Eric Adams and Turkish Money in New York Politics.

Last week, Eric Adams, the mayor of New York City, got himself embroiled in a fundraising scandal. According to an article in Reuters, Adams’s chief campaign fundraiser, Brianna Suggs, had her home searched by FBI agents on November 2nd due to Adams’ possible involvement in a scheme to funnel foreign money from a Turkish donor to his mayoral campaign. On top of that, according to a report in the New York Times, Adams allegedly pressured the New York Fire Department (NYFD) to sign off on the Turkish government’s new consular building despite safety concerns. A follow-up article in the Times stated that Adams had cultivated close ties to the Turkish business community in New York. Many people this time of year are looking forward to turkey and all of the fixings; however, for Adams, the fixings surrounding Turkey could be bribery and corruption, not stuffing and mashed potatoes.

Portugal PM Costa Resigns After Corruption Probe.

Today, the prime minister of Portugal, Antonio Costa, resigned due to his role in corruption allegations. According to an article in Reuters, Costa’s chief of staff, Vitor Escaria, was detained by police, and the minister for infrastructure, Joao Galamba, was named the prime suspect. According to an article in Politico, the allegation centers on large-scale infrastructure projects involving the extraction of lithium in the north of the country, as well as a project focused on the development of green hydrogen technology. The socialist government under Costa has been committed to green energy ventures. Despite this, the projects have been dogged by allegations of environmental damage and the poor quality of lithium extracted. This is a significant blow for the socialist party as they were re-elected last year, and Costa was expected to stay in power for a while longer.

Panama Removed from FATF Gray List.

Last week, Panama was from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Gray List. FATF is an Inter-governmental organization that monitors corruption worldwide. According to an article in the US News, the Panamanian government has made enough reforms to the financial sector that the country can be taken off the list. This will, according to the article, open the door to more international investment. While this is undeniably a good sign, one has to hope that the type of people who want to put money in Panama are doing it for the right reasons.

Former Albanian PM Ensnared in Corruption Probe.

The former Prime Minister of Albania, Sali Berisha, was recently charged with corruption offenses. According to a Reuters article, Berisha hopes to steer the privatization of land once owned by a local football club, FK Partizani, in such a way that it would benefit a company owned by his son-in-law. According to a report from the AP, Berisha believes these charges are politically motivated by the current PM, Edi Rama. Berisha has a checkered history involving corruption; according to ABC News, in 2021, Berisha was banned from entering the US due to numerous allegations of corruption during their tenure as PM from 2005 to 2013. It is unclear how this will play out, but I would assume that Berisha may well be facing a stretch behind bars.

Menendez Pleads Not Guilty to Federal Corruption Charges.

Yesterday, according to an article on NBC Bay Area, Robert Menendez was back in a federal courtroom in New York City after the indictment was rewritten to add a charge. Menendez pleaded not guilty to being a foreign agent for the government of Egypt. According to an article on CBS.com, Menendez’s wife and Wael Hama, an Egyptian-American businessmen, pleaded not guilty last week, while Menendez was allowed to delay his arraignment due to his senate commitments. Due to these allegations, Menendez has stepped down from chairing the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee. The trial continues.

Former Head of China Bank Arrested on Corruption Charges.

Today, China arrested the former head of one of its largest commercial banks, Liu Liange. According to the BBC, Liu is accused of illegally granting loans, bringing banned publications into China, and accepting bribes. Liu was expelled from the communist party after this accusation came to light. According to Barrons, President Xi has been embarking on a wide-sweeping campaign to eradicate corruption from the Communist Party. One must assume that Liu probably won’t see the light of day soon.

Head of China Life Insurance Sentenced to Death on Corruption Charges.

The former Chairman of China’s most prominent life insurance firm Wang Bin today was sentenced to death with a two year reprieve after being found guilty on corruption charges. This is the latest conviction of a well-known figure in China’s financial services industry, as President Xi clamps down on corruption. According to a report from CNN, Mr. Wang had taken $44 million in bribes and had stashed $7 million away in a bank account in Hong Kong. It is unclear who could have bribed Mr. Wang; it could be anyone within the Chinese business community or someone from abroad. According to a report in the Independent, when Wang was arrested in 2022, China’s anti-corruption body stated he failed to institute policies within his company that would mitigate financial risks. Likely, this will not be the last time a prominent figure in the Chinese financial industry will be charged with corruption.

Ukraine’s ongoing crusade against Corruption.

This week, the Ukrainian government under President Zelensky has been making further efforts to eradicate societal Corruption in Ukraine. Several outlets, including Reuters, have reported that a delegation of Ukrainian officials has met with Jake Sullivan, the U.S. national security advisor, about improving anti-corruption efforts. Along with that is a report from the BBC that Ihor Kolomoisky, a well-known Ukrainian oligarch, is to be held in custody for two months on fraud and money laundering charges. Arguably, the most critical corruption story to come out of Ukraine is that President Zelensky has fired his defense minister, Oleskii Reznikov, because of allegations of Corruption. A report by the Washington Post suggests that Rustem Umerov, the former head of the State Property Fund of Ukraine, will take over. While there is a long way to go, it is clear that the Ukrainian government is making strides in stamping out governmental malfeasance.

Bongo Deposed in Gabon.

This week, the president of Gabon, Ali Bongo, was deposed in a military-led coup. According to an article from the BBC, the military stepped in after Bongo had been announced as the recent election winner. Bongo had been in power for nine years after taking over from his father, who had been in power since the 1960s. Gabon has had a long history of corruption primarily due to its numerous natural resources, such as oil, being exploited by the Bongo family. According to the Washington Post, Gabon is the seventh country in Africa that has experienced a military coup in the last two years. Another report by the BBC suggests that Brice Nguema is an unlikely coup leader because he is reported to have close links to the Bongos. I fear Gabon will go the way of Niger and Mali, where the military coups have not led to meaningful change but more political instability.

Guatemala Plagued by Continuing Instability.

Last week, I wrote a piece on Bernardo Arevalo, the newly elected president of Guatemala, and his Anti-Corruption credentials. Since then, there have been several worrying developments about how effectively Guatemala can fight corruption and the future of its democracy. On Monday, Guatemalan prosecutors arrested Claudia Gonzalez, a representative of Guatemala’s anti-corruption commission, better known as CICIG. According to a report by the AP, Gonzalez was arrested on charges of abuse of authority by a public servant, even though, at the time, she was not officially a government member. According to another report by Yahoo, at the time of her arrest, Gonzalez had been acting as a representative for the numerous other Anti-Corruption officials arrested by the Guatemalan government.

On top of this, despite the official certification of Arevalo as the new president, there remain doubts about his ability to take office. According to a report by Al-Jazeera, the outgoing president of Guatemala, Alejandro Giammattei, has assured Arevalo and his campaign that there will be a smooth transition of power. Despite this, Guatemala’s electoral registry has suspended Arevalo’s party Movimento Semilla (the seed Movement). There are still fears that Guatemala’s political establishment, which is notoriously corrupt, will try and find some way to impede Arevalo’s ascension to the presidency. One has to hope that democracy will prevail and that Arevalo can take power.