Bribery victims compensation / Ending poverty and corruption / Mongolia CPI assessment

Recovering Damages for Corruption — Bribery Victims (Blog).  “In drafting the UN Convention Against Corruption, governments agreed quickly and without dissent upon what is now article 35. It requires parties to ensure their domestic law permit any person or entity harmed by corruption to “initiate legal proceedings against those responsible for the damage to obtain compensation.” Yet what evidence there is shows article 35’s promise remains largely unfulfilled.”

Richard Messick/The Global Anticorruption Blog: https://globalanticorruptionblog.com/2021/04/21/recovering-damages-for-corruption-bribery-victims/

 

We cannot end poverty without ending corruption (Opinion).  “Although some scholars view corruption as an enabler of development rather than an obstacle, particularly at an early stage of modernisation and development, numerous studies on corruption concluded that communities incur substantial economic and social costs as a result of it. The use of public office for private gains always benefits a powerful few, while imposing huge costs on large sections of society.”

Ismail Ali/The Daily Star: https://www.thedailystar.net/opinion/news/we-cannot-end-poverty-without-ending-corruption-2085341  

 

Assessment on Mongolian Corruption Perceptions Index for 2020.  “In this interview, [O. Batbayar, CEO of Transparency International Mongolia] outlined what Mongolia needs to improve indicators: approve the law on political parties, the law on the state-owned industries, and the whistleblower protection Act, which disclose corruption actions and the law on mining transparency, and solve issues to create a legal framework for the disclosure of end-user and beneficiary information, and ensure that the buying process is free of corruption.”

Baljmaa. T/Montsame News Agency: https://www.montsame.mn/en/read/262183  

Mongolia prevention saves $10 million / International vetting for public office / Thailand corruption post-coup

Mongolia: corruption prevention activity has saved over $10 million.  “One of the primary functions in corruption prevention is to review these regulations to discover if there is a bureaucracy, unnecessary steps in providing civil service that may cause corruption…As a result of the corruption prevention activity, vehicle importers and citizens of Mongolia save up to 30.4 billion tugriks ($10.6 million) annually.”

Independent Authority Against Corruption of Mongolia: https://www.iaac.mn/news/mongolia-corruption-prevention-activity-has-saved-over-1sh-million/  

Thank you to Erkhemjargal Odsuren, IAAC, for sharing this article.

 

To Trust is to Choose: International experts vetting candidates for public office (Blog).  “Countries where state institutions are perceived as corrupt all share a similar dilemma: Why should citizens trust a candidate for public office who was selected by a state body which citizens simply don’t trust? In light of this dilemma, Ukraine came up with an innovative mechanism: Giving international experts a decisive role in selecting candidates for public office.”

Tilman Hoppe, Anthony Hooper and José Igreja Matos/Verfassungsblog: https://verfassungsblog.de/to-trust-is-to-choose/

Thank you to Dr. Tilman Hoppe for sharing this article.

 

Was anything accomplished by the military coups we had in the last two decades? (Opinion).  “If the goal of the coups was to end corruption once and for all then the 2014 coup has failed spectacularly as well…Ask any businesses leader and they will tell you that corruption is actually more endemic, the rates much higher, and more prevalent under the current government than the previous ones.”

Cod Satrusayang/Thai Enquirer: https://www.thaienquirer.com/26619/opinion-was-anything-accomplished-by-the-military-coups-we-had-in-the-last-two-decades/  

Viet Nam lower informal payment costs / Thailand campaign making progress / Singapore corruption reports 5-year low

Anti-corruption efforts helping cut informal business costs.  “The Government’s anti-corruption efforts have proven increasingly effective, helping enterprises significantly reduce informal costs, according to the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI). The Provincial Competitiveness Index (PCI) 2020 report conducted by VCCI shows that the rate of companies forced to pay informal charges fell to 44.9 percent from 66 percent in 2016, the lowest proportion since 2006.”

