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Hundreds of academics, civil society groups and business leaders join call for UN General Assembly to end anonymous shell companies.  “Transparency International...submitted an appeal to the UN General Assembly from more than 700 signatories calling for a new global standard for transparency in company ownership. The appeal comes ahead of the UN General Assembly Special Session Against Corruption, UNGASS 2021, scheduled for June. It asks that UNGASS 2021 commits all countries to set up national, public registers of companies, disclosing the real individuals who own, control or benefit from them.” Transparency International: https://www.transparency.org/en/press/ungass-2021-hundreds-join-petition-to-end-anonymous-shell-companies     Anjali Bharadwaj among 12 people named by Biden admin for newly-instituted anti-corruption award.   “Anjali Bharadwaj, an Indian social activist working on issues of transparency and accountability, is...

Police ‘have no duty’ to explain ‘Elephant Ticket’ scandal.   “[Thai] Police top brass remained silent…on the bombshell revelation by an opposition MP that police officers can advance up the ranks just by securing a letter signed by powerful figures, without having to go through the formal channels. Move Forward Party lawmaker Rangsiman Rome showed evidence of the shortcut, known as “The Elephant Ticket,” during a censure debate.” Khaosod English: https://www.khaosodenglish.com/politics/2021/02/22/police-have-no-duty-to-explain-elephant-ticket-scandal/     Afghanistan: 321 officials sacked for corruption.  “According to the Interior Ministry, cases of the officials charged with corruption and extortion from highway transporters have been referred to the Attorney General’s Office for further investigation…The sackings followed a three-week strike by goods transporters over the co...

For Indonesia’s sovereign wealth fund, Widodo’s choice of managers supplies needed credibility (Opinion).  “Ridha Wirakusumah, who was named as head of the Indonesia Investment Authority, gets high marks for his integrity and experience. In the wake of Malaysia’s 1MDB scandal, Indonesian government knew it needed ‘top-of-the-line professional management’ for fund, economist says.” Richard Borsuk/South China Morning Post: https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3122076/indonesias-sovereign-wealth-fund-widodos-choice-managers-supplies     Make ‘every effort’ to save COVID-19 response from corruption, UN Assembly President urges. “Taking place on 17-18 February, the 2021 [Inter-Parliamentary Union-UN Annual Parliamentary Hearing] focuses on fighting corruption to restore trust in government and improve development prospects. The Hearing is part of the parliamentary contribution to the politi...

Two roads that will never meet? An agenda for dialogue on the intersection of peacebuilding and anti-corruption (Blog).  “Yet my experience in recent years working in the anti-corruption field suggests that anti-corruption practitioners are not typically attuned to how their work intersects with conflict dynamics — with consequences for the effectiveness of their work, as well as for conflict itself…This siloed existence is slowly changing, in part driven by experiences of the international community in Iraq and Afghanistan.” Diana Chigas/Tufts University: https://sites.tufts.edu/ihs/two-roads-that-will-never-meet-an-agenda-for-dialogue-on-the-intersection-of-peacebuilding-and-anti-corruption/          Reassessing donor performance in anti-corruption: Pathways to more effective practice (Issue Paper).  “A significant evidence base has accumulated that demonstrates how current donor approaches fall...

UNODC Strategy 2021-2025.  See the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime’s strategy for 2021-2025 via the link below. ‘Corruption and Economic Crime’ is one of its key thematic areas, along with organized crime, world drug problem, terrorism, as well as crime prevention and criminal justice. UNODC: https://www.unodc.org/unodc/strategy/index.html   Cambodia’s Ball-and-Chain of Corruption and Inequality.  “Inequality and corruption might have been swept under the rug for as long as the economy kept growing at around the 7 percent mark over the 2010s, which meant that ordinary Cambodians could become a little richer each year. That’s going to be much more difficult as Cambodia will experience lean years following an estimated 2 percent economic contraction last year.” David Hutt/The Diplomat: https://thediplomat.com/2021/02/cambodias-ball-and-chain-of-corruption-and-inequality/     The curse of ...

