经济学人201:曼恩·阿尔萨尼亚 沙特巨头冲突

 　　Businesee

　　商业报道

　　AHAB and Maan al-Sanea

　　曼恩·阿尔萨尼亚

　　Clash of the Saudi titans

　　沙特巨头冲突

　　The contours of a Saudi financial scandal become clearer

　　沙特财务丑闻真相日显

　　AT THE weekend, many Saudis speed across the 28km causeway joining their country to the more relaxed kingdom of Bahrain to enjoy a drink, a film,

　　每逢周末，许多沙特阿拉伯人穿过连接沙特阿拉伯和巴林王国的28公里堤道，去享受巴林更为悠闲的生活，譬如喝喝饮料、看看电影、

　　or a pair of beautiful legs, as one Bahraini delicately puts it.

　　赏赏美腿，一名巴林人这样细致描绘道。

　　Sometimes, in their eagerness, they crash over the rails.

　　但有时由于太过热切，就会在轨道上相撞。

　　The financial traffic between the two countries also produced a terrible wreck¹ last year—one of the worst in the history of banking² in the Gulf³.

　　去年，两国之间的金融交通也发生了严重破坏，这是波斯湾银行业历史上最为严重的一次。

　　In May 2009 The International Banking Corporation, a Bahrain bank owned by a venerable Saudi merchant family, the Gosaibis, defaulted on its obligations.

　　2009年5月，可敬的萨特商业家族Gosaibis所拥有的巴林国际银行公司出现债务违约。

　　The default was an early sign that its parent, the Ahmad Hamad Algosaibi & Brothers Group, was in financial trouble.

　　这也是其母公司艾哈迈德·哈马德·阿尔戈萨伊及兄弟公司陷入财务困难的早期迹象。

　　In the legal disputes that followed, AHAB alleged⁵ it was the victim of a spectacular $9 billion fraud, orchestrated by Maan Al-Sanea,

　　在随后的法律纠纷中，AHAB宣称其是沙特亿万富翁萨尼亚精心策划的90亿美元巨额欺诈案的受害者，

　　a Saudi billionaire married to the daughter of one of the group's founders⁶.

　　萨尼亚还娶了一名集团创始人的女儿。

　　Mr Sanea, they alleged, enjoyed complete control of their financial businesses, raising money in their name from as many as 118 banks.

　　AHAB创始人宣称萨尼亚完全控制了集团金融业务，还以他们的名义从118家银行筹资。

　　He siphoned billions out of the group, they claim, to entities⁷ he controlled.

　　他从集团抽取数十亿美元到他自己控制的企业。

　　Mr Sanea denies any wrongdoing, and insists that although he used to be involved in the running of AHAB, he has not been for many years.

　　但萨尼亚否认做过任何违规行为，并坚持他虽过去参与过运营AHAB，但已退出多年。

　　The court battles surrounding TIBC's collapse⁸ hinge on this row about the extent and nature of Mr Sanea's role—something that recent court filings and TIBC's former boss have shed some light on.

　　围绕TIBC倒闭的法庭纷争关键在于对萨尼亚的角色的范围和性质的争论，即是最近法庭备案和TIBC前CEO已清楚阐明的一些事情。

　　The subject is urgent, as AHAB's creditors¹⁰ are closing in.

　　当AHAB的债权人们步步紧逼时，这一主题也变得相当迫切。

　　On June 16th TIBC's administrators¹¹, Trowers & Hamlins, who are running the bankrupt firm on behalf of its creditors,

　　6月16日，Trowers和Hamlins代表债权人运行这一破产公司，

　　filed a $720m claim against AHAB in Saudi Arabia, the first of a series of proceedings¹² that they hope will recover $3.2 billion from the group.

　　他们对萨特阿拉伯AHAB发起了一项7.2亿美元的索赔，开始了向该公司索赔32亿美元的一系列诉讼。

　　Others are pursuing the Gosaibis in Bahrain, London, New York and elsewhere.

　　巴林、伦敦、纽约和其它地区的Gosaibis也正在受到起诉。

　　Saudi Arabia's king has formed a 12-member committee to resolve the dispute, and Bahrain's public prosecutor¹³ is questioning executives from time to time.

