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Transparency urged to raise COVID-19 vaccine uptake. "Surveillance systems are needed to track any adverse effects of vaccines, while non-politicized debate and transparency around data are essential to improving COVID-19 immunization rates worldwide."   Medical Express : https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-04-transparency-urged-covid-vaccine-uptake.html     U.S.'s Cracking Down on Financial Crime: Six Issues to Watch in Thursday's House Hearing with the FinCEN Acting Director. "While the agency has made progress on some core objectives of the strategy, there is a lot more it must do to make the U.S. a less attractive destination for ill-gotten funds."   FACT Coalition : https://thefactcoalition.org/cracking-down-on-financial-crime-six-issues-to-watch-in-thursdays-house-hearing-with-the-fincen-acting-director/     Anti-Corruption Authority in Palestine submitted 82 cases of corruption to the Corruption Crimes Court. &qu

Illicit Financial Flow - Nigeria Tasks West Africa On Register of Property Owners. " The federal government has called on all West African countries to put in place a register of beneficial owners of real estate properties in the respective countries so as to check the use of real estate as a conduit for money laundering and terrorism financing ."   All Africa : https://allafrica.com/stories/202204260010.html     European football's governing body UEFA and law enforcement agency Europol have joined forces to find new ways to combat corruption . "Cases of match-fixing and suspicious outcomes are piling up. Cooperation between law enforcement and sports organisations is crucial to identifying and investigating suspected cases in football."   Channel News Asia : https://www.channelnewsasia.com/sport/uefa-europol-fight-corruption-match-fixing-2649011     The Council of Europe's Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) has

Supply-Chain Bottlenecks a Risk Factor for Corruption. "Oil, wheat, fertilizer, neon, iron and other important commodities are in limited supply, either directly because of sanctions or because the conflict has disrupted supplies from Russia and Ukraine. These shortages can lead less scrupulous third-parties and agents to pay bribes as a way to move things along."   The Wall Street Journal : https://www.wsj.com/articles/supply-chain-bottlenecks-a-risk-factor-for-corruption-11650533400?mod=business_featst_pos3     Corruption in the Western Balkans not abating: What is next? "In comparison to 2019, the anti-corruption progress of the Western Balkans that was noted in the first 10 or 15 years of monitoring corruption pressure and corruption involvement has been halted or even reversed in the last few years."   European Western Balkans : https://europeanwesternbalkans.com/2022/04/20/corruption-in-the-western-balkans-not-abating-what-is-next/

The European Centre for Anti-Corruption and State-Building (ERCAS) introduces a new corruption index ( www.corruptionrisk.org ) including Corruption Risk Forecast (CRF). "Altogether, the CRF provides a broad-based and nuanced understanding of how 120 countries (with adequate data) manage — or don't manage — corruption."   FCPA Blog : https://fcpablog.com/2022/04/12/new-corruption-index-adds-forecasting/     [Opinion] South Africa's new company ownership regulation step in right direction. " The country has a chance to co-ordinate between its key institutions in order to reduce procurement risks, identify conflicts of interest, draw on emerging best practice, and tackle the grievous ways opacity of company ownership has been exploited against the public interest."   News 24 : https://www.news24.com/news24/columnists/guestcolumn/opinion-mashudu-masutha-karabo-rajuili-fatfs-new-ownership-regulations-a-step-in-right-direction-20

Compliance With Anti-Bribery Laws Means Sharing Context and Sometimes Overcoming Cultural Norms. "One person's harmless inducement is another's criminal bribe. With customs, mores and laws that vary by culture, what constitutes bribery in each business context is not always clear. Help your employees and protect your company by providing clear context and explicit rules."   Corporate Compliance Insights : https://www.corporatecomplianceinsights.com/preventing-bribery-leave-nothing-imagination/     MPs of Rwanda call for stronger anti-corruption measures as convicts increase. "The number of people convicted of corruption crimes increased by 36 percent over the last three fiscal years. These rose up from 210 in 2018/2019 to 236 in 2019/2020 and 286 convicts in 2020/2021, according to the 2020/2021 activity report of the office of the Ombudsman."   The New Times : https://www.newtimes.co.rw/news/mps-call-anti-corruption-measures-co

