Following the concerns raised in Malaysia regarding the prevalence of crony capitalism and favoritism, OCO has announced its decision to launch an independent investigation of the matter. The investigation is aimed to map out these mechanisms and loopholes that fuel them, and offer structural and systemic solutions in order to rectify the political system’s ailments. OCO stated today…
Together with a group of investors, M. Giannakopoulos have requested clarifications about the role of the new CEO of SoftBank (Japan) in relation with related cases and practices that raises a number of ethical questions. This initiative is driven by the need to bring more transparency and accountability with the world of finance and especially the…
On Sunday April the 3rd 2016, Le Monde and 108 other newsrooms around the globe published the beginning of a 9-months gigantic investigation involving 76 countries, and coordinated by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ). More than 11,5 million documents have been leaked from Mossack Fonseca, an entity based in Panama, which is specialized on…
The Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime is a network of prominent law enforcement, governance and development practitioners who are dedicated to seeking new and innovative strategies to end organized crime. Analyzing Organized Crime blogs is a synthesis publication, sent out during the first week of every month. Launched formally in New York in September 2013,…
The Organized Crime Observatory organization (OCO) announced today the launch of the public stage of the research, calling the public to send information and evidence regarding suspicions of corrupt conduct by high ranked foreign and Greek officials as well as national and foreign businesses in the country. Greece’s latest financial crisis and the widespread accusations…
In March 2015, Igor Kolomoisky, a well-known Ukrainian oligarch, compared his country’s privatization of industry process as a criminal conspiracy to rob billions of dollars from the State. Quoted in the Financial Times, Kolomoisky said Ukraine should not receive money from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) “until all “illegally” privatised property had been restored to…
Geneva, the 27th of April – The Organized Crime Observatory (OCO) released a special report on organized crime and public corruption in Ukraine, featuring assessments and trends based on exclusive statistics collected in the field. “Ukraine and the EU: Overcoming criminal exploitation toward a modern democracy?” is the result of an extensive research, conducted from…
“In October 2013, Italy captured international headlines when a boat carrying hundreds of asylum seekers sunk off its coast, killing over 360 people. The incident reflects the tremendous increase in African migration to Europe in recent years, in part due to the Arab Spring. While Africans have been migrating to Europe for decades, the instability…
HSBC’s Swiss bank concealed large sums of money for people facing allegations of serious wrongdoing, including drug-running, corruption and money laundering, leaked files reveal. Despite being legally obliged since 1998 to make special checks on high-risk customers, the bank provided accounts for clients implicated in six notorious scandals in Africa, including Kenya’s biggest corruption case,…
President Sergio Mattarella called on Italian lawmakers to make fighting organized crime and corruption a priority, using his first speech as head of state to highlight two of the country’s most persistent economic and social scourges. “Corruption has reached an unacceptable level,” said Mattarella, 73, who spoke after having taken his oath of office before…
