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These updates are provided by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Regional Anti-Corruption Project for Southeast Asia, and the joint UNODC - United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Pacific Regional Anti-Corruption (UN-PRAC) Project, with support of the Australian Government. If a link below does not work, please copy and paste the link into your browser’s address bar instead. SOLOMON ISLANDS Police Arrest Sikua.   Taskforce Janus got its biggest “fish” to date with the arrest of Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Police, National Security, and Correctional Services, Edmond Sikua. http://www.solomonstarnews.com/news/national/11994-police-arrest-sikua PNG: Civil servants must not steal: Judge.  Publicservants are employed by the Government and appointed to senior positions to serve the people and not to steal from their employer, Deputy Chief Justice Sir Gibbs Salika says. http://www.thenational.com.pg/civil-serv...

China tightens financial oversight on military after scandals .  China's military will tighten financial oversight with revised auditing rules coming into effect from Jan. 1, meaning all the armed force's financial dealings will have to be audited, the Defence Ministry said after several scandals. Thomson Reuters Foundation: http://news.trust.org/item/20161221030243-d4xu5/?source=hpbreaking Constitution Drafter Pushes for Executing Corrupt Thai Politicians .  One of the drafters of Thailand’s new constitution made the case that it was written to support sentencing corrupt politicians to death. Asaree Thaitrakulpanich/Khaosod: http://www.khaosodenglish.com/politics/2016/12/21/constitution-drafter-pushes-executing-corrupt-politicians/ 2016 Anti-Corruption Review: What Happened? As 2016 comes to an end, London’s Financial and Forensic Investigations practice revisits the major anti-corruption stories of the year and identifies some of the lessons that can be learned from these. ...

Local volunteers prevent construction of substandard cold storage in Afghanistan village .  A provincial agricultural department ordered a local company to stop construction work on a cold storage facility after it received a report by volunteer local monitors in Sart Village of Khulam district in northern Balkh province that muddy material instead of cement was being used in the stonework of the project. Integrity Watch Afghanistan: https://iwaweb.org/local-volunteers-prevent-construction-of-substandard-cold-storage-in-balkh/ China graft buster says officials’ interrogations should be recorded .  The Communist Party’s anti-graft organs should videotape all interrogations, top graft-buster Wang Qishan has said, according to state media. Bloomberg/South China Morning Post: http://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2052308/graft-buster-says-officials-interrogations-should-be Corruption in the Philippines: A Marcos ‘legacy’ .  Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña said...

Indian Ministry of Defense Issues Guidelines on Suspension and Debarment of Suppliers .  On 21 November 2016, the Indian Ministry of Defense (MOD) released guidelines on suspension and debarment of suppliers for violation of its defense procurement processes, the first time that the MOD has publicly issued guidance on this subject. Lina Braude/Global Compliance News: https://globalcompliancenews.com/indian-mod-guidelines-suspension-debarment-of-suppliers-20161220/ US Millennium Challenge Corp. Defers Reselection of Philippines For Grant Partnership .  The Millennium Challenge Corp. (MCC) selected new countries while deferring the reselection of the Philippines for compact or grant partnership due to concerns over rule of law and civil liberties. Ihrilyn Pendatun/International Business Times: http://www.ibtimes.ph/us-millennium-challenge-corp-defers-reselection-philippines-grant-partnership-5389 Aid Agencies Need to Improve Their Anticorruption Strategies and Implementa...

ISO 37001 – The Potential Impact of the New International Anti-Bribery Management System Standard (analysis). "Companies that do not adopt anti-corruption guidelines, particularly in nations where there are existing anti-bribery laws (such as the United States), run an ever greater risk of facing substantial fines in the event that they or their business associates are involved in corruption." Eric Cottrell | Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP/JD Supra: http://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/iso-37001-the-potential-impact-of-the-69322/ Lack of competitiveness, transparency led to corruption in defence deals says India minister .  There has been a spurt in cases of corruption in defence deals due to absence of competitiveness and transparency in the past, Union home minister Rajnath Singh said at an Associated Chambers of Commerce of India event in New Delhi. Jaideep Shenoy/Times of India: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/lack-of-competitiveness-transparency-led-to-corrup...

These updates are provided by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Regional Anti-Corruption Project for Southeast Asia, and the joint UNODC - United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Pacific Regional Anti-Corruption (UN-PRAC) Project, with support of the Australian Government. If a link below does not work, please copy and paste the link into your browser’s address bar instead. FIJI: Duo charged by FICAC for causing loss to Education Ministry pleads not guilty.  Two men charged by Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption for causing the loss of $33,012 to the Ministry of Education have pleaded not guilty in the Suva Magistrates Court. http://fijivillage.com/news/Duo-charged-by-FICAC-for-causing-loss-to-Education-Ministry-pleads-not-guilty--925srk/ FICAC Given Time To Consolidate Charges for Accused. Magistrate Makereta Mua has given time to the Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption to consolidate the two files th...

