, terming her a lesbian.

Reviewing the contents of this book, “The New York Times” had written on July 31, 2005 that the writer had relied too much on nasty personal comments about Senator Clinton provided by anonymous sources.

In his article “The Truth About Hillary’: Many a Dubious Revelation,” The New York Times writer Joe Queenan had further written:” What I am saying is that if Klein purposely set out to write the sleaziest, most derivative, most despicable political biography ever, he has failed both himself and his readers miserably.”

(To be continued)