The UN Public Service Awards: Commonwealth Winners from 2012

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

The UN Public Service Awards: Commonwealth Winners from 2012 The UN Public Service Awards: Commonwealth winners from 2012 Introducing the Awards • South Australia’s Strategic Plan Community Engagement (Department of Premier and Cabinet, Australia). The United Nations Public Service Awards (UNPSA) recognises excellence in public service and rewards the • Metro Vancouver’s Public Outreach and Engagement creative achievements and contributions of public service Program (Metro Vancouver, Canada). institutions that have led to more effective and responsive Category 5 – Promoting Gender-Responsive Delivery of public administrations worldwide. The UNPSA are awarded Public Services – included the following winning initiatives: annually on 23 June, which was designated by the General Assembly as the United Nations Public Service Day to • ‘Protecting the Futures’, an initiative of the Small Projects ‘celebrate the value and virtue of service to the community’. Foundation Africa, that addresses school drop-out, puberty education and reproductive health among In 2011, the new UNPSA category ‘Preventing and adolescents (South Africa). Combating Corruption in Public Service’ (Category 1) was established by the United Nations Department of Economic • Isange One Stop Centre for victims of sexual and gender- and Social Affairs, through its Division for Public based violence (Rwandan National Police Force). Administration and Development Management • Integrating gender in the sector and addressing gender (DPADM/UNDESA), in partnership with the United Nations gaps (Ministry of Water and Irrigation, Kenya). Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). The United Nations For further details on these, the initiatives featured below, Convention against Corruption (2004) states that and other winners, see: www.unpan.org/unpsa. corruption hurts the poor disproportionately by diverting funds intended for development, undermining a government’s ability to provide basic services, and Independent Commission Against discouraging foreign aid and investment. Corruption, Mauritius This article features three winning projects from (Africa 1st Place Winner, Category 1 – Preventing and Commonwealth member countries – from Category 1 – Combating Corruption in Public Service) Preventing and Combating Corruption in the Public Service; from Category 2 – Improving Delivery in Public Services; and The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) from Category 4 – Advancing Knowledge Management in was established under the Prevention of Corruption Act in Government. 2002 to fight corruption in Mauritius. It is mandated to: Other winning initiatives included: • Educate the public against the dangers of corruption. • Promoting accountability for procurement of public • Conduct investigation on complaints of corruption. projects through the Contractors Registration System • Exercise vigilance and superintendence on integrity systems. (Building and Construction Authority, Singapore). For the purpose of the Award, two public sector organisations, • Helping to empower litigants-in-persons of lower socio- namely the Civil Status Division (CSD) and the Mauritius Police economic backgrounds (Subordinate Courts of Force (MPF), have been chosen to reflect the implementation Singapore). of the Public Sector Anti-Corruption Framework (PSACF). The • Use of information and communication technology (ICT) CSD is responsible for vital registration (of births, deaths, for improving service delivery in passport systems (Director marriages) and issue of civil status certificates, while the MPF is General of Immigration and Emigration, Rwanda; responsible for, among other things, law enforcement with Immigration and Passport Department, Grenada). respect to road traffic offences. Complaints of alleged corruption received at the ICAC regularly involve public • Public service drives by the Aarogyam (District Health officials of the CSD and MPF, among others. Authority, India). Problem In Category 3 – Helping to Foster Participation in Public Policy Decisions through Innovative Mechanisms – the The recurrent corruption opportunities prevailing at these following achievements were recognised: institutions are: 116 Commonwealth Governance Handbook 20 12/ 13 The UN Public Service Awards • High autonomy and demands from the public leading to • Formulation of an anti-corruption policy (ACP). bribery for prompt certificate delivery and the celebration • Development of a corruption prevention plan. of marriages. Furthermore, there is screening of offenders from punishment with respect to road traffic offences. • Development and implementation of an integrated corruption risk-management (CRM) plan. • Abuse of office for gratification to celebrate marriage of minors less than 16 years (which is illegal in Mauritius). • Overseeing and co-ordinating implementation of Bribery in the issue of contraventions due to high corruption prevention strategies. discretionary power of officers. • Implementation of the recommendations proposed by • Favouritism in posting personnel to offices where the ICAC in CPRs. registration of marriage between foreigners is high. • Building and sustaining an ethical culture to promote • Misuse of position in regional offices due to unlimited integrity of staff within the organisation. autonomy and discretion of officers in the exercise of • Reporting achievements through the Chief Executive of their functions. the Ministry/Department to the Director-General of the • Absence of a comprehensive database on contraventions ICAC twice yearly. leading to bribery in the processing of contraventions. Challenges