Some of the money was used to support friendly politicians.
But slush funds are not a sovereign prerogative. Multinationals,
banks, corporation, religious organizations, political parties, and
even NGO's salt away some of their revenues and profits in
undisclosed accounts, usually in off-shore havens.
Secret election campaign slush funds are a fixture in American
politics. A 2-year old bill requires disclosure of donors to such
funds but the House is busy loosening its provisions. "The
Economist" listed lately the tsunami of scandals that engulfs
Germany, both its major political parties, many of the Lander and
numerous highly placed and mid-level bureaucrats. Secret, mainly
party, funds seem to be involved in the majority of these lurid
affairs.
Italian firms made donations to political parties through slush
funds, though corporate donations - providing they are transparent -
are perfectly legal in Italy. Both the right and, to a lesser
extent, the left in France are said to have managed enormous
political slush funds.
President Chirac is accused of having abused for his personal
pleasure, one such municipal fund in Paris, when he was its mayor.
But the funds were mostly used to provide party activists with mock
jobs. Corporations paid kickbacks to obtain public works or local
building permits.
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