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corruption
South Africa: Spy boss loses job
2012-05-10, Issue 584
The spy chief for South African police, Richard Mdluli, has been moved from his powerful post pending the outcome of an investigation against him, the police minister said Wednesday. Mdluli has been embroiled in controversy since he was charged with murder and corruption in 2011. The charges were provisionally withdrawn earlier this year and a court inquest opened. Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa told lawmakers that the inspector general of intelligence would further look into claims that Mdluli was spared a trial due to political meddling.
Egypt: Swiss court allows Egypt to recover money from Mubarak, cronies
2012-05-14, Issue 584
Egypt’s state-owned MENA news agency reported on Saturday that a court ruling in Switzerland has been issued in favor of Egypt, which would allow Egypt to recover funds embezzled by former President Hosni Mubarak and his cronies. The ruling was in response to Egypt’s efforts to recover the money since the January uprising ousted the former president, who smuggled money illegally into Switzerland, and had been frozen since February 2011.
Tanzania: Leader sacks ministers amid corruption scandal
2012-05-06, Issue 583
Tanzania's President Jakaya Kikwete has sacked six ministers amid allegations of government corruption. He has been under pressure to deal with the scandal following a report by a body overseeing public finances. The inspector of the government's accounts noted the rampant misuse of funds in at least seven ministries.
Nigeria: Pressure group urges ICC to investigate ‘USD6bn fuel subsidy loot’
2012-04-25, Issue 582
A Nigerian pressure group, Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), has petitioned the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate an alleged US$6 billion fuel subsidy loot in the West African country. It said in its petition to Luis Moreno Ocampo, ICC Prosecutor, that the ICC should examine and investigate whether 'the widespread and systematic corruption and theft of over US$6 billion in the fuel subsidy scheme over a period of three years and its devastating effects on millions of Nigerians amount to inhumane acts intentionally causing great suffering, or serious injury to body or to mental or physical health as provided by Article 7 of the Rome Statute of International Criminal Court'.
Swaziland: King Mswati III given jet by 'sponsors'
2012-04-26, Issue 582
King Mswati III of Swaziland has received a luxury jet as a gift from 'anonymous sponsors', a government spokesperson has confirmed to the BBC. The DC-9 twin-engine aircraft is for the use of the king and his 13 wives, Percy Simelane said. Swazi's banned opposition party says taxpayer money must have been used to buy it, but Mr Simelane denies this.
Angola: Cobalt tumbles after Angola revelations
2012-04-17, Issue 581
Shares in Cobalt International Energy fell as much as 11 per cent after news that three of the most powerful officials in Angola have held concealed interests in the Goldman Sachs-backed group’s oil venture in the African country. The fall, which wiped $900m off Cobalt’s market capitalisation, came after a Financial Times report detailed the interests.
Zambia: Prosecutors 'biased' against ex-president's son
2012-04-17, Issue 581
Lawyers for Zambia's ex-president Rupiah Banda accused prosecutors Thursday of pursuing his son on politically motivated charges of corruption in the sale of the national telecom firm to Libya's LAP Green. Henry Banda is living in South Africa. After his father lost elections in September 2011 the elite Government Investigative Wing announced that he was wanted for questioning over the $257-million sale of fixed-line operator Zamtel to the Libyan firm.
Uganda: Activists vow to continue battle for disclosure of oil agreements
2012-04-18, Issue 581
Oil transparency activists were disappointed by a ruling against them yesterday in Nakawa High Court, Kampala, but have vowed to continue a legal battle to require the government of Uganda to publish Production Sharing Agreements (PSAs) that it has reached with international oil companies. Lady Justice Faith Mwhonda rejected an application from the African Institute for Energy Governance (AFIEGO) and three other civil society organisations for permission to present evidence at an appeal by two journalists against a separate ruling which denied them access to the PSAs.
Nigeria: Nigerians up in arms over planned return of $250m Ibori loot
2012-04-19, Issue 581
Barely 24 hours after James Ibori landed a 13-year jail term in the United Kingdom for money laundering, jubilation turned to anger following reports of the planned repatriation to Nigeria of the $250 million stolen by the former Delta State governor. Nigerians both at home and in Diaspora are strongly opposing plans to return the money to Delta State where the current governor, Emmanuel Uduaghan, is Ibori’s cousin and 'stooge'.
Zambia: World Bank to hand over names of Zambian officials who received bribes
2012-03-27, Issue 579
The World Bank has said that it will soon hand over to the Zambian government details and names of senior government officials in the previous MMD government who received a bribe from Alstom Corporation of France. The World Bank slapped a hefty 9.5 million dollars fine on the Alstom Corporation, a major French engineering company and blacklisted two of its subsidiaries, Alstom Hydro France and Alstom Network Schweiz AG (Switzerland), after it admitted to bribing a Senior Zambian government official.