and lessons learned Due to limited resources coupled with pressing demands for system reviews from public bodies, the need was felt for a Although the PSACF manual contains invaluable self-administered, holistic and proactive tool to detect and information and materials to prevent and combat prevent corrupt practices in these public sector corruption in an organisation, some difficulties were organisations. encountered in the implementation of the PSACF throughout the public sector organisations. These include Solution the lack of expertise and technical know-how on corruption Many requests from organisations to build a corruption- prevention of members of the ACC, as well as inadequate prevention infrastructure were received. Enquiries also staffing both at the level of the implementing organisations revealed numerous areas for intervention. Hence, a tool had and the ICAC. to be developed to empower public bodies to take up The ICAC spearheaded an in-house capacity-building ownership of building corruption resistance in their programme for public officers of public bodies, including organisations; the aim being to create the necessary the CSD and the MPF. The objectives of the programme for capacity for public bodies to develop, implement, lead and capacity-building were to promote a better understanding sustain their own anti-corruption initiatives in their of the PSACF and empower the public officers with the respective organisations. necessary corruption prevention skills. The achievement recognised by the Award is the The lessons learned are: integration of the PSACF at the CSD and the MPF in the year 2010. Top management of both organisations signed • Total involvement of the implementing organisation was an Anti-Corruption Commitment to implement the PSACF requisite. Management commitment was crucial to drive through which corruption prevention is now thoroughly the initiative – without it, implementation of the PSACF incorporated in the organisational structures and processes, would not have been possible. as well as in the behaviours of the employees, so that • It was crucial for the ICAC to set the tone and create a genuine and sustainable action against corruption is drive to urge public bodies to implement the PSACF. achieved. • Close collaboration with some key ministries, such as the The conceptualisation and design of the PSACF manual Ministry of Civil Service and the Ministry of Local mobilised most personnel of the ICAC’s Corruption Government, could have accelerated the application of Prevention and Education division. In-house expertise was the PSACF across the public service. crucial for the development of the elements included in the PSACF. It took around a year to formalise the framework. Follow-ups on the recommendations made during Furthermore, by using internal resources, the ICAC avoided Corruption Prevention Reviews are regularly carried out. The the financial costs of outsourcing to any consultant, and salient improvements noted include: made effective and efficient use of the experiences and 1. Maximum use of computerisation to reduce corruption prevention skills of its staff. opportunities for corruption that has enabled The initiative is being driven by an anti-corruption immediate delivery of certificates. The MPF is committee (ACC) set up at the level of the public body. The implementing its e-business plan, contravention ACC is responsible for, among other things: database and the penalty point system. Commonwealth Governance Handbook 20 12/ 13 117 Leadership 2. A rotation policy has been put in place so that every departments in delivering the services – this was done officer is given a fair chance to celebrate marriage through reorientation, a redesign of processes and between foreigners. Fixed and mobile cameras are training. being used to reduce opportunities to screen offenders 2. Some additional financial resources were used by from punishment against gratification. various departments for upgrading
Recommended publications
  • Consolidating Democratic Governance in the Sadc Region: Mauritius
    CONSOLIDATING DEMOCRATIC GOVERNANCE IN THE SADC REGION: MAURITIUS CONSOLIDATING DEMOCRATIC GOVERNANCE IN THE SADC REGION: MAURITIUS StraConsult, Mauritius Study Commissioned by EISA 2008 Published by EISA 14 Park Rd, Richmond Johannesburg South Africa P O Box 740 Auckland Park 2006 South Africa Tel: 27 11 482 5495 Fax: 27 11 482 6163 Email: [email protected] www.eisa.org.za ISBN: 978-1-920095-85-7 © EISA All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of EISA. First published 2008 EISA is a non-partisan organisation which seeks to promote democratic principles, free and fair elections, a strong civil society and good governance at all levels of Southern African society. _____________ ____________ EISA Research Report, No. 37 EISA RESEARCH REPORT NO 37 i PREFACE This research report is the culmination of a study undertaken by EISA focusing on the state of democratic governance in the Southern African region. The programme, implemented under the generic theme ‘Consolidating Democratic Governance in the SADC Region’, has evolved over a four-year period spanning 2003-2006. The research aims to investigate the state of democracy and governance in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region, posing a key question as to whether or not the region has undergone democratic transition and, if so, posing a related question as to whether or not the region is firmly set on the road to democratic consolidation. The four key variables for the assessment of the state of democratic governance in this study are: representation and accountability; citizen participation; local governance; and economic management and corporate governance.
