Search results

This study aims to investigate the impact of the enforcement of the international anti-bribery legal framework in developing countries.

It uses the PetroTiger case to examine the effects of foreign bribery prosecutions in Colombia, from a bribe-receivers perspective. PetroTiger is a USA-based company that was prosecuted for bribing public officials in Colombia. As a result, the public officials involved were also prosecuted in Colombia for receiving bribes. This case serves to illustrate how international anti-bribery law operates in practice and how it impacts Colombian law enforcement institutions and their capacity to prosecute bribe-receivers. The Colombian response to the international anti-corruption framework is examined in this study through the review of legislative efforts taken to address the problems of bribery and corruption in public procurement.

This study finds that enforcement of foreign bribery laws raise awareness of the situation of corruption in developing countries, generate parallel prosecutions of individuals at the receiving end of bribes and helps developing countries to develop technical expertise to fight corruption.

In practice, due to the transnational nature of foreign bribery, without international agreements, this type of corruption in international business would seldom lead to prosecution. Although the effectiveness of the enforcement of international anti-corruption law is debated, in reality, prosecutions of foreign bribery by developed countries have more positive than negative implications for developing countries.

Assist to continue efforts to deter corruption.

No many studies have looked at the effectiveness of anti-corruption international law in developing countries. As indicated by Mr. Moulette Patrick head of Anti-Corruption Division at organisation for economic co-operation and development more research on the effectiveness of the UN enacted Convention against Corruption, which is what this paper does.

Foreign whistleblowers are foreign citizens who help national enforcement authorities to sanction both foreign-based corporations and home-based corporations that engage in economic crime. This paper aims to investigate the expansion of US law in the area of transnational economic crime by discussing the case of foreign whistleblowers.

This paper has been developed from a literature review carried out as part of a wider study into policing international bribery.

This paper shows that extraterritorial application of US whistleblowing laws is part of a broad trend associated with extraterritorial enforcement of US anti-corruption statutes such as the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). The extraterritorial reach of the FCPA and other statutes allowed the USA to become the leader in sanctioning US corporations as well as non-US corporations for economic crime. In effect, some US enforcement practices have become the standard that has influenced law and law enforcement in other countries as well as internal compliance of corporations.

In spite of the profound impact foreign whistleblowing has on the effectiveness of national anti-corruption enforcement, this topic has been largely neglected by academic research. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper is the first to provide an overview of the role of foreign whistleblowers and the significant impact foreign whistleblowing has for legal reform in European countries and internal compliance of corporations in Europe and beyond.

The purpose of this paper is to compare a new anti-corruption law approved by the Italian Parliament in November 2012 with Italian treaty obligations, the international evaluation reports on the Italian anti-corruption regime elaborated by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the Council of Europe, the best practice guidelines and other European models. The year 2012 has marked a turning point in Italian anti-corruption policy. In response to the low ranking that Italy has in all international anti-corruption indices, the critiques expressed in international reports on its anti-corruption regime, and the increasing pressure of public opinion, the Italian parliament approved the new anti-corruption law.

The Law was preceded by critiques in the mass media and has been labelled as a token act. To evaluate the effectiveness of the steps undertaken by the Italian Parliament, this paper compares the new law with Italian treaty obligations, the international evaluation reports on the Italian anti-corruption regime elaborated by the OECD and the Council of Europe, the best practice guidelines and other European models (i.e. the UK Bribery Act).

This comparison gives the author the opportunity not only to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the law but also to suggest efficient solutions that the Italian legislator could have adopted.

So far, this is the only analysis in English of the changes introduced in the Italian anti-corruption regime in 2012. Several international colleagues and practitioners have asked the author about the new regime and it was therefore deemed appropriate to address the issue in an academic article.

The aim of this study is to investigate how Nigeria can seek legal assistance on recovery of its stolen assets to reduce corruption and to ensure no sheltered havens for incomes from corruption.

The research adopts a conceptual method by using existing literature with the application of doctrinal legal research technique. The research likewise uses primary and secondary sources of legislations such as legislative provisions, case laws and the provisions of Chapter V of the United Nations Convention against Corruption and the process of asset recovery. The study compares the United Kingdom, USA, Hong Kong in China, South Africa and Nigeria proceeds of corruption recovery laws to gain basic legal features that would be beneficial to Nigeria in reforming its anti-corruption laws.

The principle of territorial sovereignty under the international law makes the offence of corruption not punishable outside the jurisdiction of the state where the offence was committed. As a result, some developed states boost their economy with these proceeds and the developing states are impoverished. There is also an allegation of discrepancies in the figures of funds recovered by the anti-corruption agencies. Thus, there is the need for transparency; law on civil forfeiture of proceeds of corruption; bilateral treaties; and mutual legal assistance on investigation, confiscation among countries for tracing and returning of proceeds of corruption.