　　沙特国王已组成了一个由12人组成的委员会来解决这一纠纷，巴林的公诉人也不时对高官们进行质询。

　　One of them was Glenn Stewart, the chief executive of TIBC until its collapse.

　　格林·斯图尔特就是其中一员，他在TIBC倒闭之前任该公司的首席执行官。

　　Mr Stewart recently escaped from Bahrain to America, eluding¹⁴ a travel ban.

　　斯图尔特最近避过了一项旅游禁令，从巴林逃到了美国。

　　In a complaint to the United Nations Human Rights Council, Mr Stewart says that he was caught in the middle of a Clash of the Titans, between the Gosaibis and Mr Sanea.

　　斯图尔特向联合国人权理事会提出了投诉，称自己被夹在两大巨头-Gosaibis和萨尼亚-的冲突中，进退两难。

　　As boss of TIBC, Mr Stewart says he took instructions from Mr Sanea because he believed that the Gosaibis had given Mr Sanea full power of attorney to act on their behalf.

　　斯图尔特称作为公司CEO他接受萨尼亚的指示，因为他认为Gosaibis已全权授命萨尼亚代表其行事。

　　Mr Sanea had indeed been given power of attorney to run one of AHAB's financial divisions, the Money Exchange, in 1983.

　　1983年，阿尔巴尼亚确实被授权运营AHAB金融分支-货币交易所。

　　But that was revoked¹⁵ in the 1990s, he says, and a narrower authority to sign documents on a case-by-case basis lapsed¹⁶ in 2003.

　　但他说这在90年代就取消了，一项根据具体情况签署文件的较为狭义的授权也于2003年被取消。

　　In 2005 Mr Sanea resigned from the board of TIBC and other AHAB financial businesses, citing too many pressures on my time.

　　2005年，萨尼亚以闲暇时间的压力太大为由，辞去了在TIBC董事会以及其它AHAB业务上的职位。

　　After TIBC's default, he issued a statement saying he was not involved in the operations of AHAB in any way,

　　在TIBC违约事件后，他发表了一项声明，称自己并未以任何方式参与AHAB的运营。

　　although his spokesman now refuses to confirm or deny whether he had any continuing power of attorney related to AHAB.

　　但对萨尼亚是否具有任何与AHAB相关的代理权，其发言人目前还拒绝表示确认或否认。

　　He also claims the Saudi committee has found no evidence of wrongdoing.

　　萨尼亚还称沙特委员会并未发现任何违规证据。

　　The Gosaibis, in a lawsuit¹⁷ against Mr Sanea in the Cayman Islands, say he exercised complete managerial control of the business of Money Exchange, with the full trust and confidence of AHAB.

　　在开曼群岛Gosaibis对萨尼亚发起一项法律诉讼，称他在AHAB的充分信任下，实施了对货币交易所的完全经营控制。

　　They allege⁴ that Mr Sanea abused their trust, concealing¹⁸ his borrowings from them and forging documents bearing the signature of Sulaiman al-Gosaibi, one of the founders of the group.

　　他们指控萨尼亚滥用了他们的信任，对他们隐瞒借款，伪造有Sulaiman al-Gosaibi签名的文件。Sulaiman是集团创始人之一。

　　The Gosaibis point out that TIBC's financial statements were purportedly¹⁹ signed by Sulaiman shortly before his death in 2009,

　　他指出，据称TIBC的财务报表是在Sulaiman2009年去世前签过字的，

　　when he was in a coma²⁰ in Zurich.

　　但当时他在苏黎世，还处于昏迷中。

　　A guarantee to a creditor⁹ was supposedly signed in 2000 by Sulaiman's brother, Abdulaziz, after a stroke left him unable to hold a pen.

　　而一项债权人担保也据推测是由Sulaiman的兄弟Abudulaziz签署的，而此前他在中风过后连只笔也拿不了。

　　They say that Audrey Giles, a forensic²¹ scientist in London, has cast doubt on hundreds of Sulaiman's signatures, finding that many were too perfect a match to one another to be true.