    [Show full text]
  • DECISIONS MADE in the FRAME Teodora Heim
    1 DECISIONS MADE IN THE FRAME Rational Choice, Institutional Norms and Public Ethos Against Corruption in Mauritius Teodora Heim Malmö University, Kultur och Samhälle Leadership and Public Organization: One-year master programme Masters’ Thesis, 15 HP VT2019 Tutor: Anders Edvik 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................... 4 2. INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................................... 6 2.1. The purpose of this study and the research questions ............................................................ 6 2.2. A short research overview ...................................................................................................... 7 2.3. Definitions .............................................................................................................................. 9 2.3.1. The definition of corruption in this study ........................................................................... 9 2.3.2. The definitions of the public officers ................................................................................ 10 2.4. Disposition of the report ....................................................................................................... 10 3. THEORETICAL DISCUSSIONS ............................................................................................. 10 3.1. Rational Choice + New Institutionalism = Rational
    [Show full text]
  • Mauritius Deep Dive 2020
    Mauritius - Threat Assessment - 2020 Page 1 of 33 Modern Slavery: The 2018 GSI Index: 47/51 Mauritius � African countries, with just 1,000 modern day slaves, and an incidence of under 1/1000 Section 1 - Executive Summary people and a “CCC” response. US Trafficking in Persons Tier 2 rating. Grey Lists: Mauritius is listed by FATF, & is proposed by the EU on their “Grey” list. Sanctions & Terrorism: There are no sanctions Mauritius is not listed by the US as a “Country against the country. Mauritius is a Tier 3 (lowest of Primary Concern” in respect of ML & FC. threat) PPI 2019 (Proliferation) Index Country with a “High” response score of 497/1,300. NRA: Mauritius has published its National Risk Mauritius has a “zero” impact (score 0/10) in Assessment in 2019. According to the NRA, Global Terrorism Index 2019. Mauritius is not the overall ML risk is Medium - High, based on included in US Country Reports on Terrorism. a threat level rated Medium - High and a ML vulnerability rating of Medium - High. The main Response & Resilience: FATF MER 4th round proceeds generating crimes were from drug results by ESAAMLG were 83/100 for technical trafficking, fraud, illegal bookmaking, high- compliance (40 Recommendations) & 12/100 value theft/robbery, tax crimes and corruption. for effectiveness (11 Outcomes). Mauritius The main threats externally affecting Mauritius scored 6.42/10 for resilience (High), ranked originated from fraud (including tax fraud) and 2/54 for Africa in the OC Index. proceeds from corruption. Indices: Mauritius scored 89/100 and was Organised Crime: According to the OC Index, rated “free” in the 2019 Freedom in the World Low Criminality - High Resilience.
    [Show full text]
  • Mauritius Country Report BTI 2018
    BTI 2018 Country Report Mauritius This report is part of the Bertelsmann Stiftung’s Transformation Index (BTI) 2018. It covers the period from February 1, 2015 to January 31, 2017. The BTI assesses the transformation toward democracy and a market economy as well as the quality of political management in 129 countries. More on the BTI at http://www.bti-project.org. Please cite as follows: Bertelsmann Stiftung, BTI 2018 Country Report — Mauritius. Gütersloh: Bertelsmann Stiftung, 2018. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Contact Bertelsmann Stiftung Carl-Bertelsmann-Strasse 256 33111 Gütersloh Germany Sabine Donner Phone +49 5241 81 81501 [email protected] Hauke Hartmann Phone +49 5241 81 81389 [email protected] Robert Schwarz Phone +49 5241 81 81402 [email protected] Sabine Steinkamp Phone +49 5241 81 81507 [email protected] BTI 2018 | Mauritius 3 Key Indicators Population M 1.3 HDI 0.781 GDP p.c., PPP $ 21088 Pop. growth1 % p.a. 0.1 HDI rank of 188 64 Gini Index 35.8 Life expectancy years 74.4 UN Education Index 0.758 Poverty3 % 3.2 Urban population % 39.5 Gender inequality2 0.380 Aid per capita $ 60.6 Sources (as of October 2017): The World Bank, World Development Indicators 2017 | UNDP, Human Development Report 2016. Footnotes: (1) Average annual growth rate. (2) Gender Inequality Index (GII). (3) Percentage of population living on less than $3.20 a day at 2011 international prices. Executive Summary Mauritius is not a transformation country in the classic sense.
