INTRODUCTION TO CORRUPTION - Reports/Conventions/Books/Essays (Copy)
“Breathing Blue - Art by JULIA VOGL
Anticorruption - Reading Research: Books, Reports, Surveys, Articles.
As of January 1, 2025.
Frank Vogl serves as an adjunct professor teaching a graduate course on 'Corruption, Conflict and Security' at Georgetown University in Washington DC, USA. Below is a selection of reports that may be of interest to students and professionals alike. (In the event that there is difficulty in downloading any of the linked documents, then please contact Frank Vogl at frank@frankvogl.com).
Snapshot - New U.S. Regulations:
Treasury Advances Implementation of Landmark Anti-Money Laundering Regulations for Real Estate Transactions. The Fact Coalition reported - Money laundering through U.S. real estate both “distorts housing prices and threatens U.S. economic and national security,” according to the U.S. Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). On November 12 FinCEN released a draft form that will be used by covered individuals to submit critical information on residential real estate transfers pursuant to recently finalized anti-money laundering regulations. Collected data – including information on the true beneficiaries of covered real estate transactions – will be available to federal, state, and local law enforcement in order to curtail the ability of bad actors to hide ill-gotten gains in U.S. real estate markets. The implementation of Treasury’s real estate rule marks a substantial leap forward for the U.S. anti-money laundering framework, alongside recent progress on ownership transparency for anonymous shell companies and U.S. private investment markets. Reporting under Treasury’s residential real estate rule will begin on December 1, 2025. Comments on the proposed form for covered real estate professionals are due January 13, 2025. Major U.S. legislation:
2021 started with the enactment in the United States of “The Corporate Transparency Act,” which is the landmark anti-money-laundering/beneficial ownership law. It can be found entrenched in the National Defense Authorization Act — see Section 6401, Title LXIV). This resulted in the U.S. Treasury Department finalizing beneficial ownership regulations at the start of 2024, while also preparing new regulations against money laundering related to the real estate and investment advisory industries - more on money-laundering in the section on the topic below. 2024 also started with President Biden signing into law the Foreign Extortion Prevention Act.
Snapshot - Corruption and the Environment:
Over many years, a growing number of national and international civil society organizations have turned their attention to the deep linkages between preserving the environment and corruption threats. This compendium does not include the array of exciting new work in this field, but an introduction is provided by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) - Shining a light on environmental corruption -Crimes like poaching, wildlife trafficking, illegal logging and pirate fishing pose serious threats to nature and people, damaging the environment and undermining local communities and economies.
SOME GOOD BOOKS TO START WITH + TOPICAL INTRODUCTIONS
Foreign Agents - How American Lobbyists And Lawmakers Threaten Democracy Around The World Dirty by Casey Michel, St. Martin’s Press, 2024.
Dirty Entanglements: Corruption, Crime, and Terrorism by Louise Shelley, (2014 - Cambridge University Press, 2014).
Corruption, Contention, and Reform: The Power of Deep Democratization by Michael Johnston (2014 - Cambridge, 2014).
Understanding Corruption- How Corruption Works in Practice by Robert Barrington, Elizabeth David-Barrett, Sam Power and Don Hough (faculty University of Sussex) published by AGENDA, 2022.
AntiCorruption by Robert Rotberg, published by MIT Press, 2020.
The Corruption Cure: How Citizens and Leaders Can Combat Graft by Robert Rotberg, (2019 -Princeton University Press).
Corruption, Global Security, and World Order (2009, Brookings), edited by Robert I Rotberg.
Terrible Humans - The world’s most corrupt super-villains - and the fight to bring them down. By Patrick Alley, published by Monoray, 2024.
Very Bad People - The inside story of the fight against the world’s network of corruption by Patrick Alley, a founder of Global Witness, published by Monoray, 2022.
Invisible Trillions - How financial secrecy is imperiling capitalism and democracy - and the way to renew our broken system by Raymond W. Baker, founder of Global Financial Integrity, published by Barrett-Koehler, 2023.
FINANCIAL EXPOSURE -Carl Levin’s Senate Investigations Into Finance and Tax Abuse - by Elise J. Bean, published by Palgrave Macmillan2018.
