The 2nd Executive Committee (ExCo) meeting was successfully held on 24 February 2022. Mr Simon Peh, President of IAACA, thanked ExCo members for making good efforts in taking forward the regional coordination mechanism shortly after the 1st ExCo meeting in January. During the meeting, ExCo members actively shared their experience in reaching out to anti-corruption authorities (ACAs) in their regions and offered valuable views on enhancing IAACA's visibility in the international arena.
To facilitate the coordination work, the Secretariat has prepared a fact sheet on IAACA and a survey form to identify ACAs' training / service needs for dissemination by Regional Coordinators. A consolidated list of ACAs in each region and a sample 3-year work plan were also provided to Regional Coordinators as reference when reaching out to their ACAs and drawing up their regional work plans. It is encouraging to note that some of the regions have made substantial progress in the last two months. Below are some highlights (in alphabetic order of region):
The Regional Coordinator, Advocate Andy Mothibi, convened the 1st African regional meeting on 21 February 2022 with the participation of the other four ExCo members namely Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission of Kenya, Independent Commission Against Corruption of Mauritius, National Office for Combating Fraud and Corruption of Senegal and National Authority for Probity, Prevention and Fight Against Corruption of Morocco. The meeting agreed to establish a training committee to look into the training needs of member states and coordinate the training programmes in a systematic approach. To ensure impactful outreach to ACAs, the African region is divided into four spheres (Southern, Western, Central and East Africa) according to the proximity of different countries with one another for better coordination.
The Regional Coordinator, Mr Simon Peh, who is also the President of IAACA, convened the 1st Asia-Pacific regional meeting on 9 February 2022 with the participation of the other three ExCo members namely the Anti-Corruption Bureau of Brunei Darussalam, Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission of Malaysia and Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau of Singapore. To facilitate coordination, the 87 ACAs from 56 countries in the Asia-Pacific region are divided into four groups (Middle East, Pacific, Central and South Asia, Southeast and East Asia), to be overseen by the Regional Coordinator and the three ExCo members correspondingly.
The Regional Coordinator, H.E. Mr. Mammadov, Minister of Justice of the Republic of Azerbaijan, convened the 1st Eastern European regional meeting with the other Exco member, National Anticorruption Directorate of Romania, on 2 February 2022. The list of ACAs in the Eastern European region was updated. The IAACA fact sheet was translated in Russian to facilitate communication with the ACAs. Letters were sent to 50 ACAs in 21 countries together with the fact sheet, survey form and proforma for updating contact information through diplomatic channels with the assistance of their embassies. The result was very promising as positive replies have already been received from more than 10 countries.
An online meeting between the Regional Coordinator (Office of the Comptroller General of Chile) and the Secretariat was held on 19 January 2022 to discuss the plan for taking forward the Regional Coordination Mechanism in the region. In addition, with the assistance of UNODC, the Secretariat is approaching UNDOC's six field offices in the region to help reach out to the ACAs there.
The Regional Coordinator, French Anti-Corruption Agency sent the survey form to ACAs in the region in February to gauge their training and service needs with a view to mapping out the capacity building initiatives. Positive replies from ACAs in the region have been received.
Members of the Association have been actively implementing anti-graft initiatives, organising capacity building activities and collaborating with other counterparts to prevent and combat corruption through national, regional and international avenues, thereby giving effect to IAACA's important mission of advancing the global fight against corruption. Below are the recent initiatives and activities of the Association and our members:
Upon the invitation of Mr. Angelos Binis, President of the Network of Corruption Prevention Authorities (NCPA) and a member of the Executive Committee of IAACA, Mr. Simon Peh, President of IAACA shared the vision and initiatives of the Association at NCPA's webinar entitled "Trends and Challenges in Regulating Lobbying Activities" on 15 March 2022. In his presentation, Mr. Peh also highlighted the Regional Coordination Mechanism launched by IAACA and appealed to participants to join the Association so as to synergise efforts in building a fair and corruption-free world.
At UNODC's regional meeting for South America and Mexico held on 15 March 2022 to fast-track the implementation of UNCAC, Ms Sally Kwan, Secretary-General of IAACA, addressed the participants and introduced the Association, its work initiatives and the Regional Coordination Mechanism. The IAACA fact sheet and membership form were also distributed at the event through UNODC to encourage participants to join the Association.
As the host to the ASEAN-Parties Against Corruption, the Anti-Corruption Bureau of Brunei Darussalam in collaboration with the National Crime Agency of United Kingdom organised an online capacity building programme entitled "Bribery and Corruption" on 1 - 3 March 2022 which was attended by 52 participants from ten ACAs of ASEAN.
The 3-day programme, covering a variety of important topics including bribery, money laundering, procurement fraud, gathering evidence from overseas, etc., was conducted by trainers from the Economic Crime Academy, City of London Police. It also encompassed presentations on anti-corruption initiatives and platforms by the UNODC, INTERPOL and International Centre for Asset Recovery of the Basel Institute on Governance.
Learn MoreSource: ACB, Brunei Darussalam
In September 2021, Greece adopted the law on "Strengthening Transparency and Accountability of State Institutional Bodies" which introduces an effective regulatory framework to govern the interaction between politicians and public officials with interests' representatives. The law establishes a Transparency Register that will be held at the National Transparency Authority (NTA) where lobbyists will have the obligation to register and submit their annual declaration on lobbying activities.
NTA is responsible for monitoring compliance with the law. More specifically, it has the power to conduct audits and investigate any complaint for potential violation. In case of violation, NTA has the power to impose sanctions ranging from corrective action notices, to fines from €5,000 - €20,000 or even suspension of the right to exercise lobbying activities and temporary/permanent exclusion from the Registry.
Learn MoreSource: NTA, Greece
In 2021, the National Anticorruption Directorate (DNA) achieved remarkable results (Activity Summary Report 2021). High performance was recorded in most statistical indicators including the duration of case resolution, the number of cases sent to trial and the percentage of convicted defendants. Successful investigations were conducted and finalised concerning corruption and corruption-related offences in the health sector, public procurement and central and local public administration. As a result, a number of dignitaries, senior state officials, directors of public authorities, administrations and agencies were sent to trial.
| Indicators in 2021 | |
|---|---|
| Total number of cases | 6076 out of which 2899 solved |
| Cases sent to trial | 317 concerning 730 defendants |
| Final conviction decisions | 255 concerning 427 defendants |
| Interim seizure measures | €259 million |
| Confiscation decisions | €85 million |
Source: DNA, Romania
For anti-corruption agencies to succeed in the fight against corruption, citizens need to be involved through whistleblowing. Through the work of whistleblowers, the Special Investigating Unit (SIU), Republic of South Africa's forensic investigation and litigation agency, conducted its biggest corruption investigation into the procurement of personal protective equipment in response to COVID-19 by State institutions. The investigation uncovered collusion between government officials and business in awarding of State contracts, which resulted in contracts being set aside and monies recovered.
Learn MoreSource: SIU, South Africa
The Secretariat is pleased to announce that the IAACA website has been updated with new information concerning the new Presidency, the composition of the new ExCo, an introduction of the Regional Coordination Mechanism and the contact information of the new Secretariat, notes of ExCo meeting, etc. For access to it, you may simply scan the QR code below.
The Secretariat will continue to enrich the content of the website to provide the most up-to-date news of IAACA to stakeholders around the world.
Please contact the Secretariat for any change of your membership information.