    [Show full text]
  • Mauritius Final Long Form 2020
    Mauritius - Threat Assessment - 2020 Page 1 of 33 Modern Slavery: The 2018 GSI Index: 47/51 Mauritius � African countries, with just 1,000 modern day slaves, and an incidence of under 1/1000 Section 1 - Executive Summary people and a “CCC” response. US Trafficking in Persons Tier 2 rating. Grey Lists: Mauritius is listed by FATF, & is proposed by the EU on their “Grey” list. Sanctions & Terrorism: There are no sanctions Mauritius is not listed by the US as a “Country against the country. Mauritius is a Tier 3 (lowest of Primary Concern” in respect of ML & FC. threat) PPI 2019 (Proliferation) Index Country with a “High” response score of 497/1,300. NRA: Mauritius has published its National Risk Mauritius has a “zero” impact (score 0/10) in Assessment in 2019. According to the NRA, Global Terrorism Index 2019. Mauritius is not the overall ML risk is Medium - High, based on included in US Country Reports on Terrorism. a threat level rated Medium - High and a ML vulnerability rating of Medium - High. The main Response & Resilience: FATF MER 4th round proceeds generating crimes were from drug results by ESAAMLG were 83/100 for technical trafficking, fraud, illegal bookmaking, high- compliance (40 Recommendations) & 12/100 value theft/robbery, tax crimes and corruption. for effectiveness (11 Outcomes). Mauritius The main threats externally affecting Mauritius scored 6.42/10 for resilience (High), ranked originated from fraud (including tax fraud) and 2/54 for Africa in the OC Index. proceeds from corruption. Indices: Mauritius scored 89/100 and was Organised Crime: According to the OC Index, rated “free” in the 2019 Freedom in the World Low Criminality - High Resilience.
    [Show full text]
  • COLOMBO COMMENTARY on the JAKARTA STATEMENT on PRINCIPLES for ANTI-CORRUPTION AGENCIES Cover Photo: ©Istock UNITED NATIONS OFFICE on DRUGS and CRIME Vienna
    COLOMBO COMMENTARY ON THE JAKARTA STATEMENT ON PRINCIPLES FOR ANTI-CORRUPTION AGENCIES Cover photo: ©iStock UNITED NATIONS OFFICE ON DRUGS AND CRIME Vienna COLOMBO COMMENTARY ON THE JAKARTA STATEMENT ON PRINCIPLES FOR ANTI-CORRUPTION AGENCIES UNITED NATIONS Vienna, 2020 Preface The United Nations Convention against Corruption is now almost universally ratified. The Convention requires States parties to ensure the existence of anti- corruption bodies with the necessary independence to prevent and combat corruption effectively. In 2012, anti-corruption agencies (ACAs) from around the world developed the Jakarta Statement on Principles for Anti-Corruption Agencies with support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). The Jakarta Principles provided a useful set of benchmarks for the establishment of ACAs, but feedback over the years has suggested that they needed more elaboration. At the seventh session of the Conference of the States Parties to the Convention, in November 2017, States parties requested that further guidance be developed by UNODC to support the fulfilment of their international obligations. To provide such guidance to States parties, UNODC, in partnership with UNDP and the Sri Lankan Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption, held an expert group meeting on this topic in Colombo from 25 to 27 July 2018. The meeting brought together more than 30 international experts, including repre- sentatives of ACAs from around the world. At the meeting, experts discussed a draft of the Colombo Commentary on the Jakarta Statement on Principles for Anti- Corruption Agencies and shared their experiences and lessons learned in practice.