Citizens Against Corruption – Report from the Front Line by Pierre Landell-Mills (2013, PTF/Matador)
Supporting Nonviolent Action and Movements - A Guide for International Actors - by Shaazka Beyerle, published by the United States Institute of Peace Press, 2023.
Global Corruption: Money, Power and Ethics in the Modern World by Laurence Cockcroft (2012- University of Pennsylvania Press)
Corruption and Government: Causes, Consequences, and Reform, by Susan Rose-Ackerman and Bonnie J. Palifka, Cambridge University Press.
USAID’s “Dekleptification Guide - Seizing Windows of Opportunity To Dismantle Kleptocracy.”
More books and Key Essays —-
Thirty Years of Anti-Corruption: A Personal Reflection Journalist and activist John Githongo reflects on the shifting story of anti-corruption in Africa, from Western models to new agendas. Published by The Elephant, February 2024.
DEFENDING TRANSPARENCY - An Advocates Guide To Countering Defence Corruption. Transparency International Defence and Security Department. June 2024.
The Quest for Good Governance - How Societies Develop Control of Corruption, by Alina Munglu-Pippidi, Cambridge University Press.
Analysing Corruption: An Introduction, by Dan Hough (Agenda UK & Columbia University Press, 20`17).
Dark Commerce: How A New Illicit Economy Is Threatening Our Future by Louise I. Shelley (2018 - Princeton University Press)
Corruption, Global Security, and World Order edited by Robert Rotberg (2009, Brookings)
Unmasked - Corruption in the West by Laurence Cockcroft and Anne-Christine Wegener (I.B. Taurus, 2016)
Waging War on Corruption - Inside the Movement Fighting the Abuse of Power by Frank Vogl (Roman & Littlefield, updated paperback edition 2016)
Essay by Laura Underkuffler, J. DuPratt White Professor of Law, Cornell University Law School – Chapter Two in Corruption, Global Security, and World Order (2009, Brookings), edited by Robert I Rotberg.
Bribes: The Intellectual History of a Moral Idea, by John Noonan (1984, Diane Publishing Company).
“The Mueller Report” - 2019, US Special Counsel.
“Against Corruption: A collection of essays,” Prime Minister’s Office, May 12, 2016 (published at the time of the London anti-corruption summit).
“Authoritarian Weaknesses and the Pandemic, “ by Thomas Carothers and David Wong, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, August 11, 2020.
World Bank President James Wolfensohn “The Cancer of Corruption” 1997.
Global Corruption - an introduction, Frank Vogl, The Encyclopedia of Business and Professional Ethics (the full text can be provided by the author upon request).
Lord Acton - Letter to Bishop Mandell Creighton, April 5, 1887, published in Historical Essays and Studies, edited by J. N. Figgis and R. V. Laurence (London: Macmillan, 1907).
The New Clash of Civilizations — Senator Whitehouse/General Petraeus, Washington Post
CONVENTIONS & OFFICIAL PLEDGES
Corruption is one of the gravest threats to human rights and to everything that the world community has understood over the last 70 years by these rights - The United Nations Declaration of Human Rights
Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Consolidated Country Ratings - February 2024.
OECD Convention Against Bribery and OECD Corruption website.
OECD Anti-Corruption and Integrity Hub and OECD Convention Ratification Report.
London Summit - Communique - May 2016. And, Declaration. Final statements by the United States, by the United Kingdom, by Nigeria, and by Afghanistan.
UK - Rebuilding trust in politics and restoring integrity in public life A joint briefing by Spotlight on Corruption and Transparency International -UK.
2016 IMF anti-corruption framework. 2018 Final IMF Framework.
Civil Society Engagement in the Summit for Democracy- What Does Online Data Show? - AccountabilityLab.
Summit for Democracy - Cohort Illicit Finance and Kleptocracy.
White House Fact Sheet on Anti-Corruption, December 2023.
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GENERAL BACKGROUND INFORMATION
20 Years of Transparency International - Video Discussion about IMPUNITY - moderated by TI co-founder Kamal Hossain.
20 Years of TYransparency International - Video Discussion about Eliminating Poverty - moderated by TI co-founder Laurence Cockcroft.
TRANSPARENCY INTERNATIONAL’S Global Strategy Against Corruption 2021-2030.
Partnering with Civil Society - Advocating for new approaches to working with CSOs by the World Bank Group - A Partnership for Transparency Fund 2024 report.
