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Corruption - A crime against society
Corruption is often thought of as an economic or “white collar crime” that affects all regions of the world and all levels of society. But according to the World Bank estimate (2004), the impact is greatest in developing countries. ‘Every year, developing countries lose USD 50 million to 100 million through corrupt acts. Corruption undermines political, social and economic stability and damages trust in institutions and authorities. It also fuels transnational crime. Terrorists and organised criminals are aided in their illegal activities by the complicity of corrupt public officials. Corruption is of particular concern for the world’s police and judicial systems, as corruption in one country can compromise an entire international investigation.’
That ignores the greater implications of corruption, the abuse of power at the expense of the many, which perpetuates social injustice and the exploitation of the vulnerable: denial of healthcare, education, economic opportunity and justice, as well as preventing the holding to account of leaders for the theft of resources. Such is the human cost of corruption –the denial of access to public services, to economic opportunity, to a voice and to justice– that it cannot be seen as anything but a criminal act of whom the victim is society at large: in short, a crime against society.
Forceful campaign
Mauritius stood at 39th, tied with South Korea and behind Bhutan, in Transparency International’s 2010 Corruption Perceptions Index list of 178 countries, scoring 5.4 on a scale of zero to 10, with 10 indicating the lowest levels of corruption. Its score decreased from 5.6 in 2008 and 5.5 in 2009.
According to figures from the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission, the number of violators of the public servants’ ethics code has continued to increase.
South Korea, who tied with Mauritius, has in fact undergone much change after a forceful campaign by President Lee focusing on the need not to neglect values and ethics and moral integrity in spite of performance and accomplishment.
As a vibrant example, President Lee told the story of a “workplace inspector suspected of taking bribes from companies who was called on by a police investigator and tried to bribe him with an envelope of cash only to be caught red-handed early this year.
When police later raided the Seoul branch office of the Employment and Labour Ministry, where the inspector surnamed Park worked, they found a bundle of envelopes packed with banknotes in the desk drawer of one of Park’s colleagues. All seven officials at Park’s division are now being investigated on suspicion of being lavishly entertained and receiving money in exchange for turning a blind eye to labour standards violations at workplaces. With a string of corruption cases springing up, President Lee Myung-bak has come forward to advertise them and issue warnings against public servants.
In India, anti corruption watchdog, Transparency International India (TII), has condemned the arrest of Anna Hazare, Arvind Kejriwal and other members of ‘India Against Corruption’, in the middle of this month.
Police arrested him on the grounds that he was about to commit a cognisable offence but in a sudden turn of events the government decided to release him after protests erupted across the country against its action.
Terming the arrest, ‘unconstitutional and a violation of civil liberties of ordinary citizens of the country,’ TII Executive Director, Anupama Jha said, “Government has not been able to check rising corruption in the country and is trying to muzzle the voice of those who raise their voice against corruption. This is undemocratic and unjust to the people of this nation”, she said.
Corruption is a crime recognised by international law. The UN Convention against Corruption is a model for national anti-corruption legislation. It defines criminal corrupt acts such as bribery and allows countries to exchange information and provide mutual assistance to bring such criminal acts to justice. OECD countries, meanwhile, are committed to enforcing criminal sanctions for the bribery of foreign officials.
‘Governments have a duty under international law to tackle this crime, but many are in default.’ At the height of the financial crisis in 2009, the G20 promised to tackle bank secrecy and tax havens, but little is done to control whether tax havens actually provide information and legal assistance to tax authorities. ‘Governments are required to pursue enhanced due diligence on “Politically Exposed Persons” regardless of whether they hold an office or have fallen in disgrace.’ In June, the UK Financial Services Authority issued a report warning that less than half of UK banks do this.
rogue states
Tens of billions of Libyan assets have been frozen throughout western economies. Switzerland alone says that it has frozen US$ 1 billion of assets from North African countries, the UNCC reports.
Transparency International France has spent years in French courts trying to get Congolese, Equatorial Guinean, Tunisian leaders’ assets frozen and investigated.
These “rogue states” are putting profit before integrity.
But experts note that a simple anticorruption drive may not be sufficient to root out corruption, suggesting more concrete and practical measures. Corruption is a crime against society, it is time governments started to treat it that way.