The estimates of the volume of assets looted from Nigeria vary widely because of the complexity of collecting data on proceeds of corruption as official statistics on proceeds of corruption recovered do not exist as each anti-corruption agency occasionally makes pronouncements on the volume of assets recovered without any breakdown in terms of assets seized, nature of assets and their locations and its values. Such data would aid policymakers to measure the effectiveness of the present assets legislations and to enhance its effectiveness.

Considering the clandestine manners corruption is being committed, it is tasking to correctly evaluate the amount of money stolen so, their economic impacts on the nation’s economy.

Absence of accurate data would aid policymakers to measure the effectiveness of the present assets legislations and to enhance its effectiveness.

The study offers modules on management of proceeds of corruption by establishing “Assets Management Commission” and “Proceeds of Corruption Forfeiture Funds” for reparation of victims’ of corruption. The study suggests the necessity for civil forfeiture of proceeds of corruption, which is presently lacking, and creation of Proceeds of Corruption Recovery and Management Commission to manage such proceeds and advocate establishment of “Proceeds of Corruption Forfeiture Funds” for reparation of victims of corruption.

The purpose of this paper is to scrutinise the intricate relationship between the inadequate enforcement of anti-corruption laws and the application of good governance and the persisting prevalence of coups d'état and poverty in Africa.

This paper uses a doctrinal legal research approach, synthesising existing literature while extensively analysing primary and secondary legal sources. Its primary aim is to scrutinise the intricate relationship between the inadequate enforcement of anti-corruption laws and the application of good governance and the persisting prevalence of coups d'état and poverty in Africa. The choice of case study countries Burkina Faso, Chad, Gabon, Guinea, Mali, Niger and Sudan stems from their historical significance, regional diversity, data accessibility and potential insights into the interplay among anti-corruption enforcement, governance, poverty and coups d'état in Africa.

The enforcement of anti-corruption laws and the promotion of good governance are indispensable for democracy and economic stability; their suboptimal enforcement directly contributes to coups d'état and the worsening of poverty in African nations. It emphasises the imperative for African countries to consistently and proficiently enforce anti-corruption laws and adhere to principles of good governance, effectively and responsibly, to mitigate coups d'état and alleviate poverty in the region.

This study designs a model strategy for combating coups d'état and corruption in Africa as contribution to knowledge in the field of study.

The purpose of this paper is to determine whether anti‐money laundering measures are capable of providing a solution to the growing problem of public sector corruption in Iraq and, if so, the extent to which changes are required to the current Iraqi AML regime to enhance its effectiveness against such corruption.

This paper will initially explore the growing problem of public sector corruption in Iraq and the measures taken to address such corruption. Subsequently, the corruption‐money laundering relationship and the ability of AML measures based on prevailing international standards to serve as an anti‐corruption tool will be analysed. Finally, the current Iraqi AML regime will be examined to observe whether and to what extent changes are required to enhance its effectiveness against public sector corruption.

Considering the widely acknowledged nexus between corruption and money laundering, a robust AML regime can be effectively utilised by Iraq to combat endemic public sector corruption. This regime must involve a system where financial institutions at their own expense monitor transactions and file suspicious transaction reports with the Iraqi Money Laundering Reporting Office. This, in turn, must identify cases from those suspicious transaction reports that require further investigation by Iraqi anti‐corruption bodies and other law enforcement authorities, who should be empowered to investigate, freeze, seize and confiscate the suspected corrupt proceeds. Such a regime would provide a clear avenue for the obtaining of financial intelligence capable of exposing corruption, thereby addressing the fundamental issue presently encountered by Iraqi anti‐corruption bodies. Amendments are, however, needed to Iraqi anti‐money laundering laws to enhance their effectiveness in combating public sector corruption. Most importantly, financial institutions must be required to apply enhanced customer due diligence measures to domestic politically exposed persons.

This paper is a result of a remote analysis of material published in relation to the subject matter of the paper. Local and regional analysis (e.g. including interviews with the relevant agencies) would be required to confirm the practicality of the propositions made in the paper. Further, the draft version of the revised Iraqi anti‐money laundering law was not examined in an in depth manner due to the uncertainty in its status, including, in particular, whether it has been submitted to the Council of Representatives for approval.

Although the topics of corruption in Iraq, the Iraqi AML regime and the corruption‐money laundering relationship have been the subject of academic analysis, the related topics have not collectively been examined to determine whether, and to what extent, the Iraqi AML regime can address the rapidly growing problem of public sector corruption in Iraq. Accordingly, the findings in this paper will be of interest to Iraqi lawmakers, Iraqi law enforcement agencies, Iraqi financial institutions and investors in Iraq, particularly in the oil and gas industry.

The purpose of this study is to analyse the activities of law enforcement bodies in the field of combating crime and corruption offences.

In modern conditions in Ukraine, effective cooperation between law enforcement bodies and authorities at all levels, as well as with partner organisations and agencies at the national, regional and international levels to effectively combat crimes related to organised crime and corruption is of particular importance. Improving the investigative and detective capacity of the criminal justice system, combined with efforts to intensify cooperation, contributes to a deeper understanding of the role of joint struggle in this area, thus helping to deter, detect, punish and prevent crime and corruption offences. They must be directly part of a sustainable, long-term and comprehensive strategy to reduce the scope for corruption and open the political and economic system to greater competition.

