The Integrity Bulletin December 2018

Say No to Corruption

The Integrity Bulletin December 2018

If you have voice, raise it against corruption. If you are not trying to stop corruption, you are part of it.

Photo: UNDP

Person of the Year 2018 in Organized Crime and Corruption A panel of nine experts on organized crime, corruption, and terrorism will select the 2018 Person of the Year in Organized Crime and Corruption for the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP).

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Person of the Year in Organized Crime and Corruption. Photo: OCCRP

The OCCRP is a non-profit media organization providing an investigative reporting platform for the OCCRP Network, a network of 45 non-profit investigative centers in 34 countries, scores of journalists, and several major regional news organizations across Europe, Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Latin America.

Every year since 2012, OCCRP has accepted nominations from the public, journalists, and law enforcement, and chosen from them the individual (or organization) who has done the most in the world to advance transnational criminal activity and the political collusion that goes along with it.

Nominations were accepted through December 3. The Person of the Year will be announced on December 27.

Transparency Calls to Protect Mueller Probe Against Trump As U.S. President Donald Trump had fired Attorney General Jeff Sessions on November 7, global anti-corruption coalition Transparency International called on the U.S. leadership to defend the independence and integrity of the investigation led by ​special counsel ​Robert Mueller.

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Currently, Mueller is leading a judicial team to know the extent of Trump-Russia ties that allegedly helped Trump win the 2016 presidential race. Trump asked Sessions to leave because he was not stopping Mueller probe against Trump.

President Donald Trump. Photo: White House

Transparency said that the provision of justice free from political interference is core to global anti-corruption efforts. “Any attempt to suppress inquiries or investigations related to the President by the President himself or his staff is cause for serious concern,” said Patricia Moreira, managing director of Transparency International.

After facing a defeat in November midterm election​, Trump had threatened to retaliate, saying if Democrats start investigations against him, he will also use his control over the Senate to hit back.

The Democrats have taken back the control of the House of Representatives which will now allow them to hold an aggressive investigation against Trump and his corruption, as he has refused to show his​ tax returns​.

“We are deeply disturbed about the message this sends to government leaders worldwide,” said Moreira. “Countries that look to the U.S. as an example may feel empowered by any attempts to undermine the special counsel investigation, and clamp down on their own independent investigations​ into alleged corruption and misdeeds by top officials.”

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Transparency International urged the U.S. government to ensure that the Mueller investigation proceeds unhindered and with all the necessary resources and support required by democracy characterized by both rule of law and checks and balances.

Huguette Labelle, chair of the International Anti-Corruption Conference council and former chair of Transparency International

Corruption and Social Justice

"Fighting corruption is not an end in itself. But there is a fight for social justice, for peace and for security." ~ ​Huguette Labelle, chair of the International Anti-Corruption Conference council and former chair of Transparency International.

Checking Corruption Is Essential to Creating a New India: President The President of India, Ram Nath Kovind, addressed the Vigilance Awareness Week 2018 function organized by the Central Vigilance Commission (​CVC​) in New Delhi on October 31, 2018. The theme of this year’s Vigilance Awareness Week is ‘Eradicate Corruption – Build a New India’.

Speaking on the occasion, the President said eradicating corruption is the foremost condition for creating a new India. He emphasized that the confidence of our people that decisions and actions are being undertaken with transparency, accountability, and fairness must continuously be enhanced.

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The President of India, Ram Nath Kovind, addressing the Vigilance Awareness Week 2018 function organized by the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) in New Delhi on October 31, 2018. Photo: Rashtrapati Bhavan

Technology and the Internet can be of great use in this regard. He noted that the Government e-Marketplace (GeM) online platform has been introduced to improve transparency and prevent corruption in the public procurement process.

From extending banking facilities to previously unbanked sections of our people to implementing the GST regime, various endeavors have been made to boost the formal economy. And adoption of digital systems has also helped contain ​corruption​. In this manner, loopholes for misuse of public money are being addressed.