IMF - FISCAL MONITOR ON CORRUPTION - April 2019.
“Anonymous Companies” - FACT Coalition 2019 report, author David Luna.
Combatting Global Corruption: A Bipartisan Plan - A report by TI-USA.
OECD Secretary-General, March 28, 2018 - 2018 OECD Global Anti-Corruption & Integrity Forum: Planet Integrity: Building a Fairer Society. OECD on governance.
On Combatting Corruption and Fostering Integrity, OECD, 2017
Corruption, Greed, Culture and the State - Professor Susan Rose-Ackermann.
What We Talk About When We Talk About Corruption - Professor Robert Klitgaard
Culture, Crime, Corruption and Conflict - George Mason University
Open Contracting Partnership - Public Procurement Strategy 2024-2030.
Is The U.S. Giving Up On Supporting Democracy Abroad? - Thomas Carothers.
Can We Make Anticorruption Sustainable? - Delia Ferreira Rubio
U4 Reports - Anticorruption Commissions.
How Should We Combat Corruption? Lessons from Theory and Practice - Gillian Brock.
Civil Society Engagement and Governance - PTF report 2019.
Authoritarianism and Corruption - Clay Fuller, AEI, 2019.
International Corruption Defined - by Lawrence Lessig.
Abigail Bellows: “Ten Ways Washington Can Combat Corruption,” published by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
Partnership for Transparency Fund report - Partnering with Civil Society for Citizen-Driven Country Engagement, Delivery, and Accountability in IDA- and IBRD-Financed Operations
Research reports by assorted NGOs - Global Integrity Anti-Corruption Evidence (GI-ACE) Research Programme.
MEASURING CORRUPTION
Measuring Corruption - by Heinrich and Hodess.
Guide to institutions measuring corruption and/or governance.
Uses of Open Data for Accountability and Corruption- report by Global Integrity.
Reports on measuring corruption by the International Anti-Corruption Academy.
Indexes and Data Reports
Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index 2023 - published, January 2024.
The Corruption Risk Forecast - developed by Professor Alina Munglu-Pippidi.
World Bank - World Governance Indicators. And, Introducing/explaining the World Bank indicators by its authors.
Democracy Index 2023 - published by the Economist Intelligence Unit, February 2024.
Freedom in the World 2023 - Freedom House.
Global Peace Index 2023 - Institute for Peace.
Rule of Law Index 2023 - World Justice Project.
World Press Freedom Index 2023 - from Reporters Without Borders.
The CPA-Zicklin Index 2023 benchmarks the political disclosure and accountability policies and practices of leading U.S. public companies.
Public procurement - Open Contracting Partnership –“Why government contracting matters.”
Anti-Money Laundering Index 2023 - Basel Institute for Governance.
Ibrahim Index of African Governance. And, from the Mo Ibrahim Foundation - Assessing progress after the first decade (2014-2023) of Agenda 2063
TI Global Corruption Barometer.- regional reports.
Financial Secrecy Index 2022 - Tax Justice Network.
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ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING, BANKING, REAL ESTATE, and ART.
The State of Financial Crime 2024 - a report by Complyadvantage.com.
Tackling Illicit Financial Flows in Africa - UNCTAD Report
2020 Corruption Transparency Act approved by U.S. Congress - landmark beneficial ownership law. FACT Coalition report and links.
UK Government - National risk assessment of money laundering and terrorist financing 2020. And UK Government’s Anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism: Supervision Report 2020-22.
Illicit Financial Flows - report from Global Financial Integrity. And, review key issues at GFI.
Trillion Dollar Scandal - ONE organization.
Financial Action Task Force - Special Recommendations on Terrorist Financing.
UK Sanctions Policy - UK Parliament Report 2019
ICIJ/Buzzfeed - the FincCen Files, 2020.
Real estate 2018 conference report - TRAC/George Mason University.
Corporate crime gap - Corruption Watch UK 2019
Panama Papers - charges from US Justice December 2018.
ICIJ - Panama Papers and Paradise Papers.
Canada - Approval of Corporate Financial Law
US Treasury - U.S. Beneficial Ownership Information Registry Now Accepting Reports - January 2024.
US Treasury - Fact Sheet on regulations on beneficial ownership, real estate, investment advisors - February 2024.
Asset recovery U.S. proposed bill 2019.