International Anti-Corruption Conference (IACC) 2022 - Uprooting corruption, defending democratic values – will be hosted by the U.S. and organized by IACC council and Transparency International. "This year's conference (6-10 December in Washington D.C.) will take place at a crucial point in history. Facilitating intelligence-sharing and game-changing partnerships, it will push anti-corruption efforts to the forefront of the global agenda and boost responses to our most pressing shared threats."   Transparency International : https://www.transparency.org/en/news/dates-2022-international-anti-corruption-conference-uprooting-corruption-defending-democratic-values     Report on the State of Effectiveness and Compliance with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Standards. "Overall, the report finds that countries have made huge progress in improving technical compliance by establishing and enacting a broad range of laws and regulations to better

Sustainable Development Threatened by 'Finance Divide' and COVID-19. "Enhanced transparency and a more complete information ecosystem will strengthen the ability of countries to manage risks and use resources well. For example, tackling illicit financial flows with improved sharing and use of tax information, enhancing transparency of debt data and developing long-term credit ratings for sovereigns."   IDN-InDepth News : https://www.indepthnews.net/index.php/sustainability/poverty/5225-sustainable-development-threatened-by-finance-divide-and-covid-19   [Publication link] 2022 Financing for Sustainable Development Report: Bridging the Finance Divide by Inter-agency Task Force on Financing for Development   The Government of Indonesia should prevent terrorism financing new methods. "President Joko Widodo urged the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center and all ministries and agencies to take precautionary measures against

[Publication] Crime, conflict and corruption. "This paper explains why Nampula, the third-largest city in Mozambique, became a hub for various types of contraband smuggling, especially involving illicit environmental commodities."   Global Initiative : https://globalinitiative.net/analysis/crime-conflict-corruption-nampula/     Comparative Analysis of Political Corruption in Japan and South Korea. "When few people come forward to criticise political corruption, the country may well seem 'less corrupt'. Therefore, we should consider more than the CPI in ranking public sector corruption."   The Geopolitics: https://thegeopolitics.com/comparative-analysis-of-political-corruption-in-japan-and-south-korea/     Anti-corruption action as CSR, the increased privatisation of service delivery has seen points of corruption shift to private sector hands. "The authors advocate a synchronisation of CSR with anti-corruption activ

Government officials should not be able to cash out working for firms directly affected by their own actions in office . "If not countered, this naked political influence-peddling risks undermining public trust in the rules regulators develop, if not sowing the seeds for a future financial crisis."   The American Prospect : https://prospect.org/power/biden-must-block-cryptos-access-to-revolving-door/     Impunity, corruption remains problems in Albania . "Impunity remained a problem, although the specialized anti-corruption authority and the anti-corruption courts made significant progress during the year in investigating, prosecuting and convicting senior officials and organized crime."   Albanian Daily News : https://albaniandailynews.com/news/impunity-corruption-remain-problems-in-albania-dos     The Offshore Leaks Database spotlights vital new information on the covert financial activities of oligarchs, bankers and politicians

Oligarchs' big loophole for stashing money . "Regulators are drafting rules to comply with the Corporate Transparency Act, which Congress passed in January 2021 over then-President Donald Trump's veto to establish reporting requirements on the actual people — called "beneficial owners."   Politico : https://www.politico.com/news/2022/04/11/washington-poised-to-clamp-down-on-oligarchs-real-estate-00023347     Dutch gov't wants to establish international anti-corruption court. "Corruption by public officials is not only a financial problem, but it also undermines democracy and the rule of law in a country and increases inequality among the population. And it is simply criminal. Not only does the country itself suffer, but corruption also harms the interests of other state."   NL Times : https://nltimes.nl/2022/04/11/dutch-govt-wants-establish-international-anti-corruption-court     How Anti-Corruption Agencies Can Cu

