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Conflict of interest inquiry probes UK MPs sitting on informal
parliamentary groups while paid by industry
2 Aug, 2021 17:25
British MPs who sit on influential parliamentary groups while holding plum industry jobs are the subject of a conflict of interest inquiry by the House of Commons Standards Committee, which is probing backdoor lobbying.
The inquiry is the first formal investigation since 2013 into concerns that the informal all-party parliamentary groups (APPG) are being used as a “vehicle for improper access or influence by lobbyists or foreign governments.”
There are more than 700 active APPGs, which are less regulated cross-party forums for policy discussion than select committees in Parliament. They are focused on a wide range of countries and issues, from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe, to zoos and aquariums.
The inquiry will hear evidence from witnesses on the alleged external influences on the groups next month, according to the Committee on Standards. Given their informal nature, the APPGs are allowed to involve individuals and organizations from outside Parliament in their activities, giving rise to accusations of conflicts of interest.
It is “vital” to ensure the APPGs are run “openly and transparently” and that there is no “inappropriate use,” said MP Chris Bryan, who chairs the Standards Committee.
Rules on lobbying are intended “to avoid the perception that outside individuals or organisations” may reward parliamentarians, “through payment or in other ways,” for “actions in the House” that will benefit those outside groups.
However, transparency watchdog Unlock Democracy has warned of a potential loophole in the rules that allows MPs to hold industry roles while being part of APPGs that work to shape government policy relating to those industries or sectors.
These MPs “should at the very least recuse themselves from any APPG activity that seeks to influence government policy, secure parliamentary debates, etc in the area championed by the APPG,” Tom Brake, the group’s director, told the Guardian.
Brake called for a “more transparent approach” and urged the inquiry to amend the lobbying rules to state that “being a paid adviser to a company, industry or sector and being a member of a relevant APPG, or a number of relevant APPGs, was a breach” of the code of conduct.
In response, Bryant told the paper that the committee would examine the group’s claims and said the point of the inquiry was to ensure that “the name of Parliament should never be taken in vain for commercial or personal gain.”
APPGs have come under increased criticism in recent months. In June, researchers at the University of Bath published a study in the scientific journal PLOS One that found pharmaceutical companies provided almost £2.2 million ($3 million) of all funding received by 58 health-related registered APPGs between 2012 and 2018.
In 2013, a previous review of APPGs was launched after a lobbying sting by the BBC that resulted in former Tory whip Patrick Mercer’s resignation, after he was recorded saying that APPGs were attractive to MPs who wanted trips to foreign locations.
But that review had refused to order a complete overhaul of regulations, claiming that stricter enforcement of rules would provide APPGs an “incentive to de-register” and lead to a “reduction rather than an increase in transparency.”
Perhaps, but then they could be dealt with as criminals.
Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro investigated over election fraud claims
By Zarrin Ahmed
Aug. 3 (UPI) -- Election officials in Brazil announced on Tuesday that they're investigating President Jair Bolsonaro for sowing doubt about the country's electoral process, which critics say is threatening to Brazilian democracy.
The populist and controversial Bolsonaro said last weekend that next year's presidential election might not be held due to questions about physical ballots.
Previously, he also questioned past elections and made claims that elections officials say are baseless.
The country's electoral authority, the TSE, said Tuesday that it will investigate his remarks to see if they constituted a crime or violation of Brazilian law.
"Threatening the realization of an election represents anti-democratic behavior," TSE President Luis Roberto Barroso said, according to The Guardian.
"Polluting the public debate with disinformation, lies, hatred and conspiracy theories represents anti-democratic behavior."
Seriously! In the 21st century, it seems like that is all democracy is about.
Bolsonaro, who was long a supporter of former U.S. President Donald Trump, responded Tuesday by saying that he won't accept "intimidation."
According to election officials, last year's municipal elections saw voter turnout of 147 million people across 5,500 municipalities and more than 400,000 machines. The voting system, implemented in 1996, has been praised for helping eliminate fraud and accelerate election results.
Experts say Bolsonaro's claims about fraud is a possible move to deflect the heavy criticism he's received over his response to the COVID-19 pandemic -- and the fact that polling indicates that he faces a tough election challenge next year from opponent Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
It must be time to arrest da Silva again, for something!
Kyrgyzstan arrests former Prime Minister on corruption charges
linked to Canadian-run gold mine critics say is poisoning country
5 Aug, 2021 17:19
© Reuters / Vladimir Pirogov
By Gabriel Gavin, in Moscow
Temir Sariev, the former prime minister of Kyrgyzstan, has been detained over allegations of corruption and understating the environmental risk coming from one of the world’s largest gold mines, which is built into a glacier.
On Wednesday, the Pervomaisky District Court in the capital, Bishkek, announced that Sariev would be held behind bars until at least September 30. The Central Asian nation has been embroiled in a dispute over the colossal Kumtor Mine, which activists say has sent huge profits overseas at the expense of the local environment.
In May, government officials announced they had taken charge of the mine, forcing out Canadian firm Centerra Gold, which had previously been responsible for digging up nearly 16 tons of the precious metal each year. The firm has slammed the move as state appropriation and launched an international legal bid.