LAWYERS - Guardians of the Rule of Law or Professional Enablers? By Professor Robert Barrington.
Art Market Corruption and Sanctions - US Senate Sub-Committee on Investigations, 2020.
“To Catch a Kleptocrat” - French cases, NED report 2019.
TI overview report on Integrity in Banks.
Global Wealth Report 2019 - Boston Consulting Group.
US Senate report on HSBC and money laundering and see the US Republican House Financial Services report on "Too Big to Jail."
Financial Transparency - Raymond Baker, GFI President.
US General Accountability Office 2024 - ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING Better Information Needed on Effectiveness of Federal Efforts
*Eliminating Large Denomination $ and Euro notes - Peter Sands.
Keeping Foreign Corruption Out of the United States - 2010 Report from the US Senate's Committee on Investigations.
Tax Abuses and Human Rights - the International Bar Association.
Grave Secrecy - Global Witness.
Keeping Foreign Corruption Out of the United States - report by U.S. Senate committee and Opening Statement by Senator Carl Levin.
HSBC and Dirty Money - International Consortium of Investigative Journalists.
HSBC - US charges December 2012 & US Senate investigation report
The Azerbaijani Laundromat by OCCCP.
1MDB - the charges against Goldman, Sachs - US Justice October 22, 2020.
U.S. Justice et al final 1MDB settlement - October 22, 2020.
Goldman, Sachs settles with Malaysia, July 2020.
U.S. lifts sanctions on EN+ - January 27, 2019. New York Times - Deripaska and Sanctions - November 14, 2018. And, also: Politico, Rusal invests in Kentucky, August 2, 2019.
The US Treasury’s Oleg Deripaska letter of January 22, 2020 (The Financial Times, February 2020.)
Glencore Enters Guilty Pleas - U.S. Justice.
Global Witness "Undercover" investigates lawyers in New York City - CBS 60 Minutes - based on investigations by Global Witness.
World Bank - Stolen Asset Recovery Initiative - Watch List.
Art Market Corruption and Sanctions - US Senate Sub-Committee on Investigations, 2020.
The Costs of Luxury - Global Witness.
CONFLICT and SECURITY
Committing to Combat Kleptocracy: A Guide for OGP Members
Jodi Vittori
People Power Under Attack 2023 - A Report By CIVICUS.
“State capture and development: a conceptual framework,” article by Professor Elizabeth Dávid-Barrett, Director Centre for the Study of Corruption, University of Sussex.
Sir Paul Collier on New Rules for Rebuilding a Broken Nation - his TED talk.
Commission on Fragile States 2018 - "Escaping the Fragility Trap."
World Military Expenditures - SIPRI 2023.
CIVICUS - Closing space for civil society - Overview 2018; and 2017 Annual Report.
Closing Space: Democracy and Human Rights - Carnegie.
Transparency International Defense & Security reports: Understanding the relationship between corruption and security: The Fifth Column; Addressing Corruption Threats in International Interventions; in fragile states - Mission Made Possible. And, TI Global Standards for Responsible Defence.
Terrorism - some U.S. Government cases/examples: Illicit Russia-Iran Oil Network Supporting the Assad Regime, Hizballah, and HAMAS, November 20, 2018. Also, Indictment of KASSIM TAJIDEEN – court documents of March 2017, U.S. Justice Department. And, also: US Department of Justice: “Lebanese Businessman Tied by Treasury Department to Hezbollah.”Pleads Guilty to Money Laundering Conspiracy in Furtherance of Violations of U.S. Sanctions,” December 6, 2018.
Corruption Risks - UN Peacekeeping — TI-UK - 2019
March of the Four–Stars: The Role of Retired Generals and Admirals in the Arms Industry - A Quincy Institute report.
The arms trade - video with Andrew Feinstein.
World Peace Foundation, Fletcher School at Tufts University - Global Arms Trade and Corruption
Kleptocratic Regimes and National Security - conference report published by TRACC - also see news updates from the Terrorism, Transnational Crime and Corruption Center at George Mason University.
“Introduction to the Compendium of Arms Trade Corruption,” World Peace Foundation.
Andrew Feinstein - Shadow World and other Arms Industry Investigations.
Shadow World Investigations - Corruption Tracker.
Integrity in State-building - OECD by Karen Hussman.
