Just in case we weren’t certain where Georgia stands on anti-corruption, Reuters recently reported on the government’s abolition of its primary anti-corruption agency, the Anti-Corruption Bureau.

An area where corruption is a constant problem is campaign financing. The New York Times reports on a case out of California involving a chief of staff to California Governor Gavin Newsom.

This week, unfortunately, Ukraine is back in the news in an energy sector corruption scandal, which has led to both the Minister of Justice and the Minister of Energy to resign, as reported by The Washington Post.  This comes at a very difficult time as the Ukraine energy sector is being bombarded by the Russians and many cities in Ukraine are without any electricity and in the dark.

In October we reviewed the EU’s conditions regarding Bulgaria’s anti-corruption agencies. One month later, with no changes being made, the Independent European Daily Express (IEDE) reported on this issue and provided us with updated information.

This very short article was by the Our World in Data organization, and they provided some simple, but clear data, showing that democracies tend to have lower level of corruption. 

Every few months there are some more ideas being pitched of how to curb present US corruption. This time the Brennan Center brings a new/old concept to the fore, specifically the US Constitution’s Foreign and Domestic Emoluments Clauses.

As mentioned in the review of the Kyiv Independent article, Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty reported on the full draft EU report describing the situation of all the other nine countries including Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Georgia, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, and Turkey.

This week the Kyiv Independent reports about a European Commission report which tracks political developments in ten countries aiming to join the bloc, including Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Georgia, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Turkey, and Ukraine.

Almost a year ago young Serbs took to the streets to protest a deadly roof collapse in Novi Sad, based upon perceived corrupt behaviors by government officials leading to the roof’s collapse.

This article from Politico EU, highlights the darker issues involving anti-corruption in Ukraine. To be clear, Ukraine is continuing to fight for its life, and its citizens deserve a government that will make certain that Ukraine survives.

This opinion piece from the United National Office on Drugs and Crime Corruption and Economic Crime Branch (UNODC) , provides a very interesting context regarding whistleblowing.

Another week , another example of corruption from the US president, as described by an opinion piece in the  The New York Times.

This article from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) provides a good review of complex cross-border anti-corruption enforcement activities and the uses of OECD.

It looks like a new law firm, Gaston and Cooney, in Washington DC has emerged to fill a gap that clearly exists in the US presently, mainly two senior lawyers who had been ousted from the US Department of Justice, previously working on the team that had investigated President Trump prior to his election.

So much of what the EU countries do in putting pressure and providing support to developing countries when addressing corruption is laudable and yet, at the European Parliament, they seem to shrink from transparency and accountability.

So much of the time we are fixated on solutions that are very pragmatic and practical, versus thinking about how we send messages about anti-corruption and how they really are being incorporated by the public and governmental officials.

This article, through the MacArthur Foundation, highlights the work of investigative journalists, which when we discuss anti-corruption pressure, is an important part of the anti-corruption landscape.

It’s always good to see the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) – Parliamentary Assembly, working on anti-corruption with the European Union (EU).

Just recently there was an explosion destroying two cars belonging  to Mr. Sigfrido Ranucci, an investigative journalist in Italy, reminding us of how dangerous it continues to be as an investigative journalist in Italy, as reported by The New York Times.

This past weekend China has weighed in on how serious it is taking anti-corruption. China’s third-highest ranking general, General He Weidong and eight other senior officials have been expelled from the ruling Communist Party and the military on suspicion of serious misconduct linked to corruption.