170607
From Bribes to shell companies
Frank Vogl
GRAND CORPORATE CORRUPTION TAKES MANY FORMS: FROM BRIBES TO FOREIGN GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS FOR CONTRACTS AND LICENSES TO THE MULTIPLE USES OF SHELL COMPANIES TO HIDE TRANSNATIONAL ILLICIT TRADE
IF CIVIL SOCIETY DOES NOT LEAD THE CHARGE AGAINST BUSINESS CORRUPTION, THEN NOBODY WILL
Who is Frank Vogl ?
Frank Vogl is co-founder of Transparency International and The Partnership for Transparency Fund. He is the author of ‘Waging War on Corruption – Inside the Movement Fighting the Abuse of Power’, Roman & Littlefield, 2016 paperback edition.
http://www.frankvogl.com/book-overview
http://www.frankvogl.com/table-of-contents
The 27 Essays:
http://www.civicus.org/index.php/state-of-civil-society-report-2017/essays
Among these the essay by Frank Vogl and links to the other 26:
Civil society and business: meeting a rising challenge to prosperity and security
in
Today, CIVICUS publishes its annual report, including a series of guest essays on civil society and business.
My article (by Frank Vogl attached as pdf) can be found at http://bit.ly/2s8ubvf
Civil society and business: meeting a rising challenge to prosperity and security
This is an in-depth survey, highlighting some of the important initiatives now being taken by a number of leading non-governmental organizations across the world, from the pioneering high-tech Open Contracting Partnership, led by Gavin Hayman, to the Construction Sector Transparency Initiative (CoST) chaired by Christiaan Poortman, to work by Global Witness, Transparency International, CIPE, and many others.
Nevertheless, we need to ask whether all of these initiatives represents more than the creation of islands of integrity in seas of business corruption?
I believe that the diverse initiatives and projects discussed in the article must be scaled-up significantly. The challenge is enormous. But the combination by a considerable number of effective NGOs of investigations, research, multi-stakeholder programs and effective publicity through film, social and mainstream media, may offer more promise today than ever before.
For example, the article opens with the following story:
Lukas Straumann is a seemingly mild-mannered, low-key Swiss citizen with an iron determination to fight corruption. Straumann, Executive Director of the Bruno Manser human rights and rain forest protection fund, has worked tirelessly to build international action to protect the rainforests of Malaysia and their indigenous peoples from destruction by a formidable government and business partnership.
His work has been aided by courageous journalism, notably by former BBC reporter Clare Rewcastle; investigations by UK-based civil society organization (CSO) Global Witness; years of dedicated work by lm-makers Erik Pauser and Dylan Williams; and the extraordinary bravery of the forest peoples of Sarawak. In a 2016 documentary lm, The Borneo Case, and a 2014 book, Money Logging, Straumann and his partners describe how Abdul Taib bin Mahmud, who served as Governor of Sarawak, Malaysia, for over 30 years, established more than 400 businesses in 25 countries. The work by Straumann and his friends to expose Taib Mahmud’s timber activities drove him from office.
What we dare not forget is that work in this field demands people of great dedication and courage.
Please send me your comments, post them on Facebook and on Twitter. Thank you, Frank
The full CIVICUS report can be found at http://www.civicus.org/index.php/state-of-civil-society-report-2017
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Frank Vogl
Frank@frankvogl.com
Washington DC +1 202 364 8225