NewsBin - Global Anti-Corruption

Wednesday, January 3, 2018

Netflix corruption documentaries / Macau casino transactions / Korea jail sentence

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Netflix documentary series 'Rotten', 'Dirty Money' tackle food, corporate corruption. Having tackled the topics of corruption and injustice through critically acclaimed documentaries like 13th, The Keepers and Making a Murderer, Netflix is setting its sights on the corporate world and global food production.

Ray Flook/Bleeding Cool: https://www.bleedingcool.com/2017/12/14/rotten-dirty-money-netflix-doc-series/

Suspicious Transaction Reports Up at Macau Casinos. Casinos are required to report such activity to the Financial Intelligence Office if the "natural, complexity, [or] the amount involved…indicates any activities of money laundering or terrorist financing."

Kevin Horridge/casino.org: https://www.casino.org/news/suspicious-transaction-reports-macau-casinos

South Korea prosecutors demand 25 years jail for ex-president's friend in corruption scandal. Choi Soon-sil is accused of colluding with Park Guen-hye to extort millions of dollars from conglomerates, and using her connection with the president to meddle in state affairs

Agence France Presse/South China Morning Post: http://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/2124312/south-korea-prosecutors-demand-25-years-jail-ex-presidents

Iran media / Myanmar glimmer / Malaysia-Indonesia exchange

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Iranian Media Urged to Report Corruption at All Levels. Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani has highlighted the need to constantly fight corruption and said media, while enjoying judicial immunity, should precisely and openly report proven cases of corruption at any level.

Iran Front Page: http://ifpnews.com/exclusive/iranian-media-urged-report-corruption-levels/

A new glimmer of hope for combating the scourge of corruption. "The appointment of a new Anti-Corruption Commission headed by a respected former minister signals the start of a fresh campaign to tackle a problem that shames Myanmar."

Sithu Aung Myint/Frontier Myanmar: https://frontiermyanmar.net/en/a-new-glimmer-of-hope-for-combating-the-scourge-of-corruption

Malaysia Corruption Watch, Indonesia's KPK exchange views. Malaysia's Corruption Watch, a non-governmental organisation, met up with Indonesia's Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) on dealing with corruption, especially in raising public awareness on the scourge.

The Sun Daily: http://www.thesundaily.my/news/2017/12/16/mcw-icec-exchange-views-combating-corruption

India non-profit award / Korea civil servants / Australia PM nod

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Anti-graft award for Bengaluru-based ipaidabribe.com. I Paid A Bribe - an anticorruption platform run by citybased non-profit Janaagraha Centre for Citizenship and Democracy - was conferred the International Anti-Corruption Excellence (ACE) Award 2017 at the United Nations Office in Geneva (UNOG) on December 8.

The Times of India: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bengaluru/anti-graft-award-for-bengaluru-based-ipaidabribe-com/articleshow/62046217.cms

Civil servants give Korea anti-corruption law thumbs up. Nine in 10 civil servants see the anti-graft law, criticized for being too tough and set to be watered down, as being helpful in combating corruption in South Korea, according to a poll released nearly 15 months after the law came into effect.

Kin Da-sol/The Korea Herald: http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20171212000778

Malcolm Turnbull opens door to national anti-corruption body but dismisses ICAC model as beset by 'hearsay and rumour'. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has for the first time suggested he is prepared to consider creating a federal anti-corruption watchdog.

James Massola & Peter Hartcher/The Sydney Morning Herald: http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/malcolm-turnbull-opens-door-to-national-anticorruption-body-but-dismisses-icac-model-as-beset-by-hearsay-and-rumour-20171211-h02ivi.html

Four corruption myths / Fake news threat / Global Effective-O-Meter

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Four myths about corruption (opinion). " Like any insidious disease, corruption presents multiple myths or red herrings to obfuscate its source and elude attempts to cure it."

Bo Rothstein, Professor of Government and Public Policy, University of Gothenburg/World Economic Forum: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/12/four-myths-about-corruption/

Fake News: An Emerging Threat to Anticorruption Activists (opinion). "Anti-anti-corruption forces are beginning to deploy the "fake news" tactics that garnered so much attention in recent elections, especially though not exclusively in the United States."

