Anti-Corruption Lecture 2018 with Bill Browder Programme

KLEPTOCRACY: LONDON AND ITS ENABLING ROLE IN SPREADING GLOBAL CORRUPTION Transparency International UK Anti-Corruption Lecture 2018 with Bill Browder

TIMETABLE 18.30

WELCOME

Chris Perrin Clifford Chance

18.35

INTRODUCTION

Robert Barrington Executive Director, Transparency International UK

18.40

LECTURE

19.15

Q&A

19.45

CLOSING REMARKS followed by drinks reception

Bill Browder

Fiona Thompson

Chair, Transparency International UK

ABOUT BILL BROWDER Bill Browder was the driving force behind the Magnitsky Act, US legislation that authorises the government to sanction human rights offenders, freeze their assets and ban them from entering the country.

He continues to campaign for the introduction of similar legislation passed in Magnistky’s name across the European Union and is the author of RED NOTICE, which chronicles corruption in Russia.

WELCOME This year marks the 25th Anniversary of Transparency International’s foundation. In that time, corruption has been placed firmly on the international agenda and has moved from being an issue once swept under the carpet to one that is now recognised as a key global concern and is openly discussed at the highest levels.

Looking back over the past 25 years it is clear that TI has much to be proud of. People around the world know and care more about corruption, have a better understanding of its impact, feel that something can be done about it, and have seen success stories. Just some of the achievements the movement has had include developing the first means of measuring corruption (through our annual Corruption Perceptions Index), responding to individual victims and witnesses of corruption through our legal advisory centres in around sixty countries and getting in place the global anti-corruption architecture in the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention. Within our own country of the UK we have created a legal framework in the Bribery Act of 2010 which has improved corporate standards and led to a significant increase in prosecution and settlements.

Just this year we have seen the UK issuing its first ever Unexplained Wealth Orders – a law enforcement tool that we had been advocating for since 2015.

Of course, our ultimate objective in generating more transparency and fighting corruption is to help create a fairer and more equal world. This has been most evident when a kleptocrat like Teodorin Obiang of Equatorial Guinea was stripped of his stolen wealth, as happened in France after a ten-year campaign by TI, or when we help set up a big international programme like the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative. But it also happens day in, day out, at a national level through our hundred chapters around the world.

Nonetheless we at Transparency International are also very aware that despite the progress made over the past twenty-five years, there are some very significant challenges ahead. In a world characterised by a sense of pessimism, the rise of strongmen, populists, a Sino-Russian dominance of the foreign affairs agenda and the prospects of losing hard-fought gains in the fight against corruption, TI is needed more than ever.

Over the next few years we will be working on three specific themes: corrupt capital, to ensure that those who steal money cannot enjoy the proceeds of their corruption; political integrity, in creating robust, effective and well-monitored anti-corruption safeguards as the open society comes under threat; and citizen engagement, to make sure that popular anger and frustration about corruption can be channelled towards positive reform and not abused by populists who are themselves corrupt. These themes will complement the domestically-focussed agendas of our national chapters, and our global programmes on key sectoral themes such as health and defence.

It would be conventional after twenty-five years to spend a year celebrating. Regrettably, the state of the world does not allow us to do that. Recent political turmoil in so many countries has given us all a glimpse of a world in which corruption still thrives; where the state, politics and public services can be captured by a few individuals whose sole agenda is personal enrichment and the consolidation of power; where corporations with low standards and little regulation will bribe with no regard for the consequences; where inequality grows, economic performance declines and ordinary people suffer the most.

My colleagues in TI’s national chapters across the world, along with other anti-corruption advocates, are themselves increasingly under surveillance or facing physical threats. It is a key measure of our success that anti-corruption advocates are taken so seriously, but is is also a sign that while we have won many battles, there is much more that still needs to be done.

I am encouraged by the gains that have already been made, the exceptional quality and commitment of those who work as staff and volunteers for TI, and by the constant thought that despite the many difficulties, this is a fight the world can win.

ROBERT BARRINGTON Executive Director

2018 marks the 25th anniversary of Transparency International and our global fight against corruption.

With the help of our supporters, our organisation has grown from humble beginnings into the world’s foremost anti-corruption network – actively working across more than 120 countries.

Corruption is never inevitable. When we began in 1993, that message was seen as radical. Now, 25 years later, it’s widely accepted. Accountability and transparency are increasingly becoming enshrined in law, expected of leaders and demanded of business as a result of our work.

Through our global indices and landmark assessments, we’ve shown that no country, region or sector can be complacent on corruption. We have used the findings to secure legislative changes from governments and set new global benchmarks that raised the bar for business.

With ground-breaking research, we have exposed the links between corruption and the most urgent issues facing the world today – from poverty to human rights abuse to climate change.

Through our work on global financial flows we have helped shine a light on how the proceeds of corruption are laundered through the financial system, the complicity of global financial centres, and what law enforcement are doing to end this impunity.

On the political front, we’ve challenged leaders and governments to protect scarce public funds from corruption, to be more open and accountable and to put an end to corrupt politicians and officials evading justice.

For victims and witnesses of corruption, our worldwide Anti-Corruption Legal Advice Centres have also provided a lifeline – often the only means to stand up against endemic systems of bribery by employers and institutions.

