Emergency procurement insights / Thailand fraud survey / World Bank debars project contractor in Myanmar

Insights into emergency procurement: experiences from 12 countries (Blog/Report).  “[The] findings, from new research on emergency procurement in 12 countries, illustrate how governments, civil society, and development organizations around the world are struggling to ensure that the COVID-19 emergency response spending is being used effectively, efficiently and accountably… Many of the researchers also discovered serious issues with the quality, timeliness, and completeness in the published data.”

Direct link to the report: https://www.open-contracting.org/resources/action-research-lessons-covid19/

Lindsey Marchessault and Camila Salazar/Open Contracting Partnership: https://www.open-contracting.org/2020/10/29/insights-into-emergency-procurement-experiences-from-12-countries/  

 

PwC’s Thailand Economic Crime and Fraud Survey 2020 (Report).  “This year’s survey shows a drop in reported incidents from 2018...[but still,] 33% of Thai companies were affected by fraud, corruption or other economic crimes during the last two years.”

PwC: https://www.pwc.com/th/en/consulting/forensic/economic-crime-and-fraud-in-thailand.html  

 

World Bank Group Debars Berky GmbH (Statement).  “The World Bank Group…announced the two-year and six-month debarment of Berky GmbH, a Germany-based company that specializes in water maintenance machines, in connection with collusive, fraudulent, and corrupt practices under the Ayeyarwady Integrated River Basin Management Project in Myanmar”

World Bank: https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2020/11/04/world-bank-group-debars-berky-gmbh

ASEAN ESG investing / Indonesia influencer appointment / Beneficial ownership and development

High-level Virtual Panel: “The Future of ESG Investing in ASEAN” | ASEAN Business Investment Summit 2020.  How much impact is ESG investing currently having in ASEAN? And what more needs to be done to speed up and scale up the impact? Join the discussion on Friday, 13th November 2020 at 10:35-12:15 Indochina Time to learn more from distinguished speakers from leading investment companies including Aberdeen Standard (Singapore), Sintesa Group (Indonesia), Premier Group (Thailand) and Patamar Capital (Viet Nam).

Register here:https://abis2020.vn/en/register.asp

 

Another social media supporter in Jokowi’s campaign named state enterprise commissioner.  “The [Indonesian] government has named social media influencer Kristia Budiyarto an independent commissioner for state-owned ferry operator PT Pelayaran Nasional Indonesia (Pelni), marking yet another avid supporter of President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo being appointed to a position in a state-owned enterprise (SOE).”

Moch. Fiqih Prawira Adjie/The Jakarta Post: https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2020/11/03/another-social-media-supporter-in-jokowis-campaign-named-state-enterprise-commissioner.html    

 

Hiding in plain sight: Ending the corrupt abuse of anonymous corporate structures is a development imperative (Blog).  “The development imperative of stemming the abuse of corporate structures to hide dirty money is clear: a lack of transparency of beneficial owners of corporate structures contributes to global economic inequalities and enables the theft of valuable public resources from developing countries.”

Alexandra Habershon and Solvej Krause/World Bank: https://blogs.worldbank.org/governance/hiding-plain-sight-ending-corrupt-abuse-anonymous-corporate-structures-development  

Philippines new taskforce / Pakistan NAB conviction / Investigative journalists threatened

Analysts: Philippine President Talks Big but Underperforms in Combating Graft (Opinion).  “Last week, the president announced that he would devote the last two years of his six-year term to purging government of graft, as he ordered the formation of a task force to go after dirty officials…[But the] creation of the new task force seems superfluous because an Office of the Ombudsman already exists for such a mission, but the move is likely intended to further boost Duterte’s image as a strongman and law and order president, analysts say.”

Aie Balagtas See/Benar News: https://www.benarnews.org/english/news/philippine/Duterte-corruption-11032020155421.html

 

‘NAB believes in ‘accountability for all’ to end corruption’.  “[Pakistan] National Accountability Bureau Chairman Justice (retd) Javed Iqbal…said due to vigorous prosecution, NAB’s conviction ratio is about 68.8 per cent which is one of the best conviction rates compared to other anti-corruption organisations.”

The News: https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/737887-nab-believes-in-accountability-for-all-to-end-corruption

 

Most Financial Crime and Corruption Journalists Face Threats (Blog).  “Most journalists who took part in a [global] survey conducted by the Foreign Policy Center said they were threatened or harassed while investigating financial crime or corruption… Overall, the survey found that 70% of respondents felt they had self-censored to some degree as a result of the risks and threats they faced.” Note: Only 10% of these respondents are from Asia.

Eli Moskowitz/Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project: https://www.occrp.org/en/daily/13347-report-most-financial-crime-and-corruption-journalists-face-threats

Compliance book review / Iran insulin corruption / Philippines budget allocation

Review of Gemma Aiolfi’s Anticorruption Compliance for Small and Mid-Sized Organizations (Blog/Book review).  “If there is one point I wish Aiolfi had stressed, it would be the appointment of the compliance officer.  Too many times when a company decides to establish a program, it turns to an outsider to head it, often someone from the “compliance industry.” While this can work, much better is to hire from within, someone who understands the company’s operations and, more importantly, is respected and trusted by fellow employees.”

Richard Messick/The Global Anticorruption Blog: https://globalanticorruptionblog.com/2020/10/28/review-of-gemma-aiolifis-anticorruption-compliance-for-small-and-mid-sized-organizations/

 

Iranian diabetic patients dig for vital medicines amid corruption.  “The plight of Iranian diabetic patients has entered the public sphere as a shortage of vital insulin pens threatens their lives, a crisis authorities blame on US sanctions. The patients, however, link it to domestic corruption…Hoarding and stockpiling vital medicines for profiteering by powerful groups connected to higher authorities remains a tough challenge for Iranian patients coping with some diseases.”

