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Showing posts from July, 2016

Nepal earthquake funds / Mekong River firepower / Philippines anti-corruption timeline

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. --> Questions About Nepal Earthquake Funds. (op-ed)   “There is no record of millions of dollars, which has been raised in the aftermath of the earthquake.” Kishor Panthi/Huffington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kishor-panthi/questions-about-nepal-ear_b_10929518.html --> Fighting Environmental Corruption in the Mekong River Basin: More Firepower Needed. (op-ed)    "Environmental protection laws are being tweaked, and investigators and prosecutors trained to detect and prosecute environmental crime.  But important though these steps are, in the face of impending ecological disaster more firepower is needed." Richard Messick/Global Anticorruption Blog: https://globalanticorruptionblog.com/2016/07/13/fighting-environmental-c

Pacific Anti-Corruption Updates (29 July 2016) – Cook Islands, Nauru, PNG, Tonga, Vanuatu

Get AP-INTACT posts on Twitter ( https://twitter.com/apintactnetwork ) From the UN Pacific Regional Anti-Corruption (UN-PRAC) Project, a joint initiative of the United Nations Development Programme and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, with support from the Australian Government. Updates shared by Mihaela Stojkoska, Luisa Senibulu, and Samita Singh. If a link below does not work, please copy and paste the link into your browser’s address bar instead. Cook Islands: Better code needed in Cooks to fight corruption .  A poor code of conduct is being blamed for a series of corruption investigations involving Cook Islands MPs. http://www.radionz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/309435/better-code-needed-in-cooks-to-fight-corruption PM disputes corruption reports .  The Cook Islands Prime Minister Henry Puna has taken issue with recent media reports suggesting there are concerns with corruption within the country's leadership. http://www.r

Multinational fail / Korea criticism / Philippine sleaze

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. INFO: Multi-nationals in emerging nations fail to tackle corruption, poverty .  Multi-national companies based in emerging nations are failing to tackle corruption with a lack of transparency allowing unscrupulous practices to continue and exacerbating poverty, according to a study by Transparency International. Milan Kendall Shah/Thomson Reuters Foundation: http://news.trust.org/item/20160711060044-ttqmj/ INFO: Korea election body criticised for 'unfair' corruption probes .  The National Election Commission (NEC) is being criticized by opposition parties for using a double standard in handling corruption allegations in the ruling Saenuri Party and the minor opposition People's Party. Kim Hyo-jin/The Korea Times: http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2016/07/116_209151.html COMMENTARY: Body needed

From: Ethical Alliance Daily News - 27 July 2016

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Africa: New Panama Papers series exposes secret deals in Africa Jul 27, 2016 08:00 pm New revelations published by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), in collaboration with more than a dozen news organizations in Africa, expose fresh details about the misuse of corporate secrecy and hidden wealth in Africa, the world’s poorest continent. […] Read More     Interview: Ariel Meyerstein, Vice President, Labour Affairs, Corporate Responsibility & Corporate Governance at the United States Council for International Business and Ethical Alliance Advisory Council Member Jul 27, 2016 07:30 pm Read our recent interview with Ariel Meyerstein, Vice President, Labour Affairs, Corporate Responsibility & Corporate Governance at the United States Council for International Business and member of the Ethical Alliance Advisory Council, to hear his thoughts on anti-corruption, responsible business conduct and human rights issues. Read More     Unite

From: Transparency International - Daily Corruption News - 27 July 2016

27 July 2016 Today's top story Global: These Qaddafi henchmen are wanted for stealing millions, and we found them in Britain Buzzfeed (TI mention) Three of the former Libyan dictator’s top officials are living comfortably in Britain despite being wanted in Tripoli for allegedly embezzling millions from the collapsed state – and the UK authorities have done nothing to help investigate. More news Global : Suspecting fraud, U.S. suspends some Syrian aid

From: WSJ - Corruption Currents: Widening Evidence of Russian Role in DNC Hack - 26 July 2016

Wall Street Journal - Corruption Currents: Widening Evidence of Russian Role in DNC Hack - 26 July 2016. By Samuel Rubenfeld. http://blogs.wsj.com/riskandcompliance/2016/07/26/corruption-currents-widening-evidence-of-russian-role-in-dnc-hack/

From: WSJ - Corruption Currents: New Panama Papers Release Takes African Focus - 25 July 2016

WSJ - Corruption Currents: New Panama Papers Release Takes African Focus - 25 July 2016. By Samuel Rubenfeld. http://blogs.wsj.com/riskandcompliance/2016/07/25/corruption-currents-new-panama-papers-release-takes-african-focus/

1MDB updates - U.S. Department of Justice targets $1 billion in assets in 1MDB embezzlement case

[Thank you to Shervin Majlessi, 
Senior Legal Adviser
, World Bank/United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Stolen Asset Recovery Initiative (StAR)
, Bangkok, Thailand, for sharing this information.] The U.S. Department of Justice has issued a forfeiture complaint charging that multi-million dollar properties -- including a Manhattan penthouse and a Van Gogh painting -- were among the more than $1 billion in United States assets bought with money stolen from Malaysia’s 1MDB sovereign wealth fund. Read the New York Times story here: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/21/world/asia/1mdb-malaysia-us-assets-seized.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=second-column-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=1 The full text of the 136-page forfeiture complaint issued by the Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative of the U.S. Department of Justice is available here: https://www.justice.gov/opa/file/877166/download Malaysia's Communic

