Pacific Anti-Corruption Updates (15 December 2018): Fiji, PNG, Solomon Islands

-

FIJI :

Corruption distorts development: Catanasiga. Corruption disrupts development because it distorts the distribution of resources and development opportunities.

https://www.fijitimes.com/corruption-distorts-development-catanasiga/

Visa Launches Payments Security Roadmap To Strengthen Tourism And Economies In The Pacific. Visa’s Head of South Pacific Andy McCowan said it introduced initiatives to strengthen the security of the payments ecosystem and help address the threat of fraud in the region.

http://fijisun.com.fj/2018/12/13/visa-launches-payments-security-roadmap-to-strengthen-tourism-and-economies-in-the-pacific/

How Cyber Criminals Defraud Fijians. The Fiji Financial Intelligence Unit has issued an alert after four cases of cyber fraud were noted this year.

http://fijisun.com.fj/2018/12/08/how-cyber-criminals-defraud-fijians/

WAF engineer fronts court for alleged bribery. A 29-year-old man appeared at the Suva Magistrates court charged with one count of bribery.

https://www.fijitimes.com/waf-engineer-fronts-court-for-alleged-bribery/

Three To Take Plea Next Year. Abhisaeth Abhimaanu, Kavishay Abhimaanu and Amrita Anand appeared before Justice Daniel Goundar charged with money laundering.

http://fijisun.com.fj/2018/12/07/three-to-take-plea-next-year/

 

PNG:

PNG's fraud squad says Paraka case not over yet. The head of Papua New Guinea's police fraud squad says the case against the lawyer Paul Paraka is not over yet. A ruling by a senior committal court magistrate this week meant that 27 charges of conspiracy, theft and money laundering against Mr Paraka were dropped.

https://www.radionz.co.nz/international/programmes/datelinepacific/audio/2018675658/png-s-fraud-squad-says-paraka-case-not-over-yet

Bougainville leader angry at false accusations. The President of Bougainville says many of the people who issued an ultimatum to his government last week are themselves facing investigation by the Papua New Guinea police fraud squad.

https://www.radionz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/378286/bougainville-leader-angry-at-false-accusations

PNG's Paraka in mood for revenge after charges dropped. A Papua New Guinea lawyer will pursue legal action against anti-fraud detectives and officials who brought dozens of fraud-related charges against him.

https://www.radionz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/378095/png-s-paraka-in-mood-for-revenge-after-charges-dropped

 

SOLOMON ISLANDS:

PM reaffirms war on corruption. Prime Minister Rick Hou called on the nation to stand together to fight and eradicate corruption.

http://www.solomonstarnews.com/index.php/news/national/item/21163-pm-reaffirms-war-on-corruption

Anti-Corruption act officially launched. The government in collaboration with civil society groups and donor partners today officially launched the much anticipated Anti-Corruption Act 2018, and the ‘Whistleblowers Protection Act 2018’ in Honiara.

http://www.sibconline.com.sb/anti-corruption-act-officially-launched/

 

To know more about the UN Pacific Regional Anti-Corruption Project please contact the team members:

Annika Wythes, Regional Anti-Corruption Adviser, UNODC, annika.wythes@un.org

Mihaela Stojkoska, Anti-Corruption Specialist - Pacific, UNDP, mihaela.stojkoska@undp.org

Maria Lee, Peace & Development Administrative Assistant, UNDP/UNODC, maria.lee@undp.org

 

Popular posts from this blog

The Pacific - Nepal - Eastern Europe & Central Asia

-
[Blog] How are perceptions of corruption in seven small Pacific countries? Larger Pacific Island neighbors are often garnering the lion's share of attention both from researchers and policy makers. How are the experiences of corruption in countries like Tuvalu, Tokelau, Niue, the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI), The Cook Islands, Palau, and Nauru? DevPolicy Blog: https://devpolicy.org/perceptions-of-corruption-in-seven-small-pacific-island-countries-20230223/   [Opinion] Two decades of new anti-corruption law in Nepal: Why it missed its mark. According to a Nepalese journalist, the Anti-Corruption law and Prevention of Corruption act of 2002 laid the foundation for numerous investigations, scandals, and court cases. To a large extent, they did however fail to enable significant conviction and return of assets. Online Khabar: https://english.onlinekhabar.com/anti-corruption-law-missing-target.html   [Blog] Growing security risks and authoritarian
Read more

Middle East & North Africa - Ukraine - Sri Lanka

-
Corruption fuels ongoing conflict. The Middle East and North Africa has been in a decline on the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) for years. The region is also ranked as the "least peaceful region" according to the Global Peace Index. Transparency International (TI) argues that corruption, conflict, and security are profoundly intertwined. TI: https://www.transparency.org/en/news/cpi-2022-middle-east-north-africa-corruption-fuels-ongoing-conflict   [Opinion] Ukraine's corruption purge is setting the stage for private investment-driven recovery. Corruption is regarded as a key threat to the Ukrainian economy, depriving public budgets and discouraging foreign direct investments (FDI). The current administration has taken strong anti-corruption action, and the country has witnessed a significant increase in FDI in recent years, says author. DevDiscourse: https://www.devdiscourse.com/article/business/2353089-ukraines-corruption-purge-setting-stage-
Read more

Global - Sub-Saharan Africa - Turkey & Syria

-
Invisible Trillions review: Global capitalism operates beyond the rule of law and threatens democracy. Raymond W. Baker's new book "Invisible Trillions" argues that "secrecy has become as important for corporations as transparent and taxable profits used to be". "Only radical improvements across the globe in financial transparency and accountability, and in regulatory capacity and integrity, can break this cycle of political decay and despair". The Conversation: https://theconversation.com/invisible-trillions-review-global-capitalism-operates-beyond-the-rule-of-law-and-threatens-democracy-199311   [Blog] The dynamics of violent extremism in sub-Saharan Africa. There is no better environment for the expansion of violent extremist groups than a vacuum in state authority. These groups begin to compete with the state and may even be initially attractive to communities weary of years of lawlessness, corruption, and chaos according to autho
Read more