Corruption - A crime against society
Corruption is often thought of as an economic or “white collar crime” that affects all regions of the world and all levels of society. But according to the World Bank estimate (2004), the impact is greatest in developing countries. ‘Every year, developing countries lose USD 50 million to 100 million through corrupt acts. Corruption undermines political, social and economic stability and damages trust in institutions and authorities. It also fuels transnational crime. Terrorists and organised criminals are aided in their illegal activities by the complicity of corrupt public officials. Corruption is of particular concern for the world’s police and judicial systems, as corruption in one country can compromise an entire international investigation.’
That ignores the greater implications of corruption, the abuse of power at the expense of the many, which perpetuates social injustice and the exploitation of the vulnerable: denial of healthcare, education, economic opportunity and justice, as well as preventing the holding to account of leaders for the theft of resources. Such is the human cost of corruption –the denial of access to public services, to economic opportunity, to a voice and to justice– that it cannot be seen as anything but a criminal act of whom the victim is society at large: in short, a crime against society.
Forceful campaign
Mauritius stood at 39th, tied with South Korea and behind Bhutan, in Transparency International’s 2010 Corruption Perceptions Index list of 178 countries, scoring 5.4 on a scale of zero to 10, with 10 indicating the lowest levels of corruption. Its score decreased from 5.6 in 2008 and 5.5 in 2009.
According to figures from the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission, the number of violators of the public servants’ ethics code has continued to increase.
South Korea, who tied with Mauritius, has in fact undergone much change after a forceful campaign by President Lee focusing on the need not to neglect values and ethics and moral integrity in spite of performance and accomplishment.
As a vibrant example, President Lee told the story of a “workplace inspector suspected of taking bribes from companies who was called on by a police investigator and tried to bribe him with an envelope of cash only to be caught red-handed early this year.
When police later raided the Seoul branch office of the Employment and Labour Ministry, where the inspector surnamed Park worked, they found a bundle of envelopes packed with banknotes in the desk drawer of one of Park’s colleagues. All seven officials at Park’s division are now being investigated on suspicion of being lavishly entertained and receiving money in exchange for turning a blind eye to labour standards violations at workplaces. With a string of corruption cases springing up, President Lee Myung-bak has come forward to advertise them and issue warnings against public servants.
In India, anti corruption watchdog, Transparency International India (TII), has condemned the arrest of Anna Hazare, Arvind Kejriwal and other members of ‘India Against Corruption’, in the middle of this month.
Police arrested him on the grounds that he was about to commit a cognisable offence but in a sudden turn of events the government decided to release him after protests erupted across the country against its action.
Terming the arrest, ‘unconstitutional and a violation of civil liberties of ordinary citizens of the country,’ TII Executive Director, Anupama Jha said, “Government has not been able to check rising corruption in the country and is trying to muzzle the voice of those who raise their voice against corruption. This is undemocratic and unjust to the people of this nation”, she said.
Corruption is a crime recognised by international law. The UN Convention against Corruption is a model for national anti-corruption legislation. It defines criminal corrupt acts such as bribery and allows countries to exchange information and provide mutual assistance to bring such criminal acts to justice. OECD countries, meanwhile, are committed to enforcing criminal sanctions for the bribery of foreign officials.
‘Governments have a duty under international law to tackle this crime, but many are in default.’ At the height of the financial crisis in 2009, the G20 promised to tackle bank secrecy and tax havens, but little is done to control whether tax havens actually provide information and legal assistance to tax authorities. ‘Governments are required to pursue enhanced due diligence on “Politically Exposed Persons” regardless of whether they hold an office or have fallen in disgrace.’ In June, the UK Financial Services Authority issued a report warning that less than half of UK banks do this.
rogue states
Tens of billions of Libyan assets have been frozen throughout western economies. Switzerland alone says that it has frozen US$ 1 billion of assets from North African countries, the UNCC reports.
Transparency International France has spent years in French courts trying to get Congolese, Equatorial Guinean, Tunisian leaders’ assets frozen and investigated.
These “rogue states” are putting profit before integrity.
But experts note that a simple anticorruption drive may not be sufficient to root out corruption, suggesting more concrete and practical measures. Corruption is a crime against society, it is time governments started to treat it that way.
Source- World Bank
Transparency International
UN Convention against Corruption
Transparency International
UN Convention against Corruption
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