ASEAN scorecard / Sri Lanka approval / New Zealand rules

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. PUBLICATION: ASEAN Corporate Governance Scorecard Country Reports and Assessments 2014 .  In this fourth round of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Corporate Governance initiative of the Asian Development Bank and the ASEAN Capital Markets Forum, over 500 top publicly listed companies from six ASEAN countries were assessed as to rights of shareholders, equitable treatment of shareholders, role of stakeholders, disclosure and transparency, and responsibilities of the board. Asian Development Bank: http://www.adb.org/publications/asean-corporate-governance-scorecard-country-reports-assessments-2014?utm_source=daily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=alerts INFO: Sri Lanka Cabinet approves continuation of Anti-Corruption Secretariat .  Sri Lanka's Cabinet of Ministers has approved a proposal ta

Pacific Anti-Corruption Updates (23 July 2016) – PNG, Cook Islands, Solomon Islands

Get AP-INTACT posts on Twitter ( https://twitter.com/apintactnetwork ) From the UN Pacific Regional Anti-Corruption (UN-PRAC) Project, a joint initiative of the United Nations Development Programme and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, with support from the Australian Government. Updates shared by Mihaela Stojkoska, Luisa Senibulu, and Samita Singh. If a link below does not work, please copy and paste the link into your browser’s address bar instead. PNG: District cheque payouts on eve of PNG no-confidence vote .  A Papua New Guinea Treasury source has revealed that the government has ordered a payment of US$900,000 to each government MP at the so-called 'Alotau retreat'. http://www.radionz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/309133/district-cheque-payouts-on-eve-of-png-no-confidence-vote As pressure mounts, PM urged to clear his name .  Pressure continues to build on Papua New Guinea's Prime Minister to stand down to face fraud allegati

Constitutional body / Iran scandal / Hong Kong off-shore graft

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. When Should We Put Anticorruption Agencies in the Constitution? (op-ed)   "Absent from [the debate on specialized anti-corruption agencies] is a discussion of the means countries should use to create these specialized bodies—in particular, whether these specialized anticorruption bodies should be enshrined in the nation’s constitution, or should be created by ordinary law." Courtney Millian/Global Anticorruption Blog: https://globalanticorruptionblog.com/2016/07/18/when-should-we-put-anticorruption-agencies-in-the-constitution/ Iran President Confronted by Scandal Over Inflated Government Wages .  President Hassan Rouhani of Iran is confronting a major scandal involving inflated salaries for the managers and executives of state-run companies. Thomas Erdbrink/International New York Times: http://ww

Hong Kong grilling / Indonesia vaccines / Macau watcher

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. Hong Kong chief grilled .  Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying was questioned for one-and-a-half hours in the Legislative Council over accusations of improper payments, independence in the city's anti-graft body, and whether he was running for a second term next year. Roland Lim/Channel News Asia: http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asiapacific/hong-kong-chief-grilled/2957850.html Anger over fake vaccine scandal in Indonesia .  Indonesian President Joko Widodo called for calm after revelations that four criminal syndicates have allegedly been producing counterfeit vaccines throughout Jakarta and Java for up to 13 years. Jewel Topsfield and Karuni Rompies/The Sydney Morning Herald: http://www.smh.com.au/world/anger-intensifies-over-fake-vaccine-scandal-rocking-indonesia-20160719-gq8zw9.html Who watches Mac

Procurement risks / Culture of compliance / NGO corruption

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. ===================================================================== COMMENTARY: Fraud and Corruption Risks in Procurement - A Thumbnail Sketch.   "Public procurement is the government activity perhaps most vulnerable to fraud and corruption.  Not only are the sums involved enormous, $9.5 trillion a year by one estimate, but at every point in the process decision-makers enjoy great discretion." Rick Messick/Global Anticorruption Blog: https://globalanticorruptionblog.com/2016/06/15/fraud-and-corruption-risks-in-procurement-a-thumbnail-sketch/ ====================================================================== COMMENTARY: 5 Steps to an Anti-Corruption ‘Culture of Compliance’.   "While every company is different and each company has its own unique corporate culture, I believe that the most importan

From: WSJ - Corruption Currents: Putin Warns of ‘Schism’ Amid New Doping Report

WSJ - Corruption Currents: Putin Warns of ‘Schism’ Amid New Doping Report - 18 July 2016. By Samuel Rubenfeld. http://blogs.wsj.com/riskandcompliance/2016/07/18/corruption-currents-putin-warns-of-schism-amid-new-doping-report/

From: Transparency International - Daily Corruption News

19 July 2016 Today's top story Mexico: Mexican anti-graft chief resigns at dawn of new corruption rules Reuters Mexico's chief anti-corruption official, who last year exonerated President Enrique Pena Nieto of conflict-of-interest allegations, resigned on Monday , just hours before new graft-fighting legislation comes into effect. More news Global : Top Volkswagen executives charged with fraud in emission scandal CNN Nigeria: Buhari - Judiciary

From: Ethical Alliance Daily News - 19 July 2016

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Russia: IOC vows ‘toughest sanctions’ after report finds Moscow ran broad doping scheme Jul 19, 2016 08:00 pm With the Rio Olympics less than three weeks away, the IOC on Monday promised “the toughest sanctions available” after a report found Moscow had concealed hundreds of positive doping tests in many sports ahead of the Sochi winter Games. The […] Read More   Brazil: SBM Jumps Most in Nine Months Following Brazilian Leniency Deal Jul 19, 2016 07:30 pm SBM Offshore NV, a Dutch oil-services provider, rose the most in nine months in Amsterdam trading after reaching a leniency deal with Brazilian authorities following a corruption investigation. SBM climbed as much as 15 percent Monday , the biggest intraday gain […] Read More   China: China seizes 381 suspects in corruption probe Jul 19, 2016 07:00 pm China has seized 381 Chinese nationals from more than 40 countries in the first half of this year, under a nationwide anti-corruption campaign dubbed “Sky Net”, the Bei