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Erzsébet Diós:
"Business" and Corruption in A Pyramid
Game
1. Introduction
2. The basic crime
3. Corruption within the system
4. Corruption during money laundering
The Ghana-Sierra Leone relation
Relationship with the bank
5. Corruption after starting the criminal
procedure
6. Penalties
7. Lessons from the case: difficulties
during the production of evidence and the judgement of corruption
1. Introduction
As far as the practice of business is concerned, corruption
opportunities always appear and not only in the transition
countries, but in traditional democracies as well. In a changing
system however, the guiding principles necessarily become
more uncertain than in a consolidated society.
It is difficult to obtain a precise definition of corruption;
to some extent there should be a general consensus on what
defines as "corruption".
In a broader sense, conduct that makes use of personal relationships
("cronyism") in order to achieve the desired economic or other
goal instead of the ways open to everyone - which ways are
regulated or otherwise considered legal - should belong to
corruption. In such cases the provided advantage may reach
the target person through several intermediaries thus direct
connection is often hard to show.
Corrupt conduct punished by criminal law obviously has a
much narrower interpretation restricted to certain people
and behaviour (official misdemeanour, bribery in business,
trafficking in influence).
Nonetheless, each type of corrupt conduct has a common feature:
hiding or disguising. Both the active and passive bribers
- the parties involved in corruption - have interest in hiding
their activity or in not having witnesses. If it was not so,
apart from public and judicial condemnation, the active party
would risk the favourable handling achieved for money and/or
other provided favour while the passive party would risk his/her
job, respect and goodwill. In Hungarian criminal law the party
who provides/promises advantage and the other party who receives/requests
favour are equally perpetrators of bribery. Consequently both
parties are punishable by law, so it is very difficult to
prove the promise, request, acceptance and provision of advantage
or favour. This is the most important reason why there are
few corruption cases heard at courts though the suspicion
of corruption appears in many economic cases. However, if
there is no evidence, the authorities may not know whether
the case is gossip only or well-founded suspicion worth of
further investigation. For similar reasons, the investigation
does not always result in accusation and court hearings may
also finish with acquittal.
Nonetheless, in some cases the suspicion of corruption is
linked with economic activities, which are crimes themselves
- including crimes against property first of all: fraud, fraudulent
breach of trust, negligent administration etc. In such cases
punishment is due even if the accompanying corruption remains
hidden.
Corruption in broad and narrow interpretation, explored and
hidden corruption equally appear in the complicated case presented
below. The case involves several accused individuals and several
ten thousand injured parties, and the story reaches the African
continent.
In this case crime resulted in the accumulation of substantial
money, and the perpetrators also used the international markets
to invest this huge capital. Both the accumulation of capital
-commitment of the basic crime - and the money laundering
were accompanied by activities that can be considered corruption.
Furthermore, such corrupt conduct was detected even after
the criminal procedure had been launched.
In this case study we will show:
- how corrupt conduct was linked with the mentioned economic
crime against property;
- which of the corrupt activities were punished or not punished;
and
- what were the reasons for punishment or not punishment.
2. The basic crime
After the change of the regime, along with the gradual development
of market economy, "pyramid games" also appeared in Hungary.
In the first half of the 90s - between 1990 and 1995 - these
"investment opportunities" were very popular as along with
high risk they promised outstandingly high returns for the
usually not so well-off and naive "investors". In these years,
there were games called Super Play, Super Play Extra, The
Rings of Scarabaeus, Courier Club, Seven Tribes, Top 12, All
Healthy 2000, etc. In fact these pyramid games were organised
systems of money collection and redistribution in several
stages.
In these games, people on the top of the pyramid invite two
or more people in the system, and every new member has the
same obligation. Payments of the new members arrive at people,
who rank higher on the pyramid or even on the top. Those who
join later, may earn money only if the new members grew in
number exponentially. The system is a closed one, apart from
the members' payments there are no other revenues. It can
be shown with little maths that only a few members may have
earned the promised high returns, while the majority of the
members played the role of financing these extra profits.
As there were no other financial sources in the system, the
process was a zero sum game, which is well-known in mathematics.
In such games, the earned returns must equal the incurred
losses.
In the media of the age quite a few experts analysed the
nature and mathematical principles of the pyramid games. Nonetheless,
these "businesses" enjoyed unbroken popularity as Hungarian
law did not have precise definition of this crime; there had
been no regulation and sanctions for the pyramid games.