    [Show full text]
  • Independent Commission Against Corruption Mauritius
    INDEPENDENT COMMISSION AGAINST CORRUPTION Newsletter Dec 2015 issue http://www.icac.mu fb.com/icacmauritius youtube.com/icacmu 2015: The Year in Figures Trends of ICAC’s KPIs indicate that the Commission has now reached a cruising speed in recording and investigating complaints of corruption or money laundering offences. The rough figure of 1,500 complaints per year echoes the degree of public confidence in the Commission in dispensing its mandate. However, the rate of complaints not falling within ICAC’s purview still remains high at almost 45%. Such complaints include either grievances from people who do not know which relevant authority to turn to or alleged malpractices in the private sector, among others. Among those set aside, some complaints have led to 31 Corruption Prevention Reviews (CPR) in 2015 alone. The 569 investigations opened so far in 2015 by ICAC suggested the implication of more than 2,000 suspects in possible breaches of sections of the PoCA or FIAMLA, of which, 63% are male and 15% female. The remaining 22% indicates that, although the Preliminary Investigation showed that an offence may have been committed, the progress of the inquiry has not allowed uncovering the identity of the suspect(s) yet… Page 2 Annual lecture: International Anti-Corruption Day 2015 In the context of the International Anti-Corruption Day 2015, ICAC hosted the first edition of what will now be an annual lecture. Three guest speakers, namely Pierre Dinan, economist, Gilbert Ahnee, media consultant and Rabin Bhujun, chief editor of ION News and executive member of the Media Trust, intervened on the theme “Economic, Social and Political impact of corruption”.
    [Show full text]
  • BTI 2020 Country Report Mauritius
    BTI 2020 Country Report Mauritius This report is part of the Bertelsmann Stiftung’s Transformation Index (BTI) 2020. It covers the period from February 1, 2017 to January 31, 2019. The BTI assesses the transformation toward democracy and a market economy as well as the quality of governance in 137 countries. More on the BTI at https://www.bti-project.org. Please cite as follows: Bertelsmann Stiftung, BTI 2020 Country Report — Mauritius. Gütersloh: Bertelsmann Stiftung, 2020. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Contact Bertelsmann Stiftung Carl-Bertelsmann-Strasse 256 33111 Gütersloh Germany Sabine Donner Phone +49 5241 81 81501 [email protected] Hauke Hartmann Phone +49 5241 81 81389 [email protected] Robert Schwarz Phone +49 5241 81 81402 [email protected] Sabine Steinkamp Phone +49 5241 81 81507 [email protected] BTI 2020 | Mauritius 3 Key Indicators Population M 1.3 HDI 0.796 GDP p.c., PPP $ 23709 Pop. growth1 % p.a. 0.1 HDI rank of 189 66 Gini Index 38.5 Life expectancy years 74.5 UN Education Index 0.730 Poverty3 % 3.0 Urban population % 40.8 Gender inequality2 0.369 Aid per capita $ 9.2 Sources (as of December 2019): The World Bank, World Development Indicators 2019 | UNDP, Human Development Report 2019. Footnotes: (1) Average annual growth rate. (2) Gender Inequality Index (GII). (3) Percentage of population living on less than $3.20 a day at 2011 international prices. Executive Summary Mauritius is not a transformation country in the classic sense.
    [Show full text]
  • Corruption Agencies in Southern Africa
    The Impact of State-society relations on Anti- corruption Agencies in Southern Africa Author(s): Thato Toeba Source: Kyiv-Mohyla Law and Politics Journal 5 (2019): 165–192 Published by: National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy http://kmlpj.ukma.edu.ua/ The Impact of State-society relations on Anti- corruption Agencies in Southern Africa Thato Toeba LLD Candidate, University of the Western Cape, South Africa Abstract Corruption remains a fundamental and intricate issue in public administration to date. It is featured constantly as one of the foremost discontents that societies around the globe have with the administration of public service and the resulting socio-economic problems.1 While anti-corruption law is extensively adopted in Southern Africa, the implementation of law has encountered deficiencies and challenges in tackling, especially grand corruption. This paper focuses on Anti-Corruption Agencies (ACAs) and their efficacy in controlling corruption in Southern Africa. It argues that the inability of ACAs to arrest corruption in Southern Africa is embedded inter-alia in the precarious state-society relations in the region which perpetuate the ambiguity for corruption and impede the formation of a moral consensus on anti-corruption law. The state, which is regarded generally as a trustworthy custodian of social progress is viewed by most domestic constituents as apathetic to social welfare with its political ambitions as anti-ethical to those of citizens. The paper proposes the analytical framework of Context, Resonance & Relevance (CRR) to assess the compatibility of Anti-Corruption Agencies (ACAs) in Southern Africa with domestic institutional contexts. In this model, context assesses ACA framework in relation to the domestic political environment and the extent to which it allows ACAs the capacity to function efficiently amidst competing political priorities.