VietnamPlus: https://en.vietnamplus.vn/anticorruption-efforts-helping-cut-informal-business-costs/200656.vnp  

 

Team against Corruption makes progress in its mission.  “Anti-corruption activities and campaigns under [Thailand’s National Anti-Corruption Commission] have given birth to concrete procedures such as Watch and Voice, tackling corruption risks, law violations, and conflicts of interest issues within local communities. Local corruption issues have since been better addressed and alleviated by those assistance measures.”

Bangkok Post: https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/pr/2104547/team-against-corruption-makes-progress-in-its-mission  

 

Number of corruption-related reports at 5-year low: CPIB.  “[Singapore’s] Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB)…said that it received 239 corruption-related reports last year, a five-year low and a drop of 32 per cent compared to 2019…The agency said that the COVID-19 pandemic may have played a role in the decline in reports it received in 2020.”

Channel NewsAsia: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/cpib-corruption-singapore-firmly-under-control-reports-low-14673632  

Balancing probity and economic activity / Alliance for Integrity global conference / Mongolia US$1.4 million recovered

Prevention of corruption should not stymie the creation of credit.  “This column makes the case that governance is not an outright morality play, but a delicate balancing act between probity and economic activity. We wish to make it clear that we do not posit the two as polar opposites either.”

V. Anantha Nageswaran and Aankhi Ghost/Mint: https://www.livemint.com/opinion/online-views/prevention-of-corruption-should-not-stymie-the-creation-of-credit-11618850491300.html   

 

4^th Global Conference of Alliance for Integrity: Achieving Business Integrity through Collection Action – Success, Lessons and Challenges.  “While showcasing its own experiences, the Alliance for Integrity invites a diverse set of speakers…to reflect how Collective Action can be leveraged even further, which new and innovative ways of cooperation are possible, where potentials for upscaling and replications exist and how specific challenges of different actors can be taken into account. In addressing these questions, this Conference [27-29 April] will demonstrate how Collective Action can be a key to achieving business integrity for a sustainable economic environment.” Agenda and registration link below.

Alliance for Integrity: https://www.allianceforintegrity.org/en/events-and-training-activities/events/details.php?id=151  

 

$1.4 million confiscated in corruption case.  “Mongolian Independent Authority Against Corruption (IAAC) seized US$1.4 million in the course of an investigation of the corruption case involving “Salkhit Silver Mine” located in the country’s central region. Following the First Instance District Criminal Court of Ulaanbaatar Resolution …and the Supreme Court order, IAAC transferred US$1.4 million seized during an investigation to the Budget Revenue Treasury converting it into state income”

Independent Authority Against Corruption of Mongolia (IAAC): https://www.iaac.mn/news/1-4-million-confiscated-in-corruption-case/

India agriculture reform bills / Mongolia parliament oath amended / Global anti-corruption summits 2021

India’s Agriculture Reform Bills May Not Be Perfect, But They Can Help Fight Rampant Corruption (Blog).  “The government shouldn’t take away the [Minimum Support Price] safety net without transitional support…and India’s Competition Commission should be given a strong role in ensuring free and fair competition. And more safeguards should be added to guard against corruption in the administrative dispute resolution system for private sale contracts.”

Disha Verma/The Global Anticorruption Blog: https://globalanticorruptionblog.com/2021/04/12/indias-agriculture-reform-bills-may-not-be-perfect-but-they-can-help-fight-rampant-corruption/  

 

The oath of a member of the Mongolian parliament has been amended.  “Prior to this change, the oldest member of the Parliament read out the oath, “As a member of the Parliament of Mongolia, I swear to uphold the interests of all citizens and the state, respect the state law, and perform my duties honestly” and the other members follow him or her and repeat this oath. However, in accordance with the amendments to the relevant law, the words “to be free from corruption and conflict of interest” were added to the oath”

Independent Authority Against Corruption of Mongolia (IAAC): https://www.iaac.mn/news/the-oath-of-a-member-of-the-mongolian-parliament-has-been-amended/  

Thank you to Erkhemjargal Odsuren, IAAC, for sharing this article.

