News & Blog

The United Kingdom published its first Anti-Corruption Strategy (2017-2022) on 11 December 2017 in fulfillment of its pledge made at the London Anti-Corruption Summit in May 2016.  Most interesting for us at the International Centre for Collective Action is the UK Strategy’s commitment to support “strengthened business-led collective action to reduce corrupt

A private sector perspective on the importance of compliance and the benefits of pursuing a level playing field through Collective Action in Ukraine. Ukrainian Network of Integrity and Compliance (UNIC) At the launch of the Ukrainian Network of Integrity and Compliance (UNIC) in October 2017, the Business Ombudsman of Ukraine, Algirdas Semeta, said that "corruption remains a serious obstacle to economic growth in Ukraine. Transparency Inte

Chocolate and Christmas go together like holly and ivy, adding anti-corruption Collective Action into the cocoa supply chain would be a real sweetener. Here’s a look at a Collective Action initiative that was signed in Ghana a few years ago. It would benefit not only from being updated and from being given a new focus that explicitly addresses corruption, not only as underpinning sustainability issues but in its own right and as an issue that should bring all the stakeholders together, because

Last week two celebratory events took place that at first glance appear to have little in common: One was the annual awarding of the Nobel prizes in Stockholm. The other was in Paris, and it marked the 20th anniversary of the OECD Convention on Combating Bribery in International Business Transactions (‘Foreign Bribery Convention’). The Nobel laureate for economics, Richard Thaler was awarded the 2017 prize fo

Below is an interview with Mr. Camilo Alberto Enciso Vanegas, former Secretary for Transparency of the Presidency of the Republic of Colombia and international anti-corruption expert, who visited Peru on behalf of the Basel Institute on Governance (BIG) and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in August and October 2017 to support efforts to adopt a High Level Reporting Mechanism (HLRM) in the country. The expert missions were supported by Peru’s High Level Anti-Corr

Last week, we presented the results of the Basel Institute on Governance’s new report entitled New Perspectives on E-Government and the Prevention of Corruption at a side event on innovative solutions to corruption prevention at the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) Conference of States Parties (COSP) in Vienna, Austria. Members of the panel at the COSP s

In 2015 the Maritime Anti-Corruption Network (MACN) contacted the International Centre for Collective Action (ICCA) at the Basel Institute on Governance because MACN needed assistance with finding a local civil society partner in Argentina. The shipping companies wanted to initiate an anti-corruption Collective Action through MACN and BSR (a non-profit

In June 2016 the Bundestag revised its anti-corruption law with the aim of closing a gap in the demand side of corruption in the healthcare sector. One year on, what has been the effect of this law in light of the German Pharma Industry’s Transparency Codex? What changed in the law? In 2012 a ruling by the German Supreme Court held that doctors in private practice did not fall under the scope of application of public bribery provisions, since they could not be consider

The Wolfsberg Group, an association of thirteen global banks working together since 2000 to develop financial industry guidance on financial crime risks, has recently updated its 2011 Anti-Bribery and Corruption Guidance. The updated Guidance has been developed in collaboration with the Basel Institute on Governance with the objective of establishing and explaini

In early 2017 nearly 200 police officers implicated in an alleged graft scandal were dismissed from the Rwandan Police Force. This prompted President Kagame to reiterate the importance of fighting corruption in the run up to the election: “All of you should stand up against corruption,” he said. “You cannot stay silent and expect others to hold those involved accountable.” Following his re-election in August 2017, it’s unlikely that there will be any policy changes when it comes to tackling cor

This piece was originally published by the B Team Blog on 10 April 2017. Republished here with permission. Metro Cash & Carry is one of the world’s leading self-service wholesale companies – selling food and non-food products to businesses and governments. In the past, MC&C’s Ukrainian branch would turn down potential business contracts with the Ukrainian government to avoid well-known and widespread corruption i

This blog was originally published on the FCPA Blog, which was discontinued in February 2024. What is the responsibility and possible criminal liability of companies and their officials relating to human right violations allegedly committed abroad? Should a CEO for example step down when a violation of financial or other conduct rules has occurred, which may even make the corporation complicit in terrorism financing or war crimes? Or should prosecution be a consequence of such transgression?

Active risk management and holistic approaches to preventing and mitigating threats and hazards have been identified as increasingly important to companies. This has come about not only as a response to regulatory developments, but also to satisfy stakeholder demands regarding the creation and preservation of value. Sean Lyons describes the various tensions between creating and maintaining value, and the demands of long-, medium- and short-te

The Basel Institute on Governance and its International Centre for Collective Action recently concluded its second international Anti-Corruption Collective Action Conference. The event, which took place on October 20-21 2016 in Basel, brought together nearly 200 participants from business, government, civil society, international organisations, academia and beyond, with participants hailing from every continent. This second Co

The Basel Institute’s head of compliance, corporate governance and collective action talks to Ruth Green of the International Bar Association about anti-corruption programmes, the Panama Papers leaks, and what companies can do to better manage and mitigate risks. This article is posted with the permission of the International Bar Association and can be found in its entirety here. Ruth Green: What doe