Al-Monitor: https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2020/10/iran-diabetic-patients-medicine-shortages-corruption.html  

 

Power of purse can ease graft, lawmaker insists.  “[House appropriation committee chair Eric Go Yap] clarified that he never said he would “zero” the budget of agencies found to be prone to corruption or led by individuals who have been found to be corrupt. But the House of Representatives can use its power of the purse to redirect funds away from the hands of corrupt officials,”

Julie M. Aurelio/Inquirer.net: https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1354880/power-of-purse-can-ease-graft-lawmaker-insists    

Indonesia new regulation / Pakistan PFM project / Myanmar health governance

New regulation clarifies KPK supervision of police, AGO.  “The regulation, signed by President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo…details how the [Indonesian Corruption Eradication Commission] KPK is to monitor and review the progress of investigations conducted by the [National Police and the Attorney General’s Office]. It was issued as an implementing regulation of the 2019 KPK Law, which grants the commission the power to supervise and take over cases but does not explain how it will do so.”

Galih Gumelar and Moch. Fiqih Prawira Adjie/The Jakarta Post: https://www.thejakartapost.com/paper/2020/11/01/new-regulation-clarifies-kpk-supervision-of-police-ago.html  

 

World Bank supports stronger PFM and digital services in Punjab.  “Public finance management reforms in the Pakistani state of Punjab have been boosted by $304m of World Bank financing…“the programme will help the provincial government expand its existing citizen feedback model and accelerate the use of technology for revenue mobilisation and public procurement,” said Akmal Minallah, task team leader for the programme.”

Calum Rutter/Public Finance Focus: https://www.publicfinancefocus.org/pfm-news/2020/10/world-bank-supports-stronger-pfm-and-digital-services-punjab  

 

Health system governance in strengthening International Health Regulations (IHR) compliance in Myanmar (Abstract/Journal Article).  “We consider governance (SDG 16) and how it influences the IHR capacity of SDG 3 (health and well-being for all at all ages)…Nurturing an institutional culture with enforced rules, which are conducive for improved accountability through inclusive participation would further improve Myanmar IHR strengthening efforts.”

Pyone T, Aung TT, Endericks T, et al/BMJ Global Health: https://reliefweb.int/report/myanmar/health-system-governance-strengthening-international-health-regulations-ihr

Potential vaccine corruption / Malaysia Transport Ministry plan / Barriers to accountability

Corruption and the COVID-19 Vaccine: The Looming Problem of Distribution (Blog).  “Fortunately, there are a number of familiar steps that might be taken to reduce the risks and effects of corruption in the COVID-19 vaccine distribution process. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) authored a report in 2011 describing tools and best practices to combat corruption in health, including specific recommendations for distributing drugs and equipment supplies.”

Direct link to the UNDP report: https://www.undp.org/content/dam/undp/library/Democratic%20Governance/IP/Anticorruption%20Methods%20and%20Tools%20in%20Health%20Lo%20Res%20final.pdf  

Zachary Meskell/The Global Anticorruption Blog: https://globalanticorruptionblog.com/2020/10/26/corruption-and-the-covid-19-vaccine-the-looming-problem-of-distribution/

 

Transport Ministry unveils anti-graft blueprint.  “[The Malaysian] Transport Ministry (MoT) has launched its Organisational Anti-Corruption Plan (OACP) 2020-2025 which consists of 82 initiatives relating to procurement, law enforcement, financial management, and administrative best practices.”

Malay Mail: https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2020/10/30/transport-ministry-unveils-anti-graft-blueprint/1917956  

 

Overcoming barriers that limit accountability of public spending (Blog).  “Too often, [Supreme Audit Institutions] suffer from deficiencies that are compounded by weak legislative oversight, inadequate responsiveness from executives to reports, and few opportunities for public engagement in the audit and oversight process. These challenges preceded the pandemic and are likely to be exacerbated by the crisis.”

Vivek Ramkumar, Ed Olowo-Okere, and Martin Aldcroft/World Bank: https://blogs.worldbank.org/governance/overcoming-barriers-limit-accountability-public-spending   

Exporting corruption to Bangladesh / Lessons from Goldman Sachs / IMF corruption "macro-criticality"

Exporting corruption report: A timely alert for Bangladesh (Blog).  “[Bangladesh’s] leading foreign trade partners are among those it categorized as dismally failing to enforce committed action against foreign bribery…[it] stands to lose the most by turning a blind eye to its commercial partners’ corrupt practices.”  

Iftekhar Zaman/Transparency International: https://www.transparency.org/en/blog/exporting-corruption-report-a-timely-alert-for-bangladesh  

Goldman Sachs’ involvement in 1MDB scandal is a warning for financial sector (Opinion).  “For starters, the cooperation between banks and governments must have principles and bottom lines, and should be conducted in compliance with laws and regulations…Secondly, a financial institution must adhere to the principles it claims…Thirdly, the internal control of a financial company is the lifeblood of the company, and it must not become just an embellishment.”

Wang Yanhang/Global Times: https://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1205100.shtml

Macro-Criticality: The International Monetary Fund’s Black Box (Blog).  “Recognizing that there can be a porous boundary between [macro-]economic and political matters, the IMF developed the concept of “macro-criticality.”… Nevertheless, confusion persists…Anticorruption advocates should pressure the IMF to live up to its promises by seeking clarity on how the IMF specifically considers anticorruption as a procedural matter.”

Clay Hackney/The Global Anticorruption Blog: https://globalanticorruptionblog.com/2020/10/30/macro-criticality-the-international-monetary-funds-black-box/