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Shaping a sustainable post-Covid-19 world: five lessons for business (Opinion). “ Mike Barry of A Blueprint for Better Business outlines how companies can convert the management-speak of ‘purpose’ into action that contributes towards building a more resilient, equal and healthy society on the other side of the pandemic.”     Mike Barry / Ethical Corporation:  http://www.ethicalcorp.com/shaping-sustainable-post-covid-19-world-five-lessons-business       COVID-19 and the coming corruption pandemic (Opinion).   “ Corruption can significantly reduce dollars that should flow to the people needing those dollars most, but it will also diminish the quality of products provided by companies having illicitly won contracts. (…) And at a time where effective measures will be needed to ensure a  more timely  recovery, corruption is a major threat to the world...

An Invitation to Corruption (Opinion).  “As long as lawmakers are allowed to trade individual stocks, disaster profiteering is always a risk. […] The simple perception that officials might have prioritized their own financial well-being over the well-being of American households is damaging enough, even if the trades were innocuous.”     Annie Lowrey / The Atlantic:  https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/03/congress-insider-trading-problem/608488/       Ace Motorcycles PH closes  shop:  cites bribery and corruption issues.  “We have had to make this hard decision after we found it impossible to carry out importing motorcycles in an honest and trustworthy manner, having experienced bribery and corruption in nearly every part of doing business with both local and national government departments,” the company said on social media. “We also found...

To Defeat the Coronavirus, Stop Corruption.  “As the coronavirus spreads around the world, the rushed global response could create opportunities for graft, including fraud and bribery stemming from critical emergency cash flows and medical supply shortages. If safeguards are not put into place quickly, the scale of this corruption could be vast.”     Tammy Kupperman Thorp / Foreign Policy:  https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/04/06/defeat-coronavirus-stop-corruption-humanitarian-crisis-disaster-response-emergency-medical-supplies/         The Crossroads Between Risk Management and COVID-19. “ With a changing risk landscape comes a need for new risk assessments and a subsequent adjustment of controls to contain those new or heightened risks. Risks constantly change and evolve (as should your compliance program). All guidance released by multiple enforcement authorities point to th...

Corruption in the time of COVID-19: A double-threat for low income countries (Resource).  “this special issue…addresses crucial and highly relevant issues related to the health sector’s ability to prevent, detect, and sanction corruption, in order to address the threats that corruption poses to the health system’s ability to perform effectively during both crises and normal times.” Sarah Steingrüber, Monica Kirya, David Jackson and Saul Mullard/U4 Anti-Corruption Resource Centre: https://www.u4.no/publications/corruption-in-the-time-of-covid-19-a-double-threat-for-low-income-countries   Fighting corruption in business.  Cambodia’s Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Japanese Business Association in Cambodia (JBAC), to build trust and create a better investment environment for Japanese companies and other investors in the country. Sok Chan/Khmer Times:  https://www.khmerti...

Survey on COVID-19 and Fair Biz (Online Survey).  We’d like to ask your opinion about how COVID-19 is going to impact transparency, business integrity and companies’ ability to manage corruption risk both during and after the crisis.  Please respond to this very short survey by Wednesday 8th April 10pm BKK . We will share the results in our next newsletter.   Please click  here  to begin the survey.         Fraud, the Philippine cut (Opinion).  In this opinion piece   Alexander B. Cabrera, Chairman of Integrity Initiative Inc., reflects on the results and reactions to the   PWC 2020 Global Economic Crime and Fraud Survey .     Alexander B.  Cabrera  / Philstar :  https://www.philstar.com/business/2020/03/08/1998950/fraud-philippine-cut         Are we asking the right q...

Corruption hinders Iran's response to coronavirus outbreak.  "A well-connected network is controlling the distribution of protective masks and sanitation products in Iran as the country struggles to deal with an outbreak of COVID-19, officials warned. Saeed Namaki, Iran's health minister […] said that officials in the health ministry had been working hard to provide the needed products, but they did not have enough power to overcome the hoarders."     Iranian press review:   https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/iranian-press-review-corruption-hinders-irans-response-coronavirus-outbreak       Watchdogs urge KPK to restart key position selection over lack of transparency. " A coalition of civil society organizations has urged the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) to start over its selection process for a key position within the commission, citing a lack of transparency regarding the whole process....

The hierarchy of threats, risks and challenges in the South Pacific.   The dwindling, ravaged forests of Melanesia show what happens when extraction becomes exploitation, flavoured by corruption.   https://www.aspistrategist.org.au/the-hierarchy-of-threats-risks-and-challenges-in-the-south-pacific/             PAPUA NEW GUINEA:    Reciprocity networks, service delivery, and corruption: The wantok system in Papua New Guinea.    These social networks help people cope with adversity but can also promote favouritism and corruption, posing a dilemma for development practitioners.   https://www.u4.no/publications/reciprocity-networks-service-delivery-and-corruption-the-wantok-system-in-papua-new-guinea             VANUATU:    Coronavirus fears and controversial passport sales: Vanuatu's ele...