Malawi’s forests and wildlife are under growing pressure from illegal exploitation, driven by rising demand for natural resources and enabled by corruption and illicit financial flows. From illegal logging to wildlife trafficking, environmental crimes not only threaten biodiversity and local livelihoods, but also weaken public institutions and deprive the country of vital resources for sustainable development.

Carbon markets are meant to help finance forest protection and climate action. Yet too often they are undermined by weak governance, corruption risks and a lack of transparency.

Concerns over the credibility of some carbon credits erode trust in a system designed to channel climate finance and support forest-dependent communities.

When Bulgaria joined the European Union in 2007, many believed it would lead to more secure, transparent and less corrupt borders. New regulations, infrastructure modernisation and digitalised customs procedures all followed. European standards and money arrived together.

Yet corruption did not disappear at the Kapitan Andreevo border checkpoint, the main land crossing between Bulgaria and Türkiye and one of the busiest gateways between Europe and Asia. Instead, it evolved.

From grassroots transparency tools to global business integrity networks, this year’s finalists for the International Collective Action Awards show the breadth, creativity and growing impact of Collective Action around the world.

Public voting is now open and everyone is invited to help choose the winners.

As the use of virtual assets accelerates worldwide, so too does their appeal to criminal actors looking to move money faster, hide transactions more effectively and stay one step ahead of enforcement authorities.

And it’s natural that when people discuss crypto-related crime, the focus is often on governments, regulators, law enforcement agencies and the private sector – crypto exchanges, financial institutions and blockchain intelligence firms.