The results of this study allow substantiating that the Ukrainian leadership understands the seriousness of corruption and organised crime: the state takes decisive legislative measures based on international experience.

The obvious mechanisms for reducing the level of corruption and organised crime in Ukraine can be: implementation of measures to ensure business freedom; the formation of anti-corruption business strategies; introduction of special methods of anti-corruption education; approbation in Ukraine of positive normative legal acts and practices of law enforcement of preventive nature of the European Union for joint activity of law enforcement bodies and civil society in the field of combating crime and corruption offences.

The purpose of this paper is to examine in detail the positive and negative aspects of selected soft law initiatives and the relevance of hard laws in the pursuit of corporate social responsibility (CSR).

Soft law initiatives are categorized into company codes, industry‐initiated codes, and general codes in order to determine more accurately the effectiveness of the codes in enforcing CSR standards. A number of factors relevant in determining the effectiveness of such codes are identified and applied. Partnerships between soft law initiatives and hard laws are illustrated.

Soft law initiatives are necessary tools in CSR. However, transparency, implementation, monitoring and compliance mechanisms are core areas in which the effectiveness of the initiatives needs improvement. Categorizing the initiatives helps to identify specific areas needed for improving effectiveness.

The initiatives examined are limited to those relevant for human rights, the environment and anti‐corruption. The paper selects a number of relevant initiatives and does not attempt to examine all initiatives in these sectors. The reference to hard laws focuses on anti‐bribery laws.

The paper provides useful information on improving the effectiveness of soft law initiatives, which are the current modes for enforcement of CSR; the relevance of hard laws in CSR; and the role of NGOs in ensuring CSR.

The paper identifies the evolution of universal standards in CSR and calls for a universal approach which aims to address the need for adequate and effective enforcement.

The purpose of this paper is to study the administrative and legal mechanisms of combating corruption, namely, to determine the means by which it is possible to develop a positive experience in the fight against corruption.

Among the methods used to study the problems of the stated subject, the dialectical, comparative-legal, systems, historical and legal, formal and legal, analysis and synthesis can be distinguished.

The authors investigated the experience of foreign countries in combating corruption and suggested implementing international experience in national legislation for the successful fight against corruption. In the course of the study, the current state of legal regulations governing anti-corruption activities was characterised, corruption and the main reasons for committing corruption acts were investigated, the problems that arise in the fight against corruption were identified, the main administrative and legal mechanisms for combating corruption were established and the effectiveness of applying these mechanisms in practice was studied.

The provisions that are enshrined in this paper are of practical value for individuals whose activities are aimed at fighting corruption, as Ukraine is one of the states where corruption flourishes and where the fight against corruption has not been directly implemented in practice for many years.

Based on the example of international experience in the fight against corruption, proposals and recommendations for improving administrative and legal mechanisms for combating corruption have been developed.

The purposes of this paper are to organize historical, solved questions and recent, unsolved questions in a coherent, progressive way; explore the key question to be answered under this systematic framework; and reflect on an alternative analytical perspective to the current “problem-solving-oriented” approach. Transnational bribery regulation, with the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Anti-Bribery Convention as the central governing legal instrument, is on the top agenda of international governance. However, its complex nature makes theoretical viewpoints on this topic rather fragmented. This fragmentation is used to help understand the wisdom of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) approach in the early years. However, as the FCPA approach was internationalized and evolves to its current phase, in which individual inquiries become path-dependent and interdependent, the fragmentation causes more confusion than makes contribution.

Sections 2 and 3 retrospect the historical trajectory of academic research on the global regulation of transnational bribery, systemizes relevant theoretical insights and illustrates how people’s understandings of the wisdom of the FCPA approach in early years affect their evaluations of the effect of the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention in the contemporary era. Given that, at present, the most popular viewpoint is that the Convention is “ineffective”, Section 4 systemizes the diverse causal attributions of the “problem” in current academic literature, sorts out the roots causes and points out the key question for the next step forward under the version of the “problem-solving-oriented” analysis. Section 5 has a reflection on the inherent limitation of a “problem-solving-oriented” approach for our understanding of the effects of the Convention.

Under the version of a “problem-solving-oriented” approach, the key question to be solved is how to establish a mechanism to cope with the surreptitious nature of transnational bribery and the self-sacrificed nature of the FCPA-style approach simultaneously. The popular “problem-solving-oriented” approach has an inherent limitation to create new knowledge on the multilateral anti-bribery collaboration. A reality-based, historical analytical perspective is a good alternative to it.

The paper presents a personal, original organization of the conventional theoretical insights to the operation of the global anti-bribery collaboration and the underlying logics of these viewpoints. The paper also presents the author’s personal analysis of the “technical omission” and “inherent limitation” of a problem-solving-oriented approach to analyze the performance of the global anti-bribery collaboration, and the power of a historical analytical perspective as an alternative.