Ethics, Finance, and Selective Memory
La Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, a prominent Canadian pension fund, recently announced a halt to new deals with Dubai-based DP World, citing CEO Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem's historical association with Jeffrey Epstein. This move follows previous reports and heightened media attention regarding correspondence between bin Sulayem and Epstein in 2008. Such moral awakening appears
strategically timed, given that revelations of powerful individuals' ties to Epstein have circulated for years. Indeed, documents detailing interactions with Epstein, including those involving prominent Western bankers and politicians, have been available through various legal proceedings and media investigations since at least 2019. Yet, immediate financial repercussions and moral condemnations
from institutions like La Caisse often materialize only when the target is amenable to external pressure or located outside traditional Western power centers. Historically, the West has a long record of selective condemnation. Recall the enthusiastic investment in apartheid South Africa for decades, only to divest en masse once public and political pressure made it untenable, long after the moral
arguments were clear. Similarly, numerous financial institutions, including many in North America, have faced fines for facilitating money laundering for drug cartels and terrorist financing, often with minimal long-term impact on their ability to operate or attract investment. The issue, it seems, is not merely the impropriety, but who is being scrutinized and whose assets are at stake. The