In the News
Below is a selection of news headlines from around the world from the past month. Please see our disclaimer immediately below the news section.
Asia & Pacific
Barak deal kickback £7.3m
15 August 2007
Copyright Times of India
The Central Bureau of Investigation has told the Supreme Court that it has discovered £7.3 million in kickbacks to Baccano Holdings Inc, UK, in a ‘Barak’ missile deal between India and an Israeli firm in 2001.
Sri Lanka acid attack on journalist amid MiG corruption charges
Copyright Deutsche Presse-Agentur
16 August 2007
A senior defence correspondent who exposed corruption in the purchase of MiG jets for the Sri Lankan air force has recently been attacked by unidentified assailants, according to media sources. The attack coincided with the withdrawal of government security for journalists reporting the story.
Europe
Romania Will Sue BAE Systems For Breach Of Contract
Copyright Jurnalul National
3 September 2007
Romania's Minister of Defence Teodor Melescanu has stated that Romania will take BAE Systems to court if the company does not fulfil its offsets commitment, . The offsets relate to a deal that is being investigated by the UK's Serious Fraud Office for suspected corruption.
Armenian Army Abuses Go Unchecked
Copyright Institute for War & Peace Reporting
17 August 2007
This article alleges that corruption and human rights abuses are commonplace in the life of Armenian army conscripts.
British Firm Under Scrutiny for Export of Bosnian Guns to Iraq
Copyright The Observer UK
12 August 2007
Questions are being asked of a Nottingham-based company over arms sales with an Iraqi official implicated in an alleged $1.1bn corruption scandal.
BAE Lands 20bn Saudi Typhoon Deal Despite Corruption Probe
8 September 2007
Copyright Daily Mail
It is reported that BAE Systems has secured a £20bn order from Saudi Arabia.
Revealed: official passes that give BAE access to the top at the MoD
Copyright Guardian
16 August 2007
The Ministry of Defence has been criticised for allowing arms companies to exert too much political influence over the government by giving security passes to government buildings to defence industry representatives.
Americas
Record Cases In Contract Probe
Copyright USA Today
15 August 2007
An anti-corruption crackdown on US contracts in Iraq last month resulted in a record number of criminal and administrative cases - including the largest bribery case to date.
Related article
U.S. Says Company Bribed Officers For Work In Iraq Copyright New York Times 31 August 2007
5th Army officer charged with bribery in Iraq Copyright USA Today, 24 August 2007
$5B in CENTCOM Contracting Under Scrutiny
Copyright Defense Industry Daily
4 September 2007
US Department of Defense officials have been concerned with the number of contracting improprieties – including bid-rigging, kickbacks product substitution and double billing – that have been uncovered within the CENTCOM (Central Command) area of responsibility in Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait and other countries.
Bush gets bill setting new limits on lobbying
Copyright Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
3 August 2007
The Senate yesterday gave final congressional approval to sweeping new limits and disclosure requirements on lobbying and pet-project spending. Some Republicans objected the measure on the grounds that proposed "earmark" spending revisions had been watered down to the point of being a sham.
Bribery in Arms Sales Not Unusual, Expert Says
Copyright CNSNews.com
16 August 2007
The director of the Strauss Military Reform Project at the liberal Center for Defense Information has labeled bribery as “standard behaviour” in the world of global arms sales.
Middle East
Corrupt police force should be scrapped, Congress is told
Copyright The Times
7 September 2007
A panel of retired US military officers has told Congress that the Iraqi national police force is so riddled with militia and corruption it should be disbanded.
Saudi prince criticises monopoly of power at the heart of kingdom
Copyright The Guardian
5 September 2007
Prince Talal bin Abdul-Aziz, a half-brother of King Abdullah has called for an independent Anglo-Saudi inquiry into claims that some Saudi royals received kickbacks from oil and arms deals, stating “if the accusations are proved, then the minimum that should be done is to return the kickbacks to the treasury".
Related article
Saudi arms inquiry – TI UK letter to the editor Copyright The Guardian 7 September 2007
Africa
The looting of Kenya
31 August 2007
Copyright The Guardian
A report by the international risk consultancy Kroll presenting evidence that the family of former Kenyan leader Daniel Arap Moi engaged in corruption on a massive scale was released in August. President Kibaki, who commissioned the report, allegedly suppressed it after his government was caught up in its own scandal - the ‘Anglo Leasing’ affair - involving the award of huge government security sector contracts to bogus companies.
Related article
Kroll Report on Moi , Copyright Wikileaks, 27 April 2004
Disclaimer
Transparency International UK takes no position on the views presented by reporters, commentators, organisations and companies in the materials listed in this email or linked to in our website. As with any such resource, our purpose is to provide access to a wide selection of materials representing diverse viewpoints on a matter of obvious public interest. We do not exercise any editorial control over the materials and cannot guarantee their accuracy. The Digest is a free publication of Transparency International UK.
Air Marshal Lord Garden
Transparency International UK and the Defence Against Corruption team have felt deeply bereaved by the tragic death of Lord Garden. Tim Garden's informal manner and openness to ideas and arguments endeared him to all who were fortunate enough to know him. His strong support for Transparency International UK's anti-corruption work, re-iterated shortly before he died, was always a source of strength to us in both intellectual and personal terms. His direct and indirect support in the House of Lords never lacked clarity and was invaluable. It seems inconceivable that he is now gone, but he will remain close to our hearts and in our thoughts.
Laurence Cockcroft, Chairman, Transparency International UK
Note: The Defence Anti-Corruption Digest interview with Lord Garden can be viewed in Editions
8 and
9.
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