Fueling Kleptocracy: Ending a legal requirement for U.S. oil, gas, and mining companies to report payments made to foreign governments would play straight into the hands of kleptocrats, writes Nate Sibley.
News
- Transparency International released its 2016 Corruption Perceptions Index. Results show that corruption and inequality foment populism - but thatpopulism usually makes things worse. (TI, RFE/RL)
- Chinese corruption prosecutions dropped for the first time in five years - and by 20 percent. (FT)
- Tax agencies from 30 countries drew up a list of “enablers” - the unscrupulous bankers, lawyers and accountants who propagate secrecy. (ICIJ)
- Australia temporarily delayed the implementation of an extradition treaty with China - whose most-wanted corruption suspect, Gao Yan, is believed to be hiding Down Under. (Australian)
- The U.S. is taking an interest in the Samsung bribery scandal engulfing South Korea. (Nikkei)
- A Syrian opposition group described deals signed between the Assad regime and Iran’s Revolutionary Guard as “looting” the Syrian people. (Reuters)
- Romanians marched against the decriminalization of certain graft offenses.
Features
- New Year, Same Old Pipeline Politics: Natalie Duffy talks to Ilya Zaslavskiy, an energy consultant and research expert at Free Russia Foundation, about how Nord Stream 2 could strengthen the Kremlin’s hand in Europe.
