Brazil's Supreme Federal Court (STF) Justice António Dias Toffoli has launched a corruption probe against the Non-Government Organization (NGO) Transparency International after it sided with Deltan Dallagnol to create a foundation with the money from fines paid by companies that admitted to bribes to win contracts with the state-run oil company Petrobras.
Denmark scored 90 points out of 100, to the top Transparency International's Index as the least corrupt country in the world, followed by Finland and New Zealand (87 points each). At the other end of the table were Somalia, Syria, and South Sudan. Uruguay was a Latin American country with better grades.
Corruption in Latin America is one of the most notorious problems on the region's agenda after a decade of major judicial operations that exposed corruption schemes involving governments and companies alike. According to Transparency International (TI), corruption has been entrenched in Latin America for more than a decade with little progress and many setbacks in terms of democracy and human rights.
The coronavirus pandemic has worsened corruption across the European Union, Transparency International said in its annual Global Corruption Barometer report for the EU, pointing out that health care has become a hotspot for corruption.
Transparency International has released its 2020 Corruption Perception Index, which is not very generous with Latin American countries, including Mercosur members Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay, with Uruguay the great exception and best-ranked in the Americas behind Canada.
A decision by Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court (STF) to demand the suppression of a media report concerning one of the court’s sitting judges violates the freedom of the press, warns Transparency International Brazil. The demand to remove the report from the internet is unacceptable, risks the international image of Brazil and goes against fundamental principles of the democratic rule of law.
With an average score of 44 for three consecutive years, the Americas region continues to fail in making any serious inroads against corruption, according to the latest report from Transparency International. Compared to other regions, the Americas is similar to Asia Pacific (average score: 44), but behind Western Europe and the European Union (average score: 66).
Argentine president Mauricio Macri linked the poor state of the country's infrastructure to the so called “K corruption notebooks”, but also praised that truth is coming to light and in just two years Argentina's standing in the Transparency rating had gone from position 54 to 17.
NGO Transparency Venezuela denounced through a follow-up that the Carnet de la Patria (homeland card), identity document devised by the government of Nicolás Maduro, is a tool of social control that seeks, among other purposes, the loyalty to the ruling party at the polls.
Delia Matilde Ferreira Rubio was elected chair of Transparency International, the global anti-corruption movement, at its Annual Membership Meeting in Berlin. Rueben Lifuka was elected as vice-chair, along with seven new board members. All will serve a three-year term.