 

Open Opportunities: Making the Most of 2021 Global Summits (Blog). “As the world looks to a post-pandemic future, a number of global fora in 2021 offer opportunities to chart the course toward building back better and renewing our democracies.” Explore the link below for an overview of the remaining 2021 calendar of summits to advance democracy and anti-corruption.

Abigail Bellows/Open Government Partnership: https://www.opengovpartnership.org/stories/open-opportunities-making-the-most-of-2021-global-summits/  

Viet Nam corruption control performance / Malaysia former attorney general interview / Thailand anti-corruption measures

Vietnam shows best corruption control in public sector in 10 year.  “The control of corruption in the public sector last year showed the best performance in a decade, since the Vietnam Provincial Governance and Public Administration Performance Index (PAPI) survey was first conducted…PAPI is a flagship governance programme initiated by the UN Development Programmes in Vietnam since 2009.”

The Star: https://www.thestar.com.my/aseanplus/aseanplus-news/2021/04/17/vietnam-shows-best-corruption-control-in-public-sector-in-10-year    

 

New Podcast, Featuring Tommy Thomas (Blog/Podcast).  “Tommy Thomas, who served as the Attorney General of Malaysia in 2018-2020, and who in that capacity headed the investigation and prosecution of cases arising out of the so-called 1MDB corruption scandal. Our conversation covers both the 1MDB scandal and the broader political and economic circumstances that contributed to and facilitated this and similar sorts of corruption.”

Matthew Stephenson/The Global Anticorruption Blog: https://globalanticorruptionblog.com/2021/04/13/new-podcast-featuring-tommy-thomas/   

 

Promotion of prevention and suppression of corruption.  “The Office of National Anti-Corruption Commission (ONACC) provides promotion of prevention and suppression of corruption for participation in fighting corruption as follows: 1. Witness Protection Measures... 2. Protection of Persons Acting in Good Faith…3. Whistleblower Rewards”

Office of the National Anti-Corruption Commission/Bangkok Post: https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/pr/2100687/promotion-of-prevention-and-suppression-of-corruption

Call for papers - supranational anti-corruption responses / Corruption as social norm / Mongolia international anti-corruption agreements

Call for Papers: Anti-Corruption Symposium, 18-19 November 2021, Vienna, Austria.  “The organizers are inviting paper or short essay proposals from scholars, private sector professionals, international organizations professionals, policymakers, public officials, civil society organizations, and the broader international anti-corruption community. The deadline to submit aproposal is 15 May 2021.”

International Anti-Corruption Academy: https://www.iaca.int/resources/news-articles/188-2021/1362-anti-corruption-symposium,-18-19-november-2021,-vienna,-austria.html  

 

Is it a Social Norm, or Something Else? The Curious Case of a Traffic Police Officer in India (Blog).  “Since I started working with the Corruption, Justice and Legitimacy Program (CJL), I have learned that it is not easy to apply social norms frameworks to real life situations... this post takes a common corruption scenario and applies the CJL social norms framework to it in order to illustrate the process to our readers.”

Dhaval Kothari/Tufts University: https://sites.tufts.edu/ihs/is-it-a-social-norm-or-something-else-the-curious-case-of-a-traffic-police-officer-in-india/  

 

Mongolia: Importance of international agreement on corruption crime investigation.  “Under the auspices of the United Nations Convention Against Corruption, the Parliament of Mongolia…established The Independent Authority Against Corruption (IAAC)… the number of detected corruption crimes is increasing year by year… Currently, Mongolia has signed 28 bilateral agreements with 20 countries, including 17 Agreements on the Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal, 17 Agreement on the Mutual Legal Assistance in Civil and Commercial matters, 17 Agreement on Extradition of Offenders, and 9 Agreement on Extradition of Convicted Offenders.”

Independent Authority Against Corruption of Mongolia: https://www.iaac.mn/news/mongolia-importance-of-international-agreement-on-corruption-crime-investigation/