The game was an excellent mean of concentrating free capital
in the hands of the organisers.
The persons accused with the crime took their chance, and
established Microker Ltd. in 1991. The company's registered
capital was HUF 1 million, it situated in Hódmezővásárhely.
First, the company wanted to deal with wholesale and retail
trade including different services, but the company managers
K.A. and K.M. learned soon that without considerable operating
capital and extensive business relations there was no successful
commercial company.
K.A. and K.M. wanted to make up for this deficiency so that
they extended the company's scope of activities and established
the "By Yourself I." mutual aid society (hereinafter - keeping
the original Hungarian abbreviation - we will refer to this
"society" as MU I.). The club's operation followed the principles
of pyramid games described above. The company promised those
who joined by paying HUF 16.000 that in a short period of
time they might earn HUF 2.430.000 provided that they organise
three more members per capita.
K.A. and K.M. used even the public television to advertise
the MU. I. system. Based on a contract with Praktuell Ltd.,
they frequently advertised on Village TV, which was quite
popular in the area. Until August 1993, the new members paid
more than HUF 80 million, however, later people were much
less interested; mainly because of the obligation of organising
three additional members.
K.A. and K.M. violated even the game rules which they prescribed
and family members, friends and other acquaintances had been
ranked on the places with sure payoffs independently of the
order of new member entries. The whole collected money was
paid out to the beforehand mentioned people, however, the
vast majority of members was ripped off, they could not even
recover the HUF 16.000 membership fee. Many of the victims
reported officially to the police, however, the authorities
dropped the investigation on the 28th of January 1994. The
reason was twofold: there was no solid legal regulation and
the officials did not recognise the fraud. The decision may
have convinced both the (future) members and the chief organisers
that the "By Yourself I." (MU I.) society and pyramid game
was a lawful business.
Making use of the experience with MU I., K.A. and K.M. decided
to involve more people with better financial background. At
the same time they wanted the system to be more attractive.
Shortly after the obstacle to entries - the obligation of
organising additional members - was cancelled, and "By Yourself
II" (hereinafter: MU II.) was established. The new organisation
was told to be an investment. People who then undertook the
organisation tasks - as they were insurance agents and credit
referees at the largest Hungarian commercial bank - had more
affluent clientele. There were other changes as well: with
the help of the popular Village TV, Microker Ltd. itself launched
regular commercial reports.
K.A. and K.M. abused that in the time concerned most of the
citizens had poor computer literacy skills. Therefore, for
these people computer science was a little bit of myth, but
which certainly implied confidentiality and credibility. MU
II. was told to be a computer system, which had a closed programme
without human interaction. This programme was told to be responsible
for the order and date of payoffs (the returns) in line with
the MU II. rules.
Nevertheless, in the computer registration that contained
the order of payoffs, there were so-called "machine codes"
inscribed between the natural persons on every 6th and 13th
place. These places also yielded returns. However, these moneys
were not paid out, instead, they stayed in the system. For
the paying members K.A. and K.M. justified the existence of
these computer codes: if the system stops, the returns accumulated
on these accounts should have been the reserve for those at
the bottom of the pyramid, who were necessarily losers, if
the system stopped. In fact the accused also made use of the
moneys accumulated this way, and the members were not informed.
With respect to the more affluent clients, in two years MU
II. promised more than HUF 10 million if HUF 160.000 was paid
and the member ranked first. In four months more than HUF
600.000 was promised for members ranking second. This time
as well, K.A. and K.M. monitored the computer registration
and they often changed the orders.
Despite what had been told, the computer programme responsible
for registration and ranking was far from being closed; it
did not have any kind of protection. Deletion, modification,
change of characters in the listed names was possible with
no constraint. People favoured by the accused organisers or
the accused themselves could easily be ranked on winner positions.
In the case of the second system, K.A. and K.M. apparently
tried to hide that MU II. had something to do with pyramid
games. The promised yield was indicated as if it was the business
profit of Microker Ltd. Nonetheless, in reality the accused
organisers stopped all other activities of the company after
the first game had been launched.
Almost 3000 people entered MU II., but only 12 received the
maximum yields. 27 people obtained HUF 600.000, 299 could
recover the starting HUF 160.000. Despite the promises, the
reserves had not been accumulated for the advertised purpose.
