Latest news with #corruption
The Guardian
an hour ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
The Guardian view on restoring trust in politics: Labour must not soft-pedal on standards reform
John Major did not beat about the bush. In a speech this week to an Institute for Government conference marking the 30th anniversary of the Nolan report on standards in public life, the former prime minister went straight to the heart of the matter. 'For many decades,' he said, 'Britain enjoyed a global reputation for being free of corruption and bad practice. That is less true today. It is in our national interest to regain that reputation.' That is indisputably true. But it is not just the global reputation that matters. It is also, at least as significantly, the domestic one. Trust in British public life has diminished, is diminishing and urgently needs to be rebuilt. Confidence in politics and government to change lives is draining away. As Sir John said, the trend needs to be reversed before the damage is 'beyond salvage'. That point may, indeed, have been reached already. This is an issue that transcends political parties. So there is no enduring virtue in pointing out that the Nolan committee had to be set up by Sir John precisely because of the Conservative sleaze scandals of the 1990s, the decade of David Mellor and Jonathan Aitken. Or in pointing out that most of the reputational damage highlighted in his speech was committed in more recent Tory years, under the shameful premiership of Boris Johnson in particular. All of that is true. But Labour governments have not been without sins of their own – some of them serious – either in the past or more recently. It does public life no favours at all to turn this into a partisan issue. Both major parties (and smaller parties too) like to pretend that they alone are virtuous and that all blame rests with the others. But that is not true. There is a real danger that the Starmer government and the Labour party are giving way to this self-deceit. Since they, they tell themselves, are good people trying to do good things, the system is safe and trust will be restored. That is not true either. It is the system that is at risk, and which needs to be rebuilt and safeguarded. The clock is ticking. The Nolan report's seven principles for public life – selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty and leadership – provide a rock on which to rebuild. But, as Sir John's speech underlines, the increasingly extensive network of ethical supervision, advice and enforcement within parliament and government is complex, fragmented, uneven and sometimes ineffective. Labour's 2024 manifesto promised some reforms, including the creation of an independent ethics and integrity commission across government. Yet the manifesto remained unclear on key points. These included whether the enforcement processes would be statutory, and whether the commission would replace the network of existing machinery or be grafted on to them in some way. A year on from Labour's election victory, the plan is still no clearer. The government seems to be stalling on the commission and is considering a more 'principles-based' approach to regulation. Sir John thinks 'stiffening up' Nolan is the key. But both approaches risk reinventing an only slightly better version of the 'good chaps' system of regulation that broke down so badly under Mr Johnson. That is simply not good enough. Merely tweaking the system risks leaving it a scandal away from a fresh outbreak of public contempt for politics that can only help Nigel Farage.
Al Arabiya
3 hours ago
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
An adviser to an ex-Ukrainian president is killed near an American school in Spain, officials say
An adviser to former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych was shot to death Wednesday outside the American School of Madrid where at least one of his children was enrolled, Spanish authorities and witnesses said. Andrii Portnov, 51, was shot at 9:15 a.m. (0715 GMT) as students were arriving, Spain's Interior Ministry said. Portnov was a former politician tied closely to Yanukovych, the pro-Moscow president of Ukraine from 2010 until he was ousted in a popular uprising in 2014 after shelving plans to bring the country closer to the European Union and instead deepen ties with President Vladimir Putin's Russia. Yanukovych's ouster in February 2014 followed a brutal crackdown on anti-government protesters, with dozens of people killed, many by police snipers. Portnov was deputy head of the presidential office in that period and was involved in drafting legislation aimed at punishing participants of the uprising. Ukrainian authorities opened a treason case against him, which was later closed, and he also was the subject of US sanctions involving corruption in Ukraine. Ukrainian officials did not immediately comment on Portnov's killing. Witnesses said Portnov was shot several times in the head and body by more than one gunman when he was getting into a Mercedes Benz registered to him, police said. The unidentified assailants then fled on foot, and local media reported police helicopters later flew over a nearby park. Portnov died in the parking lot with at least three shots to his body, Madrid's emergency services said. He had one child enrolled at the school, according to a parent and an uncle of students there who spoke with The Associated Press. The school declined to comment. After fleeing Ukraine in 2014, Portnov reportedly lived in Russia in 2015 before relocating to Austria. It wasn't immediately clear when he moved to Spain. In 2018, when pro-Western Petro Poroshenko was president of Ukraine, the country's Security Service, or SBU, opened an investigation against Portnov on suspicion of state treason, alleging his involvement in Russia's illegal annexation of the Crimean Peninsula. The criminal case was closed in 2019, three months after Volodymyr Zelenskyy came to power. The United States imposed personal sanctions on Portnov in 2021, designating him as someone 'responsible for or complicit in, or (who) has directly or indirectly engaged in, corruption, including the misappropriation of state assets, the expropriation of private assets for personal gain, corruption related to government contracts or the extraction of natural resources, or bribery.' Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, there have been a number of killings of high-profile figures linked to Moscow and Kyiv. The killings have included Darya Dugina, the daughter of a prominent Russian nationalist; military blogger Vladlen Tatarsky; and several high-ranking Russian military officers. In those instances, Ukraine denied involvement. One exception was former Ukrainian lawmaker Illia Kyva, who fled to Russia before the invasion and was killed there in 2023. The SBU said in a statement that its chief, Vasyl Maliuk, has said 'the enemies of Ukraine will definitely be held accountable for their crimes.' One killing that prompted speculation of retaliation by Moscow was the shooting death in Spain last year of Russian pilot Maxim Kuzminov, who defected to Ukraine in 2023, although there was no independent confirmation of Russia's involvement. Police cordoned off a crime scene in a parking lot outside the gate of the American School of Madrid, located in the upscale town of Pozuelo de Alarcón, north of Madrid. Luis Rayo, 19, who lives in a neighboring building, said he was sleeping when he heard gunfire and went to see what happened. One student who is in 11th grade said he was 20 minutes into his first class when he and his classmates heard of the shooting. School administrators told students that a man had been shot and pronounced dead outside. 'I thought it was a drill,' he said. 'I was worried because at first I thought it might be a parent of someone I know.' His mother, who is originally from Azerbaijan, said she knew someone through the emigré community with the same first name as the victim but did not know him well. 'I didn't know there were Ukrainian politicians there,' she said, adding that the man she knew had a son in the fourth grade. 'I was in shock. Like how is it possible that this happens here?'
