Hi there,

This week, once again, we were painfully reminded of the risks many brave journalists take when reporting on corruption and denouncing the powerful.

Three weeks ago we wrote to you on Universal Access to Information Day about the vital but often dangerous role journalists play in the fight against corruption.

Last Monday in Malta we were shown how high the stakes are when another investigative journalist was murdered for her work bringing corruption to light.

We condemn the barbaric murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia -  killed when a bomb attached to her car was remotely detonated next to her house. She courageously exposed organised crime and corruption in Maltese politics and the shady secret deals, uncovered in the Panama Papers, that show how politicians and others hide illicit wealth behind secret companies.

This brings the death toll of journalists killed in 2017 to 30.

We brought together a group of 17 civil society and investigative journalism groups to demand the authorities in Malta bring the perpetrators of this crime to justice. We’re also calling on the UN to take greater steps to project investigative journalists - and you can too.

Only when corruption is uncovered can action be taken to hold criminals to account. Those who expose corruption must be protected, not intimidated, incarcerated or murdered.

It’s official: the Bahamas has a serious money laundering problem

In July, a highly critical official report  was published by the body that tracks money-laundering and organised crime, providing strong evidence that the Bahamas has a serious money-laundering problem. 

How to keep desperately needed humanitarian aid out of the hands of the corrupt

Earthquakes, hurricanes, flooding, wildfires, ongoing war, famine, refugee crises... around the globe, tens of millions of people need humanitarian assistance from governments, humanitarian aid agencies, and the UN. But even when lives are at stake and people at their most vulnerable, corruption and other abuses are not uncommon.

Delia Ferreira Rubio elected chair of Transparency International

At Transparency International’s Annual Membership meeting on 15 October, Delia Ferreira Rubio was elected chair and Rueben Lifuka was elected as vice-chair, along with seven new board members.

Next Friday verdict will be made on Obiang Trial 

The corruption trial of Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue, the son of the president of Equatorial Guinea, ended in Paris on 6 July with the prosecution calling for a three-year jail term, a €30 million (US$34 million) fine and the confiscation of assets. The Tribunal will return a verdict on 27 October. Stay tuned! 

Corruption in the news this week

Top Stories

The picture of Malta painted by murdered journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia seems to be one of an island rife with corruption. Something akin to a Mafia state. But is it?

UK regulators are looking into whether HSBC and Standard Chartered facilitated money-laundering as a result of possible ties to South Africa’s politically powerful Gupta family.

Anglo-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto has been charged with fraud in the US and fined £27.4m in the UK after being accused of overstating the value of African coal assets.

In the Airbus corruption scandal, the CEO of Airbus has pointed the finger at a Paris-based sales division. But according to information obtained by Der Spiegel, he authorized an 80 million euro severance package for the former head of that division, Jean-Paul Gut.