Table 1.
Alleged incidents of stealing in the Asian financial crisis.a
Company Country Date Alleged incident
Bangkok Bank of Commerce Thailand 1996–97 Bank managers moved money to offshore companies under their control.
United Engineers (Malaysia) Bhd Malaysia 1997–98 United Engineers bailed out its financially troubled parent, Renong Bhd, by acquiring a 33% stake at an artificially high price.
Malaysia Air System Bhd. Malaysia 1998 The chairman used company funds to retire personal debts.
PT Bank Bali Indonesia 1997–98 Managers diverted funds in order to finance a political party.
Sinar Mas Group Indonesia 1997–98 Group managers transferred foreign exchange losses from a manufacturing company to a group-controlled bank, effectively expropriating the bank's creditors and minority shareholders.
Guangdong International Trust & Investment Co Hong Kong/China 1998–99 Assets that had been pledged as collateral disappeared from the company when it went bankrupt.
Siu-Fung Ceramics Co Hong Kong/China 1998–99 Assets that had been pledged as collateral disappeared from the company when it went bankrupt.
Tokobank Russia 1998–99 Creditors who may have been linked to bank managers took control of the bank and its remaining assets following default. Foreign creditors got nothing.
Menatep Russia 1998 Following Menatep's bankruptcy, managers transferred a large number of regional branches to another bank they controlled.
AO Yukos Russia 1998–99 Managers transferred Yukos's most valuable petroleum-producing properties to offshore companies they controlled.
Uneximbank Russia 1999 Following Uneximbank's bankruptcy, managers moved profitable credit-card processing and custodial operations to another bank.
Samsung Electronics Co. Korea 1997–98 Managers used cash from Samsung Electronics to support other members of the Samsung group (notably Samsung Motors) that were losing money.
Hyundai Korea 1998–99 Managers of a Hyundai-controlled investment fund channelled money from retail investors to loss-making firms in the Hyundai group.