TI-USA is pleased to announce that Former Senator Richard Lugar received the TI-USA Integrity Award and Fluor received the TI-USA Corporate Leadership Award at the TI-USA Dinner on April 22, 2013.

See Citations Presented:
To Fluor   |   To Richard Lugar

 For additonal information regarding the dinner, click here

 

 

TI-USA proudly honored Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton with the TI-USA Integrity Award in 2012. Watch the Secretary's remarks at the 2012 Integrity Award dinner here.

 

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TI-USA Joins EITI Advisory Committee

 

February 5, 2013 - TI-USA will be one of the civil society participants overseeing the United States' implementation of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI). http://www.doi.gov/EITI/index.cfm  TI-USA Senior Legal Advisor Laurie Sherman has been selected as an alternate member of the multi-stakeholder Advisory Committee created by the U.S. Department of the Interior, which includes representatives from government agencies, industry and civil society.  The EITI is a voluntary, global effort to increase transparency and strengthen the accountability of natural resource revenue reporting.  http://www.eiti.org

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Release of the First Government Defense Anti-Corruption Index

 

January 29, 2013 - The lack of strong anti-corruption controls in the government defense sector is documented for the first time in a report released today by Transparency International UK’s Defence and Security Programme.   The Government Defence Anti-Corruption Index analyzes what 82 countries do to reduce corruption risks.  It shows that 70% of countries accounting for the vast bulk of defense spending do not have systems in place to prevent corruption in their defense and national security spending.  

See TI-USA's full press release.

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Transparency International Releases 2012 Corruption Perceptions Index

 

December 5, 2012 – Transparency International released today the 2012 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), which ranks countries based on how corrupt their public sector is perceived to be.

Denmark, Finland and New Zealand top the rankings. Almost 70% of ranked countries score less than 50, with Somalia, Afghanistan and North Korea tied for last. The U.S. ranks 19th.

Click here to review the full rankings and here to see TI-USA’s press release.

Video of Press Conference, click here

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U.S. FCPA Guidance Issued

November 14, 2012 -The U.S. Department of Justice and Securities Exchange Commission jointly released today A Resource Guide to the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.  The stated goal of the 120 page guide, the preparation of which was announced in November 2011, is to provide useful information regarding the FCPA and United States enforcement efforts to businesses that want to compete fairly in foreign markets.   The Guide is available here on the DOJ’s website.

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Transparency International UK publishes "Defence Companies Anti-Corruption Index 2012"

October 4, 2012 -TI-UK analyzed what the 129 biggest defense companies around the world do and fail to do to prevent corruption.  Overall, the study finds that “two-thirds of the world’s biggest defence companies do not provide enough public evidence about how they fight corruption.” 

Ten companies, including four U.S. companies, score in the top two of the five bands based on information publicly available.    The study also ranks companies based on internal company information provided to TI-UK.  Based on this additional information, many more companies score in the top two bands.  TI-UK recommends that all companies consider making more information publicly available and support industry-wide improvement in ethics and anti-corruption systems.

Claudia Dumas, TI-USA’s President and CEO stated:  “Defense sector corruption threatens everyone, because it is dangerous, divisive and wasteful.  Fighting such corruption will help promote economically vibrant, stable and inclusive societies.”  

Review the full report

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Transparency International Releases its Report on Corporate Transparency

Transparency International published Transparency in Corporate Reporting: An Assessment of the World’s Largest Companies on July 10, 2012. The Report ranks the 105 largest publicly-traded multinational companies in the world by name on the availability on their corporate websites of information concerning: 1)  their anti-corruption programs, 2) identification of all material subsidiaries, affiliates and joint ventures and 3) country-by-country financial reporting.  

Overall, companies showed improvement in their reporting on their anti-corruption programs, compared to a TI study of the same companies from 2008.  U.S. companies scored above average on the availability of information regarding their anti-corruption programs, such as a code of conduct, anti-corruption training for employees, avenues for whistle blowing and program monitoring.  According to the Report, all companies need to do more to increase transparency regarding their organizational structure and financial reporting. 

Review the full report.

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TI-USA Publishes White Paper on Undisclosed Self-Dealing by Public Officials

June 29, 2012 - TI-USA published today a White Paper underscoring the need for a legislative response to a Supreme Court decision (Skilling vs. United States), which limited the application of the Honest Services fraud statute to exclude undisclosed self-dealing by public officials, thus opening a gap in federal criminal law.

In February, TI-USA had called for Congress to pass the Leahy/Cornyn amendment that would have closed the gap, but the amendment was not approved. Read the February statement.

 

                    TI-USA Board News

 

TI-USA welcomes Michael Bailey of Bechtel and Larry Thompson of PepsiCo to the Board of Directors. 

 

Special  Interest to TI

 

TI-USA welcomes the publication of Waging War on Corruption – Inside the Movement Fighting the Abuse of Power  by Frank Vogl, a co-founder of Transparency International and member of TI’s Advisory Council.

