Arab spring

Tracking ill-begotten loot from fallen Arab Spring dictators

Topics: 
Arab spring, Anti-corruption efforts, UNCAC
Rating: 
2

Martin de Sa’Pinto – May 24, 2012

Growing up in Africa, he used to hunt buffalo, a passion that still serves Geneva-based lawyer Enrico Monfrini well. His dogged pursuit of ill-gotten assets has made him the scourge of many of the world’s dictators and kleptocrats.

An affable man with a sharp wit and a ready smile, the 67-year-old blends easily into a city of sprucely-dressed asset managers, bankers and lawyers, though his chosen calling would likely surprise many of them.

Billionaire fights expulsion from Canada

Topics: 
Corruption, Organized crime, Arab spring, Immigration
Rating: 
0

Sidhartha Banerjee – February 2, 2012

A billionaire member of Tunisia’s once-dominant ruling clan whose stay in Canada since last year has been shrouded in mystery is scheduled to make a public appearance soon.

Belhassen Trabelsi has remained under the radar since a much-publicized arrival amid turmoil in his native Tunisia, where his family stands accused of siphoning millions of dollars from the state.

Syrian cameraman found dead with eyes gouged out

Topics: 
Freedom of the press, Middle East, Arab spring
Rating: 
2

Joel Gunter – November 22, 2011

A Syrian cameraman who was arrested on Saturday while filming anti-government protests has been found dead with his eyes gouged out, according to the New York-based charity the Committee to Protect Journalists.

Citing local news reports, the CPJ says Ferzat Jarban was arrested by government authorities while covering the protests and local residents found his "severely mutilated" body the next morning on the main road of the town.

Death of Whistleblower Is Test for Tunisia's New Rulers

Topics: 
Policing, Arab spring
Rating: 
2

Angela Guiffrida – July 6, 2011

SIDI BOUZID, TUNISIA — For years, Adel Hammami, a computer technician for the municipality of Sidi Bouzid, said he was privy to corrupt dealings among members of the now dissolved former ruling party, the Constitutional Democratic Rally.

His family claims it was this insider knowledge that led to his death in early February, a period when Tunisia was caught up in a mix of post-revolutionary revelry, fragility and confusion following the toppling of the dictator Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali.

Saudis mount cleanup amid defense scandal

Topics: 
Corruption, Europe, Arab spring
Rating: 
0

UPI – June 10, 2011

As Britain's Serious Fraud Office investigates allegations that top European defense group EADS bribed Saudi Arabian officials to win a $3.3 billion contract, the Saudis are mounting an anti-corruption campaign that could affect Western companies.

King Abdallah, who has long sought to crack down on high-level official corruption in the kingdom's elite, discreetly initiated the campaign in March, Intelligence Online web site said.

World Bank Chief Should Be Investigated

Topics: 
Corruption, White-collar crime, Arab spring, World Bank
Rating: 
0

Beatrice Edwards – May 9, 2011

The Washington-based whistleblower organization GAP has been calling for a deeper investigation into the corruption allegations faced by Mahmoud Mohieldin – a World Bank Managing Director and ex-Egypt Minister of Investment under President Hosni Mubarak.

Mohieldin, as Minister, sold off state assets (the retail chain Omar Effendi) at bargain prices, apparently benefiting business associates in Egypt and abroad, and squandering public revenues. During the deal, a whistleblower accused Mohieldin of forcing through the sale to a Saudi investor at a fraction of the chain’s real value.

Oil Companies That Gave ‘Bonuses' to Libya Lobbied Against Disclosure Rules

Topics: 
Corruption, Oil & gas industry, Arab spring
Rating: 
2

Marian Wang – March 24, 2011

Multinational companies operating in Libya have had to deal with many obstacles, including a government rife with corruption that often asked for what amounted to bribes.Sometimes those companies balked; sometimes they paid them, New York Times reported today.

The Times story doesn’t actually mention the word “bribes,” using instead the phrase “payoffs to keep doing business.” U.S. companies are barred from paying bribes to foreign officials and governments by the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

WikiLeaks Cables Detail Qaddafi Family’s Exploits

Topics: 
Corruption, Arab spring
Rating: 
1

Scott Shane – February 22, 2011

WASHINGTON — After New Year’s Day 2009, Western media reported that Seif al-Islam el-Qaddafi, a son of the Libyan leader Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, had paid Mariah Carey $1 million to sing just four songs at a bash on the Caribbean island of St. Barts.

In the newspaper he controlled, Seif indignantly denied the report — the big spender, he said, was his brother, Muatassim, Libya’s national security adviser, according to an American diplomatic cable from the capital, Tripoli.

Corruption blew the lid off North Africa

Topics: 
Corruption, Transparency International, Middle East, Arab spring
Rating: 
2

Huguette Labelle – February 8, 2011

When people take to the streets to protest against their governments, the list of grievances is usually long and complex, but corruption is always at the top.

We see this now in the wave of protests spreading across Tunisia and Egypt. We saw it in Ivory Coast where stolen elections threaten a return to civil war. We saw it in Haiti where years of corruption have taken their toll. And the list can go on around the world.

Seize Mubarak's money: watchdog

Topics: 
Corruption, Transparency International, Middle East, Arab spring
Rating: 
0

February 11, 2011

Governments and international banks should seize Hosni Mubarak's assets and hold them in escrow to be returned to the people of Egypt, an international corruption watchdog said Friday.

"What is happening in Egypt today shows there is a major problem with a lack of transparency," said Huguette Labelle, the chair of Transparency International, an influential international corruption watchdog with ties to the UN.

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