Ethics Newsline®

At issue are allegations of bribery and improper contracts

VARIOUS DATELINES
Allegations of bribery figured in news stories from various datelines last week:

• Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert continued to defy calls for his resignation in the wake of charges that he took hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes. Israeli newspaper Ha’aretz reports that Olmert continues to deny any wrongdoing, saying that any appearance of impropriety results from the nation’s convoluted campaign-finance laws.
• In Bangladesh, prosecutors last week pressed formal charges against former premier Sheikh Hasina, arrested the former energy minister, and detained seven others for allegedly accepting bribes for the award of gas exploration and extraction rights. Hasina has been detained since last year as part of an anticorruption campaign by the government, reports the Bangladesh Star. She and others involved in the case have denied all charges.
• Ireland’s prime minister, Bertie Ahern, officially resigned last week as political pressure mounted over allegations of improper cash payments he received as finance minister in the 1990s, according to a report from the Voice of America. Ahern has denied any wrongdoing.
• Thailand’s former premier, Thaksin Shinawatra, and his wife will testify in person at their corruption trial in August, reports the Bangkok Post. Thaksin was overthrown in a bloodless coup after revelations became public of a business deal in which he allegedly avoided tax payments.

Sources: Ha’aretz, May 11 — Bangladesh Daily Star, May 9 — Voice of America, May 9 — Bangkok Post, May 9.

For more information, see: Related Newsline story, Jan. 22 — Related Newsline story, Dec. 31, 2007 — Related Newsline story, Oct. 15, 2007 — Related Newsline story, Oct. 8, 2007 — Related Newsline story, Apr. 30, 2007.