The article in the European Western Balkans has highlighted a reality regarding EU accession and corruption in the countries aiming to accede.

So much of corruption and the monies that have been stolen is viewed through the lens of arrests, with subsequent actions, which can include trials, negotiated settlements and then recovery of the illegal proceeds.

The UK has been moving forward on anti-corruption, though the anti-corruption strategy it announced last week still doesn’t include donation caps and reduced spending limits in election spending, which would provide insurance against the influence of big money in politics. 

An area where not much is written about is corruption and the vulnerable, specifically women. In an investigative article in The New York Times they describe a group of Kenyan women who go to Saudi Arabia as domestic workers.

Bulgarian protests and a surprise ending

The continuing emphasis on the US Trump administration is in some ways a stand in for corruption concerns in various areas of government.

Ukraine’s government continues to fight Russia, though at times it seems to be fighting itself.

As a counterpart to the very serious corruption accusations which occurred at the end of last week, a more positive news item has emerged from the European parliament which includes the establishment of a harmonized and enforceable EU-wide framework to prevent, detect, and punish corruption.

Just last week the former EU policy chief, Ms. Federica Mogherini, who was the rector of the College of Europe, was detained by the Belgian EU prosecuting agency, which issued formal charges against Ms. Mogherini  and two other individuals, including ex-European External Action Service Secretary-General Stefano Sannino, who had been a senior official at the College.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu  has requested a pardon for his ongoing corruption case, which has been going on for five years. The charges have included charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust, and alleged political favors for wealthy backers in return for gifts or positive media coverage and there have not been any judgements to date.

This blog post by The Corruption, Justice & Legitimacy Program provides a good description of the state of play in the anti-corruption landscape under the Trump Administration.

In a move to support Ukraine and coming after those who are trying to circumvent sanctions, Europol reports on the criminal networks which have developed even more sophisticated methods to bypass restrictive measures linked to Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.

Having worked on anti-corruption in Armenia, whenever I see an article, I read it with tremendous interest. In this case the Armenia Weekly  reminds me that there is an element of “plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose” (the more things change the more they remain the same).

Over the past weekend, the Ukrainian energy corruption investigation which has come to light approximately two weeks ago, heated up even more. There has been significant reporting by most major news outlets and last Friday, Andriy Yermak, head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, was fired by President Zelenskyy, as the anti-corruption agencies  search Mr. Yermak’s offices and home.

As mentioned earlier, the need for some conditionalities is an important part of the international donor toolkit, and in this case it is the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Pakistan is using its’ loan as a means to move the agenda forward.

The US John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, in Washington DC, a highly visible government owned and run entertainment venue, has been accused of extreme partisanship and as such has lost many bookings and has been subject to controversy since the Trump administration came into power

The Whistleblower Network News reports on the present situation regarding whistleblowers, specifically in the US, but this applies to most countries as they address whistleblowers . There is a clear understanding that whistleblowers are now more important than ever, based upon the present anti-corruption landscape.

Albania joins the large group of countries where very high level politicians are arrested and will be tried for corruption. Nine months ago the present mayor of Tirana, Erion Veliaj, one of the most senior politician of the opposition Socialist Party, was arrested on corruption charges and complained of his arrest, as he has been jailed and continues to be the mayor, while being incarcerated.

This article reminds us that it is good to see that the Council of Europe keeps working with governments to help them move forward in the correct direction. In this instance it is a conference to raise awareness of corruption risks throughout the procurement cycle and to provide insights and examples on how practical and technological tools can help mitigate these risks.

Several months ago, there were anti-corruption protests regarding flood control corruption but again, it seems that the government has not accomplished what they were requested to do.  Al Jazeera reported that there were thousands of flood defense projects across the typhoon-prone country and these were made from substandard materials or in some cases simply did not exist.