AP-INTACT

Money laundering bill would still give Dutch banks too much surveillance power. The Dutch Data Protection Authority (AP) is still very critical of the proposed law to tackle money laundering by banks. It gives banks the scope to monitor payment for suspicious transactions traffic on a large scale.   NL Times: https://nltimes.nl/2023/01/24/money-laundering-bill-still-give-dutch-banks-much-surveillance-power     Nigeria makes case for international anti-corruption court. The Chief of Staff to the president recently disclosed that Nigeria was working with some other countries to establish the International Anti-Corruption Court (IACC), to frontally deal with the menace of corruption.   This Day Live: https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2023/01/25/nigeria-makes-case-for-international-anti-corruption-court/     Policy Forum: Civil society plays a key role in fight against corruption. Civil society should act as a watchdog, ...

[Report] Authoritarian kleptocrats are thriving on the West's failures. Can they be stopped? Kleptocratic regimes have exploited the lax and uneven regulatory environments of the global financial system to hide their ill-gotten gains. As it stands, our thinking about how foreign corruption spreads is too constrained by stereotypes about kleptocratic goals and actions.   Atlantic Council: https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/in-depth-research-reports/report/authoritarian-kleptocrats-are-thriving-on-the-wests-failures-can-they-be-stopped/     [Report] High tax, lack of good governance cause money laundering. The Bangladesh Customs Department recently found that overseas trade is a "risky zone" in terms of money laundering.   Prothomalo: https://en.prothomalo.com/business/local/scwrvr7s0t     Inspection campaigns to combat money laundering launched in Oman. The country seeks to comply with the requirements of combating money laund...

Sierra Leone: Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) Manager Reaffirms Commitment to Battle Corruption. Through a Non-Conviction Based Asset Recovery Model, she argues the commission has seen laudable gains in recovering huge sums of misappropriated funds. Corruption prevention strides through radical public education and effective systems and processes review, according to her.     All Africa: https://allafrica.com/stories/202301240251.html     European Parliament votes to expand proposed rules targeting shell companies after Pandora Papers highlighted their role in tax evasion. Negotiations remain ongoing for final adoption of the "Unshell" directive, while tax justice activists say it may be too "weak" to effectively stop tax abuses.     International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ): https://www.icij.org/investigations/pandora-papers/european-parliament-votes-to-expand-proposed-rules-targeting-shell-compan...

Match-fixing in handball: A reminder of the need for a World Anti-Corruption Agency. Referees in the current handball world championship for men are suspected of match fixing. But the revelations also point to an even bigger problem: there is no agency to fight all corruption in sport.     Play the game: https://www.playthegame.org/news/match-fixing-in-handball-a-reminder-of-the-need-for-a-world-anti-corruption-agency/       Last 8 years witnessed determined effort to tackle corruption in India. Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) chief said that "…the use of technology has helped immensely. Transparency, accountability, and centrality of citizens have become the hallmark of today's governance of India."     Hindustan Times: https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/last-8-years-witnessed-determined-effort-to-tackle-corruption-says-cbichief-101674480079178.html       Monaco's an...

Transparency International's Criticism of Canada's Anti-Bribery and Corruption Enforcement. Canada has been subject to ongoing criticism by NGOs, OECD and others for lagging behind peer countries regarding its commitment to anti-bribery and corruption enforcement.     FASKEN: https://www.fasken.com/en/knowledge/2023/01/transparency-internationals-criticism-of-canadas-anti-bribery-and-corruption-enforcement       Persistent corruption in the maritime sector hindering trade and development. The deputy director-general of Finance & Administration at the Ghana Maritime Authority (GMA) said corruption in the maritime industry will persist due to the nature of the shipping industry.     Graphic: https://www.graphic.com.gh/business/business-news/persistent-corruption-in-maritime-sector-hindering-trade-development.html       Iraqi PM Discusses anti-corruption measures with judic...

Prioritizing the Rule of Law: Ukraine must stay on course. It is no secret that Ukraine has struggled with corruption, a problem dating to the cold decades of Soviet rule. This, and wider failures in the rule of law, have seriously hindered Ukraine's ability to develop.     CEPA: https://cepa.org/article/prioritizing-the-rule-of-law-ukraine-must-stay-the-course/       Absence of ethics controls for top Bulgarian government officials and police . Council of Europe's Group of States Against Corruption (GRECO) calls for more transparency concerning the conditions for government officials and are concerned with the effectiveness of the criminal justice response to corruption.     Sofia Globe: https://sofiaglobe.com/2023/01/19/coe-anti-corruption-body-absence-of-ethics-controls-for-top-bulgarian-government-officials-police/       Corruption responsible for insecurity, says Independent C...

