1. HAMILTON FRIEDMAN MOBILE TV RAWSTHORN
LEAPS INTO ON OBAMA’S AT ITS FINAL ON CREATING
THE BREACH NEXT TASK FRONTIER JUST FOR FUN
PAGE 10 | FORMULA ONE PAGE 9 | VIEWS PAGE 13 | BUSINESS WITH PAGE 6 | DESIGN
....
MONDAY, MAY 31, 2010 THE GLOBAL EDITION OF THE NEW YORK TIMES GLOBAL.NYTIMES.COM
The elusive fortune
of Charles Taylor
MONROVIA, LIBERIA fer of millions of dollars into and out of
dozens of accounts.
But they have come up dry for any
Investigators pursue cash money in Mr. Taylor’s name. In fact, four
they contend the jailed years ago, Mr. Taylor was classified as
‘‘partially indigent’’ by the Special Court
ex-leader of Liberia stole for Sierra Leone at The Hague, where he
is charged with instigating murder, mu-
BY DOREEN CARVAJAL tilation, rape and sexual slavery during
intertwined wars in Liberia and Sierra
How much money did Charles G. Taylor, Leone that claimed more than 250,000
the deposed president of Liberia, siphon victims from 1989 to 2003.
out of his destitute, war-shattered coun- That has left donor nations — the
try, and where is it? United States being the largest — to
For almost seven years, since an inter- cover his monthly $100,000 legal bill and
national warrant was issued for his ar- the broader costs of his $20 million trial.
rest, the search has stretched from the But the investigators push on, and a
mangrove swamps and diamond fields review by the International Herald
of West Africa to Swiss banks and shell Tribune of court transcripts, bank rec-
corporations — a state-of-the-art version ords, and newly available government
of the sweeping asset hunts that have ac- receipts and confidential prosecution
companied the fall of autocrats since the memos indicates why they are reluctant
shah of Iran’s demise in the 1970s. to give up the hunt.
Investigators have crawled in the dirt Some of the records show how the
under porches and buildings in this im- country’s largest timber company sent
poverished capital to seek out financial tax payments to Mr. Taylor’s private ac-
records. They have confronted bankers count rather than the national treasury.
and government officials on four conti- Others trace huge payments made by the
nents. They have cross-referenced dominant cellphone company to people
mazes of documents charting the trans- suspected of being Taylor cronies. Others
depict a web of front companies and
banks from Hong Kong to New York in- JAE C. HONG/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
volved in the movement of millions of dol- Workers cleaning up oil residue Sunday in Grand Isle, Louisiana. A government official called the leak ‘‘probably the biggest environmental disaster’’ in U.S. history.
lars into Mr. Taylor’s accounts in Liberia.
‘‘Money would go to an arms dealer
Oil still gushing, BP to try yet another technique
or an ally and from there to a money
management firm and then back to
Liberia, then cashed out and moved to
another bank account,’’ said Thomas R.
Creal, an accountant from Chicago who WASHINGTON ‘‘We are prepared for the worst,’’ said disaster — would mean environmental working on the top kill, who spoke on
for five years has led the search for the the adviser, Carol Browner, who deals and economic damage of breathtaking the condition of anonymity because he
United Nations. BY BRIAN KNOWLTON, with energy and climate change issues. proportions, not to mention billions of was not authorized to speak publicly for
Retained by Liberia, he and three law LESLIE KAUFMAN BP and administration officials had ex- dollars in further liabilities for BP, the BP. ‘‘The engineers are disappointed,
firms are developing a new strategy in- AND CLIFFORD KRAUSS pressed high hopes for the so-called top besieged British company. The grim and management is upset. Nothing is
volving filing civil damage claims kill technique, which involved pumping new picture raised speculation of a pos- good. Nothing is good.’’
against companies, governments and Abandoning its ambitious ‘‘top kill’’ tons of heavy drilling mud into the well to sible complete government takeover of Energy Secretary Steven Chu took
international banks that they contend plan, BP turned to a new approach over stem the flow. Instead, they will now take the effort in the Gulf. part in the decision Saturday to drop the
TAYLOR, PAGE 4 the weekend as its last serious hope be- a second attempt to place a containment ‘‘We are disappointed,’’ Bob Dudley, SPILL, PAGE 7
fore relief wells are completed in August cap over the leak, bolstered by their les- managing director of BP, said Sunday,
CONFERENCE ON CRIME OF AGGRESSION to contain an oil spill that a White House sons from the first failed attempt. saying the upward flow was too strong IS TRIUMPH OF TECHNOLOGY ASSURED?
