The making of money has been a godsend to the regime. It has inadvertently learnt a another version Keynes observation that it is better for a man to tyrannise over his bank account than his fellow men. The Party realises that people committed to making money rarely make time for politics, especially of the trouble-making kind. Of course, should the money-making opportunities dry up then trouble is what the regime is likely to get. A fact that it is keenly aware of and yet seems powerless to stop.
Corruption is rife and reaches into every aspect of life.
There has been a staggering degree of fraud carried out by Party officials. That's a lot of money and there is little doubt where most of it went. Huge amounts of cash have been illegally transferred to the West in the event of a rainy day. It's almost as if the Mafia had been put in charge of Fort Knox. These are not simply the actions of corrupt officials, but of people who think their time might be up.