I figured out why it’s so hard for Putin to answer questions about the offshore accounts. It’s not because we caught him taking bribes, but because his business partners caught him running a completely disgraceful scheme. They’ll sit around, talk it over among themselves, and snicker: _well, would you look at that, skimming off the top — he could have just said so outright_.
Look:
We know that various state-owned companies funneled $2 billion into the offshore accounts of Putin’s friend, the cellist Roldugin.
Putin said that Roldugin spent all the money on musical instruments and still ended up in debt. He bought two violins and two cellos. One of the cellos cost $12 million.
Let’s assume all four instruments cost $12 million each. That makes $48 million in total.
You could imagine it went something like this:
Igor Ivanovich, Seryozha needs money for a cello — give him $12 million.
Andrei Leonidych, by the way, Seryozha needs an expensive cello, so kick in $15 million for him.
Alexei Sanych, our well-known musician Rodugin is raising money for an antique cello — might you be able to assist him?
And so on, to thirty different places. For a cello.
And just as described in the Panama Papers, little streams started flowing in from all over: $1 million here, $3 million there, $12 million somewhere else. Altogether it came to $2 billion.
Then they bought two violins and two cellos. At most, $48 million.
And the difference — $1.952 billion — just sort of stuck to their fingers.
As people say online in situations like this, “that awkward moment when...”.
It turned out very awkward in front of the boys.
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