Case example - Bahrain & Security, article by Jodi Vittori, Carnegie Endowment, 2019.
The Golden Passport - Global Mobility for Millionaires by Kristin Surak, published by Harvard University Press.
Inside the Murky World of Golden Visas - Transparency International.
JOINING FORCES - What the corrupt have to fear when journalists and civil society activists come together. TI research by Matthew Jenkins.
SANCTIONS: Neither War Nor Peace (a historical perspective).
The International Working Group on Russian Sanctions - Stanford University.
Sanctions Programs and Country Information - Office of Foreign Assets Control, US Treasury.
“Thirty-seven economies grant women less than half of the legal rights of men to the detriment of half a billion women.”
CORRUPTION, HUMAN SECURITY, RIGHTS, JUSTICE, GENDER, ENVIRONMENT, HEALTH.
Corruption as an International Crime Against Humanity - Ilias Bantekis.
Using American Art to Finance Terrorism. Prosecution by US Justice.
Human trafficking & corruption - PTF forum event.
Sextortion overview - from the International Association of Women Judges.
“Sextortion - Covert Corruption - A Case Study of Bosnia and Herzegovina.”
BBC EYE ON AFRICA Sex for Grades: Undercover inside Nigerian and Ghanaian universities
PTF/UNA-NCA global forum on Sextortion - recorded event and background reports.
-Women, Business and the Law - 2024 report.
Facts and figures: Ending Violence Against Women - United Nations.
Building a Coordinated Response to Prevent and Reduce Gender-Based Violence (GBV) in Kishangarh Block, Ajmer, Rajasthan India - a PTF-supported project.
“Sexual Corruption in Schools and Universities” A survey by Transparency International Madagascar.
The Case for an International Anti-Corruption Court - Judge Wolf.
Fighting Grand Corruption: Challenges and Successes - Transparency International.
Making Anti-Corruption Agencies More Effective” - Jeremy Pole & Frank Vogl, IMF/Finance & Development.
Why Anti-Corruption Reforms Fail - Anna Persson, Bro Rothstein, Jan Teorell.
Anti-Corruption Agencies - Transparency International
Stimulating the Demand for Good Governance - Partnership for Transparency Fund
Corruption and Education - Global Corruption Report 2013
Fighting Corruption to Advance 21st Century Health Goals - BMC Medicine journal 2016.
Corruption in the Procurement of Pharmaceuticals and Medical Equipment in China: The Incentives Facing Multinationals, Domestic Firms and Hospital Officials - Susan Rose Ackerman, Yale Law School, 2015.
Results Not Receipts - by Charles Kenny, Center for Global Development.
A Theory of Limits on Corruption - by M. S. Alam.
“Tillerson says goodbye to human rights diplomacy” – article by Brookings Institution Senior Fellow Ted Piccone, May 5, 2017.
CSOs Fighting for Integrity, Richard Holloway.
International Corruption Hunters Alliance 2023 Forum.
Environment
“Corruption and climate change: the key to the past and the fight for the future,” paper by Dr Ketakandriana Rafitoson and François Valérian.
OECD Wildlife and Corruption report 2018. Published by Princeton University Press.
*EIA - The Environmental Investigation Agency - Exposing bad actors/forestry.
* Money Logging – On The Trail of the Asian Timber Mafia, by Lukas Straumann, Bergli Books, 2014.
“Uncovering The Risks of Corruption In The Forestry Sector” - Interpol
COVID-19 - response by the Partnership for Transparency Fund.
Anti-Corruption Rapid Response: What We Can Learn from the COVID-19 Crisis - A CIPE report.
Many organizations have published on aspects of the 2020/2021 Covid-19 pandemic - excellent articles and web-panels, for example, can be found at the Center for International Private Enterprise’s Anti-Corruption Center (CIPE).
Polypandemic -Munich Security Report Special Edition on Development, Fragility, and Conflict in the Era of Covid-19
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BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS and SPORTS
Power Without Responsibility - The state of senior executive accountability for economic crime in the UK today - a report by Spotlight on Corruption.
Illicit Trade - the Dark Side - report by the International Coalition Against Illicit Economies.
Center for International Private Enterprise - Strengthening Ethical Conduct and Business Integrity - Business Guide for Business in Emerging Markets (2020, CIPE).
