Corruption and banking: forex heralds an important change in rhetoric

19 November 2014 in Accountability, Anti-corruption Conventions, Anti-corruption movement, Asset recovery, Civil society, Europe and Central Asia, European Union, Financial Markets, Impunity, Lobbying, Measurement and Research, Politics and government, Private sector

This week’s announcement about the rigging of the foreign exchange markets marks one significant change: at last, the media and the Chancellor are using the word corruption to describe this behaviour. Today we take tough action to clean up corruption.” – UK’s Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne Since the financial crisis started in 2008, banks have been fined […]

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Public procurement: guide to help citizens get value for their taxes

18 November 2014 in Accountability, Anti-corruption movement, Cost of Corruption, Measurement and Research, People power, Politics and government, Private sector

Every year an average US$9.5 trillion of public money is spent by governments on procuring goods and services, ranging from equipment for public hospitals and textbooks for schools, to large-scale construction projects, such as building roads, bridges and airports. With so much money at stake, the contracting process, referred to as public procurement, presents a […]

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The hard business of easy access

17 November 2014 in Europe and Central Asia, European Union, G20, Politics and government

News of the arrest of 11 people, including high-ranking public officials, on suspicions of corruption in the issuing of so-called golden visas rocked Portugal this weekend. Officials stand accused of having taken bribes to supply residency permits to preferred millionaire foreign “investors”, revealing just one of the many problems with “Golden Visa” programmes that must […]

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G20 needs to boost banking supervision

12 November 2014 in Accountability, Anti-corruption movement, Asset recovery, G20, Politics and government, Private sector

Five major banks pay fines for currency manipulation On the eve of the Group of 20 Summit in Brisbane, Australia, a group of the world’s biggest banks have agreed to pay US$4.2 billion in fines to UK, US and Swiss authorities to settle charges that they fixed international currency markets over many years. This agreement […]

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Vicious cycle of money, power and influence leaves the rest of us behind

11 November 2014 in Accountability, Anti-corruption movement, Civil society, Cost of Corruption, Human rights, Impunity, Lobbying, Measurement and Research, People power, Politics and government, Poverty and development

We live in a world where 1 billion people live in extreme poverty, with less than US$1.25/day. This is the same world where the market for super yachts is booming. The 85 richest people in the world have the same wealth as the poorest 3.5 billion. The gulf between the haves and the have nots […]

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Can big data solve the world’s problems, including corruption?

7 November 2014 in Access to information, Accountability, Aid, Anti-corruption movement, Civil society, Measurement and Research, People power, Politics and government, Poverty and development, Technology

Governments, academics and tech gurus over the last couple of years have been transfixed with the prospect that better and bigger data can help us solve the world’s more entrenched problems – including corruption and poverty. The United Nations has also caught on to this trend and yesterday released a report, compiled by experts, which […]

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Un viraje clave hacia la lucha contra la corrupción para la iniciativa de la OGP

28 October 2014 in Miscellaneous

Desde sus inicios en 2011, la Alianza para el Gobierno Abierto (Open Government Partnership, OGP) ha intentado promover una visión del mundo donde los gobiernos sean transparentes, inclusivos y rindan cuentas. Y lo está logrando. La OGP comenzó con tan solo ocho países y, en la actualidad, ya son 65 los que han aceptado compartir […]

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A Critical Pivot towards Anti-corruption for the OGP Initiative

28 October 2014 in Access to information, Accountability, Anti-corruption Conventions, Anti-corruption movement, Civil society, Cost of Corruption, Human rights, People power, Politics and government

Since its inception in 2011, the Open Government Partnership (OGP) has sought to advance a vision of the world where governments are transparent, accountable, and inclusive. It is catching on. The OGP started with just eight countries and now has 65 who have agreed to share that vision and introduce practical ways to make it […]

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Speaking up for Greek whistleblowers

28 October 2014 in Access to information, Accountability, ALAC, Anti-corruption movement, Civil society, Cost of Corruption, Europe and Central Asia, European Union, Human rights, People power, Politics and government, Whistleblowing

A passionate antiquities specialist, K. blew the whistle on malpractice he witnessed on a restoration site. The result? He was called to account and has continued to suffer retaliation since. Sophia Ioannou explains what happened – and why urgent action is needed to protect K. and others who speak up against corruption. K.’s story It […]

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No a la impunidad: la ley se abre paso en las investigaciones

24 October 2014 in Miscellaneous

Se le está haciendo cada vez más difícil a Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue salirse con la suya. El hijo del sempiterno presidente de Guinea Ecuatorial ha sido obligado por el gobierno de los Estados Unidos a renunciar a su lujosa mansión en Malibu, un Ferrary de colección y varias estatuas a tamaño natural de Michael […]

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