Albania between 15 countries with higher risk for money laundering in Europe. The last report of the Basel Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Index which has been published by the Basel Institute on Governance since 2012, ranks Albania 85th with an evaluation of 5.75 worse than a year ago when this index was 5.56 points. The Basel AML Index 2017 edition covers 146 countries and provides risk ratings based on the quality of a country’s framework for AML and countering terrorism financing (AML/CFT) and related factors such as perceived levels of corruption, financial sector standards and public transparency. It is derived from 14 indicators using publicly available sources such as the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), Transparency International, the World Bank and the World Economic Forum. The scores are aggregated as a composite index using a qualitative and expert-based assessment.

Additional Charges of Corruption Filed against Armenian Judge. An Armenian law-enforcement agency has brought additional charges of corruption against a senior judge who was arrested two months ago. State prosecutors said in early June that Aghvan Petrosyan, the chairperson of a court in Armenia’s Gegharkunik province, was paid $23,000 to give a suspended prison sentence to a young man prosecuted for a 2014 violent assault. The lenient sentence was subsequently struck down by the Court of Appeals in Yerevan and sent back to the Gegharkunik court. The 45-year-old Petrosyan and another judge, Vanik Vardanyan, were also charged in June with accepting $2,500 in exchange for an “illegal verdict” in a property dispute involving Gegharkunik residents. The ruling was handed down by Vardanyan. Both judges were taken into custody. Armenia’s Special Investigative Service (SIS), which is conducting the corruption probe, now claims that Petrosyan was also paid another kickback worth $30,000.

Action plan to reduce corruption risks is on Armenia’s government agenda. Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan chaired a regular meeting of the Anti-Corruption Council which was also attended by civil society representatives. Analysts from the independent expert committee presented the corruption risks that were identified in several areas, and the action plans to reduce these risks. PM Karapetyan, in turn, underscored the implementation of consistent steps to reduce corruption risks in the identified areas, and gave relevant instructions. He also instructed the government chief of staff to finalize the respective document by November, and to submit it for the government’s consideration.

Azerbaijani Ministry of Taxes reveals law violations in activity of Turan News Agency. Mehman Aliyev, the head of an independent news outlet - Turan News Agency, was detained on 24 August on charges of ‘tax evasion’ and ‘abuse of power’. Turan News Agency shall halt its operations starting 1 September for an uncertain period of time due to the freezing of their bank account.

“Open Government Platform in Action” Project results presented.The “Open Government Platform in Action” Project results were presented on 1 August 2017. Kamal Jafarov, Head of the Secretariat of the Commission on Combating Corruption, and the Coordinator in the Open Government Partnership, gave a talk about the electronic monitoring system and other activities implemented in line with the National Action Plan on Promotion of Open Government 2016-2018.

President signs an order on application of law "On rules of conduct of MPs". Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev signed an order on the application of the law "On the rules of conduct of the deputies of the Milli Majlis of the Republic of Azerbaijan" on 8 August 2017. The draft law determines legal mechanisms on observance of ethical conduct rules by Members of Parliament, in accordance with the Constitution of Azerbaijan.

US Department of State issued 2017 Climate Investment Statement report on Bosnia and Herzegovina. According to this report, the country’s political environment and complex government structures create significant obstacles to economic development and foreign direct investment. Although open to foreign investment, investors continue to face a number of serious obstacles including corruption, complex legal and regulatory frameworks and government structures, non-transparent business procedures, insufficient protection of property rights, and a weak judicial system. The country’s complicated government structure and political environment has stalled many key economic reforms. According to the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Report, Bosnia is the least competitive economy in Southeast Europe and is currently ranked 81 out of 190 global economies.

A Never-Ending EU Accession Process: Bosnia and Herzegovina. Beset by problems such as corruption, high unemployment, and ethnic tensions, the stalling of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s accession talks with the EU has only added to the challenges the country faces. The process, which began almost two decades ago, must be given new impetus if the country is to break out of the impasse in which it currently finds itself.

GRECO publishes its Fourth Interim Compliance Report of Third Evaluation Round on Bosnia and Herzegovina. In the report published on 2 August 2017, GRECO notes that Bosnia and Herzegovina has made progress by fully implementing three recommendations and partly implementing four recommendations since the last interim report of July 2016. In total, ten of the twenty-two recommendations have been implemented satisfactorily to date. Seven recommendations have been partly implemented and five have not been implemented.