European Investment Bank - Guidance note for EIB Standard on Stakeholder Engagement in the EIB Operations - (2020, EIB).
Transparency International - Exporting Corruption: Progress Report 2022.
The "Volcker Report" on the World Bank's anti-corruption performance, 2007.
Removing Impediments to Sustainable Development - by Augusto López Claros.
Frank Vogl CIVICUS 2017 essay on civil society, business and corruption
World Economic Forum - Building Foundations Against Corruption.
Shell Corporate Code of Conduct - see section 3 on corruption
International Anti-Corruption Center’s Guide to Combating Corruption and Fraud in Development Projects.
Deutsche Bank SEC Russia/China 2019.
Walmart pays bribes.
Law firm Sherman & Sterling settles Justice Depart Ukraine case.
Incentives Facing Multinationals, Domestic Firms and Hospital Officials,” Professor Susan Rose-Ackerman and Yinqui Tan, Yale Law School, 2015.
Helsinki Commission - US Foreign Extortion Prevention Act.
Sports - Global Corruption Report -2016 - Transparency International.
The US Department of Justice prosecutes FIFA. May 2015.
and November 15 FIFA charges.
* OECD - Multistake Task Forces Established. Also see Europol.
SOME REGIONAL ISSUES - This is a small selection of reports and landmark issues.
NORTH AMERICA
Corruption in America - from Benjamin Franklin's Snuff Box to Citizens United --author Zephyr Teachout, Harvard.
Thomas Mann & Norman Ornstein - "Its Even Worse Than It Looks " Perseus Press.
Democracy Policy Under Biden: Confronting a Changed World - Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, by THOMAS CAROTHERS, FRANCES Z. BROWN, February 2024.
$355 billion fraud ruling against Donald Trump - Judge Engoron February 2024.
Report of Special Counsel Robert Mueller (Redacted) - April 2019.
Senator Elizabeth Warren, 2018 - "Anti-Corruption & Public Integrity Act."
US - HR.1. ethics in government proposed legislation January 2019, and civil society endorsements.
Issue One “Dark Money Illuminated” - 2018 report, U.S. political cash.
See Center for Public Integrity reports - e.g. 2017 By the Numbers - Money and Politics.
Senator Bernie Sanders - Getting Money Out of Politics.
CREW - Court Complaint Regarding President Trump & the “Emoluments Clause.”
TI-Canada — White Paper: Bringing A 'Failure To Prevent' Offence To Canada To Help Counter Corruption!
EUROPE
Turkey - U.S. case against Turkey’s Halbank.
Transparency International EU reports - e.g. INTEGRITY WATCH.
The Fight Against Corruption in Europe - GRECO- website -
Maltese state found responsible for preventable death - Report - March 2024
Serious Fraud Squad Director’s Views - 2024
AZERBAIJAN, UKRAINE AND RUSSIA
Aliyev Empire
Aliyev Empire - A Sentry Report 2024 - Two sisters, 148 companies, a $13 billion fortune.
Reports by TI Ukraine.Ukraine - 2014 in graphics/data - background article from The Economist.
Looting Ukraine - report from the Lagatum Institute, July 2014.
February 2019, Constitutional Court Ruling - Ukraine.
Privatbank/Ukraine - and U.S. real estate - Justice Department, August 6, 2020.
The Guardian, November 2020 - Nevalny Poisoning & EU Sanctions.
“Putin. Corruption. An independent white paper,” Moscow 2011, by V.Milov, B. Nemtsov, V. Ryzhkov, O. Shorina.
Countering Russian Kleptocracy and other reports from the Kleptocracy Initiative at the Hudson Institute.
Russia - Money Laundering Playbook.
Wilson Center – “The Piratization of Russia…”
How the U.S. Can Combat Russia's Kleptocracy, Anders Aslund, Atlantic Council.
Russian Kleptocracy - Testimony to US Congress by Charles Davidson.
Excellent books on corruption and Russia include:
- The late Professor Karen Dawisha’s landmark study – “Putin’s Kleptocracy – Who Owns Russia?” published in 2014 by Simon and Schuster.
- Putin’s People – “How The KGB Took Back Russia And Then Took On The West” by Catherine Belton, published in 2020 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
- Also see the numerous studies by the Hudson Institute’s Kleptocracy Initiative, including: “How non-State Actors Export Kleptocratic Norms to the West,” by Ilya Zaslavsky, published in 2017.