We are proud of how far we have come, although the fight for a world free of corruption has to continue and we refuse to slow down.

We are determined to build on our past and present work – making it even more difficult for the corrupt to escape detection and prosecution. With over two decades of national and global corruption expertise, we are powerfully-positioned to speak out on what must change locally, nationally and globally in the next 25 years.

1993

TRANSPARENCY INTERNATIONAL IS BORN Berlin 1994

FIRST NATIONAL CHAPTERS ARE LAUNCHED

Denmark, Ecuador, Germany, UK, USA 1995

LAUNCH OF CORRUPTION PERCEPTIONS INDEX (CPI) Berlin 1997

THE ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT (OECD) ANTIBRIBERY CONVENTION IS SIGNED Paris

2002

THE EXTRACTIVE INDUSTRIES TRANSPARENCY INITIATIVE (EITI) IS ANNOUNCED AND PUBLISH WHAT YOU PAY (PWYP) IS OFFICIALLY LAUNCHED London

1999

TI IS AWARDED THE FREEDOM PRIZE OF THE MAX-SCHMIDHEINY FOUNDATION Switzerland

2003

THE FIRST GLOBAL CORRUPTION BAROMETER IS PUBLISHED Berlin

2003

AFRICAN UNION CONVENTION ON PREVENTING AND COMBATING CORRUPTION

Maputo

2003

UNITED NATIONS CONVENTION AGAINST CORRUPTION (UNCAC) IS ADOPTED Vienna and New York

2003

FIRST ADVOCACY AND LEGAL ADVICE CENTRES (ALACS) ARE OPENED Worldwide

2003

CORRUPTION IS ADDED TO THE UN GLOBAL COMPACT New York 2004

NEW TI PROGRAMME TARGETS CORRUPTION IN DEFENCE SECTOR

London

2004

TI CAMPAIGN IS RECOGNISED IN GOVERNMENT TENDER PROGRAMME 2004

Mexico

FIRST EVER UN INTERNATIONAL ANTI-CORRUPTION DAY IS MARKED Worldwide

2004

ANTI-CORRUPTION ACT IS INTRODUCED Bangladesh 2006

THE UNCAC COALITION IS ESTABLISHED Worldwide 2007

THE ‘BIENS MAL ACQUIS’ CASE IS FILED Paris 2009

FIRST TI-UK ANNUAL LECTURE IS HELD London

2010

THE BRIBERY ACT CRIMINALISES BRIBERY IN THE UK London 2015

PROZORRO IS LAUNCHED

Ukraine 2015

UNCAC IS ENACTED AS A FORMAL LAW Taiwan 2015

TI’S HEALTH INITIATIVE IS ESTABLISHED London 2015

CORRUPTION IS RECOGNISED IN UN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS 2015

New York

UK GOVERNMENT HOSTS GLOBAL ANTI-CORRUPTION SUMMIT

London 2017

THE UK ANTI-CORRUPTION STRATEGY 2017 IS INTRODUCED 2017

London

HIGH LEVEL COMMITTEE IS ESTABLISHED IN UKRAINE TO TACKLE DEFENCE CORRUPTION Ukraine

2018

UNEXPLAINED WEALTH ORDERS ARE PUT INTO USE London

2019 AND BEYOND. In just 25 years Transparency International has changed the face of corruption all over the world. We have worked for global recognition of the problem, helped bring about solutions and made the lives of some of the most corrupt people a little less comfortable. But of course we still have a long way to go.

Looking back, we have learned one thing more than anything else – your help is critical to fighting corruption. As we embark on the next 25 years we are calling on you to continue to stand with us and fight for our vision – a world without corruption.

Transparency International’s landmark research and campaigns are only made possible through the generous support of our donors.

By making a donation today, your support will enable us to continue combating corruption in the UK and around the world.

If everyone here tonight gave us £25 we would raise thousands of pounds. If everyone who booked to be here found a dozen friends, who each gave £25 per month for a year, we would receive over a million pounds!

Donate through one of our volunteers following the lecture or online at: www.transparency.org.uk/donate

We would like to thank Clifford Chance for hosting our Annual Lecture.

Clifford Chance has strong capabilities and experience in providing cross-border anti-corruption advice to multinational corporations and financial institutions.

We have been a leading adviser in this area for decades and have an in-depth knowledge of worldwide anti-corruption instruments such as the UN Convention Against Corruption and the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention, as well as key legislation such as the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”) and the UK Bribery Act. We represent companies in all aspects of their anti-corruption efforts, including:

Clifford Chance has a global reach and the ability to provide coordinated services of the highest possible quality. We have regulatory and white-collar lawyers with significant experience in every major financial centre – including the US, Latin America, UK, Continental Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. Our lawyers, which include former government regulators and prosecutors, are equally familiar with local regulatory standards and practices (such as employment law and privacy requirements) and with the broader legal and regulatory regimes affecting multinational corporations.

• Developing and implementing

To find out more either visit our website at www.cliffordchance.com or email roger.best@cliffordchance.com

compliance programs.

• Conducting due-diligence reviews.

• Conducting internal investigations.

• Defending companies and individuals in government investigations.

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