New Irish govt. to Introduce Anti-corruption Law

The Independent reports that "Tougher laws to tackle rogue bankers and extra powers for the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) are two key planks of the new Government's strategy to combat crime.

A new anti-corruption law is to be introduced to punish white-collar crime and end what Fine Gael and Labour described as the impunity from consequences for corporate behaviour that threatens the economy.
It is also intended to take steps to prevent convicted white collar criminals from transferring their assets to spouses and other family members and to give power to the CAB to pursue them for any financial gains or benefits deriving from the proceeds of their illegal activities."

The new law must also contain provisions for whistle-blower protection and create a hotline for tips. It is not sufficient to merely pass legislation. As the various reports into the performance of the Dept. of Finance and regulatory bodies have conclusively demonstrated, the problem is poor enforcement even of existing law. Poor technical capability has been a significant contributing factor to the under-enforcement problem. So, any new legislation must provide for appropriately skilled staff and resources. White collar criminals are not going to be lacking in good legal representation. Expecting the same old departments to fight them just with new laws that look good on the books is a bridge too far.

New Pentagon Report on Afghanistan

What to do with Afghanistan? Despite President Obama’s 30,000 strong troop surge and millions of dollars being poured in, the Afghan bus has not managed to extricate itself from the ditch it has been stuck in. The Pentagon’s report to Congress yesterday underlines what most people already know: the population “sympathizes with or supports the Afghan government” in only 24% of the key parts of Afghanistan. As the report concedes, the insurgents “perceive 2009 as their most successful year.”

Progress on governance has been minimal: Afghans perceive their government to be corrupt and incompetent – 83% reported that corruption affects their daily lives - a fact exploited to the hilt by the Taliban. Damningly for the Karzai government, the Pentagon admits that the “Taliban … is an adjudicator in providing swift and less corrupt dispute resolution” and that “courts are understaffed and chronically corrupt.” Moreover, “only 50% of Afghans believed that prisons were capable of holding prisoners for the duration of their sentences” probably because of high profile prison escapes and pardons by corrupt politicians. The report also suggests that there is no political will to tackle corruption and that political meddling might actually be counteracting anti-corruption efforts.

What is the use of propping up Karzai if the Taliban offers superior justice to Aghan citizens?

Read more here.

Taking Corrupt Money out of Swiss Banks: Italians Raise 95 billion euros

Via the BBC:
Italy has raised 95bn euros (£86bn;$137bn) from a tax amnesty, much more than the government had expected. According to the country's finance ministry, 98% of the illegally-held overseas money has been repatriated. ... the ministry said "the time of tax havens has finished forever. To place or keep money in tax havens is no longer convenient, neither in economic nor in tax terms. The returns are small, the risk is high."

The amnesty has now been extended until the end of April. The move provided a boost for Italy's banking industry - with the money flowing into small and medium size banks.
The government will get a 5bn euro windfall from the amnesty.

Why doesn't every third world country do this? Imagine how many billions would flow out of Switzerland into poor countries! This would facilitate economic activity and help improve the lives of millions.