- Another important perspective on this issue is featured in the official report of the UK’s Parliamentary Intelligence and Security Committee, titled “Russia” and published in July 2020.
- See also, the report by the Center for International and Strategic Studies, “THE KREMLIN PLAYBOOK 2: The Enablers,” project directors Heather A. Conley and Ruslan Stefanov and their co-authors, Donatienne Ruy and Martin Vladimirov. Published by Rowman and Littlefield, March 2019.
- and:
- Russia's Crony Capitalism The Path from Market Economy to Kleptocracy - Anders Åslund - Yale University Press
AFRICA
* Mo Ibrahim Foundation Index of African Governance 2024.
* THE SENTRY - review of its report on the Wagner Group and the Central African Republic.
*Kleptocratic Cooperation in Africa: How Russia and China Undermine Democracy. Amaris Rancy. National Endowment for Democracy. 2023.
* Zondo Commission, South Africa - Summary. * Good Governance in Sub-Saharan Africa - IMF report
*Diagnosing Corruption in Ethiopia - Perceptions, Realities, and the Way Forward for Key Sectors. Janelle Plummer, Editor. World Bank publications.
*African Progress Panel 2013 report - an excellent analysis of causes of absolute poverty in the resource-rich countries of sub-Saharan Africa.
* A Decade of African Governance 2006-2015 - Report, Index (Mo Ibrahim Foundation) & Press Release
* LOOPHOLE MASTERS: HOW ENABLERS FACILITATE ILLICIT FINANCIAL FLOWS FROM AFRICA
* African Barometer 2015 - a comprehensive survey of the impact of corruption on Africans.
* Corruption: Myths & Realities by Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala at the Center for Global Development, June 2007.
* Return of the Blood Diamond - Global Witness updates its landmark investigations.
* The Resource Curse - an analysis of the real costs of extractives.
*South Sudan - Report 2020 by The Sentry and Press Conference by Geoge Clooney.
* Mozambique - US Justice brings corruption charges in 2019.
*South Africa - “State of Capture”
* Congo - report by the Sentry. Also see editorial in The Economist.
* Egypt: Background and US Relations - US Congressional Research Service.
* Nigeria - Sarah Chayes of the Carnegie Endowment analyzes corruption and security.
* Africa Between Hope and Despair - by David Piling, Financial Times, 2016.
*“All The President’s Wealth – The Kabila Family Business.”
*Genocide - Review of the 2016 book by Professor Scott Straus.
MIDDLE EAST & OIL + Natural Resources
* EITI Chair Helen Clark at Davos: Inclusive governance is needed in the energy transition
* 2019 TI Barometer Middle East and North Africa
* Diagnosing Corruption in the Extractive Sector: A Tool for Research and Action - The Natural Resource Governance Institute.
* "Blood Oil" - book review.
*U4 -Overview of Saudi Arabian Oil Corruption.
* Saudi Oil - A Financial Times analysis 2016.
* The Political Economy of Natural Resources - Paul Collier.
*The Natural Resources Governance Index 2021.
*Global Witness report - finding the missing millions.
*Rijkers, Freund and Nucifora, March 2014 – “All in the Family State Capture in Tunisia,”
*PWP - Decries SEC ruling on extractives transparency (1504) - December 16, 2020.
*EIA - The Environmental Investigation Agency - Exposing bad actors/forestry.
* OPL 245: Shell and Eni's Nigeria Deal - Global Witness investigations.
*EIA - The Environmental Investigation Agency - Exposing bad actors/forestry.
* Money Logging – On The Trail of the Asian Timber Mafia, by Lukas Straumann, Bergli Books, 2014.
LATIN AMERICA
What Does an Arévalo Presidency in Guatemala Mean for Latin America? - Inter-American Dialogue.
Ushering in a New Period: Bernardo Arévalo’s Opportunities and Challenges to Restoring Democracy in Guatemala - by Ana María Méndez Dardón - WOLA.
Guatemala Report - Center for American Progress - a case study on promoting the prosecution of corruption crimes in a very difficult environment.
Honduras Needs an International Mechanism to Address Corruption by Ana María Méndez Dardón - WOLA.
The International Commission - Guatemala - an analysis of what has been achieved by the International Crisis Group.
