A high-level meeting of heads of anti-corruption agencies in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) last month was a chance to take stock of member countries’ efforts to tackle corruption.
The meeting allowed for a reflection on many ongoing activities and discussions around Collective Action in the region this year. It was the perfect opportunity to reflect on how to galvanise joint efforts against the region’s biggest scourge.
Across Southern Africa, leaders from the business community, civil society and government are coming together to strengthen business integrity and thus catalyse the region's huge economic potential.
This guidance seeks to capture and explore the innovative approaches that African governments have developed to address the demand and supply sides of corruption more effectively and sustainably. It is designed to help government institutions, in particular national anti-corruption agencies, engage with the private sector more effectively to prevent corruption.
We have just released a detailed case study on the prosecution of a South African fishing company, Hout Bay Fishing Industries, and efforts to recover the company's illicit assets.
Published under our Green Corruption programme, the case study is authored by Advocate Caroline Dutot of Ardent Chambers, Jersey, with contributions from Howard Sharp, QC.
Published under our Green Corruption programme, this is a case study about a South African fishing company, Hout Bay Fishing Industries, that overfished lobster and other protected fish in deliberate breach of government-established quotas. The case study contains numerous important lessons for those seeking to follow the money in large wildlife trafficking cases.
Local certification is emerging as an interesting way for large companies and their supply chains to help address compliance and due diligence issues that can be a barrier to business. A recent Basel Institute working paper showed how local certification programmes developed with a Collective Action approach can help:
Twenty anti-corruption investigators and financial intelligence analysts from 10 African countries completed an intensive Advanced Operational Analysis course last week hosted by the Commonwealth Africa Anti-Corruption Centre (CAACC).
This report examines the corporate governance practices of 100 corporations operating in South Africa. Its methodology and findings highlight the importance of active engagement in Collective Action as part of anti-corruption compliance programmes and reporting.
The press release summarises the recommendations as follows:
The report concludes that the fight against corruption cannot be waged within individual corporations alone, but must extend across a broad scope of organisations, within and outside the business sector.
The first Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA) of the United Kingdom Serious Fraud Office (SFO), secured on 30 November 2015 at the Royal Courts of Justice, London, has on 26 August 2020 given rise to a plea bargain settlement in Tanzania. As announced by Tanzania’s National Prosecutions Service (NPS), this nets the Tanzanian authorities TZS 1.5 billion (approx. USD 650,000 or GBP 500,000).
Mark Pieth, Professor of Criminal Law at the University of Basel and founder/President of the Board of the Basel Institute, has been appointed to the University of the Western Cape in South Africa as an Extraordinary Professor.