Corruption Stories Prominent in World-Press Headlines
Oct 6th, 2008 • Posted in: NewsRussia, Mexico, Dubai, and Indonesia step up graft-fighting programs; soccer officials want crackdown on match fixing across Europe
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Efforts to stanch corruption captured global headlines last week. Among the top stories:
- Russia is gearing up to fight corruption, according to English-language Russian newspaper Moscow News Weekly. Two recently introduced bills call for tough new deterrents, including confiscation of property from officials convicted of corruption offenses and mandatory disclosure of incomes and properties by all government officials, including the military, judges, police, and officials’ spouses and children over 18.
- Mexican president Felipe Calderon has sent an anti-drug plan to Congress, and it includes a proposal to set up a department to monitor police corruption, considered a major element enabling the drug trade, according to a report from the BBC. Mexico has been gripped by a recent wave of violence waged by drug cartels.
- The governing body of European soccer has set up a six-person special investigation unit to probe corruption, according to the U.K. Press Association. The Financial Times reports that currently 25 soccer matches from last season are under investigation for alleged point-shaving related to betting scams.
- Dubai has a hard-earned reputation as a land of superlatives, including home of the world’s tallest tower, biggest shopping mall, and fastest-growing airlines, notes Canada’s Globe & Mail. But a series of corruption scandals at state-owned firms is “casting a growing shadow on the United Arab Emirates’ economic miracle,” reports the paper. “Seven executives at state-linked companies have been arrested since April. Dozens more have been questioned on suspicions of bribe taking, including officials from Nakheel Corp., the Dubai developer that last summer snapped up a 20-percent stake in Canada’s Cirque Du Soleil,” reports the Globe & Mail. Last week, the government set up a task force to crack down on corruption in the financial sector.
- Indonesia is in the midst of a series of antigraft probes and seems to be making some progress, reports the Voice of America. VOA’s Katie Hamann, reporting from Jakarta, notes that Indonesia’s climb from 143rd to 126th on the Transparency International corruption index “is a small sign of improvement in a country viewed as one of the most corrupt in Asia.” The latest high-profile case involves the arrest of a government commissioner charged with taking a $66,000 bribe from the head of a television network. The network, according to the VOA report, was the recipient of a favorable government ruling on business practices related to the televising of a popular sporting event.
Sources: Moscow News, Oct. 2 — Voice of America, Oct. 2 — U.K. Press Association, Oct. 2 — Globe & Mail, Oct. 1 — Financial Times, Sep. 27.
For more information, see: Related Newsline story, Sep. 29 — Related Newsline story, Sep. 15 — Related Newsline story, Sep. 15 — Related Newsline story, Sep. 8 — Related Newsline story, Sep. 8.
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