ROBIN VAN LONKHUIJSEN/AP Nations, rights groups and lawyers meet adviser on Sunday called ‘‘probably the The prospect of oil gushing into the to contain with the top kill technique. Amid the struggle to plug the undersea
Charles Taylor at the Special Court for Monday in Uganda to possibly expand biggest environmental disaster we’ve Gulf of Mexico for months more — it has ‘‘Simply too much of what we pumped well, it seems Americans’ great belief
Sierra Leone in The Hague in 2009. the power of international law. PAGE 4 ever faced in this country.’’ already far surpassed the Exxon Valdez in was escaping,’’ said a technician in technology is misplaced. PAGE 7
Women marines forge bonds to break barriers Could cure for debt crisis
ABDUL GHAYAS, AFGHANISTAN Then they encouraged the Afghans,
who by now had shyly uncovered their
faces, to sew handicrafts that could be
do more harm than good?
Cultivating good will sold at a local bazaar. FRANKFURT The downward pressure on prices has
with Afghans, they seek ‘‘We just need a couple of strong
women,’’ Corporal Amaya said, in hopes
its roots in the economic decline that fol-
lowed the 2008 financial crisis, but
ties transcending gender of enlisting them to bring a measure of
BY JACK EWING
Europe’s sovereign debt crisis is likely
local commerce to the perilous world The so-called Club Med countries may to add extra impetus. To mollify bond
BY ELISABETH BUMILLER outside their door. be giving Europe fits with their outsize markets, governments including those
Corporal Amaya’s words could also debts, but at the original Club Med — of Spain and Germany are reducing
Two young female U.S. marines trudged describe her own daunting mission, the French resort operator — the same spending sharply to lower their deficits,
along with an infantry patrol in the heat, countries are on sale. which will inevitably curb demand.
soaked through their camouflage uni- Club Méditerranée is advertising dis- The E.C.B.’s doubters grew louder
forms under nearly 30 kilograms of
THE FEMALE FACTOR counts on holidays to Greece, Portugal after the central bank made a big show
gear. But only when they reached this Seeking engagement and other European destinations, a mar- of taking measures to cancel out the
speck of a village in the Taliban heart- keting strategy that, it turns out, may go supposed inflationary impact of the
land on a recent afternoon did their hard part of a program intended to help im- a long way toward explaining why government bond purchases it began
work begin. prove the prospects for the United Europe is likely to have a hard time over- making on May 10 to help keep Greece
For two hours inside a mud-walled States in Afghanistan — and also, per- coming its current economic problems. and a couple of other euro-zone coun-
compound, the marines, Cpl. Diana haps, to redefine gender roles in com- With Club Med and many other Euro- tries from defaulting on their debts.
Amaya, 23, and Cpl. Lisa Gardner, 28, bat. pean businesses holding prices steady ‘‘It’s nuts: how can they be concerned
set aside their rifles and body armor Three months ago, Corporal Amaya or even cutting them, many economists about the inflationary impact of this?’’
and tried to connect with four nervous was one of 40 female marines training at are beginning to question whether the said Carl B. Weinberg, chief economist
Afghan women wearing veils. Over mul- Camp Pendleton, California, in an edgy European Central Bank’s obsession with of High Frequency Economics in Val-
tiple cups of tea, the Americans made experiment: sending full-time ‘‘female inflation makes sense right now. Indeed, halla, New York. ‘‘If I were the head of
small talk through a military interpret- engagement teams’’ to accompany all- LYNSEY ADDARIO FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES some of these experts say that deflation the E.C.B. I would be printing money to
er or in their own beginner’s Pashtu. AFGHANISTAN, PAGE 7 Corporal Lisa Gardner taking an Afghan baby to a U.S. medical officer for care in Helmand. could be the bigger threat to Europe. DEFLATION, PAGE 16
WORLD NEWS PAGE TWO
Dennis Hopper, a true rebel Harmony reigns at the Giro
Berlusconi seeks wiretap limits A look at the life of the prolific actor, who Why Korea is still a tinderbox Team spirit was the order of the day in
Hoping to rein in embarrassing leaks, was also a photographer, artist and art Usually, there is a familiar cycle to Korea Verona as Ivan Basso, 32, won the Giro
the center-right government of Prime collector, is like tracing contemporary crises, and the betting is that the latest d’Italia with help from Vincenzo Nibali,