As the collected moneys were fully paid out to the accused
organisers including the family and friends, many investors
were hopelessly waiting for their returns.
In order to ease the financial difficulties, the accused
organisers tried to involve new capital by establishing "By
Yourself III." (hereinafter: MU III.).
This system differed only slightly: the initial investment
(or entrance fee) dropped to HUF 16.000 and promised HUF 160.000
after 4 months. Later the profit was arbitrarily reduced and
the time span increased to 8 months. As in this system the
pay off took place in one stage, K.A. and K.M. had the chance
of using the initial payments for free throughout the 8 months.
The attracting conditions were influential: altogether several
ten thousand people entered the three systems. Equipment and
staff of the company were both insufficient to handle such
a number of members either manually or on the computer. 18%
of the "investors", more than 7000 people had not been registered
at all, therefore the sum they paid was perfectly unidentifiable.
According to the accountant's data, more than HUF 700 million
was paid out from the HUF 1,8 billion collected in the three
systems. The remaining several hundred million remained in
the possession of the accused organisers. The original objective
of K.A. and K.M., i.e. the accumulation of free operating
capital, had come to reality.
3. Corruption within
the system
a.) K.A. accused of the second order put the physiotherapist
of his sick child on one of the winner positions - as a kind
of gratuity - so that the original order of entries had been
changed several times. This way the physiotherapist was ensured
to obtain the maximum yield, HUF 10 million. The physiotherapist
- L.A. - took all her money in three instalments.
b.) B.P. accused of the tenth order had been the office
head of Mikroker Ltd. in Budapest. His duties included the
organisation of new members into the MU systems, and guidance
for the agents active in Budapest and the agglomeration. For
these activities B.P. received HUF 2000 per member entering
directly in the MU systems. If the new member was organised
through the agents, B.P. received HUF 1000 per new member,
however, he could also get a fee if a member of MU II was
convinced to switch to MU III.
H.T. accused of the eleventh order was an agent for Mikroker
Ltd. The list of newly organised members had to be agreed
by the Budapest and Hódmezővásárhely office heads; commission
could be paid only after. The office head in Hódmezővásárhely
- Mrs. A.T.A. - could take measures independently (on behalf
of the company).
B.P. and H.T. wanted to receive more commission fee than
what would have been reasonable after the new entries. Thus
they also listed people, who did not actually qualify as new
members (e.g. who did not pay the entrance fee or withdrew
his/her intention, etc.). In February 1994 they met Mrs. A.T.A.
and took these prepared lists. The office head recognised
that on average only 2 listed members out of 50 were eligible,
so she denied to pay the not earned commission.
B.P. and H.T. offered HUF 100 thousand, later HUF 300 thousand
to the office head if she accepted the prepared lists. However,
Mrs. A.T.A. was not willing to accept all the submitted lists.
Then she was threatened that if she kept refusing, "she will
be treated as the Z.Nagy-s" (four members of the mentioned
confectioner family were slaughtered in their home in Szeged
some day before the conversation).
In the negotiations the office head learned to know that
B.P. and H.T. were carrying guns with themselves, so she acted
as if she had accepted the offer. Nonetheless, later she recorded
the conversations on tape and asked for help from the police.
4. Corruption during
money laundering
First, the accused organisers transferred the concentrated
capital to Gyémánt-híd Co. (Microker Ltd. founded this company
limited by shares). The objective was to launder the money
in different businesses and make personal use of it.
Certainly, the members - now shareholders - waiting for their
money had not been informed. Neither were the member-shareholders
aware that henceforth they were entitled only to some low
percent dividends - if profit was made - instead of the beforehand
promised high returns.
Gyémánt-híd Co. was meant to operate as a holding of the
businesses to be established by the accused organisers.
a.) The Ghana-Sierra
Leone relation
Name of the company (Gyémánt-híd = Diamond-Bridge) already
labelled the high profile business, in which the accused organisers
intended to invest the capital in question.
Dr. H.M.F. accused of the third order divorced earlier from
her husband, who came from Ghana. Their child, C.R.N.M. accused
of the fourth order had dual Hungarian-Ghanaian citizenship.
C.R.N.M's uncle A.H.M. also had Ghanaian citizenship, but
he had been living in Sierra Leone. Through the businessman
uncle, the accused persons gained information about the diamond
mines of Sierra Leone. The diamond mine in Kemena province
of this civil war burdened African country ranks eleventh
among the diamond mines of the world.
