Confusion in Sydney – is it corruption?One of the clues regarding corruption is whether or not there is confusion and chaos in government, which usually is a clue to potential corrupt behavior in a government.

The Bangkok Post  addressed an interesting area of corruption in religion. This manifests itself in many different ways. During my time in Afghanistan, the Ministry that was working with Hajj pilgrims was notorious for bribes being paid by pigrims for space at the Hajj pilgrimage.

We were all hoping for a quiet week, but as soon as we turned the corner on Ukraine and its’ corruption agencies, we’re back to corruption issues in Ukraine. We should not forget that war leads to profiteering and corruption, yet we hope and expect more from Ukraine.

Last week we were provided with concerns regarding Portugal’s anti-corruption mechanisms, this week we see Spain in the spotlight.

It’s been two turbulent anti-corruption weeks in Ukraine. The world has been watching with some disbelief as well as hope, as anti-corruption forces took to the streets, in the midst of a horrific war and many news outlets reported on this, including Politico EU .

Over the years Lithuania has quietly and effectively worked on anti-corruption reforms and actions. And finally, as TVP World has reported,  it has taken a leadership role at the OECD, becoming the first country to take up the newly created position of country Chair of the OECD’s Anti-Corruption Network for Eastern Europe and Central Asia (ACN).

The progressive publication The American Prospect, highlights the work of lawyers who will not go into the night quietly about corrupt actions in the US.

Another report from the Council of Europe’s Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) has been released and this time Portugal is in the hot seat and they will need to do more.

Though it is only six months into the US Trump administration, and US politicians are beginning to think about the future. This is important as messaging around anti-corruption is always important. In the past, simple messages, such as “corruption is bad” did not resonate and now with corruption being front and center, it is important that the politicians in the US define the needed messaging.

Last week and yesterday we were all reminded that vigilance in anti-corruption is so important.

There seems to be more concerns in Ukraine regarding the anti-corruption agencies, which has brought to the front many issues that have existed. Politico EU  reported that the Secret Service of Ukraine (SBU) made over 70 searches.

The Guardian recently reported on an important category within anti-corruption, and one which to some degree comes under the UK’s remit, combating illicit finance and the need for transparency in offshore financial havens.

The National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NACP) has reported that NACP an the Central Anti-Corruption Bureau of the Republic of Poland (CBA) have signed a Memorandum  of cooperation.

For anyone who has grown up in a big city, corruption seems to hover around the edges and unfortunately, the New York City police department (NYPD) is again in the news for its corrupt activities. The Guardian reports that even though Eric Adams’ anti-corruption case was dismissed, with implications favors being exchanged, his government involves even more corruption.

It is always good to highlight positive developments. The Turks and Caicos Weekly News reported on such positive advancements in the Caribbean, specifically with the Turks and Caicos Islands.

After all these years, we finally have a novel dangerous argument, from the City Journal, that we should parse the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act down to its most narrow interpretation. Up to now there has been significant back and forth about enforcement of the FCPA but no one has argued that it’s too broad.

Last week I wrote about how the death of a Haitian anti-corruption activist, and how anti-corruption activism can be personally dangerous for anti-corruption activists.

The latest GRECO review highlights the ongoing concerns that exist within government, which is conflict of interest. As has been seen across many countries, conflict of interest creates undue influences in government.

The Manila Times highlighted the passage of their new e-governance legislation. E-governance legislation usually has a two-fold effect, increasing governmental service efficiency and decreasing corruption in the new digital services.