Global - U.S. - Palestine

Transparency urged to raise COVID-19 vaccine uptake. "Surveillance systems are needed to track any adverse effects of vaccines, while non-politicized debate and transparency around data are essential to improving COVID-19 immunization rates worldwide." 

Medical Express: https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-04-transparency-urged-covid-vaccine-uptake.html  

 

U.S.'s Cracking Down on Financial Crime: Six Issues to Watch in Thursday's House Hearing with the FinCEN Acting Director. "While the agency has made progress on some core objectives of the strategy, there is a lot more it must do to make the U.S. a less attractive destination for ill-gotten funds." 

FACT Coalition: https://thefactcoalition.org/cracking-down-on-financial-crime-six-issues-to-watch-in-thursdays-house-hearing-with-the-fincen-acting-director/ 

 

Anti-Corruption Authority in Palestine submitted 82 cases of corruption to the Corruption Crimes Court. "The number of people who reported cases believed to be corruption cases increased significantly, which means that the people have become aware of the issue of corruption and became an important partner in promoting the values of integrity and transparency." 

WAFA News Agency: https://english.wafa.ps/Pages/Details/128982 

Nigeria - UEFA/EUROPOL - Lithuania

Illicit Financial Flow - Nigeria Tasks West Africa On Register of Property Owners. "The federal government has called on all West African countries to put in place a register of beneficial owners of real estate properties in the respective countries so as to check the use of real estate as a conduit for money laundering and terrorism financing." 

All Africa: https://allafrica.com/stories/202204260010.html  

 

European football's governing body UEFA and law enforcement agency Europol have joined forces to find new ways to combat corruption. "Cases of match-fixing and suspicious outcomes are piling up. Cooperation between law enforcement and sports organisations is crucial to identifying and investigating suspected cases in football." 

Channel News Asia: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/sport/uefa-europol-fight-corruption-match-fixing-2649011 

 

The Council of Europe's Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) has called for further measures to prevent corruption in Lithuania particularly for top executive functions. "GRECO considers that the current ethical rules applicable both to top political officials and to law enforcement staff are too general. They need to be complemented with practical guidance in respect of situations of conflicts of interest, gifts, third party contacts, etc." 

Council of Europe: https://www.coe.int/en/web/portal/-/more-action-needed-by-lithuania-to-curb-high-level-corruption-in-politics-and-law-enforcement 

U.S. - Western Balkans - Pakistan

Supply-Chain Bottlenecks a Risk Factor for Corruption. "Oil, wheat, fertilizer, neon, iron and other important commodities are in limited supply, either directly because of sanctions or because the conflict has disrupted supplies from Russia and Ukraine. These shortages can lead less scrupulous third-parties and agents to pay bribes as a way to move things along." 

The Wall Street Journal: https://www.wsj.com/articles/supply-chain-bottlenecks-a-risk-factor-for-corruption-11650533400?mod=business_featst_pos3 

 

Corruption in the Western Balkans not abating: What is next? "In comparison to 2019, the anti-corruption progress of the Western Balkans that was noted in the first 10 or 15 years of monitoring corruption pressure and corruption involvement has been halted or even reversed in the last few years." 

European Western Balkans: https://europeanwesternbalkans.com/2022/04/20/corruption-in-the-western-balkans-not-abating-what-is-next/ 

 

Since its inception, Pakistan's Anti-corruption agency has recovered Rs 864 billion (USD 4.63 billion) from corrupt elements. "National Accountability Bureau (NAB) also devised a three-pronged strategy to eliminate corruption, which was also acknowledged as the most effective anti-corruption strategy." 

The Nation: https://nation.com.pk/2022/04/25/nab-chief-says-rs864b-recovered-from-corrupt-elements/ 

New Corruption Index - South Africa - Zimbabwe

The European Centre for Anti-Corruption and State-Building (ERCAS) introduces a new corruption index (www.corruptionrisk.org) including Corruption Risk Forecast (CRF). "Altogether, the CRF provides a broad-based and nuanced understanding of how 120 countries (with adequate data) manage — or don't manage — corruption." 

FCPA Blog: https://fcpablog.com/2022/04/12/new-corruption-index-adds-forecasting/ 

 

[Opinion] South Africa's new company ownership regulation step in right direction. "The country has a chance to co-ordinate between its key institutions in order to reduce procurement risks, identify conflicts of interest, draw on emerging best practice, and tackle the grievous ways opacity of company ownership has been exploited against the public interest." 

