Assessing the Impact of Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index Omar Elemere Hawthorne Old Dominion University
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Eletrobras Settles Alleged FCPA Violations Revealed Through Brazil's "Operation Car Wash"
Eletrobras Settles Alleged FCPA Violations Revealed Through Brazil's "Operation Car Wash" January 16, 2019 Anti-Corruption/FCPA On December 26, 2018, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") settled an enforcement action against Centrais Eléctricas Brasileiras S.A. ("Eletrobras"), an electric utilities holding company majority-owned and controlled by the Brazilian government. This is the second time in 2018 in which the United States government charged a Brazilian state-owned entity with violating the books and records and internal accounting controls provisions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act ("FCPA"). As with the September 2018 settlement with Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. ("Petrobras"), the alleged corruption scheme at an Eletrobras subsidiary was uncovered as part of the larger Operation Car Wash ("Lava Jato") in Brazil. Petrobras's settlement, however, involved a coordinated resolution with the U.S. Department of Justice ("DOJ"), the SEC, and the Brazilian Federal Public Ministry ("MPF"). In particular, the Eletrobras enforcement action was based on allegations that spanned from 2009 to 2015, former officers at Eletrobras's majority-owned nuclear power generation subsidiary, Eletrobras Termonuclear ("Eletronuclear"), inflated the costs of infrastructure projects and authorized the hiring of unnecessary contractors. In return, the former officers allegedly received approximately $9 million from construction companies that benefitted from the corrupt scheme. The construction companies also used the overpayment to fund bribes to leaders of Brazil's two largest political parties. The SEC alleged that Eletrobras violated the FCPA by recording inflated contract prices and sham invoices in Eletrobras's books and records, and by failing to devise and maintain a sufficient system of internal accounting controls. -
From Corruption to State Capture: a New Analytical Framework With
PRQXXX10.1177/1065912916639137Political Research QuarterlyFazekas and Tóth 639137research-article2016 Article Political Research Quarterly 2016, Vol. 69(2) 320 –334 From Corruption to State Capture: © 2016 University of Utah Reprints and permissions: sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav A New Analytical Framework with DOI: 10.1177/1065912916639137 Empirical Applications from Hungary prq.sagepub.com Mihály Fazekas1,2 and István János Tóth3 Abstract State capture and corruption are widespread phenomena across the globe, but their empirical study still lacks sufficient analytical tools. This paper develops a new conceptual and analytical framework for gauging state capture based on microlevel contractual networks in public procurement. To this end, it establishes a novel measure of corruption risk in government contracting focusing on the behavior of individual organizations. Then, it identifies clusters of high- corruption-risk organizations in the full contractual network of procuring authorities and their suppliers using formal social network analysis. Densely connected clusters of high-corruption-risk organizations are denoted as the domain of state capture. The paper demonstrates the power of the new analytical framework by exploring how the radical centralization of the governing elite following the 2010 elections in Hungary affected centralization of state capture. Findings indicate the feasibility and usefulness of such microlevel approach to corruption and state capture. Better understanding the network structure of corruption and -
Corruption and Oversight in Latin America
Corruption and Oversight in Latin America Juan Manuel Galán Pachón Senator - Colombia 0. Introduction. It is clear that corruption has gradually come to the forefront in the global public agenda due to the extent of the phenomenon, similar conducts in other countries and the transnational character that the problem has gradually acquired. The seriousness of the issue is underscored by the establishment of GOPAC and by meetings such as these. The intuitive strategy to address corruption is to be found in aggressive enforcement policies (new definitions of criminal offences, longer sentences and the elimination of subrogees), as well as in the introduction of greater controls over the activities of civil servants and state contractors. Oversight, as a strategy, plays a specific preventative role since the accompanying mechanisms dissuade corrupt individuals and make corruption increasingly complex and costly. Oversight also helps detect operations, i.e. it helps identify signs that may underlie instances of corruption and therefore undertake more efficient investigations. In this context, we will offer a summary of the reports prepared on corruption in Latin America, identify the incentives that lead to corruption and briefly report on the current status of congressional or parliamentary oversight in the region. 1. Reports on Corruption in Latin America 1.1 Transparency International – Corruption Perceptions Index1 The 2009 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) prepared by Transparency International attributed a high risk of corruption to -
State Capture Assessment Diagnostics in the Western Balkans 2020: Risks and Policy Options Policy Brief No