　　他们称伦敦法证科学家奥德利·贾尔斯对数百个Sulaiman的签名产生了怀疑，发现许多签名相互之间匹配得太过完美，不像是真的。

　　Three of the documents she examined were the subject of a hearing last month in Bahrain, where Bank Muscat International of Oman is demanding $25m from AHAB.

　　她检查的其中三份文件就是上月在巴林举行的一场听证会的主题，当时阿曼马斯喀特国际银行要求AHAB偿还2500万美元。

　　The tribunal ruled that they were not forged.

　　但法庭判决这些文件并非伪造。

　　But the ruling does not necessarily contradict Ms Giles's findings, since it merely concluded that the three documents were not among those she found to be forged.

　　但这不一定与贾尔斯女士的发现相抵触，因为裁决仅仅推断这三份文件不在她发现是伪造的文件之列。

　　Mr Stewart's claims raise one further question about this murky²² affair.

　　斯图尔特的声明引发了对此模糊事件的另一个疑问。

　　Why did he consent to be the boss of a bank he did not run?

　　他为什么会同意担任一家未由自己运营的银行的CEO呢？

　　You are nothing more than a glorified²³ servant, he admits.

　　斯图尔特承认你只不过是一个被美化的仆从罢了。

　　Wasn't that a waste of his talents?

　　但这岂不是对他才能的一种浪费。

　　Mr Stewart, who studied Islamic history and Arabic at Oxford²⁴, says that after his long years in the Gulf he would find it hard to adjust to Western corporate²⁵ culture.

　　斯图尔特曾在牛津学习伊斯兰历史和阿拉伯语，他宣称在波斯湾生活多年后，将发现很难适应西方企业文化。

　　He is fascinated by the turbulence²⁶ and anarchy²⁷ of the Arab world, he says,

　　他称，自己深深着迷于阿拉伯世界的动乱和无政府状态，

　　although he is now bearing the consequences of that ill-discipline.

　　尽管现在承受着不良纪律造成的后果。

1 wreck   

n.失事，遇难；沉船；vt.(船等)失事，遇难

参考例句：

• Weather may have been a factor in the wreck.天气可能是造成这次失事的原因之一。
• No one can wreck the friendship between us.没有人能够破坏我们之间的友谊。

2 banking   

n.银行业，银行学，金融业

参考例句：

• John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
• He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。

3 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

4 allege   

vt.宣称，申述，主张，断言

参考例句：

• The newspaper reporters allege that the man was murdered but they have given no proof.新闻记者们宣称这个男人是被谋杀的，但他们没提出证据。
• Students occasionally allege illness as the reason for absence.学生时不时会称病缺课。

5 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

6 founders   

n.创始人( founder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He was one of the founders of the university's medical faculty. 他是该大学医学院的创建人之一。 来自辞典例句
• The founders of our religion made this a cornerstone of morality. 我们宗教的创始人把这看作是道德的基石。 来自辞典例句

7 entities   

实体对像； 实体，独立存在体，实际存在物( entity的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Our newspaper and our printing business form separate corporate entities. 我们的报纸和印刷业形成相对独立的企业实体。
• The North American continent is made up of three great structural entities. 北美大陆是由三个构造单元组成的。

8 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

9 creditor   

n.债仅人，债主，贷方

参考例句：

• The boss assigned his car to his creditor.那工头把自己的小汽车让与了债权人。
• I had to run away from my creditor whom I made a usurious loan.我借了高利贷不得不四处躲债。

10 creditors   

n.债权人，债主( creditor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They agreed to repay their creditors over a period of three years. 他们同意3年内向债主还清欠款。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Creditors could obtain a writ for the arrest of their debtors. 债权人可以获得逮捕债务人的令状。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 administrators   

n.管理者( administrator的名词复数 )；有管理（或行政）才能的人；（由遗嘱检验法庭指定的）遗产管理人；奉派暂管主教教区的牧师

参考例句：

• He had administrators under him but took the crucial decisions himself. 他手下有管理人员，但重要的决策仍由他自己来做。 来自辞典例句
• Administrators have their own methods of social intercourse. 办行政的人有他们的社交方式。 来自汉英文学 - 围城

