Tag Archives | United States

How not to fall foul of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act

This week the Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission published their long-awaited guidance intended to provide useful information to companies to comply with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). The 120 page document has for the most part been welcomed by civil society organisations and defense counsels alike because of its comprehensiveness […]

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No Impunity: Armenian politicians duck justice

It is nothing new for Armenians to see their politicians accused of corruption. Usually the accusations have little effect and in a few instances people may change jobs but they rarely get punished. In July 2012, however, a court in the United States returned a guilty verdict against Vardan Ayvazyan, a former environment minister and […]

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How can business battle corruption?

President Barack Obama, speaking to the United Nations General Assembly about the true nature of democracy, mentioned corruption and bribery several times. I was particularly struck by this line: True democracy demands that citizens cannot be thrown in jail because of what they believe, and that businesses can be opened without paying a bribe. Unfortunately, […]

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Will Britain tackle tax evasion?

317 Pressure on what are alternatively called ‘offshore havens’, ‘tax havens305’ or ‘secrecy jurisdictions’ is reaching an unprecedented level. There are more than fifty such havens world wide, and governments are finally coming around to the idea voiced by activists that tougher regulation is needed. The economic crisis has lent urgency to the cause. Britain’s […]

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Corruption without borders

Stories of bribery and its impact around the world, from Greece to Mexico. 39 countries are signed up to the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention, meaning that they have agreed to investigate and prosecute businesses that use corrupt practices when conducting business abroad. We will publish a new report on Thursday showing a rise in prosecutions by […]

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Sunshine on the horizon for the oil, gas and mining cash

Despite heavy lobbying by some of the United States’ most powerful corporations, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has taken a bold decision in support of transparency. The US Chamber of Commerce claimed that to force US oil, gas and mining companies to reveal details of their foreign payments to natural resources’ host governments […]

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Codes of conduct in action: common law states

The fourth post in our series on codes of conduct looks at three countries and their codes in action. Australia, the UK and the US are all common law countries, but how much do their codes of conduct have in common? Be sure to check out the first, second and third posts in our series. […]

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Codes of conduct: a tool to clean up government?

The following post is one in a series of blogs that will focus on codes of conduct over the coming weeks. The posts will look at the key features of a code of conduct, their different applications in different country contexts, the public officials that they cover, and their overall effectiveness. Most importantly, they will […]

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The roadmap to a new beginning

Peace agreements offer the possibility for a new beginning. They allow the international community and national governments the opportunity to strengthen governance and embed some anti-corruption controls which, in turn, will help build durable state institutions. Recent studies demonstrate that change can be achieved with the appropriate mix of political pressure, incentives, and creativity. As […]

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Campaign finance: a quick world tour

With $6 billion likely to be spent in the US this year on the race for the White House, the issue of campaign finance will remain in the headlines for much of 2012 in the United States. Though the sums tend to be smaller in other countries, funding elections raises many concerns around the world. […]

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