Africa's economic growth to outpace global forecasts in 2023-2024. African Development Bank's new report calls for bold policy actions to help African economies mitigate compounding risks. One of which being "Accelerating structural reforms to build tax administration capacity and investments in digitalization and e-governance to enhance transparency, reduce illicit financial flows, and scale up domestic resource mobilization.     AfDB: https://www.afdb.org/en/news-and-events/press-releases/africas-economic-growth-outpace-global-forecast-2023-2024-african-development-bank-biannual-report-58293     More effective checks and balances needed: PM should back civil servants with adequate reforms. Malaysia's prime minister recently commented on the excess expenditure of public funds by the previous government and urged public officials to act as checks and balances in preventing corruption and wastages of public funds.    ...

Combating Corruption, Funds Prosecution Recover Billions of Riyals to State Treasury in 2022. Sana'a-based Supreme National Authority for Combating Corruption, Oversight and Anti-Corruption Agencies, issued its first annual report on the level of implementation of the National Anti-Corruption Strategy 2022-2026. In its first year, the authority received more than 2000 notifications and preventative measures, as part of the vision to build the modern Yemeni State.     Al Khabar Al Yemeni: https://alkhabaralyemeni.net/2023/01/17/205591/     Unmasking the secrecy behind shell companies. Beneficial owners' information helps to know the ultimate owners behind a certain investment or transaction; thus fighting financial secrecy. This is important for Uganda's fight against illicit financial flows, money laundering, tax evasion and corruption.     Monitor Uganda: https://www.monitor.co.ug/uganda/business/prosper/unmask...

Green corruption – a planetary crime fought from Basel. The environmental crisis has raised the profile of green corruption (corruption or financial crime that causes harm to the environment and biodiversity) on the global agenda, as corruption has long undermined conservation efforts.     Swissinfo: https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/business/green-corruption---a-planetary-crime-fought-from-basel/48189556     [Essay] The hidden history of the world's top offshore cryptocurrency tourist resort. The Bahamas represents how global capitalism can go very right, and very wrong, at exactly the same time. "Tax havens and offshore financial centers are a reaction to the fiscal and regulatory demands of the 20 th century."     Foreign Policy: https://foreignpolicy.com/2023/01/15/the-hidden-history-of-the-worlds-top-offshore-cryptocurrency-tourist-trap/     Corporate taxes to feature at World Econo...

Buhari's renowned anti-corruption posture brought about Judicial reforms.  Adherence to the tenets of the rule of law, deepening democratic governance practices and strengthening institutional reforms across law enforcement and anti-corruption agencies were part of the cardinal policies at the core of Nigeria's administration.     The Guardian Nigeria: https://guardian.ng/news/buharis-renowned-anti-corruption-posture-brought-about-judicial-reforms-malami/     Poland's fight against foreign bribery has stalled and needs urgent action . Despite having an active Central Anti-Corruption Bureau, this has been highlighted by OECD working group on Bribery since 2007. It now highlights a set of recommendations for the country.     OECD: https://www.oecd.org/daf/anti-bribery/polands-fight-against-foreign-bribery-has-stalled-and-needs-urgent-action.htm     Treasury announces timeline fo...

IMF says corruption has inflated costs of high-profile projects in Zambia. "Enormous financial resources invested in infrastructure projects, such as road construction, provided avenues for corruption, especially in the award of tenders, where political connections allowed members of the elite to bend the rules and access to lucrative contracts"     Reuters: https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/imf-says-corruption-has-inflated-costs-high-profile-projects-zambia-2023-01-10/     XI Jinping asks his officials not to collude with business groups amid battle with the economy. During an anti-corruption supervision meeting, the Chinese president stressed that despite the government's efforts to improve the economy, the crackdown on the private sector will remain a concern for investors, to avoid the infiltration of capitalists into politics.     Republic World: https://www.republicworld.com/world-news/china/xi-jinpin...