State Capture Assessment Diagnostics in the Western Balkans 2020: Risks and Policy Options Policy Brief No. 10, July 2020 State Capture Assessment Diagnostics in the Western Balkans 2020: Risks and Policy Options SELDI policy brief no. 10, July 2020 State Capture Assessment Diagnostics in the Western Balkans 2020: Risks and Policy Options 3 State Capture Assessment Diagnostics in the Western Balkans 2020: Risks and Policy Options SELDI policy brief no. 10, July 2020 z As noted in the European Commission progress reports, despite continuous advancement of good governance, state capture mechanisms remain at unacceptable levels in the Western Balkans. Developing effective methods to address them before EU accession is an essential prerequisite to successful enlargement. z In 2019 - 2020 SELDI has piloted for the first time in the region a reliable metric for monitoring state capture. The State Capture Assessment Diagnostics (SCAD) provides insights into state capture enablers, key affected economic sectors and risks of monopolisation across the region. z The pilot SCAD assessment in the Western Balkans has shown that although none of the countries is close to full state capture, i.e. authoritarian rule, they exhibit critical impairments in democratic and economic checks and balances. Some economic sectors require particular attention, as they are likely sources of concentration of power and capture. z SCAD data suggests that the main challenge for the countries in the region remains in the form of state capture enablers, such as media control, corruption in the judiciary, lack of integrity of public organisations, lack KEY POINTS: KEY of impartiality and inadequate anti-corruption procedures. -
The Case of Hungary Introd
View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Corvinus Research Archive CORVINUS JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY AND SOCIAL POLICY VOL.8 (2017)3S, 255-281. DOI: 10.14267/CJSSP.2017.3S.11 CONTINUITY OR DISRUPTION? CHANGING ELITES AND THE EMERGENCE OF CRONYISM AFTER THE GREAT RECESSION – THE CASE OF HUNGARY JÓZSEF PÉTER MARTIN1 ABSTRACT After a short theoretical overview about the interplay between institutions and elites, the paper analyses the economic performance operationalized by the GDP and the quality of governance in Hungary in comparative perspective, considering two milestones, namely, the impact of the Great Recession, and the change of government in 2010. The role of elites and elite moves are revealed in these developments. In Hungary, the local crisis started before the Great Recession as the slide of the quality of governance and mismanagement of the economic policy can be observed since the accession to the EU. The paper elaborates the disruptive nature of the system built after 2010 with a special focus to the schemes of corruption and cronyism. Finally, the paper confronts the political elite’s endeavors with some perceptions of the population. KEYWORDS: institutionalism, elites, corruption, cronyism, economic development, quality of governance INTRODUCTION Democratic backsliding and the rise of populism throughout Central and Eastern Europe have been subject to vast academic and policy research in the past years (e.g. Kornai 2015, Pappas 2014, Freedom House 2014, Transparency International Hungary 2017). The surge of populism and the impact of the global crisis have put at stake the democratic polity and institutions established in 1 József Péter Martin PhD, is executive director of Transparency International Hungary and senior lecturer at Corvinus University of Budapest (CUB). -
Family Control and the Rent-Seeking Society
THE WILLIAM DAVIDSON INSTITUTE AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN BUSINESS SCHOOL Family Control and the Rent-Seeking Society By: Randall Morck and Bernard Yeung William Davidson Institute Working Paper Number 585 June 2003 First Draft: January 22nd 2002 This Draft: February 12th 2003 Very Preliminary, Comments Welcome Family Control and the Rent-Seeking Society Randall Morck* and Bernard Yeung** * Stephen A. Jarislowsky Distinguished Professor of Finance, School of Business, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, T6G 2R6.Tel: (780) 492-5683. E-mail [email protected]; Research Associate, National Bureau of Economic Research, 1050 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138 USA. ** Abraham Krasnoff Professor of International Business and Professor of Economics, Stern School of Business, New York University, New York, NY 10012. Tel: (212) 998-0425. Fax: (212) 995-4221. E-mail [email protected]. We are grateful for helpful suggestions by Raffi Amit, Ramon Casadesus-Masanell, Art Durnev, Curtis Eaton, Zsuzsanna Fluck, Fritz Foley, Tim Habbershon, Richard Locke, Gerald A. McDermott, Ian MacMillan, Leif Melin, Felix Oberholzer-Gee, Bill Schulze, Lloyd Stier, Mary Williams, and Shaker A. Zahr; as well as participants at the William Davidson Institute Conference on Trust, Institutions, and Globalization at the University of Michigan and the Wharton Enterprising Families Conference at the University of Pennsylvania. Abstract The small number of very large family-controlled corporate groups in many countries combined with their long continuity of control and ability to act discretely give these organizations a comparative advantage in political rent-seeking. This advantage is a key part of a self-reinforcing system whereby oligarchic family corporate control, political rent seeking, and low general levels of trust combine to stymie growth. -
Combating Corruption in Latin America: Congressional Considerations
