Making a fairer, extra steady world: 2024 highlights
Final 12 months, Transparency Worldwide:
Guided the UN to raised shield growth and human rights. We introduced anti-corruption measures into the UN’s Financing for Improvement agenda and ensured that the Human Rights Council recognised the necessity to monitor corruption in public resourcing extra intently. This may assist be certain that all individuals have entry to vital public companies, corresponding to well being and schooling. Closed loopholes for cash laundering within the EU by successful civil society and media entry to info on firm house owners and securing an anti-money laundering authority. On the international stage, we superior coverage options for regulating enablers of cross-border corruption, corresponding to attorneys and actual property brokers, and sparked new curiosity within the struggle towards illicit monetary flows. Made it simpler for communities affected by local weather change to submit complaints below the UN Local weather Change framework by eradicating monetary limitations. We efficiently lobbied for the UN to take away the US$30,000 payment it deliberate to cost, which means that anybody can name out international heating-related injustices. Launched an anti-corruption toolkit for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with the World Financial Discussion board to assist moral enterprise practices. The toolkit outlines the financial advantages of enterprise integrity – corporations that prioritise ethics achieve a aggressive edge – whereas serving to SMEs navigate the challenges of implementing robust integrity insurance policies. Ensured anti-corruption voices have been included in key UN discussions, securing stronger commitments to civic engagement. That is serving to create an enabling setting for civil society to struggle corruption and different threats globally, enhancing its resilience towards assaults, securing whistleblower safety and pushing again towards restrictions. Formed EU proposals to harmonise political finance and anti-corruption measures, and to strengthen legal guidelines on prosecuting corruption, securing company accountability and supporting victims. The advantages that this might carry vary from lowering undue affect on public decision-making to holding corporations criminally answerable for the actions of all people related to them. Additionally they embody offering treatments to victims whereas permitting them to problem selections on the crimes that affected them – corruption victims have for too lengthy been sidelined from the processes that search justice for them.
2024 in numbers
Constructing integrity throughout the globe: Nationwide wins for a greater world
Transparency Worldwide consists of greater than 100 chapters – domestically established, impartial organisations – that struggle corruption of their respective international locations.
Americas
We persuaded the US Treasury to implement anti-money laundering guidelines in the actual property and personal funding sectors. Whereas the actual property change applies solely to residential and non-commercial actual property, this stays a major step in combating cash laundering not solely within the US however globally, given how enticing the US actual property market has been to deprave actors worldwide. Our sustained efforts to carry former Panama President Ricardo Martinelli accountable for corruption proved profitable. Following round a decade of our authorized submissions and different requires justice, in February, the supreme courtroom upheld his conviction for cash laundering, rendering him ineligible to run for president once more.
Asia Pacific
We uncovered corruption in Bangladesh’s former regime and helped to recuperate the billions they allegedly stole. Our UK and Bangladesh chapters investigated and reported on the community of UK properties bought by individuals near the federal government. This fuelled public outrage towards the kleptocratic regime, which was finally toppled by an unprecedented student-led motion. Following this, the chapters helped generate momentum towards freezing the stolen belongings, as a step in direction of repatriation. After highlighting discrepancies between reported and precise occasion funding over the past election, our Indonesian chapter secured a precedence political finance invoice within the new parliament’s legislative agenda. The following legislation ought to shut loopholes that permit funding from illicit actions, in addition to bettering oversight, imposing donation and spending limits, and ending using “puppet” donors, to determine extra clear and fairer political financing. Within the Solomon Islands, we supported younger leaders to play a key position in safeguarding democracy. Our chapter launched a clear election marketing campaign, mobilising the Youth for Democracy Community as election observers throughout 27 constituencies and 80 polling stations. From the opening of polling stations to poll casting, sealing and counting, their vigilance helped guarantee transparency and integrity all through the method.
Europe and Central Asia
We enhanced transparency and equity in public procurement throughout the EU with Integrity Pacts. Authorities in 15 EU international locations have dedicated to embed these pacts – our key software for good governance in public procurement – in EU-funded public investments. This may assist defend hundreds of thousands of euros from potential misuse. We blocked a restrictive “overseas brokers” legislation in Bosnia and Herzegovina. These legal guidelines are used to silence critics and keep away from accountability, and the one proposed within the Republika Srpska a part of the nation would have allowed authorities to ban sure civil society organisations. Our Bosnia and Herzegovina chapter efficiently led the opposition to the legislation and its invoice was withdrawn in Might 2024. Sadly, the invoice was reintroduced in early 2025 and we’ll proceed to oppose it. We made it tougher for Russian kleptocrats to launder and conceal their cash overseas. Following our sustained stress on western international locations to do rather more to implement new cash laundering sanctions towards Russia, Transparency Worldwide France filed a authorized grievance with French prosecutors. In 2024, it was reported that the nation’s authorities had seized three properties, one in every of which is owned by the husband of Vladimir Putin’s ex-wife.
Center East and North Africa
We satisfied the EU to take care of scrutiny on the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in regard to cash laundering, together with with enhanced due diligence by EU banks and different gatekeepers. The UAE is seen as a spot the place individuals can launder corrupt wealth with impunity, and we drew consideration to the dearth of motion authorities take to police this. The EU Parliament subsequently rejected the EU Fee’s proposal to take the UAE off of its watch listing of high-risk cash laundering jurisdictions. We helped a number of Lebanese organisations’ to advocate for authorized reforms and assist teams that face discrimination, together with ladies and folks with disabilities. Transparency Worldwide labored with native organisations to marketing campaign for higher governance, transparency and reform by offering each monetary and technical assist.
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Sub-Saharan Africa
We uncovered corruption in 5 African international locations’ well being care programs and highlighted how that is harming ladies, ladies and different teams vulnerable to discrimination. Following advocacy and analysis by our Zimbabwe chapter and varied companions, the nation’s Medicines Management Company took steps to deal with the difficulty, together with confiscating unregistered medicines offered illegally. In the meantime, the Vice President of Zimbabwe publicly backed the introduction of an digital procurement system to enhance transparency in medical provide buying. A member of our Madagascan chapter pioneered work in tackling sexual corruption within the nation’s faculties and universities. Liantsoa Rakotoarivelo developed an progressive ethical contract between academics, dad and mom and college students, designed to cut back alternatives for sexual corruption and empower victims and witnesses to talk out. Consciousness grew and extra college students reported this crime whereas associations started to do extra to sort out it.
Learn Transparency Worldwide’s Annual Report 2024 in full
Transparency Worldwide’s 112 impartial chapters and companions around the globe create and implement their very own nationwide methods, whereas additionally becoming a member of forces on vital points to kind the main motion within the struggle towards corruption. This text showcases the work of the Transparency Worldwide Secretariat, which coordinates the broader motion worldwide, spearheads international and joint advocacy, gathers finest practices, conducts world-class analysis, and gives monetary and technical assist to our chapters.