News 24: https://www.news24.com/news24/columnists/guestcolumn/opinion-mashudu-masutha-karabo-rajuili-fatfs-new-ownership-regulations-a-step-in-right-direction-20220425 

 

Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission vows to recover ill-gotten wealth even after jail. "The importance of asset recovery in the fight against such crimes cannot be overemphasized. Criminals and their networks should not be left to enjoy the proceeds of crime while in person or after serving their sentences." 

The Herald: https://www.herald.co.zw/zacc-vows-to-recover-ill-gotten-wealth-even-after-jail/ 

Business integrity – Rwanda - Australia

Compliance With Anti-Bribery Laws Means Sharing Context and Sometimes Overcoming Cultural Norms. "One person's harmless inducement is another's criminal bribe. With customs, mores and laws that vary by culture, what constitutes bribery in each business context is not always clear. Help your employees and protect your company by providing clear context and explicit rules." 

Corporate Compliance Insights: https://www.corporatecomplianceinsights.com/preventing-bribery-leave-nothing-imagination/ 

 

MPs of Rwanda call for stronger anti-corruption measures as convicts increase. "The number of people convicted of corruption crimes increased by 36 percent over the last three fiscal years. These rose up from 210 in 2018/2019 to 236 in 2019/2020 and 286 convicts in 2020/2021, according to the 2020/2021 activity report of the office of the Ombudsman." 

The New Times: https://www.newtimes.co.rw/news/mps-call-anti-corruption-measures-convicts-increase 

 

'It's about accountability': Directors in the business sector of Australia back federal anti-corruption watchdog. "More than two-thirds of directors support a federal anti-corruption body, says a new survey, which has also identified government integrity and trustworthiness as key election concerns." 

The Sydney Morning Herald: https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/it-s-about-accountability-directors-back-federal-anti-corruption-watchdog-20220420-p5aeqh.html 

TI - FATF - COE

International Anti-Corruption Conference (IACC) 2022 - Uprooting corruption, defending democratic values – will be hosted by the U.S. and organized by IACC council and Transparency International. "This year's conference (6-10 December in Washington D.C.) will take place at a crucial point in history. Facilitating intelligence-sharing and game-changing partnerships, it will push anti-corruption efforts to the forefront of the global agenda and boost responses to our most pressing shared threats." 

Transparency International: https://www.transparency.org/en/news/dates-2022-international-anti-corruption-conference-uprooting-corruption-defending-democratic-values 

 

Report on the State of Effectiveness and Compliance with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Standards. "Overall, the report finds that countries have made huge progress in improving technical compliance by establishing and enacting a broad range of laws and regulations to better tackle money laundering, terrorist and proliferation financing."  

FATF: https://www.fatf-gafi.org/publications/fatfgeneral/documents/effectiveness-compliance-standards.html 

[Report link] https://www.fatf-gafi.org/media/fatf/documents/recommendations/Report-on-the-State-of-Effectiveness-Compliance-with-FATF-Standards.pdf 

 

Launch of the Council of Europe course on INTRODUCTION TO CORRUPTION PREVENTION. "The course was developed in 2021 and is intended for anyone interested in following and understanding the basics of preventing corruption. It is suitable for "beginners" as well as for those who already have knowledge about the prevention of corruption but are curious to find new and specific perspectives." 

Council of Europe: https://www.coe.int/fr/web/corruption/-/launch-of-the-council-of-europe-course-on-introduction-to-corruption-prevention

UN - Indonesia - U.S.

Sustainable Development Threatened by 'Finance Divide' and COVID-19. "Enhanced transparency and a more complete information ecosystem will strengthen the ability of countries to manage risks and use resources well. For example, tackling illicit financial flows with improved sharing and use of tax information, enhancing transparency of debt data and developing long-term credit ratings for sovereigns." 

IDN-InDepth News: https://www.indepthnews.net/index.php/sustainability/poverty/5225-sustainable-development-threatened-by-finance-divide-and-covid-19 

[Publication link] 2022 Financing for Sustainable Development Report: Bridging the Finance Divide by Inter-agency Task Force on Financing for Development 

The Government of Indonesia should prevent terrorism financing new methods. "President Joko Widodo urged the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center and all ministries and agencies to take precautionary measures against new-fangled methods of money laundering and terrorism financing." 

ANTARA: https://en.antaranews.com/news/225549/govt-should-prevent-terrorism-financing-new-methods-president  

 

The U.S. Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued advisory on Kleptocracy and Foreign Public Corruption. "Financial institutions and other regulated entities should consider enhancing several aspects of their risk management framework to address heightened expectations for the management of corruption-related risks." 

The FCPA Blog: https://fcpablog.com/2022/04/18/new-fincen-advisory-on-public-corruption-and-kleptocracy-targets-russia/