Jakub Kronenberg, a researcher at Poland’s University of Lodz, warned several years ago that “Kumtor is the largest mining operation interfering with glaciers worldwide,” and that its impact on the ice sheets was “huge in absolute terms.” There have also been fears that the glacier is melting faster than before and risks flooding wastewater ponds that are said to contain high levels of cyanide used in the extraction of gold, risking poisoning nearby water supplies.
However, Centerra disputes these allegations, saying the Kyrgystan government’s own expert reports “have confirmed that the Kumtor Mine is operated in accordance with international best practices and its recommendations for improvements have been implemented by the Company.”
Instead, it says, climate change is the driving force behind the melting of the glacier.
President Sadyr Japarov, whose supporters had previously staged protests outside the dig site, promised as part of his election platform that he would bring down “all officials involved in corrupt practices.”
American investment guru Calvey handed 5.5-year suspended jail term in Russia for fraud as controversial case comes to an end
6 Aug, 2021 19:44
US-born financier Michael Calvey has been handed a 5.5-year suspended prison sentence in Russia for embezzlement, after a judge found he and his colleagues conspired to pocket tens of millions of dollars in a high-profile ruling.
The investor, who founded one of Russia's largest investment funds, was handed the sentence at a hearing of the Meshchansky Court in Moscow on Friday. Under its terms, he will have to remain in the country and report regularly to the authorities. Failing to comply with the terms could see the businessman put behind bars.
Calvey’s bank accounts are no longer subject to a court freeze order, according to TASS.
All other figures in the case have also been slapped with suspended sentences, including Calvey’s French associate Philippe Delpal, who was handed four and a half years, suspended. The prosecutors had been seeking a six-year suspended sentence for Calvey and a five-year term for Delpal.
Calvey, who founded Baring Vostok in 1994, was found guilty of the charges by a judge the day before. Speaking on the steps of the courthouse on Thursday evening, the financier argued that the prosecutors had failed to prove he had done anything wrong. “But it’s not over yet. I hope tomorrow the judge will address the real facts – hope dies last,” he added.
Authorities say Calvey and his associates overstated the value of assets as part of a financial transaction, accusing Baring Vostok's leadership of misappropriating funds worth 2.5 billion rubles ($34.2 million). The executives have all maintained their innocence and insist the claims were brought as part of a dispute with a rival Russian company. According to them, the case was brought in order to prevent Baring Vostok from effectively suing Vostochny Bank in a British court as part of a dispute over hundreds of millions of dollars allegedly disappearing from a jointly-owned business.
The investment fund, one of the country's largest, says it has put more than $2.5 billion into mid-sized firms and startups, as well as major domestic tech firms like Yandex. Moscow business daily Vedomosti previously described the firm as “a symbol of direct investment in Russia” and Calvey was a regular speaker at the influential St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.
He and his team have sought to portray the trial as a test for confidence in Russian business, and Calvey has argued that a favorable court decision would soothe any anxieties about the country among overseas venture capitalists. “It would not be an exaggeration to say that such a positive decision by the court could bring Russia billions of dollars in new investments, adding thousands of jobs,” he said in a statement prior to the verdict being made known.
Portraying himself as too important to take down might not have been the best strategy. It works in America, but, apparently not in Russia.
Bring back firing squads? Corruption in Russia’s military-industrial
complex should be punishable by DEATH, says space agency head
9 Aug, 2021 09:28
Soyuz-2.1b rocket booster with 36 OneWeb satellites blasts off from the launchpad at the Vostochny Cosmodrome, Amur region, Russia. © Sputnik / Russian Space Agency Roscosmos; (inset) Dmitry Rogozin © Sputnik / Evgeny Biyatov
The punishment for corruption in Russia’s military-industrial complex should be made much tougher, with the possibility of death by firing squad. That’s according to Dmitry Rogozin, head of Roscosmos, the country’s space agency.
Speaking to the popular YouTube channel Solovyov Live, Rogozin explained his view that corruption in this field is not only theft of state funds but also the theft of security.
“When I still worked in parliament, I publicly stated that, in my opinion, corruption in the military-industrial complex should be punished by firing squad, not by imprisonment,” Rogozin said, noting that his opinion has not changed in the time since.
Russia currently has a moratorium on the death penalty, introduced in 1997 when the country joined the Council of Europe.
The Russian Space Agency, in particular, has been the victim of several high-profile criminal cases involving the embezzlement of hundreds of millions of dollars worth of rubles. In particular, the construction of the Vostochny Cosmodrome in the country’s Far East was severely set back by corruption, which not only delayed its completion but also increased the cost of building.
In November 2019, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov reported that at least 11 billion rubles ($150 million) were stolen during its construction.
Earlier this year, Moscow daily Kommersant reported that new criminal cases had been opened for abuse of official authority and the embezzlement of hundreds of millions of rubles after new evidence came to light over agreements with cosmodrome contractors.
The Vostochny spaceport, despite its struggles, is now partially operational, and in 2023 will become the main launchpad of the country’s domestically made Angara launch vehicle. The first stage of the cosmodrome is already operational.
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