The President said that there is a serious effort to curb and punish economic offences, and to give habitual offenders a sense of fear of the law. Legislative measures have been taken – for instance the Amendment to the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, the enforcement of the Benami Property Act as well as the promulgation of the Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) & Imposition of Tax Act 2015.

The Fugitive Economic Offenders Bill has also been introduced in Parliament. Such initiatives give confidence to honest citizens and taxpayers, the President said.

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Corruption Watch Launches Project to Expose Police Corruption Corruption Watch - a non-profit organization in South Africa - has been selected as one of 12 finalists in the Google Impact Challenge, a competition to find the most innovative not-for-profit African organizations using technology to solve societal problems.

Through the launch of its ​Bua Mzansi – Know Your Police Station project, Corruption Watch will develop an interactive online tool aimed at enhancing public participation and transparency in the South African Police Service.

Bua Mzansi – Know Your Police Station. Photo: Corruption Watch

As of June 2018, ​Corruption Watch had received over 24,000 reports of alleged corruption from across South Africa. Police corruption comprised 6% of the total complaints received and is highlighted as a sectoral hot spot for bribery and the abuse of power.

Civil society, media reports, and public sector bodies often paint a grim picture of the extent of police misconduct in South Africa. Institutions such as the Independent Policing Investigative Directorate recorded over 7,000 complaints from the public in 2017, indicating police misconduct such as torture, assault, rape, etc.

Corruption Watch believes that issues of crime and corruption cannot be addressed effectively if the institutions mandated with combating such activities are entrenched in deep criminality and corrupt behaviour.

The interactive tool will empower communities to hold police officers accountable. Its functionality will grant the public access to over 1,100 police stations throughout the country, and allow residents to rate the police stations based on their experiences as well as report incidents of corruption.

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“Our hope is that by strengthening mechanisms that enable communities to hold their police accountable, we will contribute to building trust between the communities and the police,” Corruption Watch said.

This project aims to reduce corruption in the policing sector by empowering communities to be part of the solution. People were invited to vote and help Corruption Watch double its funding to $250,000 and launch the Bua Mzansi – Know Your Police Station project.

How to Tackle Corruption in Sport While the presence of corruption and criminality surrounding sport is not a new phenomenon, the last decade has seen a noticeable increase in illegal activities designed to exploit sports for illicit gain.

With the realization that many of the most profitable illegal activities involve a strong international dimension, UNODC and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) have signed an agreement to fight competition manipulation and related corruption in sport.

Harnessing joint expertise, UNODC and the IOC, in collaboration with other partners such as INTERPOL, will conduct a wide range of activities, including providing technical assistance to Member States in the prosecution of competition manipulation, and delivery of national and regional joint training sessions.

The cooperation will also involve the development of standard-setting guides and tools, which will raise awareness and build the capacity of criminal justice communities and sports organizations to fight corruption in sport and address the threat to sport integrity posed by competition manipulation.

As part of their collaboration, UNODC and the IOC have also worked closely on the development and launch of the International Partnership against Corruption (IPACS), a multi-stakeholder platform with the mission "to bring together international sports organizations, governments, intergovernmental organizations, and other relevant stakeholders to strengthen and support efforts to eliminate corruption and promote a culture of good governance in and around sport."

The agreement comes at a time of growing international momentum to address this problem and to put into place strong counter measures. ​Photo: UNODC

Download Previous Issues of The Integrity Bulletin October 2018

November 2018

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Indian Army Observes Vigilance Awareness Week ‘Vigilance Awareness Week’ was observed by Indian Army from 29th October to 3rd November 2018 regarding maintaining core values of honesty and integrity in the organization. As part of the initiative, a number of events such as workshops, seminars, lectures, competitions, and pledge of integrity towards organization were organized across the country to spread awareness about the cause amongst all ranks in Army. Indian Army says it is proud to be at the forefront of a corruption-free India.

