He won’t need his calculator for the next 9 years but what about the mini-skirts?

There were a couple of issues concerning ethics in the news this week.

First of all, accountancy student Francois Roberts would no doubt fail the ethics module of his exams.

He’s probably not that worried about it though as he won’t be sitting any exams for several years as last week he was jailed for his part in smuggling £150,000 of cocaine into the UK from the Caribbean.

He pleaded guilty to illegally importing 1.5kg of cocaine into Gatwick airport last year.

Part of Mr Roberts illegal activity involved him transferring £10,000 to the Caribbean island of St Vincent and in a less than impressive attempt at trying to cover things up he initially claimed that the money transfer was for the purchase of a car as opposed to the purchase of illegal drugs.

Despite having a good career ahead of him as an Accountant, Mr Roberts went down the path of smuggling drugs.

The judge sentenced him to 9 years in jail and was quoted as saying “Who would think a young accountancy student would be involved in this way?”

Mr Roberts will have plenty of time to contemplate the answer to that question over the next 3,285 days.

Meanwhile in Russia it’s been reported that a new code of ethics for the State Duma (Russia’s lower house of parliament) has been issued.

The new code of ethics recommends a business style of dress in accordance with “formality, restraint, tradition, and neatness”. The Russian Moskovsky Komsomolets newspaper highlighted that it may mean the end of miniskirts and low-cut blouses for many of the parliamentary assistants.

Whether the new code of ethics will impact on the rate of attendance by politicians at the Duma debates remains to be seen.