Our selection of this week's anti-corruption stories from TrustLaw and other media
CORRUPTION NEWS ROUND-UP: Beckham says World Cup corruption makes him sick, World Bank launches financial data site, Nigerian president urged to declare assets, and Hosni Mubarak refuses food ahead of graft trial
LONDON (TrustLaw) - Here is our selection of this week’s anti-corruption stories from TrustLaw and other media:
Global
World Bank launches site to make aid work more transparent
TrustLaw, UK
The World Bank has unveiled a financial data website, the latest in a series of initiatives to make its aid work more transparent. “World Bank Finances” allows users to find out where the bank has disbursed money, what global funds it manages, and also gives insight into its balance sheet.
David Beckham says corruption over the World Cup makes him feel sick
The Guardian, UK
Global soccer star David Beckham has spoken for the first time about the suspicion that England lost its World Cup bid because of corruption behind the scenes at the sport’s governing body FIFA, admitting it left him with a “sick feeling”.
Africa
Paper urges Nigeria president to declare assets
TrustLaw, Senegal
Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan should publicly declare his assets to demonstrate he is serious about fighting corruption and implementing good governance in the country, a Nigerian newspaper urged.
Theft ring exposed at Kenya's land ministry
TrustLaw, Kenya
Thousands of Kenyan land owners have been scammed into paying for fake documents by a theft ring operating out of the Ministry of Lands, the Business Daily newspaper reported.
UK says Ghana making headway in anti-graft - report
TrustLaw, UK
Britain’s development agency has praised Ghana’s progress in fighting corruption, but said it now needs to put in place thorough investigation systems and show a real commitment to prosecute, according to a Ghanaian news report.
Obasanjo urges jail for Nigerian procurement violators
TrustLaw, Senegal
Former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo has called for civil servants, ministers and politicians who violate the country’s public procurement laws to be jailed, the Nigerian Tribune reported.
South Asia & Asia-Pacific
Indonesian party sacks graft suspect Nazaruddin
TrustLaw, Thailand
Indonesia’s ruling Democratic Party has got rid of its former treasurer, Mohammad Nazaruddin, who went missing after being linked to bribery cases, the Jakarta Post reported.
Philippines' Aquino names new anti-graft ombudsman
TrustLaw, Thailand
Philippine President Benigno Aquino has named a retired Supreme Court justice as the new graft ombudsman in an anti-corruption campaign he admits is “personal”, local news outlet Newsbreak reported.
Philippines government gets low grade in corruption – report
TrustLaw, Thailand
A group of good governance advocates gave the Philippines' year-old government 4.78 out of 10 over issues such as tackling corruption, improving governance and providing infrastructure, the Philippine Star reported.
Malaysia newspaper says normal for corruption witnesses to commit suicide
Today Online, Singapore
Malaysian newspaper, Utusan Malaysia, has downplayed the circumstances of the death of a man at the headquarters of the country's anti-graft agency. The paper said it is common for witnesses in corruption cases to commit suicide to avoid shaming their family or organisation.
India's opposition party 'put pressure on anti-corruption judge'
BBC, UK
India's main opposition BJP party wanted the Karnataka chief minister's name dropped as a key suspect in a report on illegal mining, a former judge has told the BBC. Santosh Hegde, the state's anti-corruption chief, said he refused to bow to pressure from Dhananjay Kumar, a former BJP cabinet minister.
Thailand’s anti-graft agency accuses ex-Bangkok governor of bribery
Bangkok Post, Thailand
Thailand’s National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) has filed a lawsuit against five people, including ex-Bangkok governor Apirak Kosayodhin, over City Hall's 2004 procurement of fire trucks and boats. In the case lodged with the Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions, the NACC accused the five of abuse of authority, price collusion and corruption.
Europe
Police are not corrupt, says British police chief
Manchester Evening News, UK
The top police officer in the English city of Manchester has denied corruption is widespread in the force, amid the fall-out from the News of the World phone hacking scandal. Chief Constable Peter Fahy told the region’s police authority he is unconvinced graft is a “major problem”. It has been alleged that police officers were paid for information by the former Sunday newspaper between 2003 and 2007.
Financial fraud risks slipping under radar as UK’s SFO tackles bribery abroad
The Observer, UK
The former director of Britain’s anti-graft agency, the Serious Fraud Office, has said a focus on major foreign corruption cases detracts from the resources it can devote to mainstream fraud.
Middle East
Deposed Fatah member returns to West Bank to fight corruption charges
Jerusalem Post, Israel
A member of the Palestinian political party Fatah has returned to the West Bank from Cairo to answer charges of financial corruption and leading a plot to undermine the Palestinian Authority (PA). Last month, Fatah’s Central Committee voted to expel Muhammad Dahlan on charges of murder, financial graft and conspiring to topple PA President Mahmoud Abbas.
With graft trial looming, hospitalised Mubarak refuses to eat
New York Times, U.S.
Hosni Mubarak, the deposed president of Egypt who is facing trial soon on corruption and murder charges, is refusing to eat solid food and is suffering “weakness and severe infirmity”, the official Egyptian news agency MENA reported.
North America
Convicted former US governor asks for a third trial
TrustLaw, UK
The former governor of the U.S. state of Illinois has requested another retrial after being convicted last month on corruption charges. Rod Blagojevich was convicted on June 27 of fraud, bribery, attempted extortion and conspiracy, but says his trial was loaded with judicial bias, according to the Chicago Tribune.
Federal regulator challenges Dodd-Frank Act provisions
TrustLaw, U.S.
The head of a key U.S. banking regulator is warning that the year-old Dodd-Frank Act’s complex rules and restrictions may hamper banks’ ability to make loans and foster economic growth, according to the New York Times.
Quandary for U.S. companies: Whom to bribe?
Washington Post, U.S.
American companies doing business abroad have a problem: They don’t know whom to bribe. Federal law prohibits the bribery of some people but not others. One guy’s bribe, it turns out, is another’s cost of doing business.
New York hospital executive bribed 3 lawmakers, judge told
New York Times, U.S.
A former hospital chief executive at the centre of a federal corruption investigation sought to bribe three elected New York State officials with hundreds of thousands of dollars in return for state money and other favourable treatment for his health care organisation, a federal prosecutor said in court.
Latin America
Colombia ex-minister faces arrest on corruption charges
BBC, UK
A judge in Colombia has ordered the arrest of a former agriculture minister suspected of diverting farm subsidies intended for peasant farmers to rich landowners. Andres Felipe Arias, a minister in the government of former President Alvaro Uribe, will be held at a jail in the capital Bogota while his case proceeds. Arias denies the charges.
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