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CORRUPTION NEWS

Corruption as an enabler of wildlife, forest and fisheries crime: part 5

With so many lucrative avenues for criminals to choose from nowadays, the fact that international wildlife crime (IWT) and the smuggling of wildlife products continues to increase is a measure of the vast sums of money to be made from this illegal practice. According to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), for example, which it spelled out in its 2020 World Wildlife Crime Report, “the Read more >

CORRUPTION NEWS

Mauritius and others under scrutiny for money-laundering

Mauritius, that lazy, friendly little island in the Indian Ocean, beloved of holidaymakers and honeymooners, has a dark side. It is also a favourite haunt of money launderers and tax evaders and in fact, is known as one of the world’s top corporate tax havens. In July 2019, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists’ (ICIJ) Read more >

CORRUPTION NEWS

TI: time for FATF to review standards, guidance docs

Transparency International (TI) says that public registers of beneficial ownership should be the norm. In a new report titled Who is behind the wheel? Fixing the global standards on company ownership the organisation says that uncovering the identities of the real owners of companies is a crucial step in the fight against corruption. “For instance, Read more >

CORRUPTION NEWS

Poor ‘golden visa’ due diligence a gift to the corrupt

By Daniel GayneFirst published on Global Witness Yesterday, 11 March, was Commonwealth Day, and this year’s theme was A Connected Commonwealth. How appropriate – it is after all, the Commonwealth’s incredible connectedness that has made its members such successful players in the fast-expanding US$3-billion ‘Golden Visa’ market. Golden visas – or citizenship-by-investment programmes for those Read more >

CORRUPTION NEWS

Global clean-up of money laundering

By Rhoda Weeks-Brown First published on the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Al Capone had a problem: he needed a way to disguise the enormous amounts of cash generated by his criminal empire as legitimate income. His solution was to buy all-cash laundromats, mix dirty money in with clean, and then claim that washing ordinary Americans’ Read more >

CORRUPTION NEWS

Global anti-money laundering in four charts

First published on Transparency International Out of the hundreds of commitments governments have made to fight corruption and money laundering, one of the easiest to keep track of is the promise to implement the global anti-money laundering standards – the FATF recommendations. The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is the world’s leading anti-money laundering organisation; Read more >

OPINIONS

Full FIC amendment act needed to catch the corrupt

By Leanne Govindsamy First published in Business Day State capture does not happen because of the dodgy dealings of one person or even a handful of people. It happens because hundreds of people along the line — in the public and private sectors — have enabled it. They may have failed to conduct requisite due Read more >

CORRUPTION NEWS

CW asks Gigaba for FICA commencement date

Corruption Watch has written to finance minister Malusi Gigaba, requesting clarification on the date on which the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) amendment act will commence, as well as timeframes for the finalisation of regulations and schedules required to support the implementation of the act. President Jacob Zuma signed the FIC amendment act into law on Read more >

CORRUPTION NEWS

FIC bill signed into law at last

On Saturday 29 April President Jacob Zuma signed the long-awaited Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) bill into law. The amended FIC act is aimed at strengthening domestic regulations that deal with money laundering, the financing of terrorism, and illicit financial transactions. It brings South Africa up to standards and requirements set by the Financial Action Task Read more >