London (TrustLaw) – Here is our selection of anti-corruption stories from TrustLaw and other media for the week ending October 24.
Africa
Nigeria's corrupt police are more predators than protectors - rights group
TrustLaw, London
From policemen demanding bribes at roadblocks to senior officials embezzling millions of dollars, graft in Nigeria's police is so systemic that officers are regarded "more as predators than protectors" by the people they're supposed to serve. That was the view of Human Rights Watch researcher Eric Guttschuss, who said failure to pay bribes often leads to severe beatings by the police, sexual assault, torture and even the killing of innocent citizens.
Anti-graft groups welcome Cheeye’s conviction
Daily Monitor, Uganda
Civil society organisations have commended the Ugandan Court of Appeal for upholding the 10-year jail sentence imposed on Teddy Ssezi Cheeye, the former director of the Ugandan intelligence services for embezzling Shs120 million from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. Robert Lugoloobi, the executive director of Transparency International (TI) Uganda, said the organisation was grateful that the court upheld the decision by the Anti-Corruption Court to make Cheeye refund the money he failed to account for.
Ministers sign corruption agreement
BusinessDay, South Africa
A "corruption baseline report" allowing people to track improvements in the criminal justice system will be released in December by the justice, crime prevention and security cluster, according to South African Justice Minister Jeff Radebe. The report will measure corruption in the police, intelligence, defence force, courts, home affairs and prisons services.
South Asia & Asia-Pacific
Burke loses appeal against lying conviction
ABC News, Australia
The former West Australian Premier, Brian Burke, has lost an appeal against his conviction for lying to the state's corruption watchdog. Burke was fined A$25,000 ($24,500) after being found guilty by a magistrate of knowingly giving false testimony to the Corruption and Crime Commission (CCC) in 2006. He had been called before the CCC to testify about a proposed development near Yallingup, in the state's south west. Burke was working as a lobbyist for the developer at the time.
Ramdev mulls forming political party to end corruption
The Economic Times, India
Yoga guru Baba Ramdev says he will launch a political party if the national government fails to take necessary steps to put an end to corruption in the country. "I will launch a new political party if politicians do not put an end to corruption. I expect my yoga followers to convert into voters if I launch a new party”, he said. Ramdev said the national government should introduce an effective law against corruption with those found guilty facing the possibility of the death penalty. The yoga guru also said that the government should work to bring back the money deposited in Swiss banks soon.
North America
Manhattan District Attorney creates anti-corruption unit
Reuters, U.S.
A new anti-corruption unit in the Manhattan District Attorney's Office will pursue "public corruption in government at all levels," from bribery to election fraud to ethics violations, District Attorney Cyrus Vance said in a statement. "Self-serving criminal activity among public employees at all levels severely undermines the public's confidence in our government," the district attorney said in a statement. Vance's new Public Integrity Unit will be part of the Rackets Bureau, which has undertaken some of the office's most important organized crime and public corruption cases, he said. The Rackets Bureau, created in 1938, is being overhauled and it also will focus on two other areas: Organized Crime, and Labor Investigations and Construction Fraud.
Police close investigation into corruption allegations
The Standard, Canada
Police have wrapped up one of their investigations into allegations levelled last week by St. Catharines mayoral candidate David D'Intino. No charges will be laid in connection with a complaint from D'Intino about possible corruption at city hall, said Niagara Regional Police spokesman Constable Nilan Dave. "The complaint was investigated thoroughly and the investigation has concluded," Dave said. "No charges will be laid." D'Intino, a law student at the University of Ottawa and one of four candidates challenging Mayor Brian McMullan in a municipal election, filed two complaints with police last week after he was caught up in an email controversy alleging corruption at city hall. An email message sent from D'Intino's account made the allegations of corruption, and included a personal attack on McMullan. By midweek, the e-mail was being widely distributed throughout St. Catharines, and D'Intino was saying he didn't write it. He said he is the victim of a sophisticated e-mail hacker.
Europe
Russian business still hindered by corruption - Western investors
TrustLaw, London
Russia has made some progress in battling endemic corruption but needs to do far more to realise its full economic potential, leading investors said at a conference this week. Defeating corruption is one of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's key policies, but Western economists and strategists at a London investment forum on Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) all identified it as the biggest problem they face.
BLOG: Is Finland ignoring graft outside its own backyard?
TrustLaw, London
The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Working Group on Bribery has recently reviewed Finland's anti-corruption laws and found them wanting. In an unusually sharp rebuke, Finland was criticised for "general lack of awareness and understanding of the foreign bribery offence in both the public and private sectors". This lack of awareness of foreign bribery is all the more surprising given Finland’s long-standing reputation as a largely corruption free country.
Corruption case delayed as developer hospitalised
The Irish Independent, Ireland
A high court case involving millionaire businessman and developer Jim Kennedy was adjourned because he was undergoing tests in hospital after he became ill in police custody following his arrest. Kennedy was arrested on Dublin's Arran Quay after he left court on the first day of a civil case taken by the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) against Jackson Way Properties Ltd (JWPL). Kennedy is a director of Jackson Way and the CAB is alleging the company had been unjustly enriched as a result of the re-zoning of land in Carrickmines, Dublin, in 1997, contrary to the Proceeds of Crime Act. His arrest by CAB officers related to two corrupt payments allegedly made to councillors, and these matters were also the subject of the civil proceedings, counsel for JWPL Martin Hayden told the court.
Latin America and Caribbean
Bureaucracy, Corruption Hurt Panama's Competitiveness
Inside Costa Rica, Costa Rica
Panama’s rating as Latin America’s second most attractive country for investors is in question, according to the World Economic Forum (WEF), which cited bureaucracy and corruption as obstacles. WEF studies show that Panama is No. 53 in the world for business, and in Latin America follows Chile as the most competitive market. Two hundred business people surveyed for the study mentioned red tape and corruption as the major difficulties when doing business, along with a poorly-skilled workforce training and existing labour regulations.
Fernandez’s view of corruption roils Dominican Republic
Dominican Today, Dominican Republic
After civil society’s presentation of 30 anticorruption proposals, President Leonel Fernandez’s unexpected affirmation that corruption in his administration is "individual and isolated" roiled the country’s media. In response, Dominican Alliance Anticorruption executive Julio Cesar de la Rosa complained that the government had sought to disguise the reality of the corruption as an issue of perception.
Middle East
VIDEO: Yemenis fight back against corruption
Yemenis are beginning to fight back against corrupt officials in their country. A documentary entitled "Destructive Beast" by the Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE), a non-profit group that promotes democracy through private enterprise and market-oriented reform and is largely funded by the U.S. Congress, details the struggle of ordinary people in the face of extreme provocation by corrupt government officials in Yemen.
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