27 Jun 2011

Trial Against Tunisia’s Former President Begins

The trial against Tunisia’s ousted former President, Zine el Abidine Ben Ali (pictured here along with his wife), began while he was in exile in Saudi Arabia on Monday in the capital, Tunis. While Tunisian authorities requested that Saudi authorities extradite the former President, they did not respond to the request. Mr. Ben Ali is […]

27 Jun 2011

Corruption Appears to Be Rife in Fifa

While FIFA’s Sepp Blatter (pictured here) was cleared of allegations of corruption, 2 FIFA officials, Mohamed bin Hamman (President of the Asian Football Confederation) and FIFA Vice President Jack Warner, were temporarily suspended barring further investigation into allegations of corruption. Mr. Hamman and Mr. Warner are accuseed of bribing 25 Caribbean delegates with $40,000 to […]

27 Jun 2011

House of Lords Member Jailed for Expense Fraud

A Conservative Party legislator, John Taylor (pictured here), was sentenced to 12 months of prison time for fraudulently filing expense claims; Mr. Taylor claimed 11,000 pounds ($18,000) in expenses for commuting from his Oxford home 90km outside of London when in fact he lived in London. The reputation of Britain’s government has taken a hit […]

27 Jun 2011

Uk Corruption Watchdog Investigates Eads

The UK’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has launched an investigation into the European defense group EADS bribed Saudi officials in order to win a $3.3 billion communications contract for GPT Special Project Management, owned by EADS, to provide communications and intranet services for Saudi National Guard. In July, tough new anti-corruption laws in the UK […]

27 Jun 2011

Azerbaijan Continues Anti-Corruption Policy

Ali Ahmadov (pictured here), the Executive Secretary of the New Azerbaijan Party, announced today that Azerbaijan will continue with its anti-corruption policy. Secretary Ahmadov went on to say that Measures to combat corruption have been strengthened by administrative forms and methods, as well as by improving the legislation work is carried out to prevent similar […]

27 Jun 2011

Norad and Hsog Release New Anti-Corruption Report

An excerpt from the report: Why, despite unprecedented investment in anticorruption in the last fifteen years, since the implementation of global monitoring instruments and global legislation, have so few countries managed to register progress? This new report commissioned by the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad) to the Hertie School of Governance argues that conceptual […]

20 Jun 2011

Do Soft Prison Sentences for Belarussian Show Lukashenko’s Vulnerability?

A Belarussian court handed suspended sentences to two former Presidential candidates on Friday for inciting riots after last year’s not-so-free-and-fair elections in Europe’s last dictatorship. Vladimir Neklyayev and Vitaly Rymashevsky were each given two-year sentences that were then suspended, hinting at the fact that the regime of Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko may be sensitive to […]

20 Jun 2011

German Court Sentences Croat for Fixing Soccer Matches

Ante Sapina (pictured here), a German-Croat, was sentenced to 5 1/2 years of prison for fixing soccer matches throughout Europe, from lower division domestic leagues all the way to the Champions League and even World Cup Qualifying matches. Together with an accomplice, Marijo Cvrtak, Mr. Sapina amassed one of the largest soccer-fixing enterprises in recent […]

20 Jun 2011

Serbia Must Fight Crime and Corruption to Join Eu – Barroso

Jose Manuel Barroso, the President of the European Commission (pictured here – left), met with Serbian Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic (also pictured here – right) to discuss Serbia’s future integration into the European Union, saying that Serbia needed to continue fighting organized crime and corruption as part of ongoing judicial reforms. Mr. Barroso said that […]

20 Jun 2011

Romania Needs to Continue Fighting Corruption to Join Schengen Area

German State Secretary for the Interior Ministry, Ole Schröder (pictured here), commented last week on Romania’s chances to join the Schengen area in October, saying that Romania needed to continue fighting organized crime and corruption. Mr. Schröder furthermore said that Romania’s pursuance of corruption among customs officials was a step in the right direction and […]

20 Jun 2011

Indian Executives Involved in Telecom Fraud Denied Bail

5 of the top Indian executives arrested in connection with the fraudulent 2008 selling of telecom licenses were denied bail earlier today because, according to the Indian court, the accused may interfere with the process of justice by tampering with the evidence. The court also weighed the gravity of the crimes, saying that taking into […]

20 Jun 2011

Anti-Corruption Prosecutors Raid Customs Officials, Ministry Official, and Senator

Anti-corruption prosecutors in Romania raided the homes of 50 customs officials, the Interior Ministry Secretary General – Laurentiu Mironescu (pictured here) -, and Senator Mircea Banias on suspicion of smuggling gasoline through the Black Sea port of Constanta. Tax evasion in the gasoline smuggling scandal has cost the state an estimated 1 million euros (~$1.42 […]

20 Jun 2011

Turkish President Calls on Politicians to Stand Against Blackmail

Turkish President Abdullah Gül called on all politicians to stand against the use of blackmail in light of a video blackmail scandal involving the opposition Nationalist Movement Party (MHP). President Gül, before receiving the Ambassadors from Kenya, Sri Lanka, and Honduras, said that “Such blackmail is both ugly and dangerous. It may happen to one […]

