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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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Let’s pick up the slow pace of change in Panama

The recent moves by the Panamanian government to clean up its image in the wake of the Panama Papers scandal may eventually lead to a more transparency and accountable financial sector.   But only if the pressure is kept on the Panamanian government. The Panama Papers showed how one Panamanian law firm was able to set […]

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Cairo

Playing with numbers won’t cure Egypt’s corruption

“There is corruption in local government,” admitted President Abdel Fattah el Sisi at a presidential youth forum in Cairo in early August. “But, what can we do?” he laughed. “Sack and jail Hisham Geneina” was one sarcastic suggestion on Twitter. Geneina was the head of Egypt’s top auditing body until earlier this year when he […]

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Image, Courtesy of TI Italy

Thousands of citizens support whistleblower protection law in Italy – you can join them!

No country can fight corruption seriously unless the people who have the courage to speak out are protected. That’s why Transparency International Italy and Riparte il Futuro, an important anti-corruption association, launched our petition on 20 July calling on the Senate to stop stalling and approve whistleblower protection legislation now. A draft law, based on […]

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New whistleblower protection law in France not yet fit for purpose

Michel Sapin, the French Minister of Finance, promised to deliver a comprehensive anti-corruption law that included protection for those courageous enough to speak out against corruption and malpractice. The minister set the bar high when he said that the law should “cover all possible situations… and here, I obviously think of situations like the one […]

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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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The $6.5 million apartment on Starovolynskaya Street

How is it possible for the extended family of Russian politicians and civil servants to get a $6.5 million apartment situated in the Moscow equivalent of millionaires’ row? That was the question that came to mind when we started investigating 15 Starovolynskaya Street and the Rogozin family. Dmitry Rogozin is Deputy Prime Minister and in charge of the Ministry […]

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Makula logs in Zambia

Caution and optimism in Zambia as forest scheme scales up

The bark of the mukula tree has medicinal properties, the outer wood is prized for furniture and flooring, and the dense core is valuable to Chinese rifle manufacturers. With hundreds or thousands of dollars packed into each plant, mukula forests represent a gold mine for Zambia. But an entrenched web of corruption ensures only powerful […]

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US Department of Treasury

U.S. response to the Panama Papers: A step in the right direction but more action is needed

The massive leak dubbed the Panama Papers has given the UK Anti-Corruption Summit on May 12 an unexpected boost. Those coming to the summit, now including the U.S., are lining up to make announcements about the steps they are taking to tackle corruption and specifically financial secrecy. On Thursday the Obama Administration announced a series […]

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