Keeping it in the Family: Brotherly Transgressions

History is filled with stories of infamous criminal siblings. Some of the most notorious include London gangsters the Kray Twins, American outlaws Frank and Jesse James, and the Menendez brothers, who are now firmly back in the zeitgeist thanks to teen activists on TikTok demanding an end to their 30-year jail stints.

That crime is a family affair was proved in 2011, when a 35-year study revealed that 10 per cent of families account for two-thirds of criminals. When the report came out, poverty was pushed as a driving factor. However, it seems that criminality amongst those who share the same surname does not exclude the 0.08% who make up the billionaire elite.

In fact, there seems to be an epidemic of white-collar criminality amongst the world’s wealthiest brothers.

In the last decade alone, we have seen accusations of money laundering, corruption, bribery, blackmail and fraud raised against a number of billionaire siblings around the world, including the Batistas (Brazil), Wadhawans (India), Tchenguiz (UK), Wylys (US), Sharifs (Pak), Kwoks (Hong Kong), and Candys (UK). Whilst charges brought against some have eventually been dropped, it is still extraordinary that so many of these uber-wealthy duos continue to end up in such sticky situations.

Today, a number of high-profile brotherly transgressions are dominating international column inches, police reports, and court transcripts.

One of the highest profile of these cases is that of the Gupta brothers in South Africa. The Guptas allegedly used their close connections with former leader Jacob Zuma to pull off what Vanity Fair described as a "modern-day coup d’état, waged with bribery instead of bullets". They are accused misappropriating state assets, inappropriately influencing political appointments, and siphoning off billions of rand in state funds for personal benefit. Sanctioned in the UK and US, the brothers, who have repeatedly denied wrongdoing, are expected to be extradited from self-exile in Dubai to South Africa where they will face trial.

In India, Malvinder and Shinder Singh, who also refute accusations of misconduct against them, have been in jail since October 2019. The pair, who sold their family pharmaceutical business for $2.4bn dollars in 2008, have racked up quite the rap sheet and currently stand accused of fraud, diversion of funds from listed companies to private firms, money laundering, falsification of trust, and criminal conspiracy, with the latest of these charges filed by Delhi police just last month.

Meanwhile, a case has just been filed in Switzerland against Dmitri and Alexei Ananyev. The billionaires, who were once listed as two of the richest men in Russia, have been branded as “financial terrorists”, and accused of fraud, bribery and money laundering after embezzling close to $2bn out of their bank, Promsvyazbank, for personal benefit before it collapsed in 2017. This included defrauding $240m from ordinary, hard-working clients of the bank, many of whom lost their entire life savings.

After the duo fled Russia in 2017, taxpayers were left to foot a nearly $4bn bill to bail-out the bank and they were sued for a further $4bn in damages, making this by far the costliest fraternal scandal in history.

The whereabouts of these partners-in-crime are currently unknown, and with a fresh warrant from the Russian government out for their arrest, it is likely they wish to keep it that way. Meanwhile, despite concerted action in several jurisdictions, the defrauded victims have been unable to recover any of their money. Misinformation in court from those at the centre of the brothers’ business dealings, combined with jurisdictional issues due to the complicated structure of the Ananyevs’ offshore companies have made it incredibly difficult for these victims to pursue effective legal complaints.

So why is it that when wealthy brothers work together, things so often seem to go off the rails?

Perhaps the implicit trust that exists between siblings allows for an atmosphere of secrecy that encourages transgressions. Perhaps the intense competition that many brothers feel towards each other spurs them on to succeed regardless of the cost. Perhaps it is something to do with ingrained family values (or lack thereof) and genetics. Certainly, the absence of an unrelated third party at the top level of a business is likely to be problematic, with no-one there to provide impartial advice if things begin to get morally murky.

On this trend of misconduct amongst brothers, Frances Abderhalden an Assistant Professor at California State University, who holds a PHD in Criminal Justice, and Sara Evans of the University of West Florida, explain that because of the need to impress and imitate each other “Siblings are able to influence each other into behaviour of deviance and criminality” and that they can “impact the personality and actions of one another on a deeper level than almost any other outside mentor, friend, or influence.”

What it seems, from the countless other cases that have seen wealthy fraternal co-workers break the rules, is that maybe badly behaved brothers never do grow out of it. Instead, the deep ties connecting siblings continue to spur each other on.

This article does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors or the management of EconoTimes