Czech Parliament Strips Leading Candidate for PM of Immunity; Corruption Charges Ahead. Czech lawmakers stripped Andrej Babis - the leading candidate for prime minister in the upcoming October election - of his legal immunity Wednesday, allowing police to charge him with financial fraud. Babis has been accused of hiding ownership of a firm he owns in order to receive a US$ 2.29 million state subsidy intended to go toward helping small businesses in 2008, media reported.

Petty corruption is on the rise in Jordan - anti-corruption chief says. The Chairman of the Jordanian Integrity and Anti-Corruption Commission (JIACC) has stated that forms of petty corruption in Jordan are on the rise. This assessment is based on the anti-corruption review of 20 major sectors in Jordan. JIACC has prepared proposals to amend over 1200 various legal and sublegal acts to fill the existing regulatory loopholes.

A Special Prosecution and Court to fight corruption and organised crime. A domestic think-tank (Kosovo* Law Institute) has issued a policy paper in which it argues about the necessity to consider the establishment of a special prosecution service and court with exclusive and limited mandate in the fight against corruption and organised crime and based on strong vetting mechanisms.

International community statements on the process of selection of Supreme Court and Court of Appeals presidents. Following the annulment of the previous selection process by the Constitutional Court and the recent repetition of the voting process for the presidents of the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeals by the Kosovo* Judicial Council, concerns were expressed in two different statements issued respectively by the European Union Office in Kosovo/European Union Special Representative and EULEX as well as the embassies of the United Kingdom and United States. The expressed concerns are related solely to the selection process and lack of transparency, irrespective of the candidates chosen. Both statements regrettably note the absence of any substantive and meaningful discussion on the merits of the short-listed candidates as well as lack of sufficient reasoning in the Council’s selection decisions.

Kyrgyz opposition leader convicted ahead of election. A court in Kyrgyzstan sentenced opposition politician Omurbek Tekebayev to eight years in prison for corruption and fraud, two months ahead of a presidential election in which he planned to run. The current President, Almazbek Atambayev, is barred from running in the October 15 election and is backing an ally, the Social Democratic Party member and current Prime Minister, Sooronbai Jeenbekov. Tekebayev is one of Atambayev most outspoken critics. He was detained by the State Security Services in February after state prosecutors accused him of taking a $1 million bribe from a Russian businessman in 2010.

Financial violations and corruption revealed in Kyrgyzstan’s healthcare system. The Ministry of Healthcare of Kyrgyzstan has revealed financial violations in its structural subdivisions worth 44.5 million soms (approximately €538 220) for the first seven months of this year, the press service of the ministry reports. Materials on ten healthcare organisations were submitted to the Prosecutor General’s Office and the State Service for Combating Economic Crimes for further investigation.

Investigation against opposition members on money laundering charges continues. The Special State Prosecution continues its activities against members of the opposition parties Democratic Front (DF) and Movement for Changes (PZP), investigating their suspicious funding from abroad (transfers/donations) on allegations of money laundering and setting up of organised crime group. In mid-August the Supreme Court extended the detention of PZP officials involved in the case. In the course of July, the offices of the Movement for Change and of its leader Medojevic were raided and DF leaders’ passports seized. Back in June, the Parliament voted in favour of lifting the immunity of DF MP Medojevic upon the request of the Special Prosecution. One third of DF MP's are without immunity due to the two ongoing cases in Special Prosecution.

High Court ordered seizure of assets in Marovic case. In the second part of August, the High Court accepted the request by Special Prosecution Office to seize certain assets of the Marovic family, as allegedly gained from criminal activities related to the ongoing corruption case. The assets will remain frozen until financial investigations are concluded, and the origin of properties is determined. Svetozar Marovic (former President of FRY) admitted his involvement in high level corruption cases related to fraud to the budget of Budva municipality and signed two plea bargains back in 2016; he was sentenced to 3 years and 9 months in prison. However, to date, he continues to reside in Belgrade due to ongoing medical treatment. In May, the Kotor Court issued an international arrest warrant for Marovic, raised by the Interpol office in Podgorica afterwards. An Interpol warrant was previously issued for Marovic’ son Milos, a former Montenegrin citizen, in the context of the same case of Budva. Milos Marovic should serve his prison sentence in Montenegro but in the meantime he has been granted Serbian passport and is residing in Belgrade. Some additional branches of the main investigation are being developed. In August, an additional individual, former Montenegrin and now Serbian citizen, was requested to be extradited as a member of the same criminal organisation. The request for extradition was rejected in two instances of the Serbian Courts. A separate plea agreement reached last year went public in the same month, for a Montenegrin member of the same organisation, director of the company treating the waste management of the city of Budva – accused of 8 MLN fraud to the municipal budget.