Through his wife the uncle - also the brother in law of Mrs.
H.M.F. accused of the third order - had interest in a Sierra
Leone based trade company. An Italian businessman, C.R.N.M.
and other people such as K.I. to be accused later were the
owners of Rio Mining Co. Ltd., the company in question.
The uncle of C.R.N.M. accused of the fourth order had been
the economic consultant of the earlier Sierra Leone government
for four years. In the local business and political elite
he was renowned for his wide range of relationships. Based
on the information provided by the uncle, the accused organisers
got to know that the Sierra Leone government announced a tender
for foreign companies with strong financial background to
reduce and eliminate the losses caused by the illegal diamond
trade and the continuous armed clashes for the possession
of the diamond mines. The tender targeted to organise legal
acquisition of the mines by foreign firms, which would have
ensured both profit and controlling licenses for the government.
In order to meet the eligibility requirements of the tender,
Gyémánt-híd Co. first had to take a stake in Rio Mining Co.
Ltd. then the Hungarian company also established an off-shore
firm in Sierra Leone. The name of the offshore was Diamond
Bridge Co. Ltd.
Gyémánt-híd Co. and Rio Mining Co. Ltd. jointly applied for
the tender. An American, a British and a German company also
applied. Nevertheless, in February 1994 the Diamond and Gold
Buying Agency of the government had negotiations with K.M.
accused of the second order (representing Gyémánt-híd Co.),
C.R.N.M. accused of the fourth order (representing Rio Mining
Co. Ltd.) and the earlier mentioned K.I. The result of negotiations
was an undersigned agreement between the Sierra Leone government
and the tendering companies (16th of February 1994, Freetown).
There also was evidence that in the course of negotiating
and cooperating with the Sierra Leone government officials,
the "usual gifts" had also been provided. Financing of these
"bribes" was done from the US$ 250 thousand brought to Sierra
Leone by the accused organisers. Besides buying shares, founding
a company, preparing the tender documentation, this money
was also the source of living expenses and other investments
in Sierra Leone. For instance they bought the concession rights
for four minefields (US$ 30 thousand each) and they employed
an appraiser (a diamond expert) in Sierra Leone and a representative
on the Antwerp diamond exchange.
b.) Relationship with
the bank
Money for the African enterprise was ensured from the payments
of the small investors collected during the pyramid games.
Foreign activities of the two Hungarian firms - Mikroker
Ltd. and Gyémánt-híd Co. - were bound to different official
licenses (license to hold foreign currency, permissions issued
by the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of International
Business Relations, the Ministry of Trade and Industry). Nonetheless,
the two companies did not have any license, they did not even
try to acquire these though there was a lawyer and other legally
educated individuals among the accused organisers. Obviously,
the companies did not perform their obligation of reporting
to the offices. Instead of acquiring permission to hold foreign
currencies, the Hungarian companies chose the infringement
of foreign currency regulation.
C.R.N.M. accused of the fourth order - who had dual Hungarian
and Ghanaian citizenship and who was a shareholder in Rio
Mining Co. Ltd. - kept his Hungarian citizenship in secret,
and with the help of his Ghanaian passport opened a foreign
currency account for Rio Mining Co. Ltd. in the Szeged based
Branch Office of Mezőbank. In the opening of the account,
an ex-classmate of C.R.N.M. gave advice and support
as he worked in this branch of the bank.
The bank account of Gyémánt-híd Co. was hold at the same
bank. Gyémánt-híd Co. and Microker Ltd. both transferred larger
sums to this Gyémánt-híd account, and from there the money
was transferred to the account of Rio Mining Co. Ltd. Upon
the advice of the friend in the bank, the legal title of transfers
was "market research and advertising". Thus, the accused organisers
could obtain the money in foreign currency (in our case in
US$) from the Rio Mining Co. Ltd. account. The money was travelling
in a "suitcase" to Sierra Leone, and it was handed over to
A.H.M. at the airport of Freetown.
The legal title "market research and advertising" was suitable
in this case because this foreign trade activity did not imply
permission issued by the foreign exchange authority.
5. Corruption after
starting the criminal procedure
In the criminal procedure, which started in 1994, the existing
company assets, and every found asset possessed by the accused
individuals were closed off. Gyémánt-híd Co.'s bank accounts
were treated similarly. However, for further operation of
the companies and doing the African business the organisers
needed the blocked money.