UAE Moments
3 hours ago
- UAE Moments
UAE Arrests Wanted Moldovan in Corruption Case
The UAE has announced the arrest of Vitaliy Pirlog, a Moldovan national wanted in a major cross-border corruption case. According to the Ministry of Interior, Pirlog was detained on June 15 at the request of French authorities. Join our FREE WhatsApp channel to dive into a world of real-time engagement! Pirlog, who once served as chairman of Interpol's Commission for the Control of Files, is the subject of an active Interpol Red Notice. He faces serious charges, including forgery, bribery, solicitation, and fraud. The UAE Ministry of Interior confirmed the arrest on Thursday, June 19, highlighting that it was made in close coordination with international and regional law enforcement partners. French officials have since acknowledged the UAE's cooperation, noting that the move reinforces the importance of united global efforts to tackle cross-border crime. This is not the first time the UAE has played a key role in international arrests and extraditions. Just last month, the UAE extradited Sean McGovern, an alleged senior member of an Irish transnational gang, to Dublin. McGovern was arrested at his home in Dubai and later charged with murder and directing organised crime. He became the first person to be extradited from the UAE to Ireland. In February, the UAE extradited wanted French national Mehdi Charafa, who was facing drug-related charges in France. A month earlier, Abdul Rahman Al Qaradawi was taken into custody in the UAE based on a provisional arrest warrant from Lebanon. He faced charges of attempting to undermine public security. And last year, the UAE handed over a Filipino citizen accused of sexually exploiting more than 100 children back in the Philippines. The UAE continues to strengthen its international reputation as a key player in global law enforcement, working closely with other nations to crack down on fugitives and uphold justice beyond borders.
Russia Today
5 hours ago
- Politics
- Russia Today
Minister tasked with repatriating Ukrainians accused of fleeing country
The minister charged with repatriating Ukrainians living in the West has been accused of fleeing the country. Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister and National Unity Minister Aleksey Chernyshov leads a government department created in late 2024 to encourage citizens to return home. MP Artyom Dmitruk and journalist Anatoly Shariy, both critics of the current Ukrainian government, claimed Chernyshov 'escaped' the country after several known associates of his were arrested on charges of fraud and embezzlement. Dmitruk, who himself left Ukraine earlier this year citing persecution by authorities, said Thursday on social media that the minister's departure is 'particularly comical,' adding 'However they are trying to conceal this and whatever happens to this case now the fact remains that the regime is crumbling before our eyes.' Chernyshov's office has denied his departure is linked to a criminal case launched by Ukraine's National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) against five individuals over alleged offences committed when Chernyshov served as urban development minister. Among the suspects is a former Ukrainian deputy minister who also held a position at state-run energy firm Naftogaz, and a former ministerial aide. According to investigators, the group illegally transferred state-owned land to a private developer, who provided discounted luxury apartments in return. Authorities executed search warrants related to the case last year at an elite residential complex in Kiev. Ukrainian news outlets have identified the accused as longtime associates of Chernyshov. Media reports from 2024 linked one of the searched properties to his former head of security and claimed Chernyshov himself owns an apartment in the same building. Shariy, an EU-based reporter who was recently sentenced in Ukraine to 15 years in prison for state treason, claimed the minister is now hiding in the EU while awaiting protection from Vladimir Zelensky. On Thursday, Ukraine's parliament, which is dominated by Zelensky's supporters, approved the formation of a special commission to examine corruption allegations involving law enforcement and the judiciary. Critics claim the body is meant to target NABU investigators. The Ukrainian government has faced repeated corruption scandals in recent years. In 2023, former Defense Minister Aleksey Reznikov stepped down following revelations that his ministry had paid inflated prices for military rations. His successor, Rustem Umerov, is reportedly under investigation by anti-corruption authorities for alleged abuse of power related to the defense procurement system.
Bloomberg
6 hours ago
- Politics
- Bloomberg
Why Kenyans Are Back on the Streets: Protests, Corruption, and a Crisis of Trust
A year since deadly protests against the Kenyan government saw more than 60 people killed, Kenyans are again taking to the streets to protest police brutality. These protests, triggered by the death of a kenyan activist in police custody, come as the IMF arrive in the country to assess Kenya's attempts to tackle corruption. On this week's episode East Africa Bureau Chief Helen Nyambura joins Jennifer Zabasajja to discuss what's behind these new protests, and whether President Ruto can actually tackle corruption and do a deal with the IMF to turn the economy around. For more stories from the region, subscribe to the Next Africa newsletter here