“Accident” cited as cause of death for prominent Moroccan anti-corruption activist. Following a law enforcement inquiry, it has been determined that an accident was the cause of death of Najim El Abdouni, a prominent anti-corruption activist in Morocco and also a board member of the National Authority for the Protection of Public Funds.

Legislative sprint that doesn’t meet a unanimous approval. It has been 100 days since El Othmani Governemnt has been in office, during which a number of laws have been adopted, including the Law on the independence of the public prosecutor's office and the law establishing the national anti-corruption commission. However, this legislative sprint didn’t meet a unanimous approval, in particular the law on the independence of the public prosecutor’s office. Called to reinforce the independence of the judiciary, the transfer of the powers of the Public Prosecutor's Office to the prosecutor of the King at the Court of Cassation "will give the prosecutor's office a free hand instead of putting safeguards in place", said Deputy Abdellatif Ouahbi (PAM). Nevertheless, the law was adopted by the House of Councillors (Senate) on 2 August and will enter into force on 7 October. The same applies to the Decree on the establishment of the National Anti-Corruption Commission. Immediately after its publication last June, the NGO Transparency Maroc denounced in an open letter to the head of the government "reversal of the government’s position" which "has been revealed upon the publication of decisions clearly beyond what was jointly agreed with various stakeholders, after a long process of consultations with the main government officials concerned".

Change in the European Union Delegation’s leadership. Pirkka Tapiola, Ambassador to the EU Delegation in the Republic of Moldova from April 2013, finished his term. In an official meeting with the Moldovan Prime Minister (PM) Pavel Filip on 21 August 2017, Ambassador Pirkka Tapiola urged the Government to continue focusing on promoting reforms to the benefit of the citizens whereas the PM reiterated the country’s commitment to work intensively on the implementation of the new EU Road Map. Peter Michalko, former Ambassador of the Slovak Republic to Greece, will take office as new EU Ambassador at the beginning of September 2017.

On-going procedures for the elections of the new Head of the National Integrity Authority (NIA). The selection of the new head of NIA has been on-going since April 2017. Delays have been caused by procedural disagreements, resulting with the extension of the deadline to the end of July. As a result, a total of four candidates submitted their applications and are currently under review. No indications have been given as to when the selection will be finalized. However, the next Council meeting will take place on 4 September 2017.

Positive steps to kick off online declarations of assets and personal interests. The Government is going ahead with the implementation of a decision which will provide all public officials with a digital signature. The signatures will be issued by the State Chancellery through the Special Communication Centre with a validity of one year. The National Integrity Authority (NIA) will oversee the creation of an Electronic Register of all concerned officials (about 70.000) which shall be completed by beginning of October 2017. Declarations submitted by officers of the Security and Intelligence Service, investigation officers of special subdivisions of the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Defense, the National Anticorruption Authority and other law enforcement agencies, including Customs, will not be made public.

Moscow Court to Begin Hearings in Ex-Minister Ulyukaev Case. Moscow’s Zamoskvoretsky court begins on August 8 hearings in the case of the former Minister of Economic Development, Alexei Ulyukayev, charged with bribery. Ulyukayev has been charged with extorting a $2-million bribe from state oil company Rosneft, in the first ever corruption case involving a federal minister. Ulyukayev, who denies his guilt, is facing up to 15 years in prison.

Nearly 400 Russian officials dismissed in 2016 over corruption. According to Aleksandr Rusetsky, the head of the Department of Supervision over the Compliance with the Anti-Corruption Legislation of the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office, about 380 Russian officials were dismissed in 2016 over the loss of confidence and the same number so far in 2017. Over 86,000 people have been held to account over 10 years. Number of corruption crimes revealed has increased over three times since 2007, from 106,500 ten years ago to 325,000 in 2016.