In the investigation procedure, dr. R.M. - a lawyer from
Szeged, commissioned by one of the accused - said that he
could arrange the opening of the accounts via his important
relationships in Budapest. Members of the Parliament and politician
relatives were mentioned. He also purported that it needs
a considerable amount of money; HUF 10 million has to be paid
for the "Budapest relation".
Eventually Mrs. H.M.F. accused of the third order - who had
been the office head in Hódmezővásárhely in the last months
also receiving more than HUF 10 million in the pyramid game
- discussed the above mentioned offer with M.E. accused of
the fifth order. They decided to accept the lawyer's offer.
HUF 4 million was provided by M.E., 1 million by Mrs. H.M.F.
M.E. borrowed the missing HUF 5 million from a friend keeping
the destination of the money in secret.
Dr. R.M. proved to be rather cautious as he put HUF 4 million
on a savings account, HUF 5 million was requested in banknotes
of a Hungarian commercial bank and he needed only HUF 1 million
in cash.
The two accused people had blind trust in Dr. R.M. Although
the lawyer signed an acknowledgement of receipt of the received
valuables, later H.M.F. and M.E. gave it back upon his request.
Thus there was no evidence of the received HUF 10 million.
The promised 1 month elapsed and the bank accounts were
still not accessible. Mrs. H.M.F and M.E. met the lawyer again
to collect their money. Dr. R.M. came to the appointment and
- in a nervous manner - presented a daily newspaper; Kurír,
which ceased to exist in the meantime. An article was telling
a story about the Balaton-related businesses of the son of
dr. B.P. - minister of home affairs, prime minister later.
The lawyer said that the son of B.P. was about to arrange
the opening of the accounts, but it was no longer possible
because of the story in the newspaper. The lawyer also mentioned
that he and his family was already in danger. Finally the
HUF 10 million did not return to the clients, its destination
faded away in the mist of time.
6. Penalties
As a result of the mentioned wide scale "business" activities,
the criminal procedure started against 16 persons. The court
found 13 persons guilty and acquitted 2 accused. Due to the
lack of evidence, investigation did not continue in the case
of 1 person.
Founders of Microker Ltd., K.A. and K.M. - accused of the
first and second order respectively - were sentenced to imprisonment
for 5-5 years. The court found them guilty in fraud on 40
thousand (!) occasions and in violating the act on foreign
currency.
The others also were sentenced to executable imprisonment.
The time span of imprisonment was 2 years to 4 years and 6
months.
The authorities also took effective measures to retain the
assets gained through crime. The accused had tried to hide
the assets so that they bought valuable cars and real estates
registered for their relatives (often for their children under
legal age); the foreign currency was deposited in foreign
banks (K.A. accused of the first order and K.M. accused of
the second order deposited DM 38.844 and 130.000 respectively
in Volksbank Höchst, Franfurt, Germany).
The German authorities were suspicious that these moneys
originate from crime, and the prosecutor of Frankfurt started
the procedure upon the suspicion of money laundering. Within
the framework of legal aid, information was requested from
the Hungarian authorities. The information did not provide
enough base to continue the procedure, which then stopped.
The negative information was the consequence of the Hungarian
authorities' first opinion that the accused persons did not
commit crime by running the MU systems.
When the criminal procedure started in Hungary, upon the
Hungarian authorities' request the Frankfurt based bank transferred
the money deposited by K.A. and K.M. to the National Bank
of Hungary, where the accounts were barred. Later the court
confiscated the money as the accused infringed the act on
foreign currency.
Beside the executable imprisonment, the secondary punishment
also ordered the confiscation of the real estates registered
for the accused and their relatives, the expensive cars and
the ownership in Microker Ltd.
The several ten thousand victims could assert their rights
not in this criminal procedure, but in front of a civil court.
Many of the lawsuits are still in progress, but even those,
whose case was closed with a non-appealable court decision
could not receive any money, because the found company assets
- as it was described earlier - was not substantial.
7. Lessons from
the case: difficulties during the production of evidence and
the judgement of corruption
a.) Upon the suspicion of receiving stolen goods,
criminal procedure started against L.A., the physiotherapist
of K.M. accused of the second order. However, it was not proven
that she was aware that the money she received was stolen.
