Dear TIPS Member,
In May 2023, Transparency International UK welcomed commitments from the UK government and overseas territories ministers to agree a new focus on dirty money. A joint Communiqué released on 12 May 2023 committed to improving corporate transparency and tackling the use of offshore centres to hide and retain wealth gained through corruption and crime. The commitments made this month hope to drive closer cooperation between the UK government and British Overseas Territories to combat illicit wealth, and include:
Launching an annual Ministerial-level dialogue focused on tackling illicit finance.
The establishment of a technical working group on beneficial ownership transparency, which will share expertise in the implementation of publicly accessible registers of company ownership. It shall also include technical forums on technical forums on anti-money laundering, sanctions enforcement, counter terrorist financing and foreign bribery.
Continued action to enforce sanctions against Russia.
Please see below the TIPS Newsletter for May 2023. We look forward to seeing you soon.
- the TIPS team
1. Upcoming Events (register on our Events page)
TIPS Event | 1MDB: How the largest case of kleptocracy was uncovered - a whistleblower's story | 27 June 2023 | 6.45 - 8pm BST
6th Marval Summit on Compliance, Anti-Corruption and Investigations |
8 June 2023 | 1-10pm BST
Harnessing the Power of AI for Enhanced Compliance and Investigation
15 June 2023 | 5 -6pm BST
2. Recent Events
TIPS | Sanctions and anti-corruption: trends and developments | 23 May 2023
This month, TIPS was delighted to welcome TIPS member Jessica Arapu of Macfarlanes, who discussed her involvement in sanctions since the onset of war in Ukraine and the intersection between sanctions and anticorruption, including: civil and criminal confiscation powers, account freezing orders, and UWOs. Jessica also touched on what the future in the sanctions space might hold – future regulatory enforcement and litigation may be on the horizon.
The discussion was followed by an excellent Q+A session. We would like to also thank TIPS Co-chair James Ford for expertly moderating this hybrid event!
3. Items of Interest
TI publications.
- World’s biggest companies fall short in disclosing complete anti-corruption information within sustainability reporting. See here.
- Major donor to conservative party named as key part of international money laundering scheme. See here.
- TI Indonesia: Report on transparency of corporate anti-corruption reporting of 50 Indonesian palm oil companies. See here.
TI blogs.
- The government should seize the chance to fix holes in new property transparency laws. See here.
- More heat than light: Scottish parliament debates transparency. See here
- Equipping investigative journalists to expose Covid-19 corruption. See here.
- Transparency International signs memorandum of understanding with Spain to fight corruption. See here.
- European commission must uphold corporate transparency in the 6th anti-money laundering directive. See here.
- Nigeria oil bribery case: Netherlands and US must reopen investigations into ENI and Shell’s role. See here.
- Council of Europe: Member states must act against transnational corruption to protect democracy. See here.
- The implications of spyware and surveillance technology for anti-corruption activists.
Podcasts.
- Kickback: Magnus Ohman on political finance and corruption. Listen here.
- Who’s afraid of the kleptocrats? Cleaning up corruption. Listen here.
- Why we should measure illicit financial flows from grand corruption? Listen here
Other items.
- EU announces new anti-corruption package. See Joint Communication here.
- Fugees rapper found guilty in US over 1MDB case. See here.
- UK Economic crime plan 2023 to 2026. See here.
- The 2023 economic crime plan: a review. See here.
- IFAC Report: Understanding Anti-Corruption Reporting. See here
- Anti-Corruption strategies for small population countries. See here.
- Board-level ‘risk committees’ are great unless they destroy the company. See here.
4. Jobs Board
- Data and AI Ethics Specialist, Datatech Analytics, Slough, UK. Apply here.
- Financial Crime Data & Risk Intelligence Strategy Lead, Deutsche Bank, London. Apply here.
- International Compliance Officer, The Ardonagh Group, London. Apply here.
5. One Minute Reads
New One Minute Reads have been uploaded to the TIPS website. Please do click the link to read more – perfect for your morning/evening WFH coffee break!
6. Support TI-UK directly by joining Friends of TI-UK!
As a friend of TI-UK you will receive updates from TI-UK directly about TI-UK's ground-breaking research & advocacy campaigns. Your subscription will also support TI-UK's ongoing work across the UK, Business, Health, Defence & Security initiatives. Find out more here.
7. Focus on...
Lena Raballand
Doctoral Researcher,
University of Sussex
What is your background?
I am a doctoral researcher at the University of Sussex looking into political financing and state capture. I am also a research fellow at the International Development Research Network where I’ve published articles on the EU’s projects in the Horn of Africa, European strategic autonomy and most recently a mind map of the EU ‘Qatargate’ corruption scandal.
Leading up to my PhD, I spent some time within UNODC’s Container Control Programme in the Black Sea and South Caucasus region working on illicit trafficking and supporting customs officials. I have also worked within the OECD’s Anti-Corruption Division focusing on the implementation of the Anti-Bribery Convention. Prior to this, I obtained my Bachelor of Laws (King’s College London) and Master’s in International Security Studies (University of Reading).
Why did you get involved with TIPS?
I have had the pleasure of getting involved in TIPS through my doctoral research within the Centre for the Study of Corruption at the University of Sussex. My research is focused on understanding how political financing is used to achieve state capture with a case study of South Africa at a national and local government level. The TIPS network has been a wonderful opportunity to meet other scholars and practitioners in the anti-corruption field as well as keep up to date with the latest research.
Connect with Lena on LinkedIn.