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Mongolia: law on public information.  “State Secretary of the Ministry of Justice and Home Affairs Mr. Baasandorj gave a brief interview regarding the Law on Public Information. Current Law on Information Transparency and the Right to Access Information is being revised into the Law on Public Information.” Independent Authority Against Corruption of Mongolia : https://www.iaac.mn/news/mongolia-law-on-public-information/     The Corruption of the Afghan Presidency.  “[Afghanistan’s former president, Ashraf Ghani], during his nearly seven years in power, found ways to enrich his brother, his brother-in-law, and other members of his inner circle. This April, I co-authored a two-year-long investigation, published by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, that revealed the Afghan president’s office had approved unique extralegal rights for the subsidiary of an American military contractor to purchase, proces...

Fixing public procurement systems with transparency, accountability, and integrity mechanisms (Blog).  “Certainly, this period of economic slow-down is also an opportune moment for governments to utilize public procurement as a strategic instrument to uplift development. Hence, investing in open, transparent, and agile public procurement systems is synonymous with investing in building resilient societies post the pandemic.” Diana Torres and Sapna Dubey/UNDP: https://www1.undp.org/content/fairbiz/en/home/blog/fixing-public-procurement-systems-with-transparency--accountabil.html   Malaysia says auditor KPMG to pay $80 million in 1MDB settlement.  Malaysia said on Thursday audit firm KPMG has agreed to pay a 333 million ringgit ($80.11 million) settlement to resolve all claims related to their fiduciary duties on auditing of 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) accounts from 2010 to 2012.” Liz Lee/Reuters: https://www.reuters.com/business...

Bad for business: World Bank China rigging scandal rattles investors.  “ Some investors and campaigners expressed dismay on Friday at revelations that World Bank leaders pressured staff to boost China's score in an influential report that ranks countries on how easy it is to do business there… "There have been wide divergences between some countries corruption ranking(s) and the ease of doing business scores, which implies that these were only face-value improvements rather than reflecting underlying economic change," [Charles Robertson, chief economist at Renaissance Capital] said.” Tom Arnold and Marc Jones/Reuters: https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/bad-business-world-bank-china-rigging-scandal-rattles-investors-2021-09-17/      NACC told to release watch scandal details.   “The [Thai] National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) will study the details of the Central Administrative Court's order that th...

Open Contracting Quickstart Guide (Resource).  “In this guide, you’ll find 15 practical strategies within four sections covering core aspects of public procurement reform.” Open Contracting Partnership : https://www.open-contracting.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/OCP21-Quickstart-English.pdf     China continues to strengthen its anti-corruption campaign in relation to public servants (Blog).  “The Supervisors Law of the People’s Republic of China (“Supervisors Law“) was recently promulgated by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress on 20 August 2021. Together with other legislation and enforcement activities, the Supervisors Law aims to strengthen President Xi’s anti-corruption campaign and is scheduled to take effect on 1 January 2022.” Simon Hui, Henry Chen and Zhengwei Yang/Global Compliance News: https://www.globalcompliancenews.com/2021/09/14/china-continues-to-stren...

Civil society’s role in disrupting the illegal trade of endangered animals and environmental commodities in Vietnam and Indonesia (Report).  “Transnational crime syndicates have formed complex and adaptive networks that pose steep challenges for law enforcement, while bribery and corruption have undermined the state response… This new report and digital story…highlights civil society’s multifaceted role in disrupting the illegal trade of endangered animals and environmental commodities in Vietnam and Indonesia.” Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime: https://globalinitiative.net/analysis/change-agents/     #RasuahBusters unveil six anti-corruption demands to the govt.  “The demands were for the implementation of and full support for [Malaysia’s] National Anti-Corruption Plan (NACP), acceleration of the tabling and implementation of a political funding law, assurance of institutional f...

Corruption and Self-Dealing in Afghanistan and Other U.S.-Backed Security Sectors (Commentary).  “The Afghan security forces’ gradual and then sudden collapse is a cautionary tale about other U.S. efforts worldwide to bolster foreign security sectors that are hamstrung by corrosive and endemic corruption.” Jodi Vittori/Carnegie Endowment for International Peace : https://carnegieendowment.org/2021/09/09/corruption-and-self-dealing-in-afghanistan-and-other-u.s.-backed-security-sectors-pub-85303     Out in the open: how public beneficial ownership registers advance anti-corruption.  “Information about the real individuals behind companies is critical for everything from a fair tax system to stopping corruption and wildlife trafficking. The advantages of having beneficial ownership information easily available to authorities as well as to the public are so abundantly clear, that neither anti-corruption professionals nor the wide...

Walking the Talk: Resources on Tackling Social Norms with Strategic Marketing and Communication Campaigns (Blog).  “[Social and behavior change communications] typically use normative messages to 1) convince people that behavior advocated in a campaign is already the norm; 2) correct misperceptions about prevalence and support for behavior; or 3) attach social stigma to unhealthy behaviors…The following shortlist of notable resources is a result of a grey literature review conducted in Spring 2021, which identified 34 documents, of which 20 directly provided insight into overarching social norms communications strategies.” Malavika Krishnan/Tufts University: https://sites.tufts.edu/ihs/walking-the-talk-resources-on-tackling-social-norms-with-strategic-marketing-and-communication-campaigns/     China’s corruption busters signal they plan to make bribe givers pay.  “China’s anti-corruption bodies and law enforcement...

Anti-graft council created amid probe on state corruption.  "The [Philippine] Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC)…formed a new inter-agency task force to bring its campaign against graft and corruption to the lowest level of the government, as the administration faces questions over allegedly anomalous deals. More than 40 agencies under the Executive branch signed a memorandum of agreement to form the National Anti-Corruption Coordinating Council, which will institutionalize anti-corruption committees (ACCs) in all levels of government." Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza/Business World : https://www.bworldonline.com/anti-graft-council-created-amid-probe-on-state-corruption/     Opinion: Why police reform hasn't come to Thailand (Opinion).  "In Nakhon Sawan province, a 24-year old man arrested for selling methamphetamine pills suffocated to death as corrupt Thai police officers attempted to extort a bribe of two million baht for his release…Po...

Why fighting corruption matters in times of COVID-19.  “With the release of the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) 2020, we looked at how corruption undermines states’ capacity to respond to emergencies such as the dual health and economic crises brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. Our analysis highlights that: [corruption] diverts funds from essential services…[a lack of transparency…weakens the efficiency of crisis responses; [countries] that perform poorly in controlling corruption tend to breach human rights and democratic norms in their management of the COVID-19 pandemic.” Jon Vrushi and Roberto Martínez B. Kukutschka/Transparency International : https://www.transparency.org/en/news/cpi-2020-research-analysis-why-fighting-corruption-matters-in-times-of-covid-19     Mongolia: law on civil servants’ ethics.  “If the draft Law on Ethics and Discipline of Civil Servants is adopted, it will be the first ...