United States will host the 10 th Conference of the States Parties to the UN Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) in Atlanta, Georgia. The 10 th Conference of the State Parties (COSP) of the UNCAC will be held December 11 th -15 th 2023. It will convene 189 states parties to the UNCAC, as well as a variety of civil society stakeholders during the 20 th anniversary of the UNCAC.     U.S. Department of State: https://www.state.gov/united-states-will-host-the-10th-conference-of-the-states-parties-to-the-un-convention-against-corruption-in-atlanta-georgia/     Lifestyle checks part of review of Philippine National Police (PNP) officials who file courtesy resignations. According to the website of the Office of the Ombudsman, a lifestyle check is an "investigation strategy developed by anti-corruption agencies to determine the existence of ill-gotten gains and unexplained wealth". The aim of the effort is to remove those in the P...

Lithuania's anti-corruption watchdog received over 7,700 tip-offs in 2022. Lithuania's Special Investigation Service (STT) received 4,729 reports of corruption in 2022. 30% of the STT's pre-trial investigations were opened based on citizen reports. The majority of which were in health, environment, governance, and justice.     Lithuanian Radio and Television (LRT): https://www.lrt.lt/en/news-in-english/19/1862469/lithuania-s-anti-corruption-watchdog-received-over-4-700-tip-offs-in-2022     How Vietnam's Anti-Corruption Fight Keeps Expanding. As Southeast-Asia's fastest growing economy, the country only ranks 87 th out of 180 countries in TI's Corruption Perceptions Index. In the realization that corruption could put its legitimacy with the public at risk, the country has much to gain economically if it can bolster its image as a place to do business.     Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/...

[Opinion] Anti-Corruption Commission must revoke secretary empowerment decision. In December 2022, the ACC of Bangladesh redesigned its delegation of administrative and financial powers, empowering the commissions' secretary with more discretion. TI Bangladesh calls for the withdrawal of the decision.     New Age: https://www.newagebd.net/article/191180/acc-must-revoke-secretary-empowerment-decision     Punjab Vigilance arrested 172 in 129 bribery cases in 2022 . The Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB) has set a record in registration of bribery cases, arrests of accused corruption and registration of criminal cases and arrests made. "Chief Minister's Anti-Corruption Action Line" was launched in March 2022 and received more than 300.000 complaints.     Indian Express: https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/chandigarh/punjab-vigilance-arrested-172-in-129-bribery-cases-in-2022-8369265/     ...

[Brief] The gold sector in Madagascar: at the heart of illicit practices. In Madagascar, illicit practices such as corruption and money laundering are increasing at all levels of the gold mining chain. What are the causes behind this poor governance?     U4: https://www.u4.no/publications/the-gold-sector-in-madagascar-at-the-heart-of-illicit-practices     Research and propose models of specialized anti-corruption agencies and units. The central committee for Internal Affairs advised to issue "regulations on controlling power to prevent and combat corruption and negativity in investigation, prosecution, adjudication and judgement enforcement activities" in a nationwide online conference in Hanoi.     Vietnam Post English: https://vietnam.postsen.com/local/228182/Research-and-propose-models-of-specialized-anti-corruption-agencies-and-units.html     Itaewon, Sewol and the promise of "never...

7 Issues that will affect supply chains in 2023. The last year has been challenging for supply chains, with 2023 set for similar pressures and a raft of new legalization to boot. Public procurement, safety act reforms, corruption and more.     New Civil Engineer: https://www.newcivilengineer.com/latest/7-issues-that-will-affect-supply-chains-in-2023-05-01-2023/?tkn=1       [Opinion] Mega Corruption Everywhere – Real Action Nowhere. Sri Lanka has a multiplicity of non-correlated statutes with responsibility of enforcement by several agencies whereby not withstanding all the good intentions, the menace of corruption has become worse.U     The Island: https://island.lk/mega-corruption-everywhere-real-action-nowhere/       [Report ] The Practitioner's Guide to Global Investigations (7 th edition). Not all countries have regimes for the criminal liability of companies, but for those juri...

Joining Forces. Analysts speak of a global "democratic recession" as authoritarian forms of government become more prevalent. This is concerning news for anti-corruption activists.     Transparency International: https://www.transparency.org/en/blog/joining-forces     A positive perception of integrity and fairness has spread across society. The perception of corruption in South Korea improved among every survey participant compared to last year.     ACRC: https://www.acrc.go.kr/board.es?mid=a20301000000&bid=62&list_no=43507&act=view     E-Governance Prospects and Problems . E-Governance promotes development and application of information and communication technology for sustainable development facilitates collaboration, but it is resource intensive, and attention needs to be made to the "digital divide".     Daily Excelsior: https://www.dailyexcelsior.com/e-governance...