KR#10: Lawyers, migrants and Russia’s army

New investigations and analysis from ZAM and our network.

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In this edition of the Kleptocracy Report:

• We ponder the vast abyss between good and bad lawyers, and mourn the murder of a good one
• Hot this month: ZAM and NAIRE’s new Migrant Battalion project, on Africa’s young women recruited into Russia’s Alabuga military-industrial zone, -with their own governments acting as enthusiastic go-betweens. Are humans a resource to sell now (or once again) too? How and why it happens, in seven countries (plus bits from three others)
• Also: an ‘Alabuga’ op-ed by the investigative team, writing that “solidarity with Africa’s generation Z and its push for democracy and good governance on the continent seems to be essential, if Africa is to be saved from a destiny as newly colonised pawns.”
• ZAM republishes William Shoki’s piece on Sudan from Africa is a Country because it is a great essay, observing astutely that global capitalism has a lot to do with this war. Shoki notes Sudan as a “template, increasingly projected onto countries like Sudan by warlords, donors, and technocrats.”
• And stories from our network!

Editorial

The illicit financial flows and the lawyers

Lawyers working for kingpins in global corrupt networks “have for at least a decade been pinpointed by anti-corruption analysts as being a lynchpin in the movement of Illicit Financial Flows (IFFs) -including the proceeds of corruption – around the world,” writes Robert Barrington in a new piece for the UK University of Sussex’s Governance and Integrity GI ACE programme. Countering an often-heard justification for those in the legal profession who enable corruption, namely that “any lawyer is obliged to represent any client”, Barrington outlines how this view has been challenged by both legal ethicists and practising lawyers. Part of the counter argument is that the right to have a lawyer work for you is meant to defend from a criminal charge. “Put simply, if a corrupt oligarch were arrested for rape or murder, there is no question they should have a right to legal representation.  But the vast majority of kleptocrats and corrupt actors whose funds flow through a global financial centre such as London are not looking for legal protection from a criminal charge.  They are trying to protect or maximise wealth which they acquired in corrupt circumstances”, he says, welcoming “cracks” in the old view. “After several years of lawyers trying to close down the thinking that some of their number may be professional enablers of kleptocracy and grand corruption, we may now finally have a debate.”

So much for bad lawyers, who are still regrettably under much less fire than the good ones. Together with a large number of journalists, activists and people of integrity generally in South Africa and beyond, we are mourning the murder of Bouwer Van Niekerk, who was shot on 5 September while working on the liquidation of an alleged Ponzi scheme called the NTC Global Trade Fund. “Van Niekerk was the latest victim in a litany of fatal attacks against lawyers, auditors, whistleblowers, public servants and anti-corruption advocates in South Africa in recent years, highlighting once again how at-risk such members of our society are”, wrote Daily Maverick in a commemorative article.

Still, the good fight is not without its victories. Veteran Cameroonian barrister Akere Muna has won his case against global trading giant Glencore in a UK court. Glencore was ordered to pay over 11 trillion FCFA, close to US$ 20 billion, for tax evasion and overbilling in oil contracts.

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Akere Muna, now a presidential candidate in Cameroon, has been at this case tenaciously in recent years. He recently declared that, if elected, he could replenish Cameroon’s State treasury with 800 billion FCFA, US$ 1, 3 billion, just from oil revenue, in two weeks. Cameroonian news observer Mimi Mefo Info asked pointedly whether Cameroon would “use this victory to fight corruption at home or let it be another missed opportunity?”

Lastly, a reminder that we are now able to accept paid subscriptions to the Kleptocracy Report. Our content will remain free to all, but your support can help journalists publish in freedom and help open gateways for democratic change. Read more about our work and funding here.

Migrant Battalion

Or: how African governments sell young women to Russia (and elsewhere)

Design by Sky Walker

A team of ZAM and NAIRE investigated in Kenya, Nigeria, Uganda, Cameroon, Zambia, Malawi and the Great Lakes region how and why young women flock to Russian recruitment channels towards its Alabuga military-industrial zone, 1000 km’s east of Moscow. It found that there is more to it than just false promises. “This is my only escape”, and “better to be exploited in a developed country than where I am now” are some among the many, many comments we came across from passionate applicants who’d still go, even if they have to manufacture drones for the war in Ukraine. But the most shocking findings emerged when tracking African politicians’ involvement. Instead of embarrassment that so many young people are desperately trying to flee the countries they govern, they enthusiastically embrace the exodus, sometimes even accompanying them to Russia.

Read Migrant Battalion here

Migrant Battalion Op-Ed: The global threat of Russian recruitment in Africa

Instead of young Africans trading their dreams for a place in someone else’s war, the international community should embrace them, write Migrant Battalion authors Charles Mafa (Zambia), Samuel Baker Byansi (Great Lakes), Elizabeth BanyiTabi (Cameroon), Eric Mugendi and William Moige (Kenya), Josephine Chinele (Malawi), Emmanuel Mutaizibwa (Uganda), Beloved John (Nigeria) and Evelyn Groenink (ZAM investigations editor).

Read Russian Recruitment here

Sudan: elite misrule, external meddling and hunger

Starvation in Sudan is not just a symptom, writes William Shoki of Africa is a Country. It is a system. It is the culmination of decades of elite misrule, external meddling, and the strategic governance of hunger. If there is urgency here, it is not only to save lives, but to see clearly the structures that extinguish them.

Read Keep Eyes on Sudan here

News from our network

• Our Great Lakes partner, the Ukweli Media Coalition, in partnership with Afrique XXI and Africa Uncensored, has exposed a network of illegal cocoa traffickers between eastern DR Congo and Uganda. Involved are the Congolese and Ugandan armies, civil servants, well-known economic operators and armed groups including the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF). Impact of the story ensued: after the investigation was published, several agencies in the region started acting to protect farmers, writes Gilbert Bukeyeneza.

• Also with impact: Tiger Eye and Anas Aremeyaw Anas got Ghana police to raid a warehouse full of stolen maize. About 2,000 bags of maize, looted by a “powerful cartel”, were recovered to be released to the rightful owner. Th New Crusading Guide story reported that “as the raid unfolded, suspects made frantic phone calls to well-placed contacts”, by all accounts unsuccessfully.

• Exposed by our colleague Olivier van Beemen @oli4vb.bsky.social of Follow the Money @ftm.eu: the EU paid €12 million for a hydroelectric power plant without any customers near Virunga National Park in eastern Congo. The green energy, originally intended to provide households with cheap electricity, is now being used for bitcoin mining. See Bitcoin mining in Congo rainforest -reading needs registration but why not try them, they are good.
• Our sorely missed former ZAM Kleptocracy Report editor, @devipillay.co.za, has published hard-hitting research on the corruption—enabling role of consulting firms like McKinsey. Her GI ACE paper shows how global and local consultancies – notably McKinsey, Regiments, and Trillian – became embedded within state-owned enterprises in South Africa, facilitating corruption and extracting billions in fees. 

Coming soon:

• So long and thanks for all the fish: a quest to discover why there’s not enough fish in Ghana while Ghana’s fishermen battle ice-cold waters in Scotland
• How fair is not fair: Desperately trying to use ‘conflict-free’ minerals from the Congo doesn’t work as long as there’s a war on and big interests remain at stake

Stay tuned!

ZAM works with investigative reporters in African countries to bring you this content. Please subscribe, preferably paid, to support and enable more ZAM and NAIRE Kleptocracy Reports.