Questionable Expenses by Lawmakers in Other Countries
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Version 0 of 1. The financial irregularities of the Canadian Senate, revealed on Tuesday in an audit of the expense reports of 116 current and former senators, are prosaic in comparison to the lowlights of other such scandals worldwide. Expecting taxpayers to cover the cost of taxi rides in Ottawa is hardly as imaginative as, say, wanting reimbursement for cleaning the slime from a private moat. Here are some of the questionable expenses lawmakers in other countries have claimed. Britain: In May 2009, the country was jolted by revelations that some members of Parliament had flagrantly misused a program allowing them to expense the costs of keeping second homes so that they could commute between London and their home districts. They sought reimbursement for moat maintenance, tennis court repairs, shipments of horse manure, a new chandelier and toilet seats, and an electrical massage chair, among other household “necessities.” Italy: In Italy, corruption scandals are not limited to Parliament. Last year, more than 60 current or former politicians in the wealthy Lombardy region were accused of misappropriating about 3 million euros (about $3.3 million) in public funds by claiming reimbursements for expensive wine, caviar, cigarettes, Red Bull, lottery cards and digital cameras. Japan: Trade Minister Yoichi Miyazawa was in the spotlight last October after revelations that an aide had tried to expense a visit to a club featuring sadomasochistic performances. Amid the scrutiny Mr. Miyazawa acknowledged that he owned stock in the company hired to clean up the Fukushima nuclear plant — work he would oversee — but said it would not affect his decision making. New Zealand: Despite its ranking as the second-least-corrupt nation by Transparency International, a nongovernmental organization that monitors global corruption, New Zealand has had its share of scandal. In 2010, several Labour Party members of Parliament were revealed in public documents to have claimed expensive wine, new clothes, massages and sporting gear as legitimate expenses. One of them, Shane Jones, admitted that he used his government credit card to pay for the rental of pornographic movies at hotels 19 times while on political business. He later paid back the money, acknowledging that he should not have charged the movies to taxpayers. “I absolutely lost the plot,” he told The Dominion Post of Wellington. |