Artistic director of the Gogol Center is accused of embezzlement. Kirill Serebrennikov, the artistic director of the Gogol Center, is accused of embezzling 68 mln rubles
($1.1 million) allocated by the Ministry of Culture to carry out the Platforma project, which was created to develop and promote contemporary theatre. Serebrennikov was arrested on 21 August in St. Petersburg, where he was making a film about the legendary perestroika-era singer Viktor Tsoi. He was transferred to Moscow and held in pre-trial detention. On 23 August the Basmanny Court in Moscow put him under house arrest.

US Ambassador: Romania must not to backtrack on corruption fight. The U.S. ambassador to Romania has warned the country not to backtrack on progress made in the fight against corruption if it wants to remain attractive to investors. Hans G. Klemm said Thursday that the European Union member ought not to "make backward steps on the impressive progress made" in anti-graft efforts in the past decade. "Transparency, stability and predictability are key principles for an attractive investor climate," Klemm told a meeting of foreign investors attended by government and central bank officials.

EU calls on Romania to check corruption. Brussels has asked Romania to provide details of its proposed overhaul of the judiciary. During a visit to Bucharest in mid-August, French President Emmanuel Macron echoed the European Commission’s concerns.  

Romania’s judicial reform plans prompt anti-corruption backlash. Romanian Justice Minister Tudorel Toader proposed changes to three laws, prompting accusations from the Romanian president and opposition parties that the government was attempting an “attack on the rule of law” and was following in the footsteps of the Polish government. The proposals come just seven months after the biggest protests since the fall of communism in the country forced Romania’s Social Democrat (PSD) government to scrap an emergency decree about the definition of abuse of office, which was widely seen as a way to decriminalize some acts of corruption.

Fighting corruption at local level. Not a single town and municipality in Serbia have, by 30 June which was the deadline, formed local bodies for the fight against corruption, as has been foreseen by the Action Plan for Chapter 23 in the negotiations with the European Union, published the Belgrade-based think-tank Bureau for Social Research (BIRODI).

Serbia amongst the least open for business, according to the recent ‘Best countries to start a business’ report by US News & World Report, the Wharton Business School and BAV Consulting. The country ranks 75th out of 80 economies. The main criteria for the ranking were the level of corruption, a favourable tax environment, bureaucratic procedures, cheap manufacturing costs and transparent government practices.

The Anti-Corruption Agency prepared an opinion on the assessment of the risk of corruption in the provisions of the Draft Law on the Foundations of the Education System. According to the Agency’s opinion, the draft laws do not fully include all the necessary changes, as indicated in the National Strategy for the Fight against Corruption in the Republic of Serbia for the period 2013-2018 and the Revised Action Plan for its implementation.

Public Prosecutor Zvrlevski dismissed by Parliament. The president of the Parliament put to vote the dismissal of the State Public Prosecutor Mr Zvrlevski. Prior to the vote, representatives of the opposition party VMRO-DMPNE left the parliament. For days before the dismissal of Mr Zvrlevski was put to vote, the opposition claimed that the procedure was illegal, blocked the Parliament boot and requested from the Commission for Preventing Corruption to clarify whether the procedure for the dismissal should continue. Before putting it to vote in the Parliament, the Government sent a proposal to the Council of Public Prosecutors for dismissal of Mr Zvrlevski. The Council voted by a majority in favour of the Government’s proposal. On 17 August, with 64 votes in favour and 0 against the Parliament dismissed Mr Zvrlevski. A new Acting State Public Prosecutor has been appointed. Ms Liljana Spasovka will hold this position till a new State Public Prosecutor is elected after the local elections, scheduled for October 2017.

The Tunisian Anti-corruption authority transfers 169 corruption cases to justice authorities. The National Authority for the Fight against Corruption in Tunisia (INLUCC) has transferred 169 corruption-related dossiers to the justice authorities, including 27 to the judicial investigative unit, specialized in economic and financial crime investigations. Extortion and public procurement fraud are among the key offences highlighted in the cases.

ProZorro launches risk indicators system to monitor tenders automatically. E-system of anonymous auctions has already reduced risks of malpractices, but it does not make them impossible. The risk indicators system will analyse the data automatically and reveal suspicious tenders. The results of monitoring and cases of suspicious tenders will be reported to the State Audit Service and law enforcement authorities.

Ukraine joins the Global registry of beneficial owners. Information on beneficial owners in open data format is available on the Unified State Web Portal of Open Data. The Ministry of Justice of Ukraine, the State Agency for E-Governance, Transparency International Ukraine and the OpenOwnership consortium have cooperated to transfer information about beneficial owners to the Global Registry.