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London (TrustLaw) – Here is our selection of anti-corruption stories from TrustLaw and other media for the week ending October 31.
Africa
KACC given free hand to fight graft
Daily Nation, Kenya
Kenya’s President Kibaki has given the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission (KACC) a free hand to investigate all cases of corruption without fear of political interference. Sources said KACC Director PLO Lumumba sought audience with the president and Prime Minister Raila Odinga to explain the steps the commission was taking to fight corruption and the challenges it faced in unearthing cases. KACC spokesman Nicholas Simani confirmed the meeting but declined to divulge details.
SA 'must adopt a culture of anti-corruption'
Mail & Guardian, South Africa
South Africa must adopt an anti-corruption culture that is taught at kindergarten right through to institutions of higher learning, Public Service and Administration Minister Richard Baloyi says. "We must create a public awareness that makes it anti-South African to be corrupt," he said at an anti-corruption business forum in Johannesburg, hosted by Business Unity South Africa.
South Asia & Asia-Pacific
ipaidabribe.com – India's frontline in the war on corruption
The Independent, UK
A former civil servant has set up a website called I Paid A Bribe to combat corruption. During the three decades that TR Raghunandan worked for the civil service in India, he saw for himself the devastating, corrosive impact of corruption. When he left, he decided he was going to try and stop it. He teamed up with an NGO in his home city of Bangalore to produce a website where people can upload details of bribes they have had to pay, and those they have avoided. The website has already received 86,000 hits from almost 160 countries in the few weeks it has been operational. Around 1,000 have shared their stories and while it is only available in English, there are plans to allow people to use Hindi and other Indian languages.
ICAC sees big surge in investigations
The Sydney Morning Herald, Australia
The opposition coalition in the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW) has called on the Labor government to give more funding to the state's corruption watchdog whose resources are stretched. Coalition leader Barry O'Farrell said the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) needs to be fully equipped to stamp out corruption in the NSW public sector. He pledged the coalition, which is expected to win next year's state election, would strengthen the ICAC, saying: "It's clear the ICAC needs more resources".
‘Hostile witnesses cost us graft cases’
Malaysia Star, Malaysia
Prosecutors have lost many corruption cases because witnesses turned hostile, said Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz. “Cases were lost when witnesses, who initially made sworn statements, went back on their word in open court proceedings and denied what had happened,” he said. Nazri added that when this happened, the witness could be charged with perjury and be sentenced to jail.
North America
Ridgefield Mayor Anthony Suarez found not guilty on federal corruption charges
The Star-Ledger, U.S.
Politicians and public officials, along with their deeds and triumphs, soon fade from memory but it will be a long time before anyone in the Newark federal courthouse forgets the name Anthony R. Suarez. He will be known simply as the man who broke the winning streak. When the mayor of Ridgefield was acquitted of conspiracy, bribery and extortion charges, a decade-long string of corruption wins for federal prosecutors in New Jersey came to end. It has been one of the proudest statistics in New Jersey law enforcement, encompassing disgraced public servants high and low, from building inspectors to powerbrokers, including former Newark Mayor Sharpe James and ex-State Senate President John Lynch.
Europe
Few corruption cases investigated in the Netherlands - TV
DutchNews.nl, Netherlands
The public prosecution department is currently investigating five potential cases of corruption involving Dutch companies operating abroad, Nos tv said. So far no companies have been taken to court, but this is because corruption abroad has only been a criminal offence in the Netherlands since 2001. “We have first had to build up expertise and international contacts because these are investigations which are largely focused abroad,” justice ministry spokesman Ton Maan told the broadcaster.
Latin America and Caribbean
Santos to get tough on corruption
Colombia Reports, Colombia
Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos has emphasised his strong anti-corruption stance, saying that the aim of his administration is to "govern from a glass box, with total transparency." Speaking at the opening of the Competitiveness Commission in Bogota, Santos said that the government would redesign anti-corruption policies and toughen penalties so that offenders "pay for their crimes in prison, as they should”. The president said that competitive studies show that corruption is one of the major obstacles of doing business in Colombia and the fight for increased transparency was of "paramount importance”.
Mexico to investigate corruption allegations against ex-official
CNN, U.S.
Mexican authorities will investigate allegations that a former state attorney general worked for a drug cartel and was involved in ordering assassinations, the federal attorney general's office said. The accusations against former Chihuahua state Attorney General Patricia Gonzalez Rodriguez were made by her brother, who was abducted and shown in a video surrounded by hooded armed men. An off-camera questioner interrogates kidnap victim Mario Gonzalez Rodriguez about whether he and his sister were involved with the Juarez cartel. Mario Gonzalez identifies himself as working for La Linea, a street gang affiliated with the Juarez cartel. He says he worked as a liaison between the cartel and the attorney general's office.
Lawman in court on corruption charges
The Trinidad Guardian, Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidadian Police Constable Amar Ramdoolarsingh has appeared before a Chaguanas magistrate on corruption charges. Ramdoolarsingh, assigned to the Cunupia police station, appeared before Magistrate Gillian Scotland, charged with corruptly soliciting $1,000 from Ramesh Samsundar. Ramdoolarsingh allegedly offered to have outstanding warrants against Samsundar “disappear” if he paid $1,000.
Middle East
Makkah governor sets up anti-graft panel
Arab News, Saudi Arabia
The governor of the Saudi province of Makkah, Prince Khaled Al-Faisal, has set up a committee to combat administrative corruption in the province. The formation of the panel, which will be directly linked to the governorate, has been welcomed by human rights activists and the general public. Mahfouz Bin-Mahfouz, a legal expert and former deputy chairman of Makkah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the governor’s decision would contribute to ensuring transparency in government dealings. “It will also support the government’s economic and social reforms and enhance financial and administrative discipline in all government departments in Makkah province,” he said.