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US Development

 

Publish What You Fund Releases 2012 Aid Transparency Index

October 1, 2012 - Publish What You Fund released the 2012 Aid Transparency Index. , which rates the transparency of 72 bi- and multi-lateral donors. While the report found that overall aid transparency has improved compared to 2011, it noted that there is still significant room for improvement. Only two organizations were rated “good”, while the average score was 41 out of 100. The UK’s Department for International Development (DfID) topped the index.

The six U.S. agencies examined in the survey rated from “fair” to “poor”. While the MCC was among the best performers, ranking ninth overall, USAID, PEPFAR and Treasury scored closer to the average (50, 49 and 44 respectively). The State Department and the Department of Defense were both rated “poor” with scores of 31 and 23, respectively.

Read Publish What You Fund’s press release.

 

Read Transparency International-USA’s blog on the 2012 Aid Transparency Index

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On September 19, 2012, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted to send S. 3310, the “Foreign Aid Transparency and Accountability Act of 2012” to the Senate floor for consideration. This is a major step towards greater foreign aid transparency in the United States.

See more from TI-USA on 3310.

OECD

 

Secretary Clinton underscores importance of fighting corruption and commends TI.

• U.S. supports “robust enforcement” of Anti-Bribery Convention and “deepening engagement” with China, India and other emerging.

• Revised Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises updates and expands guidance on internal controls, facilitation payments and agents.

•  TI Reports Foreign Bribery Enforcement Stalled.

•  U.S. Coalition Calls for Action to Stem Bribery & Solicitation:  TI-USA, the AFL-CIO and leading business organizations today called on the Obama Administration to enhance international efforts at the upcoming OECD, G20, APEC, UNCAC and bilateral dialogues to stem bribery and solicitation.

 

DEVELOPMENT & GLOBAL ISSUES

Transparency International issues letter on P4R

February 9, 2012 – Following the approval by the World Bank’s board of the new lending instrument Program for Results (P4R), which will disburse upon achievement of development goals, Transparency International has sent a letter to World Bank Vice-President Joachim von Amsberg. Read the letter.

 

TI-USA in the NEWS

•  TI-USA Board member Ben Heineman on the development of Super PACS and the issues companies face in campaign spending.

•  See TI-USA Board member Michael Hershman CIPE article entitled:  A Decade of Change in the Global Fight Against Corruption

TI-USA’s Civil Society Procurement Monitoring Tool

 

TI-USA has recently completed the Civil Society Procurement Monitoring (CSPM) Tool, a web-based tool that is meant to support Civil Society Organizations and individuals who are engaged in monitoring public procurement.

The tool’s main component is the Monitoring Assistant, an interactive checklist of common red flags of corruption in public procurement. The tool also includes a case study-based Training Module, a Procurement Monitoring Guide, links to useful resources for procurement monitoring, as well as a Learning Community where users can share their procurement monitoring experiences.  

The tool is currently operational and it is free and open for use.  It can be accessed at this Link

CSPM Tool 1-pager

"Exporting Corruption? Country Enforcement of the OECD  Anti-Bribery Convention, Progress Report 2012"

Transparency International (TI) released its eighth annual progress report on the enforcement of the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention today. Click here to read the full report.

At the UN:  Effects of Corruption on Economic Growth

September 24, 2012 - In association with the UN General Assembly meeting, TI-USA’s Claudia Dumas moderated the high-level panel “Strengthening the Rule of Law:  The Fight Against Corruption and Its Impact on Sustainable Economic Growth.” 

The event was hosted by President of Austria Heinz Fischer, President of Estonia Toomas Hendrik Ilves, Japan Foreign Affairs Minister Koichiro Gemba, and Tunisia Foreign Affairs Minister Rafik Abdessalem and included remarks by Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, Jan Eliasson. 

Discussion centered on the detrimental effects of corruption on economic growth, society, and good business, with a report of state and company-level measures to counter corruption.

 

Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA)

Walmart:  TI-USA Board Member Ben Heineman on Walmart's Bribery Scandal.

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TI-USA and a broad Coalition of 32 other civil society organizations sent a letter calling for Congress to refrain from amending the FCPA. Press release.

See TI-USA’s July 2011 Statement on Reform of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

Asset Recovery and Geopolitical Turmoil

 

TI-USA’s Claudia Dumas was featured in “Asset Recovery and Geopolitical Turmoil: Challenges and Implications for the International Community” at The Center for Strategic and International Studies on June 19, 2012.  View the discussion here.

 

APEC Procurement Transparency

TI-USA released reports on implementation of APEC Transparency Standards for Government Procurement concluding that more vigorous government and private sector efforts are needed.  Summary of Findings & Recommendations; Press Release; Reports on, Mexico, Peru, Philippines, Indonesia and Vietnam. Findings from the report were presented at the World Bank Institute.  

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