Combating Corruption in Latin America: Congressional Considerations May 21, 2019 Congressional Research Service https://crsreports.congress.gov R45733 SUMMARY R45733 Combating Corruption in Latin America May 21, 2019 Corruption of public officials in Latin America continues to be a prominent political concern. In the past few years, 11 presidents and former presidents in Latin America have been forced from June S. Beittel, office, jailed, or are under investigation for corruption. As in previous years, Transparency Coordinator International’s Corruption Perceptions Index covering 2018 found that the majority of Analyst in Latin American respondents in several Latin American nations believed that corruption was increasing. Several Affairs analysts have suggested that heightened awareness of corruption in Latin America may be due to several possible factors: the growing use of social media to reveal violations and mobilize Peter J. Meyer citizens, greater media and investor scrutiny, or, in some cases, judicial and legislative Specialist in Latin investigations. Moreover, as expectations for good government tend to rise with greater American Affairs affluence, the expanding middle class in Latin America has sought more integrity from its politicians. U.S. congressional interest in addressing corruption comes at a time of this heightened rejection of corruption in public office across several Latin American and Caribbean Clare Ribando Seelke countries. Specialist in Latin American Affairs Whether or not the perception that corruption is increasing is accurate, it is nevertheless fueling civil society efforts to combat corrupt behavior and demand greater accountability. Voter Maureen Taft-Morales discontent and outright indignation has focused on bribery and the economic consequences of Specialist in Latin official corruption, diminished public services, and the link of public corruption to organized American Affairs crime and criminal impunity. -
Corruption Perceptions Index 2020
CORRUPTION PERCEPTIONS INDEX 2020 Transparency International is a global movement with one vision: a world in which government, business, civil society and the daily lives of people are free of corruption. With more than 100 chapters worldwide and an international secretariat in Berlin, we are leading the fight against corruption to turn this vision into reality. #cpi2020 www.transparency.org/cpi Every effort has been made to verify the accuracy of the information contained in this report. All information was believed to be correct as of January 2021. Nevertheless, Transparency International cannot accept responsibility for the consequences of its use for other purposes or in other contexts. ISBN: 978-3-96076-157-0 2021 Transparency International. Except where otherwise noted, this work is licensed under CC BY-ND 4.0 DE. Quotation permitted. Please contact Transparency International – [email protected] – regarding derivatives requests. CORRUPTION PERCEPTIONS INDEX 2020 2-3 12-13 20-21 Map and results Americas Sub-Saharan Africa Peru Malawi 4-5 Honduras Zambia Executive summary Recommendations 14-15 22-23 Asia Pacific Western Europe and TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE European Union 6-7 Vanuatu Myanmar Malta Global highlights Poland 8-10 16-17 Eastern Europe & 24 COVID-19 and Central Asia Methodology corruption Serbia Health expenditure Belarus Democratic backsliding 25 Endnotes 11 18-19 Middle East & North Regional highlights Africa Lebanon Morocco TRANSPARENCY INTERNATIONAL 180 COUNTRIES. 180 SCORES. HOW DOES YOUR COUNTRY MEASURE UP? -
Key 2017 Developments in Latin American Anti-Corruption Enforcement
March 15, 2018 KEY 2017 DEVELOPMENTS IN LATIN AMERICAN ANTI-CORRUPTION ENFORCEMENT To Our Clients and Friends: In 2017, several Latin American countries stepped up enforcement and legislative efforts to address corruption in the region. Enforcement activity regarding alleged bribery schemes involving construction conglomerate Odebrecht rippled across Latin America's business and political environments during the year, with allegations stemming from Brazil's ongoing Operation Car Wash investigation leading to prosecutions in neighboring countries. Simultaneously, governments in Latin America have made efforts to strengthen legislative regimes to combat corruption, including expanding liability provisions targeting foreign companies and private individuals. This update focuses on five Latin American countries (Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, and Peru) that have ramped up anti-corruption enforcement or passed legislation expanding anti-corruption legal regimes.[1] New laws in the region, coupled with potentially renewed prosecutorial vigor to enforce them, make it imperative for companies operating in Latin America to have robust compliance programs, as well as vigilance regarding enforcement trends impacting their industries. 1. Mexico Notable Enforcement Actions and Investigations In 2017, Petróleos Mexicanos ("Pemex") disclosed that Mexico's Ministry of the Public Function (SFP) initiated eight administrative sanctions proceedings in connection with contract irregularities involving Odebrecht affiliates.[2] The inquiries stem from a 2016 Odebrecht deferred prosecution agreement ("DPA") with the U.S. Department of Justice ("DOJ").[3] According to the DPA, Odebrecht made corrupt payments totaling $10.5 million USD to Mexican government officials between 2010 and 2014 to secure public contracts.[4] In September 2017, Mexico's SFP released a statement noting the agency had identified $119 million pesos (approx. -
European Semester Progress Reporting Over the Anti-Corruption Measures in Bulgaria, Italy, Romania and Spain
