Wednesday, September 13, 2017

Bell Pottinger: rotten apple or an industry that needs to look in the mirror?

President Jacob Zuma of South Africa
The PRCA is to be commended for expelling Bell Pottinger and putting stringent conditions on the company's re-admission.

And we must remember that many communications professionals have nothing to do with facilitating or covering up corruption.

But the suggestion that this one company was a rotten apple, and the rest of the industry is squeaky clean, is wholly unconvincing.

During the last decade, a lot of work has been done to track the growing use of London and other global centres by corrupt individuals and undesirable regimes.

They use London to launder money; but also to launder their reputations.

What could be better if you have stolen money from a state budget (like health, defence or education) in your own country, than to spend it out of sight of those you have stolen it from, in London, Paris, New York, Shanghai or Dubai?

Buy a fine property, a football club, possibly a newspaper; educate your children in private schools and top universities; build up political connections to insulate yourself and others like you from annoying laws or foreign policies.

PR specialists and law firms are on hand to help with this.  (more...)


Background:


The well-told lie bites back.

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