IMF loan criticism / China corrupt officials sensation / New Kickback podcast

IMF: Scant Transparency for Covid-19 Emergency Loans.  “The International Monetary Fund (IMF), despite overall progress in its anti-corruption efforts, has not ensured sufficient oversight of its Covid-19 emergency loans…As a result, it is hard for members of the public in many countries to track the governments’ Covid-19 spending, to identify potential corruption, or to determine whether the deprivation of basic rights connected to the pandemic is being addressed.”

Human Rights Watch: https://www.hrw.org/news/2021/03/30/imf-scant-transparency-covid-19-emergency-loans

 

Corrupt officials become internet sensation due to massive wealth.  “[Chinese officials] convicted of corruption in Northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province have become an internet sensation due to the extent of their wealth, including more than 100 luxury cars and funds equivalent to 3 billion yuan ($470 million).”

Global Times: https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202103/1219893.shtml  

 

New Podcast, Featuring Thomas Stelzer (Blog/Podcast).  Thomas Stelzer, who is currently the Dean of the International Anti-Corruption Academy and a member of the UN FACTI panel, talks about the recommendations in the panel’s report. “In addressing these issues, Dean Stelzer emphasized the importance of more and better research on the topic of illicit financial flows, as well as the need for sustained efforts to ensure effective implementation of reforms such as those that the FACTI Panel outlined.”

Matthew Stephenson/The Global Anticorruption Blog: https://globalanticorruptionblog.com/2021/03/30/new-podcast-featuring-thomas-stelzer/