20 Jun 2011

Valencian Court to Try Spanish Politicians

Spain’s infamous Gürtel case, involving a corruption ring led by Francisco Correa (pictured here) and Pablo Crespo that benefitted Popular Party (PP) politicians for the awarding of contracts, will now at least in part be tried in Valencia rather than in Madrid. The case, which dates back to events that occurred as far back as […]

20 Jun 2011

Chilean Prosecutors Open up Bribery Case Involving Former Argentine Minister

Chilean prosecutors have opened up a bribery case against a former Argentine minister, Ricardo Jaime (pictured here), involving Chile’s national airline LAN. The former minister was allegedly paid a bribe dating back to 2006 and 2007 in order to help with the setting up of operations in Argentina. Chile’s current President, Sebastián Piñera, was a […]

16 Jun 2011

Eulex Investigation 26 New Corruption Cases in Kosovo

EULEX Spokesperson Blerim Krasniqi (pictured here) announced on Sunday that 26 new corruption cases were being investigated in Kosovo, with the cases being handled in connection with local prosecutors. While information on arrests on raids in the near future is not available at the moment, public officials are among those suspected. In the meantime, Kosovo’s […]

16 Jun 2011

Bulgaria Urged to Include Prosecution Service to Judicial Reform

Gabriela Knaul (the UN Special Rapporteur for the independence of judges and lawyers, and pictured here), upon leaving after her six-day mission to Bulgaria, said that Joint governance of the courts and the prosecution service appears to hamper a well-functioning system of accountability, and therefore limits effective prosecution of those involved in organized crime and […]

16 Jun 2011

Eu’s Ashton Visits Kosovo

Catherine Ashton, the EU’s foreign policy chief, visited Kosovo on Friday (the 27th) and reiterated that the rule of law was important for the future of Kosovo. Ashton met with Kosovo’s Prime Minister, Hashim Thaci (pictured here) and discussed Kosovo’s bid for entry into the EU and visa liberalization issues. While meeting with PM Thaci, […]

16 Jun 2011

Iraqi Kurds Continue to Protest Government Corruption

For almost three months now, protestors have gathered in Sulaymaniyah Square in the semi-autonomous oil-rich province of Kurdistan (pictured here) to protest what they allege is government corruption, nepotism, incompetence, and anti-democratic measures. Since the protests began, at least 12 civilians have been killed across Kurdistan. The continuing protests have pushed the government and opposition […]

16 Jun 2011

112 Military Personnel Identitified As Having Defrauded Job Exams

Romanian anti-corruption prosecutors indicted 112 military personnel, including 2 generals, 24 officers, 15 non-commissioned officers (NCOs), and 71 Corporals, for defrauding Defense Ministry job examinations. The former deputy of the Management and Human Resources Department and the former Training Director were both indicted within the ministry. Those indicted in the scandal were located in the […]

16 Jun 2011

Kazakh Bank Asks Britain to Extradite Former Bank Head

Kazakh bank BTA has asked the UK to extradite its fugitive former head, Mukhtar Ablyazov (pictured here), for large-scale fraud and funneling of funds through fake companies, estimated to be $7billion. Meanwhile, a UK court has ruled against Mr. Ablyazov’s claims that the request for extradition was politically motivated, stating that the bank has sufficient […]

16 Jun 2011

Egyptian Military Denies Plans to Pardon Mubarak

Egypt’s ruling military council denied recent rumors that they would pardon former President Hosni Mubarak and his wife, Suzanne Mubarak (pictured here) for corruption, embezzlement, and abuse of power (and, in the case of Mrs. Mubarak, abuse of postion for unlawful gain). Both Mr. and Mrs. Mubarak have fallen ill since Mr. Mubarak’s abdication from […]

16 Jun 2011

Bribery Third Largest Problem in Balkans Says Un

A UNODC (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime) survey of 28,000 people found that corruption is the third-largest issue facing the Western Balkans today, with the average individual paying between 4 and 10 bribes per year and each bribe ranging from 103-1,212 euros (~$135-1,600) – more than 140% of weekly salaries. Furthermore, only 1.5% […]

16 Jun 2011

Fifa Agrees to Talk to Whistleblower on Corruption Allegations

FIFA President Sepp Blatter announced that the Sunday Times will bring their whistleblower, who alleged corruption in the choice of Qatar for the 2022 World Cup, to Zurich in order to discuss matters with FIFA officials. The whistleblower has claimed that two FIFA officials, Issa Hayatou (pictured here) and Jacque Anouma, received $1.5 million to […]

16 Jun 2011

Mubarak’s Top Aide Will Not Be Released

A Cairo Criminal Court has ruled that Zakaria Azmi (pictured here) can be detained for another 30 days pending further investigation into his personal finances as requested by the public prosecutor in order to not tamper with the course of investigations or questioning of witnesses. Mr. Azmi was the Presidential Chief of Staff to former […]