Equatorial Guinea: French judges seek arrest of leader’s son
2012-03-27, Issue 579
Two French judges sought an international arrest warrant for the son of Equatorial Guinea’s President Teodoro Obiang Nguema on money laundering charges, a judicial source said on Tuesday 27 March. The two judges, Roger Le Loire and Rene Grouman, consider there are grounds to suspect that Teodorin Obiang, who is agriculture minister in the small, oil-rich central African country, acquired real estate in France by fraudulent means.
Kenya: Minister’s firm sold Turkana oil block for Sh800m
2012-03-28, Issue 579
A company associated with a Cabinet minister sold the block, where oil was found in Turkana, for a fortune. In 2010, Turkana Drilling Company, associated with a cabinet minister who was affected in Monday’s reshuffle, sold Block 10BB for $10 million (Sh840 million) to Africa Oil. Turkana Drilling’s case is just an example of how small firms might be using influence in government to make hundreds of millions of shillings by trading in oil prospecting licences.
Burundi: A deepening corruption crisis
2012-03-29, Issue 579
Despite the establishment of anti-corruption agencies, Burundi is facing a deepening corruption crisis that threatens to jeopardise a peace that is based on development and economic growth bolstered by the state and driven by foreign investment. The “neopatrimonialist” practices of the party in office since 2005 has relegated Burundi to the lowest governance rankings, reduced its appeal to foreign investors, damaged relations with donors; and contributed to social discontent. More worrying still, neopatrimonialism is undermining the credibility of post-conflict institutions, relations between former Tutsi and new Hutu elites and cohesion within the ruling party, whose leaders are regularly involved in corruption scandals.
Uganda: Activists vow to continue battle for disclosure of oil agreements
2012-03-30, Issue 579
Oil transparency activists have vowed to continue a legal battle to require the government of Uganda to publish Production Sharing Agreements (PSAs) that it has reached with international oil companies. This comes after a court rejected an application from the African Institute for Energy Governance (AFIEGO) and three other civil society organisations for permission to present evidence at an appeal by two journalists against a separate ruling which denied them access to the PSAs.
South Africa: No probe into MTN corruption claims in Iran
2012-03-20, Issue 578
South Africa will not probe allegations that mobile operator MTN paid bribes to win a license in Iran, in exchange for Pretoria backing Tehran's nuclear program, the foreign minister said Monday. MTN - which operates in 21 countries in Africa, Asia and the Middle East - has said it would investigate the allegations, but denied any wrongdoing. MTN owns a 49 per cent stake in the Iranian telecom Irancell, which holds the operating license.
Libya: Gaddafi's finger found in Sarkozy's presidential pie
2012-03-13, Issue 576
Damaging new claims have emerged about the funding of Nicolas Sarkozy's 2007 election campaign and his links with former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. The French investigative website Mediapart claims to have seen a confidential note suggesting Gaddafi contributed as much as €50-million to Sarkozy's election fund five years ago. But Sarkozy has angrily denied receiving funds from the slain Libyan dictator.
South Africa: Deputy president refers claims to public protector
2012-03-13, Issue 576
Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe has asked the public protector to look into claims of corruption levelled against his partner, Gugu Mtshali - but he would do well to remember that this isn't the first time she has been linked to dodgy business dealings. This weekend, the Sunday Times reported that Mtshali had solicited a R104-million bribe to get government support for a South African company that tried to secure a R2-billion sanctions-busting deal with Iran.
Angola: Attorney-General investigates top generals in 'Blood Diamonds' case
2012-03-06, Issue 574
Angola's attorney general has summoned witnesses to testify in a case that implicates some of the top figures in the country's military and security establishment in acts of torture and murder in the diamond fields of north-eastern Angola. The witnesses' hearings will start on 5 March in Luanda. Respondents in the case include General Manuel Hélder Vieira Dias "Kopelipa", Minister of State and head of the Military Bureau in the Angolan presidency, as well as a close confidante and business associate of President José Eduardo dos Santos. The case was brought before the attorney general, on 14 November 2011, by Angolan human rights activist Rafael Marques de Morais, who has been investigating rights abuses connected with the diamond industry since 2004.
Nigeria: Rights court to consider effect of corruption on poverty
2012-03-07, Issue 574
Nigerian NGO Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has filed a request before the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights in Arusha, Tanzania, asking the court to 'consider the effects of corruption on the poverty level in Nigeria, and whether rising and systemic poverty violates specific human rights under the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.' According to a statement made available to PANA in Lagos on Sunday, the organization told the court that Nigeria has ratified both the African Charter and the African Court Protocol.
Nigeria: Oil corruption highlighted by audits
2012-03-08, Issue 574
Jolted by a public outcry since the start of the year, Nigeria's government has announced a series of measures to address oil industry corruption in the world's eighth biggest producer. It is an issue that may come to define Goodluck Jonathan's presidency. But two recent audits of the oil industry reviewed by Reuters show billions of dollars in irregularities despite years of government promises to clean it up.
