Tag Archives: scandal

Searching for Transparency in the Maldives

07 Thursday Mar 2019

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Photo Credit: Frank Brown

By Frank Brown, Director of CIPE’s Anti-Corruption and Governance Center

For an organization that specializes in bringing corruption to light, exposing hidden deals, and calling public attention to injustice, Transparency Maldives is hard to find. Its offices are located in a nondescript concrete building with no number on it, down an unmarked road just off the capital city’s main shopping street. One button marked “TM” next to a steel-grated door is the only indication that the group’s bustling offices are located above.

As an independent voice at a time of intense public outrage over years of corrupt government deals, Transparency Maldives staff sometimes attract unwanted attention, such as death threats. It is certainly a twist that the institution with a huge role at a pivotal point in the Maldives’ history must keep a low physical profile to remain in existence.

Now is a tricky time for the Maldives, a sprawling, idyllic archipelago of 187 islands inhabited by some 400,000 people.  Read More...

“Bribe, Swindle, or Steal”: After You Pay a Bribe Review

03 Friday Nov 2017

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Photo Credit: Momentum 

In May of 2017, TRACE launched the podcast “Bribe, Swindle or Steal”, hosted by TRACE President Alexandra Wrage. The podcast features interviews with professionals and luminaries in the field of financial crime including bribery, fraud, money-laundering, insider-training and sanctions. Tailored towards compliance professionals, “Bribe, Swindle or Steal” seeks to educate and entertain listeners on issues relating to corruption and compliance.

The episode “After You Pay a Bribe…” details former Unaoil executive Lindsey Mitchell’s account of being at the center of a bribery scandal involving the Monaco-based oil company. Unaoil wanted Mitchell, who had been working for the company since 2009, to win favor with Gaddafi regime officials so that their multinational clients could gain access to Libya’s oil. One evening in August 2009, Mitchell was called to a late-night meeting with a National Oil Company (NOC) official, who claimed that they could help Unaoil’s clients succeed in Libya in exchange for a bribe, which was between $10,000-$20,000.  Read More...