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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 >

OPINIONS

Africa can clamp down on illicit flows by using AUCPCC effectively

By Sabeehah Motala Illicit financial flows (IFFs) are costing Africa $30-billion to $40-billion per year and have eroded African countries’ tax bases, hampering their abilities to respond effectively to Covid-19 emergency needs. Lockdown, states of emergency, and all the accompanying implications mean that developing states are more vulnerable than ever to the possibility of illicit Read more >

CORRUPTION NEWS

What is a tax haven? Offshore finance, explained

In May 2020 Mauritius, curiously one of the African countries that perform well on the annual Corruption Perceptions Index, was listed by the European Commission (EC) as a high-risk country for money laundering and funding of terrorism. It was joined on the revised EC list by Botswana, Ghana, and Zimbabwe, among others. The former is Read more >

CORRUPTION NEWS

Zuma’s day in court finally rolls around

Now that the inevitable can’t be put off any longer, former president Jacob Zuma is making a show of impatience for the start of his corruption trial. Zuma has been ducking and diving accountability for years in what has been referred to as a classic Stalingrad defence, but now that his options have run out, Read more >