How much more corruption is going to be revealed in the marine industry?
As the moral and financial backlash against the super-rich continues to escalate, news of a Florida yacht broker, Robert Moran, undone by the Swiss bank in which he was hiding his money, will only add weight to the commonly held opinion that all boating is run for and by the corrupt and unwholesome.
Moran, the British born CEO of Moran Yacht and Ship, pleaded guilty to tax fraud and admitted that he held a UBS account worth US$3.4m that he did not report on his tax returns. He could face up to three years in jail.
According to IBI magazine, Moran is the second UBS bank client to be arrested by the US Justice Department after the government made an agreement with the bank to turn over US citizens hiding income in exchange for avoiding prosecution.
Steven Michael Rubinstein, an accountant in Boca Raton, Florida, who is also involved with the marine industry, was also charged with filing a false and fraudulent tax return.
But more illuminating is the following interview with Moran reprinted on his own website, where he describes himself as a broker ‘in it for more than just the money’ and castigates some of his competitors for not abiding by his own high standards.
How much more corruption is going to be uncovered in the marine industry?