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No defence for corruption in defence procurement

On 15 May Transparency International India invited senior figures in the defence establishment, including Defence Minister A.K. Antony, senior oversight officers from both state-owned and private defence companies, and experts from civil society to discuss the issue of corruption in defence procurement. There have been too many scandals in procurement – the AgustaWestland helicopter mess [...]

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A Treatise of Banking Nature

When the publication of his Treatise of Human Nature met with almost universal indifference, Scottish philosopher David Hume remarked glumly that it “fell still-born from the press”. Anthony Salz – Rothschild banker and City of London grandee – will understand those sentiments after the rather muted reaction to his own tome on human nature, a [...]

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Fake bomb detectors and the latest casualties of corruption

This article was first published on Trustlaw Yesterday, the British ‘businessman’ James McCormick was found guilty of fraud for selling millions of pounds worth of utterly useless bomb detectors to governments around the world, including a major contract in Iraq. A whistleblower alleges that McCormick paid millions of pounds in bribes to at least 15 [...]

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Fish fraud: why traceability matters

In a guest blog post, Beth Lowell of Oceana reports on alarming rates of fish fraud in the United States. When you go out to your favorite seafood restaurant or pick up fish from the grocery store, you expect to leave knowing that you got what you paid for. But what if the fish you [...]

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How to set up an offshore company in 10 minutes

Last week the massive “Offshore Leaks” investigation by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists reported the uncovering of the beneficial owners of thousands of offshore companies. Among the owners of offshore shell companies disclosed so far are several senior politicians and their close families in various countries. Just how difficult and costly is it to [...]

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Money laundering – are BVI leaks a game changer?

Reposted from Transparency International UK The recent leaks of information about who actually owns the companies registered in the British Virgin Islands (BVI) offer a first glimpse for many people into this very murky world. For years, small amounts of information have trickled out – often through court cases – that indicate these so-called secrecy [...]

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Integrity Default Alert: EU probes collusion in banking sector

Reposted from the blog of Transparency International’s EU liaison office in Brussels. Corruption thrives in the dark, dank corners where no-one is looking, and banking is no exception. Who had heard of the LIBOR benchmark until the rate-rigging scandal erupted early last year? Now it is a byword for bad behaviour in banks. This week, [...]

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Oil money in Gabon and Sierra Leone: from mirage to reality?

Many of the world’s poorest countries by per capita income are actually some of the richest in terms of natural resources. Trouble is, this wealth doesn’t reach citizens who, by rights, own the resources. That is why the Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (EITI) was started in 2002: to get countries to agree to publish information [...]

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La transparence des revenus au Gabon et en Sierra Leone: du mirage à la réalité?

Par Lavina Banduah, Directrice exécutive de Transparency Sierra Leone et Marc Ona, Coordinateur de Publiez ce que vous payez Gabon. Beaucoup des pays les plus pauvres de la planète de par le revenu par habitant sont en fait parmi les plus riches en termes de ressources naturelles. Le problème est que cette richesse ne profite [...]

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New efforts to kill off the UK Bribery Act

This post was originally published in TI-UK‘s blog. Is there an assault being mounted to undermine the Bribery Act – before it has had a chance to take effect? Anecdotal evidence suggests this is the case – one visible sign is a recent letter to the FT (FT Letters, March 18th). I have some sympathy for the concerns expressed [...]

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