Shanil Wijesinha/Global Anticorruption Blog: https://globalanticorruptionblog.com/2017/12/15/fake-news-an-emerging-threat-to-anticorruption-activists/

Stopping Dirty Money: The Global Effective-O-Meter. Since 2014, a global anti-money laundering body called the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has been assessing whether countries' measures to stop dirty money are actually working in practice – whether they are effective – in addition to the extent to which laws are in place on paper.

Transparency International: https://www.transparency.org/_view/feature/8107?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=DCN%2014%20December&utm_content=DCN%2014%20December+CID_9c9753feb2a2bf0fb7a6672cab00c0be&utm_source=Email%20marketing%20software&utm_term=Stopping%20dirty%20money%20the%20global%20effective-o-meter

34th FCPA Conference / Malaysia corruption pledge / Sri Lanka-based legal advisor

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Takeaways from the 34th International Conference on the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. At the 34th International Conference on the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act held in Washington, D.C., industry executives, members of the defense bar, and regulators examined developments in the enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act ("FCPA") over the past year and in the 40 years since its inception.

JD Supra: https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/takeaways-from-the-34th-international-18106/

Malaysia's civil servants urged to sign corruption pledge. Malaysia's anti-corruption tsar has challenged government bodies to join a programme that encourages civil servants to sign a pledge to remain free of graft.

Liz Heron/Global Government Forum: https://www.globalgovernmentforum.com/malaysias-civil-servants-urged-sign-corruption-pledge/

US proposes anti-corruption advisor to be based in Colombo. Auditor General Gamini Wijesinghe alleged that the failure on the part of successive governments to take tangible measures to tackle state sector waste, corruption and irregularities had contributed to US decision to propose a Colombo-based Resident Legal Advisor.

Shamindra Ferdinando/The Island: http://www.island.lk/index.php?page_cat=article-details&page=article-details&code_title=176525

Afghanistan financial report / Indonesia state officials / Drivers of change

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Afghanistan Financial Intelligence Unit annual report now available online. The Afghanistan Government's Financial Intelligence Unit (also know as FinTRACA) has released its annual report for fiscal year 1396 (2017).

To view or download the report, please click here: http://fintraca.gov.af/Report.html

Thank you to Nesar Yosufzai, CAMS, Director General, Financial Intelligence Unit (FinTRACA), Afghanistan, for sharing this information.

State officials the most corrupt in 2017 says Indonesian anti-graft agency. The majority of individuals arrested by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) in 2017 were high echelon state officials, the anti-graft body has reported.

Kharishar Kahfi/The Jakarta Post: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2017/12/27/state-officials-the-most-corrupt-in-2017-kpk.html

Thank you to Adhi Setyo Tamtomo, Head of Multilateral Cooperation, Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), Republic of Indonesia, for sharing this information.

New World Bank/Nordic Trust Fund Report. Geared to both international actors and civil society, this report by Shaazka Beyerle, David Janoff, Marco Larizza and Berenike Schott offers a power analysis, active human rights framework, and takeaways about countering corruption and improving development outcomes, with case studies from Afghanistan, Paraguay and Serbia.

The World Bank: http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/278701500571128996/Citizens-as-drivers-of-change-how-citizens-practice-human-rights-to-engage-with-the-state-and-promote-transparency-and-accountability

Thank you to Shaazka Beyerle, 2017 Jennings Randolph senior fellow at the U.S. Institute of Peace, for sharing this information.

Japan maglev probe / Vietnam crackdown / India pain point

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Japan's maglev corruption probe nets giants Kajima and Shimizu. An investigation into bid-rigging on contracts for Japan's $80bn maglev project has widened from the Obayashi Corporation to include Kajima and Shimizu.

Global Construction Review: http://www.globalconstructionreview.com/news/japans-maglev-corruption-probe-nets-giants-kajima-/

Vietnam Widens Crackdown Amid Public Outcry Over Corruption. Vietnam's first move to prosecute a former politburo member widens the country's crackdown against graft to appease a restless public and protect fast economic growth.

Ralph Jennings/Voice of America: https://www.voanews.com/a/vietnam-anti-corruption-expanding/4168105.html

Corruption a pain point for foreign investors in India: Kroll. The survey found 69 percent in India as saying they had to pay a bribe, followed by 65 percent in Vietnam. China was much lower at 26 percent while the same for Pakistan was 40 percent.

Money Control: http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/economy/corruption-a-pain-point-for-foreign-investors-in-india-kroll-2472241.html