Africa
$5m prize for good governance goes unclaimed again in Africa
The Times, UK
A $5 million prize for outstanding democratic leadership in Africa went unclaimed for the second year running. The incentive, the world’s largest individual award for statesmen, was initiated by Mo Ibrahim, a Sudanese communications entrepreneur who began the scheme three years ago in an attempt to encourage good leadership on a continent with a history of poor governance, corruption and despotism.
This year, like last, the prize committee headed by Kofi Annan, the former UN Secretary-General and a Ghanaian, found itself in the embarrassing situation of having no winner for 2009. Although the foundation does not publish a shortlist of eligible candidates, analysts say that 2009 was a bleak year and that there were more changes of government in Africa by the gun or death in office than by a peaceful transfer of power at the ballot box.
Rwanda: Transparency International Organisation Gets Rwf245 Million Boost From Norway
allAfrica, Africa
The Norwegian People's Aid (NPA) has donated 245 million Rwandan francs ($420,000) to the Rwandan chapter of the anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International. An NPA official was quoted as saying the funds would help Transparency International-Rwanda implement various good governance activities including a study on corruption related to gender in the workplace and a bribery index survey.
World Cup match-fixing is "highly probable", investigative journalist says
swissinfo.ch, Switzerland
Contrary to what Fifa says, it is highly likely that some World Cup football matches in South Africa will be fixed, according to investigative journalist Declan Hill, who described in an interview who might be involved and what could be done to stop it.
Middle East
Police recommend indicting Sharon brothers for fraud
Haaretz, Israel
Israel's national fraud squad has recommended that Omri and Gilad Sharon, the two sons of former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, be indicted for mediating bribery. Police allege that the bribe money was passed on to their father. The attorney general and state prosecutor are to decide whether to adopt the recommendation.
The police made their recommendation to indict despite the fact that the main suspect in the case, Ariel Sharon, would not be fit to stand trial due to his medical condition following his coma-inducing stroke in 2006.
Europe
Five Latvenergo executives arrested on bribery and money laundering charges
The Baltic Course, Baltic states
Latvia's Corruption Prevention Bureau have detained seven people including five executives from the country's national energy company, Latvenergo, who are suspected of abuse of office, accepting bribes and money laundering. The executives included the president, his deputy, the chairman and deputy chairman of Latvenergo.
Latin America
Mexico cracks down on corruption: anti-graft official
Xinhua, China
Mexico has created special units and cut red tape to eliminate corruption, the country's top anti-graft official Salvador Vega Casillas, director of the Civil Service Department (SFP), told Xinhua in a recent interview.
He said the department has been transformed from an auditor of public servants to an active investigator watching closely suspected government employees who earn much more than their salaries. The department has encouraged journalists to expose the names of those who had abused their power, he said.
North America
Canada seen as free of bribery, corruption. But enforcement too lax
The Vancouver Sun, Canada
Canada, despite its shining image as a relatively corruption-free country, has taken little action to discourage its companies from engaging in bribes and other illicit activities overseas, according to new statistics.
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) announced that 144 individuals and 77 companies have faced criminal sanctions since the OECD's anti-bribery convention was enacted in 1999. Only one conviction involved a Canadian company, and that occurred a year before an OECD monitoring group visited Canada in 2006 and expressed "surprise" that there have been so few prosecutions for a country so actively involved in global trade.
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