Change to money laundering controls passes Taiwan legislature .  An amendment to the Money Laundering Control Act was passed by the Legislative Yuan, widening the scope of professions required to report any suspicious financial transaction by their clients to the authorities. Taipei Times: http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2016/12/12/2003661066 Only 0.01% of civil servants lodged reports on graft, says Malaysian anti-corruption agency .  Only 162 out of 1.6 million civil servants have lodged reports on corruption with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission. Melati A. Jalil/The Malay Mail Online: http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/only-0.01-pc-of-civil-servants-lodged-reports-on-graft-says-macc Citizen journalists and advocates bring technology to Philippine communities .  Technology and social media can change a person's life and his community. David Lozada/Rappler: http://www.rappler.com/move-ph/155066-citizen-journalists-advocates-bring-t...

In the ongoing struggle against corruption and related offences, many countries have established specialised anti-corruption institutions, distinct from the regular institutions of justice. Matthew C. Stephenson, Professor at Harvard Law School, and I have looked at 20 such specialised courts worldwide in the new U4 Issue Specialised anti-corruption courts: A comparative mapping . There are a number of different models for judicial specialisation, and there is no one correct approach or set of clear best practices. When deciding whether to create a specialised court, and if so, how to design it, reformers must carefully consider the specific problems that specialisation is meant to redress, as well as other aspects of the political, legal, and institutional environment in the country that might impose constraints or otherwise affect how the court will operate. The reasons for setting up a court should be kept in mind when considering the following important design choices: •  ...

UNDP Seoul Policy Centre for Global Development Partnerships (USPC) presents two practical knowledge products that share innovative policy tools and experiences of the Republic of Korea. 1. Resource Book & Video Presentation sharing Seoul’s Clean Construction System Together with the Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG) in the Republic of Korea, the UNDP Seoul Policy Centre produced a Resource Book for Practitioners, combined with a three-part Video Presentation, which details Seoul’s Clean Construction System. The system won the prestigious UN Public Service award in 2013, in recognition of its innovation and potential for application in other countries. Together with Seoul, USPC shared this system in December 2015 with more than 70 participants from 20 countries, and is now providing follow-up advisory and technical support to countries such as Ukraine, Jordan, Uganda, Vietnam, and Thailand for county-level application of this system and lessons learnt. The publication and accompa...

United against corruption for development, peace and security #UnitedAgainstCorruption Get AP-INTACT posts on Twitter ( https://twitter.com/apintactnetwork ) If a link below does not work, please copy and paste the link into your browser’s address bar instead. Auckland Transport officials guilty of corruption .  A company director and an Auckland Transport senior official have been found guilty of giving and accepting bribes of more than $1 million. Radio New Zealand: http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/320019/auckland-transport-officials-guilty-of-corruption Local polls a must to tackle corruption say Nepal's development partners .  Various development partners in Nepal have stressed the need for holding credible and transparent local elections in order to combat corruption and ensure accountability in the country. myRepublica: http://www.myrepublica.com/news/10752 Corruption control–is it feasible or a fantasy? (commentary)   "As attractive as it may appear in the sh...

United against corruption for development, peace and security #UnitedAgainstCorruption Get AP-INTACT posts on Twitter ( https://twitter.com/apintactnetwork ) If a link below does not work, please copy and paste the link into your browser’s address bar instead. Afghans pay close to $3b in bribes annually, says survey .  Integrity Watch Afghanistan's biennial National Corruption Survey, launched 8 December 2016, estimates that $3 billion were paid in bribes in the last one year—an almost 50% increase compared to 2014. Integrity Watch Afghanistan: http://iwaweb.us13.list-manage.com/track/click?u=8e3022a1062590fbb7ae8d6a2&id=6fed5090aa&e=0fd0efcf18 In Vietnam, 10% of corruption assets recovered .  In the last ten years, only 10 per cent of assets worth VNĐ60 trillion (approximately US$2.65 billion) involved in nearly 1,900 corruption cases have been recovered, according to Ngô Mạnh Hùng, Deputy Director of the Việt Nam Anti-Corruption Bureau under the Government Inspectora...

United against corruption for development, peace and security #UnitedAgainstCorruption Get AP-INTACT posts on Twitter ( https://twitter.com/apintactnetwork ) If a link below does not work, please copy and paste the link into your browser’s address bar instead. Nepal's demoralized anti-corruption agency (opinion) .  "The new constitution adopted last September had curtailed the rights of the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA), barring the constitutional body from investigating ‘improper conduct’ of public officials. The rights of the anti-graft body were rolled back even as it was working to make local laws compatible with the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC)." Bhadra Sharma/myRepublica: http://www.myrepublica.com/news/11013 Malaysia: ‘Almost all corruption arrests involve youths’ .  Nearly 96 per cent or 1,045 of the 1,092 individuals arrested for corruption nationwide from 2013 to October were youths aged 40 and below, according...

