Financial Transparency Coalition

Last month, Transparency International released a study (via Corruption Currents) citing how Romania is susceptible to corruption. These conditions create a potential breeding ground for corruption that could not only adversely affect the Romanian Government, but the European Union as well. They focused on four major issues:

BERLIN – Corruption continues to plague too many countries around the world, according to Transparency International’s 2011 Corruption Perceptions Index released today. It shows some governments failing to protect citizens from corruption, be it abuse of public resources, bribery or secretive decision-making. Transparency International warned that protests around the world, often fuelled by corruption and economic instability, clearly show citizens feel their leaders and public institutions are neither transparent nor accountable enough.

BERLIN – After the Arab Spring, an Indian Summer. In recent weeks, thousands of people have taken to the streets to support an Indian activist's calls for stronger anti-corruption legislation, in the form of the Jan Lokpal bill, which would set up an independent anti-corruption body, and to protest his initial arrest on 16 August 2011.

Last week, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart lampooned the failure to implement many elements of the Dodd-Frank Consumer Protection Act, even one year after the law's passage.  One of the most important elements awaiting approval is Section 1504 (also known as the Cardin-Lugar provision), which would require extractive industries to "Publish What they Pay" to governments in gaining access to the natural resources of a country, in order to prevent illegal activities and exploitation.  However, delays from the SEC prevent the regulations from actually being implemented.  Beyond the obvious humanitarian benefits, and improved economic competition that come with transparent...