US Senate Hearing: The Zartadi Case Study
| Well yes you guessed it right, the only way there could be a case study on Zardari is his corruption (apparently thats the only other significant thing he has done in his life apart from marrying Benazir Bhutto). On November 9, 1999, the US Senate released this report on investigations hearing on private banking and money laundering. |
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Zardari is one of the four case studies (making us proud indeed).
They're using Zardari as a case study on bad banking practices and how people like him operate. This excerpt from the report (*.PDF), talks only about Zardari. Here are some interesting points from the report:
- "It has been reported that the government of Pakistan claims that Ms. Bhutto and Mr. Zardari stole over $1 billion from the country." (Some estimates put the figure at $1.5 billion.)
- "During the period 1994 to1997, Citibank opened and maintained three private bank accounts in Switzerland and a consumer account in Dubai for three corporations under Mr. Zardari's control."
- "Citibank informed the Subcommittee staff that the private bank was aware of the allegations of corruption against Mr. Zardari at the time it opened the accounts in Switzerland."
- "In March or April, 1996, Mr. Amouzegar asked that the overall limit on the Zardari accounts be increased from $40 million to $60 million, apparently because the accounts had reached the previously imposed limit of $40 million"
- "Apparently, well over $40 million had flowed through the accounts, though Subcommittee staff was unable to ascertain the actual amount because Swiss bank secrecy law prohibits Citibank from sharing that information with the Subcommittee"
- "On December 5, 1997, Citibank prepared a Suspicious Activity Report on the Zardari accounts and filed it with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network at the U.S. Department of Treasury. The filing was made fourteen months after its decision to close the Zardari accounts; thirteen months after Mr. Zardari was arrested a second time for corruption in November 1996; and nearly two months after the Swiss government had ordered four Swiss banks (including Citibank Switzerland) to freeze all Zardari accounts."
- "On December 11, 1997, Citicorp's Chairman John Reed wrote the following to the Board of Directors:
We have another issue with the husband of Ex-Prime Minister Bhutto of Pakistan. I do not yet understand the facts but I am inclined to think that we made a mistake. More reason than ever to rework our Private Bank."
Still want Benazir Bhutto as prime minister?