Observance of the Vigilance Awareness Week started with the pledge of integrity towards the organization by various Directorates at Integrated HQ of Ministry of Defence (Army). Simultaneously, all departments conducted activities relevant to the theme to promote ethical practices and foster a culture of honesty and integrity. The theme of this year’s Vigilance Awareness Week is “Eradicate Corruption - Build a New India”. P ​ hoto: CVC

UNODC-UNDP Manual to Help You Measure and Check Corruption The year 2018 marks the 15th anniversary of the adoption of the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC). In this time, the Convention has reached near-universal ratification, with 186 Parties as of September 2018.

UNCAC is the sole global comprehensive anti-corruption convention, covering a wide-range of corruption offences and providing international standards to Member States to guide reforms. Despite this progress, the prevalence of corruption remains substantial in many countries; and tackling and preventing corruption has proven to be a complex challenge.

There exists a significant knowledge gap in understanding and measuring corruption. Corruption affects and interacts with numerous political, economic, social and cultural factors: its multi-faceted and hidden nature makes it a complex problem to measure.

Given the lack of internationally established methodologies or standards in measuring Sustainable Development Goal indicators 16.5.1 and 16.5.2, few Member States have collected data on corruption indicators in the 2030 Agenda. Many have sought guidance and standard methodologies to support their efforts.

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The Manual on Corruption Surveys: Methodological guidelines on the measurement of bribery and other forms of corruption through sample surveys seeks to address this gap.

The Manual has been developed by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). By providing comprehensive guidance on measuring corruption, from the planning stage to the analysis and dissemination of results, this Manual can support evidence-based policy-making and inform the design and evaluation of policy reforms in addressing corruption risks. P ​ hoto: UNODC / UNDP

Photo Competition: Fight Against Corruption in Water The Water Integrity Network (WIN) invites photographers to capture the relationship between gender, participation, and the fight against corruption in different ways, across various cultures and locations.

Participants can submit up to two photographs that examine these complex elements. The network encourages photographers to share their vision of a world working toward increased water integrity, and improved participation across genders such as: ●

Non-traditional community leaders improving integrity and transparency

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Participation of all genders in management and decision-making around services

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Activists striving to hold service providers and government to account

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Overcoming obstacles to achieve equal access and fair distribution

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The jury of water and media specialists will select the winning photos from the two categories; Best Overall Photo, and Best Smartphone Photo. Winners will be announced on World Water Day, March 22, 2019. All shortlisted photos will be displayed on the WIN​ website​. P ​ hoto: WIN

Bureaucratic Corruption Goes Unpunished in Delhi Today corruption and illegal activities have gone rampant in Delhi’s cooperative group housing societies and it appears that no government exists in the city-state to control the rising tide of lawlessness in these societies.

Almost all the managing committees (MCs) of housing societies are under the control of corrupt MC members who mostly operate as money-collecting gangs. They are supported by deep-pocketed builders and corrupt bureaucrats and politicians.

As millions of common residents are victims of the terror unleashed by the MC members of different societies, an exclusive community-driven social service “​Clean House​” helps the suffering residents raise their voice against the growing corruption.

This service covers the cases of corruption and other illegal activities in Delhi’s cooperative group housing societies. It also highlights government’s failure to stop corruption and lawlessness in these societies and coordinates with different government departments to get the cases resolved.

During the past about a year, based on complaints from ‘Clean House’ service, the anti-corruption departments of the government have ostensibly initiated a number of corruption inquiries against the top bureaucrats including IAS officers. However, all these inquiries are superficial and the culprits are not being caught and punished.

While a number of government departments are involved in corruption, the Delhi Development Authority (​DDA​) and Registrar Cooperative Societies (​RCS​) of Delhi Government are perhaps the most corrupt departments that are blatantly participating in corruption.

A few cases of such ‘eyewash’ inquiries are given below.

