THE THIRD WORLD DEBT CRISIS IN THE 1980s AND 1990s/87be difficult to find the account-book proof of Elf's financial support to
the coup d'etat. This is because the preparation and execution of such
a large-scale operation cost, directly or indirectly, somewhere
between 100 and 200 million dollars.' He denounces the financial
circuits (from which he himself benefited) that go through the Paris-
based FIBA bank, the Luxembourg-based SIBA and the Belgian bank
La Belgolaise (Le Monde, 27 November 1997). This scandal ties in
with the revelations of a study carried out in France, concerning the
payoffs made by Elf into the Swiss bank accounts of about 40 highly
placed French officials. The list of officials includes a former minister
of a right-wing government, a close associate of the former right-
wing Minister of the Interior Charles Pasqua, and a friend of former
President Frangois Mitterrand (Le Monde, 1 December 199 7).
In the world of corruption, it takes two to tango. Belgium (along
with Luxembourg) and France rank first and second in the list of
corrupting nations compiled by Johann Lambsdorff, professor of
economics at the University of Gottingen, for Transparency
International. A whole host of laws in the North explicitly allow
companies to account for commissions paid overseas and deduct
them from their taxable profits (Le Soir, 30-31 August 1997).
Furthermore, a portion of the aid 'granted' by France to countries in
its orbit returns directly into government coffers.
BOX 2 THE INGA DAM IN CONGO-ZAIRE
Long on the project books when Congo-Zaire was a Belgian colony,
the Inga hydroelectric complex got under way in 1965 after
General Mobutu took power. The project remained under the wing
of the president's office throughout. By late 1971, the project
needed new financing to reach completion. The first phase of Inga
absorbed S163 million, 125 per cent more than initial estimates.
By the end of 1980, the Inga central was using half its capacity;
almost none of the industrial projects destined to be powered by the
new complex had seen the light of day. Still, at that time, a group
of industrialists set about building Inga II, which was meant to
provide three times as much power as Inga I. Its initial estimated
cost was S360 million, it ended up costing S460 million. It was
financed by bank and commercial loans. The Belgian Societe
Generale de Banque provided the biggest bank loans - some S16 7
million at interest rates between 6 and 8 per cent. Problems with