Update (hat-tip to Jim Hall at Deep Capture):
Financier/speculator/activist George Soros (Soros Fund Management) is in Nigerian scouting for opportunities for investment, according to all Africa.com:
“The Soros delegation met Nigerian bankers including senior managers from United Bank for Africa and Diamond Bank during their trip to Lagos, according to sources within the banks. Representa-tives of at least two other big US and European funds have also visited Lagos since the start of the year, according to another industry source. Soros Fund Management declined to comment.”
The banking sector is heavily represented in the Nigerian stock-exchange, and after a high in March 2008, has taken a tumble that many blame on the withdrawal of funds by foreign investors. However, foreign hedge funds and investors apparently take up only 10-12% of share capital, say analysts. They blame the market collapse on the popular practice of banks lending money to people to buy shares, which led to speculation and soaring prices. Since then,
“The plunge in stock prices has provoked concern about the extent of banks’ exposure to losses from these loans and raised questions about the level of supervision by the Central Bank of Nigeria and other regulators.”
So there’s a Goldman Sachs hedge-fund executive in the Nigerian cabinet, which obviously would have a good deal to say about the running of the Central Bank, and there’s George Soros, meeting with Nigerian bankers.
That’s all three parts of my formula for corruption (“some government officials, some speculators, and some banks” versus everyone else):
s(G) + s(S) + s(S) v EE, where ‘s’ is always a positive integer
“Nigeria’s acting President Goodluck Jonathan has appointed a Goldman Sachs prime brokerage executive to the country’s cabinet. Olusegun Aganga, who is based in London, heads Goldman’s hedge fund consulting services. The managing director has reportedly been actively developing the firm’s business in Nigeria and sub-Saharan Africa.”
Now what would that business be?
A Goldman report, “Health Buys Wealth” suggests one angle:
Maybe, Goldman is angling for some lucrative private-public deals in health care, infrastructure, and other “humanitarian” investments?
Organ harvesting. It depends what country, but black market kidneys go for at least several thousand dollars; sometimes over ten thousand.