Western governments are implicated in supporting, and thereby strengthening, autocracies across the Arab World in a variety of legal and illegal ways. Over the last three decades, similar strategies have been pursued toward Russia, increasing President Vladimir Putin’s riches and power, culminating in his megalomaniacal invasion of Ukraine. Complicity policies toward authoritarian countries in the Middle East may result in increased security dangers and hazards, proving just as destructive as those that benefitted the Kremlin.
Consider the stench of corruption that pervades Jared Kushner’s recent transaction with Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, as revealed by The New York Times in early April. During the Trump administration, former President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and top White House advisor used his official position to strengthen connections with Saudi leadership, particularly Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Kushner then quickly and effectively used such contacts after leaving government.
Despite having no prior expertise in private equity, Kushner was able to get a $2 billion investment in his new private equity firm, Affinity Partners, from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, despite the fund’s own investment advisers being rejected by the fund’s head: the crown prince. Is MBS seeing this investment in Kushner’s firm as a strategy to gain even more clout in Washington if Trump is re-elected?
On April 13, the Swiss attorney general’s office announced the conclusion of an 11-year investigation into wrongdoing involving monies frozen in Swiss banks and belonging to the family of the late Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. As a result, the Mubarak family now has complete control of about $620 million in Swiss money; Mubarak’s sons, Alaa and Gamal, even got approximately $270,000 from Swiss authorities to cover their legal expenses. Hosni Mubarak managed to have hundreds of millions of dollars put in Swiss banks despite the fact that his whole professional life was spent on Egypt’s public payrolls, first as a career officer in the Egyptian Air Force and subsequently as vice president and president.
According to the Swiss, they were unable to get any proof against Mubarak from the Egyptian administration. Its ludicrous inquiry and judgment are unsurprising—the last thing the Swiss authorities want to recognize is that their banks are more than prepared to work with corrupt foreign presidents and their allies and accept their dirty money. Furthermore, the Swiss ruling will inspire kleptocrats all around the world to believe that their treasure is secure in Swiss hands.
In April, the family of Egyptian economist and researcher Ayman Hadhoud, 48, received word from Cairo police that he had died after being arrested in early February. Prior to his incarceration, his study included allegations of government bribes. According to DAWN, his death is mysterious and clearly shows that he was tortured. He is the fifth Egyptian detainee to die in state custody this year. While the State Department finally addressed his death in a press briefing on May 2, saying it was “deeply disturbed” by the reports and calling for “a thorough, transparent, and credible investigation,” I couldn’t find a single word of protest about Hadhoud’s death on the website of the US Embassy in Cairo—which does, however, proudly highlight that US-Egypt ties are “rooted in shared interests and values.”
Yet, in Egypt and throughout the Arab world, the US government consistently ignores core values that are critical to sustaining and building democracy: freedom of the press, speech, and assembly; accountable governance; respect for human rights; and a justice system that ensures that no individual is above the law. The majority of European governments are no better. Promoting these ideals in the Middle East has taken a second seat to appeasing autocratic rulers that have pushed for lucrative arms agreements, cozy commercial connections, and access to oil and other natural resources. Commerce has always trumped morals in Western diplomacy across the area, especially in relation to Russia, rendering Germany increasingly dependent on Russian oil and gas.
In other respects, Western countries have been involved in the Arab world’s vast corruption. They have aided corruption by failing to ensure strict enforcement of anti-corruption and anti-money laundering legislation, as well as neglecting to enhance current rules and regulations. They have turned a blind eye to many of the illicit financial flows that end up in London homes, superyachts anchored in the south of France, beautiful art purchased at the top auction houses, and enormous sums invested in stocks and bonds on the world’s greatest stock markets.
These kleptocrats and their cronies require enablers to manage these investments and ensure their safety and secrecy: bankers, lawyers, auditors, property agents, and other financial consultants on Wall Street, in London, Zurich, and increasingly in Dubai, the new favorite hideaway for Russian oligarchs fleeing the heat of sanctions in the United Kingdom. Swiss banks, like Hosni Mubarak and his sons, are popular partners, moving vast sums of money through their wealth management divisions into the world’s capital markets. The Swiss, on the other hand, must compete with some of the world’s largest banks, which are located in Europe and the United States. When the US Justice Department prosecutes them for money laundering on rare instances, they agree to settle with penalties. No one chairman or CEO of a big bank who has been caught up in such a situation has been personally prosecuted or forced to quit. Fines are just a cost of doing business.
After Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, the United States and Western Europe saw the foolishness of their collaboration policies with Russia. As numerous EU nations hurried to minimize their reliance on Russian oil and gas, they placed massive sanctions on Russian banks and enterprises, as well as individual oligarchs and Russian public officials. At the same time, the United States announced that it was increasing funds for law enforcement to go after money launderers and finalizing regulations to make it easier for the Treasury Department to obtain the identities of the beneficial owners of holding companies, which are frequently used for corrupt purposes. Other anti-corruption measures are being considered as well.
However, when it comes to international corruption, Western nations should not focus just on Russia. Ignoring corruption in the Middle East simply serves to cement kleptocratic Arab governments, making them feel more safe in the West’s backing while they collect more ill-gotten wealth and rule with impunity. Inevitably, this feeds some of these leaders’ arrogance and desire to increase their authority, with all sorts of destabilizing implications across the region, beginning with MBS’s violent domestic crackdown in Saudi Arabia and Saudi war crimes in neighboring Yemen.
Kushner receives his money. The Mubaraks get their money. Meanwhile, US aid continues to flow. Since 1978, Egypt has received more than $50 billion in military aid and $30 billion in economic aid from the United States. A $130 million decrease in yearly US funding this year to protest Egypt’s human rights violations lost all credibility when the Biden administration endorsed a fresh $2.5 billion arms deal to the Egyptian regime.
Instead of turning a blind eye or even facilitating corruption among its Arab friends and partners, US officials and governments around the West should consider the common sense offered by Marie Yovanovitch, the former US ambassador to Ukraine, in her new memoir, Lessons From the Edge. “Our ideals and interests are nowhere more aligned, at least in theory, than when it comes to battling corruption,” she adds. “When leaders see their positions in government as sinecures serving their personal interests rather than the interests of their citizens, it not only contradicts our ideals, but it also works against our interests, particularly our long-term interests.”