COOK ISLANDS Cooks deny "sinister move" over audit delays.  Official documents show Cook Islands auditors repeatedly raised issues over hundreds of millions in state assets, taxes, loans and cash. https://islandsbusiness.com/past-news-break-articles/item/3136-cooks-deny-sinister-move-over-audit-delays.html   SOLOMON ISLANDS CSOs and UNDP Raise Public Awareness on Anti-corruption.  Development Services Exchange (DSE), the umbrella organisation of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in Solomon Islands, in partnership with UNDP successfully concluded the reflection workshop for five grantee organizations, beneficiaries of the Transparency and Accountability Project (TAP), which aimed to discuss the achievements of the CSO’s in combatting corruption, challenges ahead and plans for the future. https://www.solomontimes.com/news/csos-and-undp-raise-public-awareness-on-anticorruption/10635   FIJI Fiji will continue to withhold USP g...

It’s complicated: Parliament’s relationship with anti-corruption agencies in Indonesia, Pakistan, and the Maldives (Report).  “[This publication highlights the] constructive role of parliaments in overcoming the challenges [Anti-Corruption Agencies (ACA)] often face. It provides an insight into parliaments’ role in contributing to combatting corruption by exercising their legislative and oversight role in support of the effectiveness of ACAs while ensuring their independence.” Franklin De Vrieze and Luka Glušac/Westminster Foundation for Democracy: https://www.wfd.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/2021-01-24-Its-complicated-V2-UPDATED-1.pdf     Changing the game: New global programme to curb extractive industry corruption.   “The EITI and Open Ownership…launched Opening Extractives , a global programme to advance beneficial ownership transparency. It aims to make a dramatic and sustainable difference to the level...

How Ethno-Religious Divisions Stymie Anticorruption Reform in Malaysia–and What to Do About It (Blog).  “In an effort to avoid the collapse of another anticorruption coalition, advocates can and should attempt to turn [the UMNO party’s] messaging of Islamic dominance into a tool for anticorruption reform: Utilizing the UMNO-orchestrated clout that religious leaders have over their communities, preachers can emphasize the need for humility and honesty while condemning the evils of corruption and greed.” Jennifer Kline/The Global Anticorruption Blog:   https://globalanticorruptionblog.com/2021/02/12/combating-ethno-religious-divisions-in-malaysia/   TI: Most Defence Companies in The World Do Little to Combat Graft.  “Transparency International revealed [in its Defence Companies Index on Anti-Corruption and Corporate Transparency] that nearly three quarters of the world’s largest defence companies show minimum or no comm...

2021 OECD Global Anti-Corruption & Integrity Forum - Leading through the Crisis: Integrity and Anti-Corruption for a Resilient Recovery (Registration link). “The Forum [to be held virtually 23-25 March 2021] will explore the new integrity risks, challenges and opportunities that have arisen in the COVID-19 context, as well as identify innovative solutions required to govern and conduct business with integrity, including with respect to responsible business conduct (RBC) standards, and tackle corruption in times of crisis.” OECD: https://oecd-events.org/gacif2021     Task Force vs Corruption receives over 200 reports, prepares raps for filing before Ombudsman.  “The Department of Justice-led Task Force against Corruption has received over 200 complaints and has acted on 40 reports since it started its work last year… The DOJ chief said the reports alleged violations of the Anti-Graft law, procurement law, Commission on Audit rul...

A crisis of corruption: Integrity in Indonesian local government.  “Indonesia fails to enforce a separation of the bureaucratic and political realms. Three specific laws put in place by politicians – Law 8/1974, Law 43/1999, and Law 5/2014 – have made public servants vulnerable to political intervention, as they assign heads of local government the authority to manage the bureaucracy directly, whether it be their career development, promotions, or appointments.” Adfin Rochmad Baidhowah/Policy Forum: https://www.policyforum.net/a-crisis-of-corruption/         16 months' jail for businesswoman in $500k bribery case.  “Malaysian Chuah Hooi Fong, 59, had earlier pleaded guilty to four counts of giving bribes to Leong Chee Shian, 50, a former IT director of logistics company Schenker (Asia Pacific)… Chuah's lawyer, Mr Edmond Pereira, said in mitigation that his client had initially rejected Leong's ...

FIJI FICAC hits out at society.  The Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption has hit out at the Fiji Law Society’s comments that “corruption is not so complex – or so widespread”…FICAC said the statement was misconceived and delusional. https://www.fijitimes.com/ficac-hits-out-at-society/ Fijian Parliament: Anti-Corruption Division Bill enacted.  The Anti-Corruption Division Bill was enacted by Parliament…[allowing] the establishment of a specialized division within the Fijian judicial system to solely deal with anti-corruption. https://www.fijitimes.com/fijian-parliament-anti-corruption-division-bill-enacted/ Fiji does not make the rules for USP Council to operate, maintains it wants good governance.  Fijian Minister for Education, Rosy Akbar has stressed that good governance must be at the core of running the University of the South Pacific. https://www.fbcnews.com.fj/news/fiji-does-not-make-the-rule...