IAS Officer in Delhi Govt Faces Vigilance Inquiry​​. ​Click here to read the report​.

Delhi Govt Allows Corruption in Housing Societies​​. ​Click here to read the report​.

Vigilance Inquiry on DDA Corruption​​. ​Click here to read the report​.

DDA Bureaucrats Allow Illegal Construction in Housing Societies​​. ​Click here to read the report​.

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While corruption inquiries are perpetually pending, the government is allowing corrupt people to continue their frauds and other illegal activities.

Read and Download RMN Publications

Raman Media Network (RMN) Company – which is an integrated technology media and entertainment ​company – is working in diversified content creation, management, and distribution businesses on a global scale. Among other content-based activities, the company runs 4 global news sites on different subjects.

The company also publishes and distributes digital content products and magazines among readers around the world. You can ​read and download our digital products that cover diverse content streams.

Join Corruption Research Project in India The Centre for Transparency and Accountability in Governance (CTAG), National Law University, Delhi - in collaboration with the humanitarian organization RMN Foundation - has launched a ​research project​ to compile an exclusive report on corruption in India.

The unique selling proposition (USP) of this report will be to sensitize different stakeholders in India and abroad about the limitations of the Indian governments in deploying information-driven processes to deal with corruption, although it will also cover traditional aspects.

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A sick, homeless man sleeping on a road in New Delhi. Political and bureaucratic corruption is the main cause of poverty, pollution, sickness, and hunger in India. Photo: Rakesh Raman

You are invited to join the project as volunteers to manage its diverse activities such as research, public relations, content creation, data management, project monitoring, and so on. It is a 4-month-long project that began in October 2018. Candidates can contact Mr. Rakesh Raman, founder, RMN Foundation (Email: contact@rmnfoundation.org) with their contact details and a brief profile.

French NGO Files Complaint in Dubious Rafale Case While the Rafale deal has already become a hot potato in India, now a French NGO named Sherpa has also desired to know the extent of corruption in the​ Rafale case​.

Sherpa informed that it has filed a complaint with the National Financial Prosecutor’s Office to clarify under which conditions 36 fighter aircraft produced by Dassault Aviation were sold to India in 2016 and the choice of its Indian partner, Reliance, a group led by a close partner of the Indian Prime Minister (PM), Narendra Modi.

“This complaint follows the ​complaint lodged on the 4th of October 2018 by a former Indian Minister and an anti-corruption lawyer with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in New Delhi, against Modi for ‘abuse of authority’ and ‘grant of undue advantages’ in connection with the sale of Rafale, and the facts revealed by Mediapart and Sherpa’s investigation,” Sherpa said in a​ statement​.

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The Sherpa statement adds that Anil Ambani, Modi’s close associate; Eric Trappier, CEO of Dassault Aviation; and the former Indian Minister of Defense Manohar Parrikar have also been targeted in the complaint filed in New Delhi for “complicity”.

“France cannot do less than India. Cooperation between both countries should be rapidly established, as it is always the case with international grand corruption investigation. Moreover, the hearing of great witnesses is possible and desirable,” said William Bourdon, founder of Sherpa.

Sherpa expects the National Public Prosecutor’s Office to promptly investigate the seriousness of the facts and the presumptions on the reported offences, including potential corruption, grant of undue advantages, trading in influence, complicity of these offences, concealment of corruption, and laundering of these offences.

Global Portal on Anti-Corruption for Development The Global Portal on Anti-Corruption for Development provides information and knowledge on anti-corruption initiatives for sustainable development.

Global Portal on Anti-Corruption for Development. Photo: UNDP

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It aims to support the work of development and governance practitioners, anti-corruption bodies, researchers, civil society organizations, and the donor community by facilitating access to information, knowledge, and practical tools on anti-corruption at a global, regional, and national level.

