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OGP: France must do more to tackle corruption

Opening up government data to fight corruption has been a stated aim for many Open Government Partnership members. When data is open by default information is easier to work with, investigate, understand and leverage to combat corruption. With open data, released according to agreed standards, people have a key means to hold their institutions and […]

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Cleaning up Georgia’s elections

Georgians are getting the message: elections are important and tampering with the process has consequences. This year, there were fewer violations, leading to a cleaner election. It was hard work, however. From when the election process started in June to when people went to the polls on 8 October, Transparency International Georgia was on the […]

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McDonnell walks. Reforms needed

The Justice Department on September 8 announced that it is dropping its corruption case against former Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell and his wife, Maureen. Earlier this year, the US Supreme Court decided to throw out McDonnell’s conviction on the grounds that jurors had been provided an erroneous definition of “official act.” The Court’s unanimous decision […]

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Korean companies get ‘F’ grade in voluntary information disclosure

The results of the Korean Transparency in Corporate Reporting survey shows that the biggest 50 companies in Korea still need to disclose a lot more information on a voluntary basis if they want to show they really want to increase their transparency and fight corruption. Companies that disclose information about how they set themselves up, […]

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Reconstruction in Italy: We need transparency and monitoring activities 

It’s true, “Italians do their best in moments of emergency.” Italy’s Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said it after the earthquake that devastated central Italy on 24 August. Italy’s President echoed the Prime Minister and we all tell it to ourselves every time that the images remind us that we are a country that rolls up […]

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How to steal billions

From 2009 to at least 2013, private individuals were allegedly able to siphon off more than $3.5 billion from the wealth fund of Malaysia and go on a high-end luxury shopping spree in several countries including the United States, the United Kingdom and Switzerland for property, museum-quality art and a private jet. Gatekeepers such as […]

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Three reasons why attacking Egypt’s top auditor is bad news

Putting Egypt’s top auditor on trial sends a clear message: the Egyptian government is waging a war. Not against corruption but against those who fight against it. When President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi came to power in 2013, he made fighting corruption a top priority; “There should be full trust in the monitoring bodies and their […]

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Let’s celebrate whistleblowers

Four medical doctors received Transparency International Sweden’s Whistleblower of the Year (“Årets Visselpipa”) award earlier this month for speaking up against the gross ethical misconduct of a celebrated surgeon whose organ transplants turned out to be fatal. Whistleblowers provide a great service to society. The case of the Swedish doctors is a good example of […]

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SPEAK UP, South Africa: the impact of the Nkandla ruling

In March this year South Africa’s highest court upheld a landmark investigation by the courageous Public Protector Thuli Madonsela that showed how taxpayers’ money had been used to upgrade President Jacob Zuma’s personal residence. This underscored the importance of the role of the Public Protector in holding those in power to account. It is the […]

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Secret company ownership: a global solution for a global challenge

The way the rich and powerful hide their ill-gotten gains is headline news around the world today. The Panama Papers show everyone how easy it is to set up secret companies that let people avoid taxes and launder money. Kings do it, business tycoons do it, footballers do it, presidents and prime ministers do it.  […]

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