United against corruption for development, peace and security #UnitedAgainstCorruption Get AP-INTACT posts on Twitter ( https://twitter.com/apintactnetwork ) If a link below does not work, please copy and paste the link into your browser’s address bar instead. How ‘islands of honesty’ can crush a system of corruption (commentary) .  "Once a corrupt equilibrium is in place, experts say, it cannot be stopped until public trust in the government’s institutions and leaders is restored. That is why the investigations that have led to scandals in South Korea, Brazil, and elsewhere are so significant….When prosecutors or other officials gain enough independence to investigate corrupt officials, that can begin to disrupt the corrupt equilibrium." Amanda Taub/The New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/09/world/asia/south-korea-brazil-argentina-impeachment.html?_r=0 Paris Summit Gives Global Lessons in Transparency .  "If you have always suspected that politicians around t...

United against corruption for development, peace and security #UnitedAgainstCorruption Get AP-INTACT posts on Twitter ( https://twitter.com/apintactnetwork ) These updates are provided by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Regional Anti-Corruption Project for Southeast Asia, and the joint UNODC - United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Pacific Regional Anti-Corruption (UN-PRAC) Project, with support of the Australian Government. If a link below does not work, please copy and paste the link into your browser’s address bar instead. SOLOMON ISLANDS: Inside Job Exposed .  A former Ministry of Health and Medical Services accounts officer registered a private company and allegedly paid money she fraudulently obtained from the Ministry into her company’s bank account. Source: http://www.solomonstarnews.com/news/national/11926-inside-job-exposed PM Sogavare launches Anti-Corruption Strategy, Action Plan .  Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare has laun...

Those in the business of giving policy advice know the surest way to guarantee a policymaker ignores their counsel is to say the problem is “complicated” or “there are no easy solutions” and that the best way to see the advice is accepted is to cast it in the form of a simple, straightforward solution that fits easily onto a single power point slide. World Bank economists have learned this lesson well as their recent report on how developing countries can cure corruption and related governance ills demonstrates.  Making Politics Work for Development: Harnessing Transparency and Citizen Engagement manages to state the solution to the corruption problem in one sentence: Give citizens more information about politicians so they will know which ones to vote out and which ones to keep at the next election. Read the full post by Rick Messick in the Global Anticorruption Blog: https://globalanticorruptionblog.com/2016/12/14/are-better-principals-the-answer-to-the-corruption-probl...

  United States: Argentine firm reaches $112.8 million deal with U.S. in FIFA probe Dec 14, 2016 08:00 pm U.S. prosecutors on Tuesday announced an agreement allowing Argentine sports media Torneos y Competencias SA to pay about $112.8 million to settle charges stemming from a sweeping bribery probe targeting FIFA, soccer’s world governing body. The deferred prosecution agreement with... Read More     Thailand: Swiss national Andre Xavier Justo jailed for 1MDB-linked blackmail receives Thai royal pardon, likely to be freed before Christmas: Lawyer Dec 14, 2016 07:30 pm Swiss national Andre Xavier Justo, who is serving time in a Thai jail for a blackmail attempt linked to 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), will be among thousands of Thai and foreign prisoners granted a royal pardon by King Maha Vajiralongkorn... Read More     United States: Ex-Guinea Minister Charged in Bribe-for-Mining-Rights Case Dec 14, 2016 07:00 pm A former mining minister...

Get AP-INTACT posts on Twitter (https://twitter.com/apintactnetwork ) If a link below does not work, please copy and paste the link into your browser’s address bar instead. The Stolen Asset Recovery Initiative (StAR)—a partnership between the World Bank Group and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)—has just issued a handbook based on rigorous data analysis aimed at helping governments who are struggling to implement financial disclosure systems. The book offers practical advice ranging from who should file, how often, and in what form? It also addresses the link from the disclosure process to enforcing it. We have seen cases where countries are unwilling or hesitant to apply sanctions because many disclosure systems have yet to connect all the dots in a way that would make sanctions appropriate, consistent, and just. As public outrage mounts against public officials who have significantly increased their wealth during their time in public office or hidden their assets ...

13 December 2016 Today's top story South Korea: Former South Korean prosecutor gets 4 years for corruption AP A South Korean court on Tuesday sentenced a former senior prosecutor to four years in prison for pressuring a Korean Air executive to channel about 14.7 billion won ($12 million) in corporate deals to a contractor run by his brother-in-law. More news Australia: Victorian police sold illegal drugs, corruption report finds The Guardian China...

  France: IMF chief Lagarde on trial in France over tycoon case Dec 13, 2016 08:00 pm IMF chief Christine Lagarde went on trial in France on Monday (Dec 12) over a massive state payout to a flamboyant tycoon when she was finance minister, in a case that risks tarnishing her stellar career. Lagarde denies the charges... Read More     Hong Kong: Hong Kong arrests 29 in bribery probe linked to five financial institutions Dec 13, 2016 07:30 pm A total of 29 current and former staff of five financial instutitions, including four banks, have been arrested in Hong Kong for alleged bribery related to the disclosure of confidential customer information, the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) said on... Read More     United States: US Congressman Chaka Fattah sentenced to decade in prison Dec 13, 2016 07:00 pm The 60-year-old Democratic Congressman represented the state of Pennsylvania for 22 years, and was one of Congress’ most senior black ...