European Semester progress reporting over the anti-corruption measures in Bulgaria, Italy, Romania and Spain 26/06/2020 - The European Semester (ES) provides political assessment of the key pressing issues and respective recommendations towards each Member State in order for achieving better coordination in economic policies across the European Union. In its 2020 reporting, corruption, and with growing recognition - state capture, are recognised as key issues, which affect the economy of the Member States. Responding to the needs for development of new tools and methodologies for assessment and monitoring state capture, SceMaps initiative, supported by the EC’s Internal Security Fund, aims at helping EU authorities to build evolving and risk-responsive instruments to tackle corruption and state capture threats. The initiative pilots a novel methodology in Bulgaria, Italy, Romania and Spain. The current note highlights the European Semester 2020 findings and respective policy recommendations regarding these phenomena in the four contries. In 2020 ES reporting, the issue of corruption is particularly stressed for Bulgaria and Romania, and to a limited extend for Spain and Italy. The first two countries still under the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism lag behind the rest of the EU in having effective judicial system and capacity to fight corruption and sustain rule of law. This is evident in both numerous cases of corruption scandals, revealed by the media, and in special Eurobarometer surveys. Spain and Italy’s reports conversely, are less focused on corruption as key challenge, although it is highlighted due to the high levels of perceived corruption in the Eurobarometer studies. Spain The 2020 European Semester report highlighted that in Spain the perception of corruption has decreased substantially since 2013 (from 97% down to 88% in 2019), yet remains significantly higher than the EU average (66%) and around half of the companies surveyed by the Eurobarometer perceived corruption as a serious problem to their business in the country. -
Corrupt Governmental Networks David Jancsics a & István Jávor B a CITY UNIVERSITY of NEW YORK B EÖTVÖS LORÁND UNIVERSITY BUDAPEST
This article was downloaded by: [David Jancsics] On: 19 December 2012, At: 19:19 Publisher: Routledge Informa Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered office: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK International Public Management Journal Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/upmj20 Corrupt Governmental Networks David Jancsics a & István Jávor b a CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK b EÖTVÖS LORÁND UNIVERSITY BUDAPEST To cite this article: David Jancsics & István Jávor (2012): Corrupt Governmental Networks, International Public Management Journal, 15:1, 62-99 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10967494.2012.684019 PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE Full terms and conditions of use: http://www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and-conditions This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing, systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. The publisher does not give any warranty express or implied or make any representation that the contents will be complete or accurate or up to date. The accuracy of any instructions, formulae, and drug doses should be independently verified with primary sources. The publisher shall not be liable for any loss, actions, claims, proceedings, demand, or costs or damages whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with or arising out of the use of this material. International Public Management Journal CORRUPT GOVERNMENTAL NETWORKS DAVID JANCSICS CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK ISTVA´ NJA´ VOR EO¨TVO¨S LORA´ND UNIVERSITY BUDAPEST ABSTRACT: This study provides an empirically based analysis of corrupt govern- mental networks. -
Turning the Tide on Dirty Money Why the World’S Democracies Need a Global Kleptocracy Initiative
GETTY IMAGES Turning the Tide on Dirty Money Why the World’s Democracies Need a Global Kleptocracy Initiative By Trevor Sutton and Ben Judah February 2021 WWW.AMERICANPROGRESS.ORG Contents 1 Preface 3 Introduction and summary 6 How dirty money went global and why efforts to stop it have failed 10 Why illicit finance and kleptocracy are a threat to global democracy and should be a foreign policy priority 13 The case for optimism: Why democracies have a structural advantage against kleptocracy 18 How to harden democratic defenses against kleptocracy: Key principles and areas for improvement 21 Recommendations 28 Conclusion 29 Corruption and kleptocracy: Key definitions and concepts 31 About the authors and acknowledgments 32 Endnotes Preface Transparency and honest government are the lifeblood of democracy. Trust in democratic institutions depends on the integrity of public servants, who are expected to put the common good before their own interests and faithfully observe the law. When officials violate that duty, democracy is at risk. No country is immune to corruption. As representatives of three important democratic societies—the United States, the European Union, and the United Kingdom—we recognize that corruption is an affront to our shared values, one that threatens the resiliency and cohesion of democratic governments around the globe and undermines the relationship between the state and its citizens. For that reason, we welcome the central recommendation of this report that the world’s democracies should work together to increase transparency in the global economy and limit the pernicious influence of corruption, kleptocracy, and illicit finance on democratic institutions.