    [Show full text]
  • Corruption As an Obstacle to Development
    Chapter 4: Corruption as an Obstacle to Development 4 Corruption as an Obstacle to Development Brazilians protesting government corruption in March 2016. President Dilma Rousseff was impeached the following August. While democracy in Brazil has allowed citizens to mobilize against wrongdoing, corruption has proven to be deeply rooted in the political system and difficult to eradicate. Source: Wilson Dias/ Agência Brasil. 112 Handelman and Brynen_9781538116661.indb 112 19-11-2018 18:48:02 Corruption as an Obstacle to Development 113 ON AUGUST 31, 2016, THE BRAZILIAN SENATE, having found Presi- dent Dilma Rousseff guilty of breaking budget laws, voted to impeach her and remove her from office. The irony of her impeachment was that Rousseff’s illegal activities—using funds from government banks to cover budget deficits—had not stolen any funds for herself, while a large number of the senators who voted to remove her were knee-deep in self-enriching corruption. Numerous officials of the national oil and gas company, Petrobras, have been convicted of taking substantial bribes in return for awarding lucrative contracts to private companies. High-ranking government and Petrobras officials took millions in bribes and kickbacks. Among these was former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who was convicted of receiving a beach-front apartment in exchange for helping an engineering company secure contracts with Petrobras. At the time of President Rousseff’s impeachment, 60 percent of the members of Brazilian Congress had been accused of criminal activities, including bribery and corruption, illegal deforestation, even kidnapping and murder.1 Indeed, the man who replaced Rousseff as president, Michel Temer (Rousseff’s vice president), for many years had been suspected of corruption when he was a congressman.
    [Show full text]
  • National Survey on Corruption 2014
    NATIONAL SURVEY ON CORRUPTION 2014 FINAL REPORT Presented by StraConsult February 2015 TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ....................................................................................................................... 1 THE PURPOSE OF THE SURVEY ........................................................................................................... 6 OVERVIEW OF THE FIGHT AGAINST CORRUPTION IN MAURITIUS ...................................................... 9 Main Achievements of the ICAC ................................................................................................... 10 Statistical Highlights of ICAC’s Achievements concerning Corruption Investigation ...................... 15 Defining Corruption In Mauritius ................................................................................................. 18 THE 2014 SURVEY FINDINGS ............................................................................................................ 22 Corruption is Perceived as only the Fourth National Problem in 2014 .......................................... 22 Personal Experience with Corruption ........................................................................................... 23 What determines People’s Perception of the State of Corruption ................................................ 25 Evolution of Corruption in the Mauritian Society ......................................................................... 26 Respondent's Perception and Understanding of Acts of Corruption ............................................
    [Show full text]
  • Corruption and Economic Crime
    Transparency International Anti-Corruption Helpdesk Answer Corruption and economic crime Author: Jorum Duri, [email protected] Reviewers: Maira Martini and Matthew Jenkins, Transparency International Date: 15 March 2021 Historically, corruption has been seen as an enabler of some types of economic crime and organised criminality, for example through payment of bribes to law enforcement agencies or undue influence in decision -making. However, modern forms of corruption – which the paper interprets as usually transnational in nature – are even more intertwined with economic crime. Both sets of crimes share similar drivers, rely on similar mechanisms to move and launder illicit funds, and deprive societies of much needed financial resources, threatening not only economic and social stability of other countries across the globe, but also the rule of law and democracy. Due to these common characteristics, certain instruments to combat corruption and economic crime could be productively brought into closer alignment. For instance, a public register on beneficial ownership may prevent the use of shell companies to launder proceeds from both corruption and economic crime. Moreover, international cooperation is required in the investigation and prosecution of both corruption and economic crime schemes, as well as for asset recovery purposes. Transparency in political funding may also ensure that political and electoral campaigns are not tainted by proceeds of corruption and economic crime, and could help prevent capture of state institutions. © 2021 Transparency International. All rights reserved. This document should not be considered as representative of the Commission or Transparency International’s official position. Neither the European Commission,Transparency International nor any person acting on behalf of the Commission is responsible for the use which might be made of the following information.
    [Show full text]