IMF loan criticism / China corrupt officials sensation / New Kickback podcast

-

IMF: Scant Transparency for Covid-19 Emergency Loans.  “The International Monetary Fund (IMF), despite overall progress in its anti-corruption efforts, has not ensured sufficient oversight of its Covid-19 emergency loans…As a result, it is hard for members of the public in many countries to track the governments’ Covid-19 spending, to identify potential corruption, or to determine whether the deprivation of basic rights connected to the pandemic is being addressed.”

Human Rights Watch: https://www.hrw.org/news/2021/03/30/imf-scant-transparency-covid-19-emergency-loans

 

Corrupt officials become internet sensation due to massive wealth.  “[Chinese officials] convicted of corruption in Northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province have become an internet sensation due to the extent of their wealth, including more than 100 luxury cars and funds equivalent to 3 billion yuan ($470 million).”

Global Times: https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202103/1219893.shtml  

 

New Podcast, Featuring Thomas Stelzer (Blog/Podcast).  Thomas Stelzer, who is currently the Dean of the International Anti-Corruption Academy and a member of the UN FACTI panel, talks about the recommendations in the panel’s report. “In addressing these issues, Dean Stelzer emphasized the importance of more and better research on the topic of illicit financial flows, as well as the need for sustained efforts to ensure effective implementation of reforms such as those that the FACTI Panel outlined.”

Matthew Stephenson/The Global Anticorruption Blog: https://globalanticorruptionblog.com/2021/03/30/new-podcast-featuring-thomas-stelzer/  

Popular posts from this blog

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

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

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 authorit...
Read more