Uganda: Draft oil law a search in vain for accountability and democratic oversight
2012-03-12, Issue 574
Platform has released a new briefing analysing Uganda’s draft 'Petroleum (Exploration, Development and Production) Bill'. The report – entitled 'The Ugandan Upstream oil law: A search in vain for accountability and democratic oversight', highlights the lack of parliamentary oversight, transparency, or consultation or involvement of affected communities in the proposed oil law. At the same time, the Bill does include clauses that restrict information flow and could potentially threaten or close down public debate.
South Africa: Anti-graft group gets 500 complaints in first month
2012-03-12, Issue 574
In its first month of existence, Corruption Watch received 500 complaints from the public, the organisation has said. Complaints about municipalities, traffic officers and the health sector featured the most prominently, according to a statement. Corruption Watch was started as a non-profit organisation by the Congress of SA Trade Unions in January.
South Africa: Deputy president's partner linked to helicopter deal
2012-03-12, Issue 574
Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe's romantic partner Gugu Mtshali has allegedly been linked to a scheme to 'buy' government approval for a plan to sell helicopters to Iran, according to a report by the Sunday Times. Mtshali, former De Beers executive Raisaka Masebelanga and others allegedly met with representatives of 360 Aviation to solicit a bribe of R104 million.
Nigeria: Ex-Nigerian governor pleads guilty of graft
2012-02-29, Issue 572
The former governor of Delta state has pleaded guilty in a British court to laundering millions of dollars in a rare case of a Nigerian politician being held to account for corruption. James Ibori, a former governor of the oil-rich state, pleaded guilty on Monday to 10 counts of money-laundering and conspiracy to defraud. He pleaded not guilty to a further 13 similar charges. Sentencing will take place in April.
Global: Corruption, the smoke and mirrors of a diseased world order
2012-02-29, Issue 572
In keeping with Western medicine’s approach to illness, the international community’s anti-corruption strategies treat the symptom of corruption rather than the cause; seeking to stifle the outcomes of a flawed system rather than rightfully treating it as the disease itself, concludes this article from the Peace and Conflict Monitor. 'The most significant conclusions relate to a re-conceptualization of our understanding of the corruption-causes-poverty narrative by calling for a re-moralization of the corruption debate within the larger systemic context of the neoliberal world order. '
Angola: Halliburton faces subpoena over Angola operations
2012-02-21, Issue 571
Halliburton Co. said it’s responding to a subpoena from the Securities and Exchange Commission relating to a probe into its operations in Angola over possible violations of US foreign bribery law, the Wall Street Journal reports. It isn’t the first time Halliburton has faced problems with the FCPA. The company and its former subsidiary, Kellogg Brown & Root Inc., agreed in February 2009 to pay the US $579 million to resolve violations of the FCPA in connection with a four-company joint-venture project, dubbed TSKJ, to get $6 billion in contracts for liquefied natural gas facilities at Bonny Island, Nigeria.
Zambia: Kenya and Zambia set for diplomatic clash
2012-02-21, Issue 571
Zambia appeared to have sparked a fierce diplomatic row with Kenya when it claimed the son of former President Rupiah Banda who is wanted on corruption charges is hiding out at State House in Nairobi. Zambian investigators recently claimed Henry Banda, who is wanted by police for alleged corruption during his father’s rule, is seeking refuge in Kenya after the alarm was sounded for his possible interrogation.
Ghana: A bellyful of scandal
2012-02-21, Issue 571
It is a financial controversy that has already led to the sacking of an attorney general; the resignation of a former attorney general; the arrest and appearance before court of two top civil servants and a businessman. In 2009, the businessman managed to convince the then attorney general that the government of Ghana owed him money. According to him, a contract he had to build football grounds was cancelled illegally by the previous government of then-President John Kufuor. The businessman then went to court to seek compensation - by which time the sum of money he was claiming had undergone many inexplicable upward changes. The attorney general decided not to contest the claims, and the businessman emerged from court a much richer man.
Egypt: Mubarak trial verdict 2 June, says judge
2012-02-23, Issue 571
Following a nine-hour court session, presiding judge Ahmed Refaat announced that the final verdict in Hosni Mubarak’s trial will be pronounced on 2 June, adding that the session will be aired live on national television. In what is known as the trial of the century, Egypt’s ousted president Mubarak, his ex-interior minister and six of his aides face charges of complicity in killing protesters during the popular uprising that toppled the regime in January 2011. Mubarak also faces corruption charges along with his two sons Alaa and Gamal and businessman Hussein Salem in the same case.
Egypt: Rights group slams law allowing settlement with corrupt investors
2012-02-23, Issue 571
A local rights group has demanded that parliament repeals a law issued by the ruling military council that allowed for settlements in cases of squandering public funds. The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR) sent a memo to the People’s Assembly’s legislative and economic committees Wednesday demanding the repeal of a law issued by the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) on 3 January to settle with investors under legal investigations in cases of squandering of public funds. The law is an adjustment to the Investments Guarantees and Incentives Law No. 7 of 1997, giving the government full authority to settle with investors in financial corruption probes even if they are referred to criminal courts or are subject to preliminary prison sentences.
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