Seizing a window of opportunity: lessons from research on anti-corruption reform (Blog).  “In recent research, we framed these changes in context as “windows of opportunity” (readers of this blog may also know them as “critical junctures”). In particular, we looked at anticorruption windows created by national scandals and/or incoming presidential administrations committed to reform.” Florencia Guerzovvich, Soledad Gattoni and Dave Algoso/Oxfam: https://oxfamblogs.org/fp2p/seizing-a-window-of-opportunity-lessons-from-research-on-anticorruption-reform/     New Paper: “A Proposal for a Global Database of Politically Exposed Persons” (Blog).  “As part of the global effort to combat public corruption, anti-money laundering laws require financial institutions and other entities to conduct enhanced scrutiny on so-called “politically exposed persons” (PEPs)…Unfortunately, the current s...

Fighting corruption in Kashmir becomes tougher as territory loses its Right to Information law.   “In August 2019, when the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act was passed in Indian Parliament, it effectively ended the special status of Jammu and Kashmir…Activists and lawyers say the central [RTI] law is less progressive than the state law.” Safwat Zargar/Scroll.in: https://scroll.in/article/985344/fighting-corruption-in-kashmir-becomes-tougher-as-territory-loses-its-right-to-information-law     What ails the CIAA? (Op-ed).  “But the problem with the agency is that it is dominated by lawyers and police people who are interested in fighting rather than investigating corruption. If it is the purpose of the agency is to fight and control corruption better rename the agency as Corruption Controlling Agency rather than “Commission for Investigating the Abuse of Authority”.    ” Narayan Manandhar/...

Improving infrastructure transparency, participation and accountability during a crisis (Guidance Note). “This Guidance Note outlines how to prioritise and fast-track the implementation of one or more of the four core features of the CoST approach, without necessarily becoming part of a recognised CoST programme. Such an approach will not only help reduce risks associated with the procurement of public infrastructure during a crisis and its aftermath, but also lay the foundations for more lasting reforms.” CoST – the Infrastructure Transparency Initiative: https://infrastructuretransparency.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Crisis-Guidance-Final.pdf     Solutions in Not So Short Supply: E-Procurement and COVID-19 Recovery (Blog).  “Digitally automating key steps in the procurement process can make public transactions more ‘auditable’ and reduce the discretionary power of bureaucrats and public officials, which otherwise mig...

Win-win: Designing climate change projects for effective anti-corruption in Bangladesh (Blog).  “Conventional anti-corruption approaches that focus on formal mechanisms of transparency and accountability have had limited effects in Bangladesh. Our research suggests [improving] anti-corruption by designing climate change projects to maximise dual-use benefits for local communities. This triggers self-interested monitoring, particularly by influential individuals, and results in effective anti-corruption in these adverse contexts.” Mushtaq Khan and Mitchell Watkins/Oxfam: https://oxfamblogs.org/fp2p/win-win-designing-climate-change-projects-for-effective-anti-corruption-in-bangladesh/     Why fighting corruption matters in times of COVID-19.  “Our findings suggest that in an increasingly uncertain world, where emergencies abound, fighting corruption is key to ensuring better preparedness for crises responses.” Jon Vrushi and R...

    From: ap-intact@groups.undp.org <ap-intact@groups.undp.org> Sent: Monday, February 8, 2021 6:59 AM To: ap-intact <ap-intact@groups.undp.org> Subject: [ap-intact] Corruption deepens COVID impact / Freedom of expression and corruption / Bangladesh anti-corruption performance   Follow AP-INTACT on Twitter ( https://twitter.com/apintactnetwork ) and join our community on Linkedin ( http://bit.ly/apintactlinkedin ) You can also find our news archive on Blogger ( http://newsbin-apintact.blogspot.com/ ) If a link below does not work, please copy and paste the link into your browser’s address bar instead. Corruption deepens COVID impact in developing Asia: report.  “Asia has fared relatively poorly in Transparency International's latest report on public sector corruption across the globe, with the civil society group drawing a link between some countries' below-par performance and questionable...