CCIG Commission closes - WOLA looks at its 10-year record.
The Pattern of Great Corruption in Venezuela - TI Venezuela
When Corruption is the Operating System: The Case of Honduras - Sarah Chayes.
Brazil Supreme Court Minister Attacks Transparency International’s Brazil Chapter - February 2024.
Amazon Underworld: Crime and Corruption in the Shadows of the World’s Largest Rainforest - The Pulitzer Center.
Odebrecht scandal – Is it only the tip of the iceberg for Latin America? - an FDI report.
The U.S. Justice Department's case against Odebrecht.
Latin America Under New Management - report from The Financial Times.
video - Brazil's Judge Moro at the Wilson Center's Brazil Institute, July 2016.
Argentina: Jumping Into Unchartered Territory - A WOLA report as Mile is elected.
The Election of Javier Milei and Opportunities for Geopolitical Re-alignment – CSIS reports.
Top Challenges in the Fight Against Corruption in Mexico in 2024 - Holland & Knight
Mexico’s Corruption Crisis – The Wilson Center.
Inter-American Dialogue - "Beyond the Scandals."
ASIA
PTF's CARTA Program for monitoring development in Nepal and Bangladesh. Also, see CARTA web.
Citizens Against Corruption - India - PTF.
High-Level Launch of the Civil Society Governance Diagnostic Report on Sri Lanka -2023.
“Xi Jinping: The Backlash,” By Richard McGregor, Penguin Specials/Lowy Institute 2019
China’s Belt and Road and foreign sovereign lending - Kiel Institute.
EVERYTHING EVERWHERE - ALL AT ONCE - a King’s College Report on China’s Belt and Road p[program.
*See the annual corruption survey and annual Afghan survey, as well as other anti-corruption research at The Asia Foundation.
Indo-Pacific Regional Summit for Democracy, Seoul, Korea, March 27, 2023 – statement by the region’s Transparency International national chapters.
Understanding President XI's anti-corruption drive in China - The Conversation.
Prof. Andrew Wederman -Congress - China corruption.
Perspectives on corruption in Bangladesh - see TI reports.
Malaysia's 1MDB scandal - the U.S. Justice Department's case.
see more on Malaysia and 1MDB under money-laundering above.
AFGHANISTAN and IRAQ
What We Need to Learn: Hard Lessons from 20 Years of Afghan Reconstruction - SIGAR, August 2021.
Iraq - hard Lessons from Reconstruction Experience - the 2009 report from the US Special Inspector General.
“Afghanistan’s Illicit Networks,” report from the Atlantic Council, July 2020 – by Harris Samad and Fatima Salman.
Afghanistan - Testimony to the US Congress by the Special Inspector General, April 2016.
US Special Inspector General's 1st Quarter 2016 Afghan report, and its April 2018 special report on the World Bank and Afghanistan; and website.
Corruption in Conflict: Lessons Learned from the U.S. Experience in Afghanistan - a report from the U.S. Special Inspector General for Afghanistan, September 2016.
Culture, Corruption, Crime, and Conflict - Eric B. Johnson, Transnational Crime and Corruption, George Mason University.
SIGAR - updates on Afghanistan corruption.
July 2019 SIGAR quarterly report.
Independent Joint Anti-Corruption Monitoring and Evaluation Committee, regular reports, MEC Afghanistan.
UNODC 2018 Afghan Opium Survey - Also: U.S. Department of State, Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs International Narcotics Control Strategy Report, Volume I, Drug and Chemical Control. March 2018. Also, May 2019 CSIS report And, also a 2016 study from the Brookings Institution
Transparency International, Defence & Security, report: “Corruption Risks and UN Peace Operations,” July 2019.
Some key books that provide context and detail on the U.S. engagement in Afghanistan and the key issues of governance and corruption include: “Directorate S – The CIA and America’s Secret Wars in Afghanistan and Pakistan,” by Steve Coll, Penguin Press, Carlotta Gall - “The Wrong Enemy: America in Afghanistan, 2001-2014;” Joshua Partlow’s “A Kingdom of Their Own – The Family Karzai And The Afghan Disaster;” and, Sarah Chayes’s “Thieves of State – Why Corruption Threatens Global Security.”
For topical articles on many of the above topics please see "blogs" on this website.