Crypto is Very Popular in Corrupt Countries, IMF Warns. ""Residents of countries where the traditional financial sector is well developed may be less likely to feel the need for crypto," reads a new IMF report."   The Street : https://www.thestreet.com/investing/crypto-corrupt-countries-img   UK Minister for Africa Vicky Ford underscored UK's support for anti-corruption drive during her meeting with Malawi's President. "Malawi is making to turn around her economic fortunes through instituting wide-ranging public sector and economic reforms. Of course corruption continues to disrupt this process, but I commend the substantial strides taken to fight the issue through increased action, coordination and a whole-of-government approach."   The government of UK : https://www.gov.uk/government/news/time-for-uk-and-malawi-to-forge-a-stronger-forward-looking-relationship     Corruption Prevention Commission plans to int

UAE, UK host joint technical workshops under UAE-UK Partnership to Tackle Illicit Financial Flows. "Both sides discussed tackling emerging illicit finance trends such as schemes involving virtual assets, Financial Intelligence Unit priorities, responsibilities, and best practices, public-private partnerships and raising awareness within the private sector and law enforcement approaches to illicit finance."   TDPel Media : https://tdpelmedia.com/uae-uk-host-joint-technical-workshops-under-uae-uk-partnership-to-tackle-illicit-financial-flows     Malaysia's MySejahtera Scandal Not Unique, France's Covid-19 App Under Prosecutor Probe. "Each of the items of expenditure for TousAntiCovid – whether for communication or operation of the app – should have been called for tender or a competitive procurement procedure."   Code Blue : https://codeblue.galencentre.org/2022/04/08/mysejahtera-scandal-not-unique-frances-covid-19-app-under-prose

Transparency International Ukraine calls on donors and humanitarian agencies to ensure their response is based on humanitarian principles and accountable to those in need. "Organisations must provide transparent and easily accessible records of the received funds, where they are being spent and their impact, as well as implement accountability mechanisms so that aid reaches those in need."   Transparency International : https://www.transparency.org/en/press/international-aid-organisations-must-respect-humanitarian-standards-in-ukraine     Stakeholder capitalism in the ESG era may drive heightened expectations and regulations for reporting, transparency and accountability. "Boards should take a proactive approach to ESG and similar stakeholder capitalism, ensuring sufficient resources, appropriate controls and focused communications."   Corporate Compliance Insights : https://www.corporatecomplianceinsights.com/in-era-heightened-transpa

Weak oversight mechanisms and Africa's sea-blindness make the maritime industry an ideal target for graft. "Corruption can involve facilitation payments to customs officers to allow illegal goods through or turn a blind eye to specific procedural requirements. Bribes are also paid to gain contracts, affect quota allocation or influence tenders."   Institute for Security Studies : https://issafrica.org/iss-today/combating-the-sea-of-corruption-in-the-maritime-sector     How do you maintain your integrity in a hyper-competitive business environment? (opinion) "Making the decision to maintain your integrity through the lifecycle of your business is not one-and-done or set-it-and-forget-it. It's a decision you're going to have to revisit multiple times under complex circumstances. There will be many "steal bread to save your starving family" moments along the way."   WRAL Techwire : https://wraltechwire.com/2022/04/05

A new Regional Programme for Southeast Asia and the Pacific takes form for 2022–2026. "The new Regional Programme represents UNODC's commitment to preventive strategies that will improve the lives of all people in Southeast Asia and the Pacific, leaving no one behind."   UNODC : https://www.unodc.org/unodc/frontpage/2022/March/a-new-regional-programme-for-southeast-asia-and-the-pacific-takes-form-for-20222026.html     An International Anti-Corruption Court would fill the crucial enforcement gap in the international framework for combating grand corruption. "Stakeholders have called for the institution of the International Anti-Corruption Court, saying it would facilitate the tracing and recovery of stolen public funds and the arrest and prosecution of fugitives fleeing corruption trials."   Punch Nigeria : https://punchng.com/efcc-others-back-anti-corruption-court-on-looters-fugitives-trial/   Media plays major role in figh