Minister Silvio Berlusconi is pressing culture and the history of modern one will abate without much escalation. a 25-year-old member of the same
for a contentious new law that would movies. He died Saturday at 74. PAGE 4 But what if this time is different? squad. PAGE 12
severely restrict magistrates’ ability to
wiretap and journalists’ ability to BUSINESS VIEWS
publish the results. PAGE 3
Another British Airways strike Justice vs. impunity
Economy propels Czech right British Airways cabin crews began a A permanent International Criminal
Although the center-left Social new five-day strike Sunday as a bitter Court must also become a universal
Democrats narrowly won parliamentary dispute with management over pay and one. We have learned that justice is not
elections in the Czech Republic, center- working conditions dragged on with an impediment to peace but a partner
right parties began talks Sunday on little sign of a breakthrough. PAGE 13 to it, writes Kofi Annan. PAGE 8
forming a coalition government after
voters spooked by the economic crisis in Putting a limit on friendship Jamaica’s violent democracy
Greece gave politicians favoring fiscal What would be an impressive, even The violence tearing apart Jamaica
austerity the most votes over all. PAGE 3 exhaustive, number of friends in real raises serious and disturbing questions
life is bush league for Facebook’s high about the broader link between
Popular U.K. minister resigns rollers, who have thousands. But the violence and democracy itself, writes
David Laws, a minister in Britain’s new site does have a limit, 5,000. PAGE 15 Orlando Patterson. PAGE 8
coalition government, resigned after a
newspaper reported that he had New worry for world economy ONLINE
received refunds for rental payments Labor unrest in China calls into
that he had made to a long-term partner. question the ability of multinationals to In Peter the Great’s footsteps
It was not public knowledge before the keep their supply lines open, and it Three hundred years ago, Czar Peter
report that Mr. Laws was gay. PAGE 3 discourages investment, too. PAGE 16 went west. Traveling under a
MICHEL SPINGLER/AP pseudonym, he turned himself into an
SPORTS apprentice and studied European
NEWSSTAND PRICES
FOR SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION, CALL: NEWSSTAND PRICES IN THIS ISSUE advances, from shipbuilding to
00800 Brazil R$¤10.0048Czech RepDKr 23100 Germany£¤1.35
Algeria Din 175
Andorra ¤ 3.00
44 Denmark CZK 27 3.00
Bulgaria 2.55
78 Gibraltar Kuwait Fils 150
Latvia Ls 2.25
France ¤ ¤3.00
Moscow Roubles 110
Nigeria NGN 390
Reunion 3.50
Romania Lei 11.50
The Netherlands ¤ 3.00
Tunisia Din 3.200
No. 39,568 A letdown for Venus Williams governance. Then he returned to
or e-mail us at 2.200 Ecuador US$ 3.35 Hungary HUF
Cameroon CFA subs@iht.com590 Northern Ireland £ 1.50 Din 175 SR .13
Algeria Saudi Arabia Lebanon 4LP 4,000 Books 6 She was overpowered in the fourth remake Russia. Next month, President
M 00132 C$531 F:LE 14.00 IsraelE12.10/Eilat NIS 10.40
Antilles ¤ 3.00
Argentina US$ 5.00 Canada 4.50 Egypt 3,00 NIS
Lebanon LP 4,000
Lithuania LTL 15 Norway NkrAndorra ¤Senegal CFA 2.200
28 3.00
Turkey TL
Ukraine US$ 5.00
Morocco Dh 22 Business 13 round by Nadia Petrova, the 19th seed, Medvedev of Russia will travel to Silicon
Austria ¤ 3.00 Cayman Is CI$ 2.00 Estonia Ekr 49 Italy ¤ 2.50 Luxembourg ¤ 3.00 Oman OMR 1.250 Serbia Din 220 United Arab Emirates AED 12.00
Crossword 12
3:HIKKLD=WUXUU:?k@f@d@b@k;
Antilles ¤ Slovakia ¤ 3.30/SKK 99.50 VenezuelaCFA 2.200
3.00 Senegal US$ 2.75
Bahrain BD .1 Chile Ps$ 1,550 Finland ¤ 3.00 Ivory Coast CFA 2.200 Macedonia Den 150.00 Peru US$ 3.50 who advanced to the quarterfinals with Valley, which is acting as a template for
Belgium ¤3.00 Colombia Cps 1,875 France ¤ 3.00 Jordan. JD 1.350 Malta ¤ 2.50 Poland ZI 12.00
Cameroon CFA Slovenia ¤ 2.200
2.50 Tunisia Din 3.200 Design 6
Bermuda US$ 3.50 Costa Rica US$ 2.50 Gabon CFA 2.200 Kazakhstan USD 3.50 Montenegro ¤ 2.00 Portugal ¤ 3.00 Spain ¤ 3.00 United States $ 3.00 a 6-4, 6-3 victory at the French Open on a new scientific city being built outside
Gabon CFA 2.200 Reunion ¤ 3.50 Sports 10
Bolivia US$ 2.75
Bosnia & Herzegovina KM 5.00
Croatia KN 20.00
Cyprus ¤ 2.90
Great Britain £ 1.50
Greece ¤2.50
Kenya K. SH. 200
Kosovo ¤ 2.50
Morocco Dh 22
Mexico N$ 26.00
Qatar QR 8.00 Sweden Skr 25
Ireland ¤3.00 Switzerland SFr 4.00
Republic of Ivory Coast CFA 2.200
Other US$ 2.00
U.S. Military (Europe) US$ 1.75 Views 8
Sunday. PAGE 11 Moscow. global.nytimes.com/europe