Channel News Asia Interview

Alex Duperouzel from ComplianceAsia was interviewed on Channel News Asia this morning about regional anti corruption efforts.

Q&A as follows:

Q: What are the new challenges in the fight against corruption in Asia and the Pacific?

A: Essentially the challenges are the same as they have been for the last 20 years. Firstly governments need to ensure that they have a clean and efficient system domestically. They then need to ensure that their own citizens are not corrupting other institutions and thirdly they need to ensure that they have a banking system that is not hiding ill gotten wealth while protecting the privacy rights of the individual.

Q: World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz's fight against corruption in poor contries has drawn criticism for its agressive approach. What's your view on this?

A: Paul Wolfowitz is doing a great job. He is continuing the good work of his predecessor, James Wolfenson who instituted a number of anti corruption reforms during his tenure. You need to remember that there are still a large number of people within the World Bank and UN infrastructure that think that corruption is a good thing, that development will not proceed without it. Mr Wolfowitz has a signficant challenge in front of him and that challenge requires leadership. He is showing that leadership as well as courage and I think he will do a good job for the World Bank.

Q: Can you walk us through the role of international organisations and donors in the region's fight against corruption?

A: The Asian Development Bank and the OECD have been very active in this field for many years. They have a mentoring program to help countries develop their own anti corruption agencies and systems. PBEC, the Pacific Basin Economic Council, has also been very active in this field. Of course Transparency International is also very active around the region. The answer in relation to individual donor countries is more complex and tied up in high politics and the great game. Donor countries need to support the World Bank's current anti corruption efforts.

Q: Can the business sector help or contribute in fighting corruption?

A: The business sector still has a very important role to play. Business leaders need to reaffirm their committment to a level playing field but they in turn need to be supported by shareholders. It is no good for business to take a stand against a corrupt system and find that they are then criticised for performance at the AGM.

Q: Do surveys play a role in anti corruption reform?

A: Surveys are important but like all surveys they have their limitations. Take for example the most well known survey, the Transparency International Perceptions Index. The key word here is perceptions. The index shows how a country is perceived from a corruption standpoint. Perception does not always match reality. If you take Pakistan for example. Pakistan typically has a low perception index rating. The on ground reality is quite different. President Musharraf has made great strides in cleaning up and reforming the systems of government in that country. He inherited quite a legacy in that regard. When you go on ground in Pakistan you find that the real situation is not the same as the perception.

Q: What is the state of international legal assistance in the prosecution of corruption?

A: Well corruption is more of a local issue so there really is not a lot of scope for international assistance other than in the area of freezing bank accounts and tracing funds. There has recently been a number of changes in Singapore and elsewhere in Financial Action Task Force member states to introduce provisions relating PEP's, politically exposed personalities. These provisions will make it harder for officials to hide corrupt wealth.