As the Basel Institute on Governance’s second anti-corruption Collective Action conference draws near, let’s take a moment to look back at one of the key messages that emerged from the 2014 edition, on the question of enforcement mechanisms and business participation Collective Action. Defining what constitutes an ‘enforcement mechanism’

Global Compact Network India (GCNI) established the Centre of Excellence for Governance, Ethics and Transparency (CEGET) in March 2015, with the overall goal of developing a premier knowledge repository that ‘conducts innovative action research and training, provides a platform for dialogue and communication and facilitates systematic policy initiatives for strengthening transparency and ethics in business.’ CEGET has spearheaded two key initiatives - ‘Governance for Smart Cities’ and ‘Business

A modified version of this article appears in the Leaders’ Anti-Corruption Manifesto, a collaborative publication developed with written contributions from business and civil society, for the Anti-Corruption Summit in London, 12 May 2016. There is no silver bullet against corruption: As the UN Convention Against Corruption notes, “ a comprehensive and multidisciplinary approach is required to prevent and combat corruption effectively.” But what cou

The private sector’s role in combating and preventing corruption continues to be essential and is widely recognized by government, civil society and companies themselves, with the spread of corporate anti-corruption compliance programs in recent years presenting a clear response to the acknowledged responsibility of the private sector. Whilst this is a positive development it is not enough to tackle corruption in particularly challenging markets and sectors. In this regard, Collective Action see

The High Level Reporting Mechanism (HLRM) has received increased attention in recent months, making it worthwhile to take stock of developments surrounding the tool as well as supporting items for their implementation. Developed by the Basel Institute on Governance in cooperation with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and T

Much has been said and written about the business case for countering corruption. That is to say, about the long-term benefits of a clean business environment, not only for the economic development of countries but also for individual companies who profit from transparent and reliable business practices. While this is undoubtedly true, it’s also true that withstanding corruption can be a challenge for companies. The challenge of advancing SME integrity in high-risk areas

This summer will mark two years since the ICCA Conference, Collective Action: Going Further Together to Counter Corruption. Despite increasing attention being given to Collective Action, the appearance of promising new [initiatives](https://www.baselgovernance.org/b20-collective-action-hub/initiat

A version of this blog post initially appeared in the Summer 2015 edition of Ethical Boardroom Magazine. Many companies recognise the importance of high-level management commitment in the development and implementation of an effective compliance programme, as evidenced by the repeated emphasis on establishing the ‘tone from the top’. Without clear demonstration of CEO and board-level dedication to promoting a culture of integrity within the firm, the statement

This piece was originally published in TRACE Trends, a version of  which was originally published by Alexandra Wrage in The Compliance & Ethics Blog. It seems the headlines this year have been dominated by one corruption scandal after another, and the resulting enforcement actions. The [Global Enforcement Report](http://w

In Québec, construction is a major industry, with investments in 2014 of nearly $48 billion (CAN$), or 13% of the province’s GDP.  Québec construction association (Association de la construction du Québec or ACQ) represents more than 60% of the province’s builders. But Canada’s second largest province has been through a major crisis of confidence after investigative journalists uncovered  corruption and collusion in public construction contracts.  This led authorities to launch a public Inquiry

In an interview with Tayfun Zaman, Secretary General at TEID , Ethics and Reputation Society, and Founder and Director of Turkish Integrity Center of Excellence, Mr Zaman talks about his own professional experience of launching and participating in a Collective Action initiative for custom brokers in Turkey. This article first appeared this summer in the Basel Institute Institute on Governance Annual Report 2014. Can you please tell u

The death toll following the huge explosions and chemical fires at the storage centre in Tianjin port in China last week has now exceeded 100, including dozens of fire fighters, and hundreds more seriously injured. Toxic chemicals and gasses have necessitated an evacuation of the area and the clean up will be a long process. In the aftermath of the disaster it has emerged that the authorities in China do not know what was stored in the warehouses that were run by the Rui Hui International Logi

“The advantage to mankind of being able to trust one another penetrates into every crevice and cranny of human life: the economical is perhaps the smallest part of it, yet even this is incalculable.” John Stuart Mill (1848) [ref] In our first post we proposed a universal business ethics principle:_“A basic duty of every organization is to earn stakeholder trust

Cecilia Müller Torbrand is Senior Legal Counsel, Group  Compliance Officer of the Maersk Group, the container shipping industry leader and one of the founding companies of the Maritime Anti-Corruption Network (MACN). She spoke to the ICCA recently about the MACN and its work towards a shipping industry free of bribery and corruption. Mrs Müller Torbrand serves as the Chair for the network. In part for her work with MACN, Mrs Müller Torbrand has been named Compliance Officer of the Year at the

Building sectoral anti-corruption agreements among competitors can be a significant challenge in Collective Action. Sectoral agreements, or sectoral pacts, aim to create conditions of fair and transparent markets through discouraging certain practices of corruption by defining clear rules among competitors. For businesses, sectoral agreements can be more effective than working in isolation, as many companies may fear being excluded from markets of interest for daring to announce having been sub