From Coast to Coast: cycling for a better school system in Honduras

10 February 2015 in Americas, Education, Human rights, People power, Young people

Transparency International’s partner in Honduras, Asociación por una Sociedad más Justa (ASJ), is also part of a civil society alliance called Let’s Transform Honduras (Transforememos Honduras). In January, Let’s Transform Honduras organised its 5th Bike Race from Costa a Costa – Coast to Coast. I’ve worked with ASJ since they joined Transparency International’s global anti-corruption […]

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Northern shadows: Norway doesn’t always practise what it preaches

4 February 2015 in Anti-corruption Conventions, Europe and Central Asia, Oil and gas, Private sector

Norway regularly features near the top of rankings for quality of governance, health and education, including Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index. In 2014 it was ranked by this index as the fifth cleanest country in the world, out of 175 countries. It is one of the few resource-rich countries that have managed to escape the resource curse, […]

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Corruption from Afghanistan and Russia to the USA: 3 new books

2 February 2015 in Miscellaneous

Corruption is popular, as least with publishers. New volumes flow from the presses like fresh loaves of bread rising from a baker’s ovens. Like the loaves, the books have universal appeal. Some of the recent books are attracting extraordinary attention in the United States. Sarah Chayes’s brand new Thieves of State – Why Corruption Threatens […]

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Supporting security and development in the Americas

2 February 2015 in Accountability, Americas, Anti-corruption movement, Civil society, Cost of Corruption, Defence and Security, Human rights, Impunity, People power, Politics and government, Poverty and development

Last week, US vice-president Joe Biden wrote an important article in the New York Times to explain his administration’s plans to channel resources to support security, governance and development in Central America. Biden wrote that in order to sustain economic growth and economic equality in a region plagued by violence, poverty and corruption, you need […]

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Fighting corruption head-on in South-East Asia

2 February 2015 in Asia Pacific, Civil society, Politics and government, Private sector

When the leaders of the 10 nations that make up the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) meet in Malaysia in April for the 26th ASEAN Summit, they need to be bolder in their approach to combatting corruption. Corruption will hold back investment in the region and stifle growth in both the public and private […]

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To the new Greek government: keep your promise to fight corruption

27 January 2015 in Civil society, Europe and Central Asia, Politics and government

During the last ten years Greek politicians have always promised to fight corruption during election periods. However, after coming to power the results were meagre. In 2005 Konstantinos Karamanlis did not follow through on his campaign promises. In 2009 George Papandreou’s commitments produced a good law that required the publication of all government decisions and budgets […]

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Youths from Asia Pacific unite in the fight against corruption

23 January 2015 in Access to information, Accountability, Asia Pacific, Civil society, Cost of Corruption, Education, Health, Human rights, Impunity, Measurement and Research, People power, Politics and government, Poverty and development, Whistleblowing, Young people

Young people constitute a sizeable portion of the Asian Pacific population and tend to be particularly exposed to bribery and corruption as students, pupils, workers, customers and citizens. But young people can play a pivotal role in the fight against corruption, in Asia Pacific and beyond. While people from the older generation tend to see […]

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Indonesia: doing the right thing

21 January 2015 in Accountability, Asia Pacific, Civil society, People power, Politics and government

Recently elected Indonesian President Joko Widodo passed one of the first tests of his integrity credentials on 16 January when he postposed the inauguration of Commissioner General Budi Gunawan, his candidate to take over as chief of police, pending an investigation into corruption allegations. One of the hallmarks of his campaign that helped him win […]

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Redefining success: incentives for cultural change in banks

16 January 2015 in Financial Integrity, Financial Markets, Private sector

Despite the bailouts and regulation after the 2008 financial crisis, unethical behaviour at banks has cost shareholders close to US$10 billion over the past two years in the form of fines. No wonder there is fierce competition on both sides of the Atlantic, particularly now as banks are beginning to report their results, over diminishing […]

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Major economies move on money laundering, but what about the Cayman Islands?

14 January 2015 in G20

The final two months of 2014 saw a surge of positive news for civil society whose collaborative and consolidated efforts over recent years to push for greater corporate transparency measures are now seeing the light.

Civil society has called for greater light to be shed on the real living people who ultimately own or control companies – the beneficial owners. Current levels of secrecy mean that global detection rates for illicit funds by law enforcement are as low as 1 percent for criminal proceeds.

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