FIJI SODELPA referred to FICAC for breaches.  The Registrar of Political Parties has referred the Social Democratic Liberal Party (SODELPA) to the Fiji Independent Commission against Corruption (FICAC) for breaches of the Political Parties Act. https://www.fbcnews.com.fj/news/politics/sodelpa-referred-to-ficac-for-breaches/ $50 Bribe Lands Former LTA Officer 8 Months Behind Bars.  He had denied the charge [of accepting the bribe to pass a vehicle without conducting a fitness inspection] but was found guilty and convicted accordingly. https://fijisun.com.fj/2021/01/29/50-bribe-lands-former-lta-officer-8-months-behind-bars/ Corruption Index 2020 Shows Nations Struggling To Combat it.  While the Asia Pacific region is diverse in both size and scale, most countries still struggle to improve their anti-corruption efforts. Some bright spots exist where countries have made substantial gains to build integrity. https://fijisun.com.fj/2021/01/30/corrupti...

Tencent fires 100 employees, blacklists 37 firms in anti-graft campaign.   “Tencent Holdings Ltd [China’s biggest social media and video games company] named 37 companies it had blacklisted from future contracts and said it has fired more than 100 staff over embezzlement and bribery incidents.” Pei Li and Brenda Goh/Reuters: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-tencent-corruption-idUSKBN2A30DW     Miners using new ESG and transparency framework.  “Mining Shared Value (MSV), a non-profit initiative of Engineers Without Borders announced that four mining companies have now adopted the Mining Local Procurement Reporting Mechanism (LPRM)…[It]   is structured like the Global Reporting Initiative, providing a set of disclosures for companies to provide information on key elements, such as local procurement policies, how much is spent in host countries, and supplier development programmes.” Mining.com: https://www.mi...

The journey towards fighting corruption (Opinion).   “In Bangladesh, economic growth has so far been autonomous of governance to a large extent. However, to improve the efficiency of development efforts and to propel economic growth, corruption has to be rooted out.” Fahmida Khatun/The Daily Star: https://www.thedailystar.net/opinion/macro-mirror/news/the-journey-towards-fighting-corruption-2037057     A year of corruption (Opinion).  “In a pandemic year tarnished by corruption scandal after corruption scandal involving officials from the ruling Nepal Communist Party government, it was no wonder that the perception of corruption in the country would take a beating.” Bhadra Sharma/the Record: https://www.recordnepal.com/wire/features/a-year-of-corruption/     Why corruption exists in Mega Sport Event infrastructure and what to do about it. “[Engineers Against Poverty] publishes its latest research on...

Nguyen Phu Trong, Vietnam's anti-corruption czar, crowned party chief again. “Trong, 76, winning a rare third term as general secretary of the ruling Communist Party…combines decades at the pinnacles of power with the cultivated image of a frugal wordsmith…Famed for his “blazing furnace” crackdown on corruption, Trong’s Communist Party has also been criticised by human rights groups for a crackdown on dissent.” James Pearson/Reuters: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-vietnam-politics-trong/nguyen-phu-trong-vietnams-anti-corruption-czar-crowned-party-chief-again-idUSKBN2A006T   Faring poorly for graft (Editorial).  “Although the [Corruption Perception Index] reflects only public perception, the ranking is no exaggeration where Thailand is concerned. The new coronavirus outbreak that was linked to migrant worker smuggling and gambling dens is proof of rampant corruption in state agencies.” Bangkok Post: h...

CPI 2020: trouble at the top – an analysis.  “Here we look at some of the biggest corruption issues facing countries in the top 25 of the 2020 Corruption Perceptions Index, with scores of 67 and above…Unaccountable financial services…enabling flows of corrupt cash…politics in the interest of a few…exporting corruption along with goods and services…[and] forgetting integrity in the panic of a crisis.” Transparency International: https://www.transparency.org/en/news/cpi-2020-trouble-at-the-top      Ex-PNR top official convicted of graft for illegal deals.  “The [Philippine anti-corruption court] Sandiganbayan has found Manuel Andal, former general manager of the Philippine National Railways, guilty of graft for illegally approving contracts in 2009…He was also asked by the court to reimburse the government P86.5 million (approx. US$1.8 mil), which is the amount of public funds unlawfully...