“Faulty Towers: Understanding the impact of overseas corruption on the London property market” assessed 14 new landmark London developments, worth at least £1.6 billion. It found 4 in 10 of the homes in these developments have been sold to investors from high corruption risk countries or those hiding behind anonymous companies. Less than a quarter had been bought by buyers based in the UK.
People in positions of power — often called Politically-Exposed Persons (PEPs) — may abuse their entrusted role for their own personal gain, feeding grand corruption. Banks provide one of the stopping places for these ill-gotten monies. Until now, financial institutions and their regulatory authorities have failed to prevent them from being a safe place for the corrupt. Now is the time to close this loophole.
Topic:
Corruption, Crime, International Trade and Finance, and Reform
Most international standards and law enforcement agencies focus their efforts on fighting money laundering by banks and financial institutions. However, several non-financial sectors, such as real estate and luxury goods, are extremely vulnerable to illicit financial flows. Now is the time to clean up the sector and close this loophole for the corrupt.
Topic:
Corruption, Crime, International Trade and Finance, and Reform
This report presents the fifth Transparency International Bribe Payers Index. The index ranks 28 of the world\'s largest economies according to the perceived likelihood of companies from these countries to pay bribes abroad. It is based on the views of business executives as captured by Transparency International\'s 2011 Bribe Payers Survey. The countries and territories ranked in the Index cover all regions of the world and represent almost 80 per cent of the total world outflow of goods, services and investments.
Topic:
Corruption, Economics, Government, International Trade and Finance, Markets, and Law Enforcement
Mitigation to reduce global emissions of greenhouse gases will require substantial shifts in energy policy, consumer habits and technology development. As a major contributor of greenhouse gases (GHGs) and a driver of technological change, corporations will be crucial in shaping the solutions to many of these challenges.
Topic:
Climate Change, Environment, Industrial Policy, International Trade and Finance, and Markets
While corporate responsibility initiatives have multiplied dramatically over the past 20 years there still is no universal understanding or unified approach when it comes to their concept or practice. At their worst, corporate responsibility programmes may be mere window-dressing exercises. At their best, these initiatives represent genuine attempts by companies working with stakeholders to address the great environmental, social and ethical challenges of our times.
Topic:
Corruption, International Trade and Finance, International Affairs, and Governance
Corporate integrity is often perceived to be the product of ethical leadership, strong compliance and effective regulations that prevent and sanction wrong-doing. While these elements are essential, each on their own is not sufficient to comprehensively and sustainably tackle the broad range of interrelated corruption risks that face companies.
Topic:
Corruption, Crime, International Trade and Finance, and Markets
Cartels are illegal and costly. They inflate prices for consumers, exact an economic toll on countries and undermine the integrity of companies. Cartels can form in any sector, ranging from health care and transport, to construction and telecommunications. They leave no industry untouched or consumer unburdened. When companies engage in collusion by conspiring to fix prices, markets become inefficient and consumers bear unjustified price hikes that can reach up to 100 per cent.
Topic:
Corruption, Economics, International Trade and Finance, Markets, and Law
Bribery and corruption remain endemic problems in many countries, weakening governance and posing a major impediment to development. At the same time, bribery and corruption are a significant risk for companies around the world: not only must companies comply with anti-bribery legislation, but corrupt company practices are increasingly scrutinised and punished by both investors and society at large who demand that companies behave as responsible corporate citizens. To ensure compliance with laws and to manage the broader risk of corruption, firms must adopt coherent policies and systems to prevent and redress bribery and corruption.
Topic:
Corruption, International Trade and Finance, International Affairs, Governance, and Peacekeeping
The Business Principles for Countering Bribery were originally developed through an extensive multi-stakeholder process involving companies, non-governmental organisations and trade unions as a tool to assist enterprises to develop effective approaches to countering bribery in all of their activities.
Topic:
Corruption, International Trade and Finance, International Affairs, and Governance