Users of the portal can find easy and free access to training materials and multimedia resources; corruption risk mitigation tools and methodologies; case studies and lessons learned from anti-corruption interventions and policy documents, including anti-corruption strategies, reports and evaluations, and advocacy resources.

This portal is a key platform for the broad community of anti-corruption practitioners to share global knowledge on emerging issues. Through e-discussions, webinars, blogs and social media, members are invited to contribute and engage in vibrant discussions with other colleagues.

Future Against Corruption Award for Young People To observe the International Anti-Corruption Day on 9th December 2018, Transparency International (TI) is collaborating with the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) to honour young people from all over the world who challenge corruption through their innovative and inspiring ideas.

People between the age of 18 and 35 were invited to submit a short video clip presenting their idea on new ways to fight corruption. The Future Against Corruption Award may be conferred to activists from all walks of life. Three finalists will be selected out of the submitted entries by the general public as well as the Award Committee.

In choosing the recipients, the need to recognize efforts in diverse fields of civil society and the acknowledgment of anti-corruption initiatives throughout the world will be taken into consideration.

The competition consists of two entry streams: Global and Africa. Two Award recipients will be selected from the global stream and one from the African stream.

The three finalists will be invited to Berlin during the International Anti-Corruption Day festivities to be awarded with the Future Against Corruption Award and to participate at a public ceremony, hosted by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development and Transparency International.

They will have the opportunity to present and discuss their ideas with anti-corruption experts from the German government, Transparency International and representatives from anti-corruption organizations and the media.

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The competition winner will also have the chance to discuss with the relevant National Chapter and the local German Cooperation office about ways of putting into practice the ideas featured in the winning video entry.

Write for The Integrity Bulletin RMN Foundation - the humanitarian organization in India - has launched ​The Integrity Bulletin which is a monthly newsletter on global corruption news and issues. Currently, the newsletter project is being managed by Mr. Rakesh Raman who is a national award-winning journalist and founder of RMN Foundation.

The Integrity Bulletin i​ nvites anti-corruption organizations, social activists, professionals, and experts to contribute their editorial articles for the newsletter. You may please submit the articles with your brief profile to Mr. Rakesh Raman (Email: contact@rmnfoundation.org). People from all across the world are also invited to ​participate​ as volunteers in this project.

Meet the Editor The editor of ​The Integrity Bulletin ​Rakesh Raman is a national award-winning journalist and social activist. Besides working at senior editorial positions with leading media companies, he was writing an exclusive edit-page column regularly for The Financial Express (a daily business newspaper of The Indian Express Group).

Nowadays, for the past over 7 years, he has been running his own global news services on different subjects. He also has formed a free Education and Career Counselling Center for deserving children at a poor J.J. Colony in Dwarka, New Delhi under his NGO – RMN Foundation.

He also runs an exclusive community-driven anti-corruption social service “​Clean House​” to help the suffering residents of Delhi raise their voice against the growing corruption and injustice particularly in group housing societies where millions of people live. He creates and distributes a number of ​digital publications​ that cover areas such as technology, law, environment, corruption and transparency.

Earlier, he had been associated with the United Nations (UN) through United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) as a digital media expert to help businesses use technology for brand marketing and business development.

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About The Integrity Bulletin Project The Integrity Bulletin content project is being carried out by RMN Foundation in collaboration with the Centre for Transparency and Accountability in Governance (​CTAG​), National Law University (NLU), Sector 14, Dwarka, New Delhi. ​The Integrity Bulletin is being circulated among top anti-corruption organizations, law-enforcement agencies, civil society organizations, social activists, and others in India and abroad.

RMN Foundation is looking for collaborators across the world who can join hands with us to carry out major campaigns and projects to engage with different stakeholders in the anti-corruption domain.

Contact

Rakesh Raman Founder RMN Foundation

463, DPS Apts., Plot No. 16, Sector 4, Dwarka, Phase I New Delhi 110 078, INDIA

Contact by email

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