Apparently, even if there was enough evidence, L.A. could
have been sentenced only because of committing crime against
property. However, it is also apparent that the money she
received was "tip", a kind of "gratuity" from K.M. As L.A.
did not meet the criteria prescribed for passive bribers in
the Criminal Code (not official person, not employee of state
organisation, state-owned business, social organisation, association,
etc.), she could not be punished for corruption (bribery).
Due to the lack of evidence, the investigating authority stopped
the procedure in the case of L.A.
b.) Nonetheless, the court found B.P. and H.T. accused
of the tenth and eleventh order guilty. The crime was bribery
in connection with requesting favour from an employee entitled
to take measures independently and taking the law in their
own hands. The sentence was 10 and 8 months of suspended imprisonment.
During the production of evidence, it helped a lot that the
husband of Mrs. A.T.A. was a witness of the offer and later
the threatening, not to mention her tape recordings of similar
telephone conversations later. As a result, the accused persons'
defence could not be successful.
c.) As long as the known circumstances justify, winning
the tender in Sierra Leone was definitely not the result of
the "excellent" tender documentation submitted by the Hungarian
company alone. Without the help and the "usual" gifts advised
by the Sierra Leone resident relative of the persons accused
of the third and fourth order, the African government office
would not have chosen the Hungarian applicant as the winner
of the tender, while strong American and German companies
had also been running in the competition.
Court hearing of the uncle could not take place, because
there was no connection at all between the judicial bodies
of Hungary and Sierra Leone. Only C.R.N.M. accused of the
fourth order was talking about giving gifts in Sierra Leone.
The investigating authority had tried to make the story clear,
however, the accused organisers could not give account of
the money used in Sierra Leone. Furthermore, they did not
want to tell where the contracts and other documents prepared
in the African country could be found. During the house searches,
only the photocopy of Mr. Daskal's passport was found. He
was the Belgian diamond exchange broker.
It was obvious from the different and contradictory confessions
that the mentioned expenses were not even close to the amount
of money given to the uncle of C.R.N.M. (accused of the fourth
order).
In order to complete the evidences and build up the whole
story, the investigating authorities turned to the INTERPOL
on several occasions. However, there was no response. Since
it could not be proved how the officials in Sierra Leone were
bribed, there was no accusation.
d.) The bank employee, who gave professional advice
to the accused C.R.N.M. taking into account their earlier
acquaintance (as an ex-classmate), was not accused. The reason
was twofold: it could not be clearly proved that the bank
employee was aware that his friend's aim was to evade the
laws on foreign currency - in this case he would have been
accessory (accomplice) to the crime violating the act on foreign
currency. Nor could be proved if he had received anything
for the advice. Moreover, there was no evidence if he had
participated in the arrangement of his friend's case. If it
had been proven that for his advice the bank employee accepted
a favour (advantage) as an administrator of C.R.N.M.'s case,
he could have been punished. In this way, however, even the
criminal procedure could not start. Nonetheless, without this
advice and relationship, there would have been a much greater
risk in the transfer of money to abroad.
e.) Dr. R.M. lawyer, and his companions were punished.
The lawyer was sentenced because he told he would bribe an
officer, and the court punished him for trafficking in influence
while pretending bribery.
Mrs. H.M.F. and M.E., who gave the money, were sentenced
for bribery. Dr. R.M. was sentenced for imprisonment suspended
for a 2 year term of probation. The court imposed HUF 270
thousand fine on Mrs. H.M.F. and M.E., and they were sentenced
to pay the HUF 10 million advantage for the state (this sum
was to be confiscated).
The production of evidence for this crime was not as easy
as in the case of B.P. and H.T. There was no witness, no tape
recording and even the acknowledgement of receipt was lost.
Furthermore, a witness to save the accused B.P. and H.T. appeared:
the manager of SAL Ltd., a partner of Mikroker Ltd., said
that he received the HUF 10 million from Mrs. H.M.F. as a
business credit (this money was the subject of bribery).
Nonetheless, the court assigned special importance to the
confession of M.E. accused of the fifth order. Until his detailed,
spontaneous and voluntary confession the court did not know
about the corruption case. M.E. was supposed to report on
something else for the police, when suddenly he told the mentioned
story of bribery. Later he gave different pretexts to withdraw
the rather convincing confession, however, for the court it
was unbeatable.
(GKI Economic Research Co., 2000)
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