The sins and illegalities of the Koch brothers

By Michael J.W. Stickings

It's hardly surprising that the right-wing libertarian (and Republican) Koch brothers and their various business interests both at home and abroad engage in some rather, oh, questionable practices, but Bloomberg, much to its credit, has done some excellent reporting in cataloguing what is actually a rather long list of appalling activities (that probably only skims the surface).

Check out the November edition of Bloomberg Markets magazine, or go here for a summary.

Think Progress cites some of the more damning examples of malfeasance:

A new article by Bloomberg News reporters Asjylyn Loder and David Evans profiles decades of corporate crimes at the petrochemical and commodity speculating giant Koch Industries. Some of the examples, like a pipeline explosion that killed two teenagers and a cover-up of heightened benzene releases in Corpus Christi, have been well-documented. However, the report outlines new scandals, including a Koch scheme to sell petrochemical products for the state-owned National Iranian Petrochemical Company to build a methanol plant in Iran. The company has also apparently been "involved in improper payments to win business in Africa, India and the Middle East," actions that may open Koch Industries up to prosecution under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, a law that prohibits American companies from bribing foreign officials. 

No wonder the Koch brothers are such passionate advocates of deregulation. They've got crimes to commit.