12 proceedings   

n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
• to initiate legal proceedings against sb 对某人提起诉讼

13 prosecutor   

n.起诉人；检察官，公诉人

参考例句：

• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。
• The prosecutor would tear your testimony to pieces.检查官会把你的证言驳得体无完肤。

14 eluding   

v.（尤指机敏地）避开( elude的现在分词 )；逃避；躲避；使达不到

参考例句：

• He saw no way of eluding Featherstone's stupid demand. 费瑟斯通的愚蠢要求使他走投无路。 来自辞典例句
• The fox succeeded in eluding the hunters. 这狐狸成功地避过了猎手。 来自辞典例句

15 revoked   

adj.[法]取消的v.撤销，取消，废除( revoke的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• It may be revoked if the check is later dishonoured. 以后如支票被拒绝支付，结算可以撤销。 来自辞典例句
• A will is revoked expressly. 遗嘱可以通过明示推翻。 来自辞典例句

16 lapsed   

adj.流失的，堕落的v.退步( lapse的过去式和过去分词 )；陷入；倒退；丧失

参考例句：

• He had lapsed into unconsciousness. 他陷入了昏迷状态。
• He soon lapsed into his previous bad habits. 他很快陷入以前的恶习中去。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 lawsuit   

n.诉讼，控诉

参考例句：

• They threatened him with a lawsuit.他们以诉讼威逼他。
• He was perpetually involving himself in this long lawsuit.他使自己无休止地卷入这场长时间的诉讼。

18 concealing   

v.隐藏，隐瞒，遮住( conceal的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Despite his outward display of friendliness, I sensed he was concealing something. 尽管他表现得友善，我还是感觉到他有所隐瞒。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• SHE WAS BREAKING THE COMPACT, AND CONCEALING IT FROM HIM. 她违反了他们之间的约定，还把他蒙在鼓里。 来自英汉文学 - 三万元遗产

19 purportedly   

adv.据称

参考例句：

• This is purportedly the oldest tree in the world. 据称这是世界上最古老的一棵树。 来自互联网
• Mayor Oh Se-Hoon launched the campaign last year, purportedly to improve efficiency. 据悉，首尔市市长吴世勋于去年提出了这项旨在提高工作效率的计划。 来自互联网

20 coma   

n.昏迷，昏迷状态

参考例句：

• The patient rallied from the coma.病人从昏迷中苏醒过来。
• She went into a coma after swallowing a whole bottle of sleeping pills.她吃了一整瓶安眠药后就昏迷过去了。

21 forensic   

adj.法庭的，雄辩的

参考例句：

• The report included his interpretation of the forensic evidence.该报告包括他对法庭证据的诠释。
• The judge concluded the proceeding on 10:30 Am after one hour of forensic debate.经过近一个小时的法庭辩论后，法官于10时30分宣布休庭。

22 murky   

adj.黑暗的，朦胧的；adv.阴暗地，混浊地；n.阴暗；昏暗

参考例句：

• She threw it into the river's murky depths.她把它扔进了混浊的河水深处。
• She had a decidedly murky past.她的历史背景令人捉摸不透。

23 glorified   

美其名的，变荣耀的

参考例句：

• The restaurant was no more than a glorified fast-food cafe. 这地方美其名曰餐馆，其实只不过是个快餐店而已。
• The author glorified the life of the peasants. 那个作者赞美了农民的生活。

24 Oxford   

n.牛津（英国城市）

参考例句：

• At present he has become a Professor of Chemistry at Oxford.他现在已是牛津大学的化学教授了。
• This is where the road to Oxford joins the road to London.这是去牛津的路与去伦敦的路的汇合处。

25 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

26 turbulence   

n.喧嚣，狂暴，骚乱，湍流

参考例句：

• The turbulence caused the plane to turn over.空气的激流导致飞机翻转。
• The world advances amidst turbulence.世界在动荡中前进。

27 anarchy   

n.无政府状态；社会秩序混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• There would be anarchy if we had no police.要是没有警察，社会就会无法无天。
• The country was thrown into a state of anarchy.这国家那时一下子陷入无政府状态。