Monday's Times of London reports on how certain individuals and companies designated by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) as "Mugabe regime cronies" on November 25, 2008 operate freely in the U.K. in spite of Gordon Brown's declaration that “enough is enough” in Zimbabwe. The article states:
Of 21 companies put on a US blacklist by President Bush last month, 14 are based in Britain, two in the Isle of Man, one in Jersey and one in the British Virgin Islands. The other three are based in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Florida and Zimbabwe itself.
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Mr Mugabe and his henchmen use a number of ploys to stay in power and live in luxury as their countrymen suffer. In this they are said to receive the help of white businessmen, several with British passports, and a number of London-based companies. The foreign currency that these men bring into the country allows top Zanu (PF) figures to buy hard currency at the official rate - way below the currency's true worth - and earn small fortunes.
“They basically buy real money with worthless Zimbabwean dollars. That way they can buy a car for what an ordinary person would use to fill a tank with petrol,” an insider said.
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