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Quote by Lailah Gifty Akita

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Lailah Gifty Akita

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“At the time it was de rigueur among Putin's economic operators to represent themselves as 'effective managers.' In practice, however, it was limited to the facts that they dressed in bespoke Brioni suits, bought up the priciest offices in Russia, and modeled themselves on Leonardo DiCaprio in The Wolf of Wall Street, only it was the state's money they managed rather than their own. Beneath the veneer of effective management was the same bunch of crooks who, given the slightest opportunity to steal, would do so. They were effective only in being able to devise fifteen different ways of cooking the books of a government contract in less than a minute, inventing a dozen fake commercial deals to make everything look proper, and briskly spiriting the loot away to their offshore company. The top dogs in all these state corporations were totally corrupt, and most of the regular staff were even more outraged by that than I was. It was from whistleblowers that I obtained the information that provided the basis of my first high-profile anti-corruption investigation. In 2007, VTB began purchasing oil drilling rigs in China and then leasing them to Russian oil producers. The cost of a Chinese drilling rig was $10 million. VTB Leasing, however, paid 50 percent more than that through an intermediary offshore company registered in Cyprus. It seemed an entirely pointless arrangement. What did Cyprus have to do with anything, and why was an intermediary needed? Surprisingly, it turned out that this offshore company was controlled by VTB's top executives, and the price difference went straight into their pockets. They purchased not five, note ten, but thirty of these drilling rigs. It would have been impossible to find customers for so many. This deal was supposed to remain secret, like dozens of others, but on this occasion things worked out differently. I not only wrote about the business but traveled to Yamal, where, in the middle of a field, I found the orphaned rigs still in gigantic containers and covered in snow. In the summer they rusted in a swamp. This investigation was very straightforward. You didn't need a degree in economics or to be an expert on oil production to work out what was wrong. I wrote hundreds of complaints, went to court, and even won. In those days that was still possible. I urged all the minority shareholders of VTB to file complaints together with me and demand documents. They did. This lasted for years, with statements to the police, rejections, appeals, lawsuits in Russia and Cyprus. It was a particular pleasure to question Kostin personally on the topic of drilling rights at shareholder meetings. He tried to find excuses, but with a marked lack of success.”

CorruptionCorporate Malfeasance
Book:Patriot: A Memoir
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“Dal Libro del Grande Bastardo, capitolo 7 Il Grande Bastardo disse ai suoi discepoli Pantamelo e Algopedonte: "E' proprio dei giovani come voi essere affascinati da stregoni e sortilegi, e pensare che a essi sia riservato il privilegio di donare la fortuna e cambiare la vita. Ma esistono altre persone che compiono miracoli e prodigi, nascoste negli angoli delle città e della storia. Se vedi uno stregone con un copricapo di piume di ororoko che cammina sopra i tetti, fa volare le edicole e fa cadere polvere d'oro sui passanti, può darsi che la tua vita stia per cambiare, ma molto più probabilmente stai vedendo un video musicale. Se vedi una persona che non si rassegna alle cerimonie dei tempi, che prezioso e invisibile aiuta gli altri anche se questo non verrà raccontato in pubbliche manifestazioni, che non percorre i campi di battaglia sul bianco cavallo dell'indignazione, ma con pietà e vergogna cammina tra i feriti, ecco uno stregone. Quando non c'è più niente da imparare, vai via dalla scuola. Quando non c'è più niente da sentire, non ascoltare più. Se ti dicono: è troppo facile starne fuori, vuole dire che loro ci sono dentro fino al collo. Vai lontano, con un passo solo.”

Italian LiteratureBenniAutori ItalianiIl Libro Del Grande BastardoLa Compagnia Dei Celestini
Book:La Compagnia dei Celestini
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“Try to think. Don't be imprisoned by century-old beliefs and dogma. Don't try to go to heaven, but make this beautiful world a heaven. Only you can make your world a hell with your beliefs and actions. Remember, there is no heaven or hell up there or down there, those are lies, it is all in your world. Your life is short, time is limited, so don’t waste your life just by following others. Remember, life has never been better than today, only you can make it worse by living in the past and forgetting to live in the present moment.”

TimeHeavenKindnessHellDogmaPresentBeliefsMiiph
Author:Debasish Mridha
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