Why the FIFA Scandal Isn't News
FIFA officials very publicly arrested in Switzerland this week generated a slew of sordid stories. Imagine FIFA being a corrupt organization!
And that's just the point. For years just about everyone knew FIFA was on the far side of the great swath of corruption that cuts through our world like the Mongol hordes riding herd from Asia through central Europe. Oh, and let's ditto the International Olympic Committee: Will it be long before they're the target of prosecutors? Will the recent award of the games to Qatar trigger an indictment? That one may have stretched credibility a step too far. Qatar? Really?
But let's not stop there. The rupture of FIFA's dam, while no surprise, has occurred at just about the same time that the world's major banks were fined over $5 billion for fixing the interest rate known as LIBOR for years. Again, the facts of the fixing didn't surprise anyone. The penalty, however, did. The banks not only paid their fine but - and I think this is a first, at least on this scale - accepted the criminal charge leveled at them. Normally, they'd just agree to pay as long as nothing of a criminal nature was admitted.
One wonders why they've admitted to criminal activity this time around. Could it be that the future holds criminal indictments for individuals who participated in these nefarious schemes, including those responsible for the most egregious criminal acts during the 2008-2009 financial crisis and the years leading up to it?
We can only hope.
But, back to reality, while it might satisfy many of us if the bankster schemers were held criminally accountable - or accountable at all - we'd do best to remember this: If the banks paid that much money and accepted the criminal charges, imagine how much money they made over the years to cause them to accede to this? Billions? More likely tens of billions? Maybe hundreds.
So don't cry for these folks - not that you were going to. They've raked in the dough, and lots of it, for a long, long time. Just remember this, if you want to derive a lesson from it all: it's never enough. Once greed gets its claws into you, it doesn't easily let go.
And that's just the point. For years just about everyone knew FIFA was on the far side of the great swath of corruption that cuts through our world like the Mongol hordes riding herd from Asia through central Europe. Oh, and let's ditto the International Olympic Committee: Will it be long before they're the target of prosecutors? Will the recent award of the games to Qatar trigger an indictment? That one may have stretched credibility a step too far. Qatar? Really?
But let's not stop there. The rupture of FIFA's dam, while no surprise, has occurred at just about the same time that the world's major banks were fined over $5 billion for fixing the interest rate known as LIBOR for years. Again, the facts of the fixing didn't surprise anyone. The penalty, however, did. The banks not only paid their fine but - and I think this is a first, at least on this scale - accepted the criminal charge leveled at them. Normally, they'd just agree to pay as long as nothing of a criminal nature was admitted.
One wonders why they've admitted to criminal activity this time around. Could it be that the future holds criminal indictments for individuals who participated in these nefarious schemes, including those responsible for the most egregious criminal acts during the 2008-2009 financial crisis and the years leading up to it?
We can only hope.
But, back to reality, while it might satisfy many of us if the bankster schemers were held criminally accountable - or accountable at all - we'd do best to remember this: If the banks paid that much money and accepted the criminal charges, imagine how much money they made over the years to cause them to accede to this? Billions? More likely tens of billions? Maybe hundreds.
So don't cry for these folks - not that you were going to. They've raked in the dough, and lots of it, for a long, long time. Just remember this, if you want to derive a lesson from it all: it's never enough. Once greed gets its claws into you, it doesn't easily let go.
Comments