News & Blog

Last month, I had the pleasure of attending and speaking at the conference “Integrity Pacts – Safeguarding EU Funds” in Brussels, hosted by Transparency International (TI) and with the participation of the European Commission. The conference was held in the context of a pilot project recently launched by the Commission - "Integrity Pacts - Civil Control Mechanism for

As we soon approach the one year anniversary of the 2014 ICCA Conference “Collective Action: Going Further Together to Counter Corruption” this blog piece returns to one of the key messages to emerge from the event, on the topic of engagement with government in Collective Action. Corruption happens mostly at the interface between business and public authorities. Consequently, effective anti-corruption measu

This piece was originally published by the TRACE International Blog on 8 May 2015. Republished here with permission. Last week’s (ed: 28 April 2015) decision by the Chief Justice of Singapore’s Supreme Court entitled Public Prosecutor v Syed Mostofa Romel is important for shipping companies

IRU Secretary General, Umberto de Pretto, unveils the scale and damages of corruption on roads and explains how the world road transport organisation is tackling this issue head on. What is the Global Anti-Corruption Initiative? In short, it’s a joint effort between the IRU and United Nations Global Compact to fight extortion and corruption along major road transport corridors. We’re working together to secure the sustaina

As the problems created by corruption affect society as a whole, everyone would benefit from its eradication. Unfortunately, however, perceptions of corruption may not always align with this view which is why it is of utmost importance to raise awareness of corruption by way of education and training, and greater knowledge of the consequences of corruption may enable its elimination. That being said, corruption cannot be tackled alone, and the concept of Collective Action could ensure that busin

Joe Murphy recently talked in a post on the FCPA Blog about antitrust concerns under U.S. law for competitors who band together to fight corruption. I’d like to explain how and why the antitrust issue can be mitigated. Before I start, it’s worth noting that various U.S. companies such as GE, Lockheed, General Dynamics, and others are already active members of various collective anti-corrup

By Patricia E. Dowden and Philip M. Nichols. This article was originally published by the Russian International Affairs Council on 25 December, 2014. Republished here with permission. What standards should businesses observe in their own countries, or abroad? Businesses now have resources and influence that rival or surpass those of governments and certainly of ordinary people.(1)

By Virna Di Palma, Director of the TRACE Anti-Bribery Specialist Accreditation and Senior Director of Global Strategy and Communications at TRACE International, an anti-bribery business organisation. Last week I joined leading anti-corruption experts and academics from all over the world in Vienna, Austria to discuss effective teaching and pedagogy in anti-corruption studies within institutions of higher learning. The [

By Frederic Wehrlé Due to their low profile and size, small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) are easy targets for lower-level government officials seeking to supplement their incomes with facilitation payments and petty corruption. As SMEs continue to face bribery solicitation and extortion in many countries of the world, the same characteristics – low profile and size – puts them in front of particular challenges when it comes to coping with bribery. Finding innovative ways for SMEs to prev

Although there is no statutory obligation for companies to engage in anti-corruption Collective Action, there are references to it in guidance documents that have been issued by governments in relation to laws prohibiting bribery. These guidelines are used by companies when developing or reviewing their anti-corruption compliance programs, as well as when defining the scope of internal policies and procedures. The UK Ministry of Justice issued the best-known [guidance](https://asse

Comments from the Basel Institute on Governance Conference on Anti-Corruption Collective Action to address corporate and multi-stakeholder initiatives against bribery and extortion: Some 150 experts from the worlds of business, civil society and government as well as international organisations began meeting today in Basel, Switzerland, to discuss the role of Collective Action as a tool in the fight against corruption. Anti-corruption Collective Action consists of initiatives that are formed

On 12 May 2014 the government of Ukraine took a step to help encourage much needed foreign investment into the country by signing a Memorandum of Understanding with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) and several business associations, addressing bribery and promoting transparency and accountability. At the signing ceremony the President of the EBRD, Sir Suma Chakrabarti spoke about the importance of the