OCCRP Weekly News Roundup

Stars have long depended on coteries of advisers to tell them how to act, what to wear, and where to eat.  But a new consulting service can help prevent the gaffes they endure after being seen in the presence of international political and military despots, tyrants and business tycoons with murky ties.  Actors Jean Claude Van Damme and Hillary Swank had to apologize last week after pictures surfaced of them at the opulent birthday party of Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov.  Swank was allegedly remunerated in the six figures for her attendance, while Van Damme is reported to have professed his love for the Chechen leader: “I love you, Mr. Kadyrov.”

Many of Kadyrov’s constituents don’t share those amorous sentiments, as the 35-year-old leader of the impoverished republic has reportedly amassed fortunes through his ties to organized crime.

Now, NYT MediaDecoder has announced, stars can submit invitations from potentially corrupt politicians or organized crime figures to a free service that will advise them on whether allegations of egregious human rights violations should make them think twice about attending an event.

The consulting service is provided by long-time celebrity adviser Global Philanthropy Group in partnership with Human Rights Watch. It could prevent the scandals that arose when it came out that diva musicians Beyonce and Mariah Carey, hip hop artists Jay-Z and Usher, and even American singer Lionel Ritchie were paid over $1 million each to perform at parties for relatives of Libya’s former leader Muamer Gaddafi.  Afterwards, the performers scrambled to donate the proceeds to approved philanthropic causes.

Are you a star who has trouble doing a google search on a potential party thrower?  Email humanrights@globalphilanthropy.com.   Maybe Elton John should check out his Ukrainian friends more closely.

EU-Ukraine Relations: Orange Goes Sour

Yuliya Tymoshenko’s not going anywhere, and neither are Ukraine’s European Union aspirations, if this week’s events are an accurate barometer.  The former prime minister was sentenced last week to seven years behind bar for abusing her position to make a deal with Russia over natural gas supplies.

This week, prosecutors announced a new investigation into Tymoshenko that could land her in jail for an additional 12 years.  The probe was launched at the behest of the Russian government, who came knocking at Ukraine’s door asking for a return on $405 million that it had loaned to the then-fledgling economy.

As a result of the ongoing saga, the European Union officials canceled a high level meeting that would have initiated Ukraine’s incorporation into a European free trade agreement, supposedly one of Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovich’s top priorities.  Herman van Rompuy, European Council President, announced on Twitter that the meeting was postponed indefinitely, “to a later date when the conditions will be more conducive to making progress.”

Yanukovich did not tweet back.  Instead he held a previously-planned meeting with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and then tweeted a warm welcome for the Emir of Qatar.

Bulgaria: General Elections Come With Fraud

It hasn’t been an easy pre-election period in Bulgaria.  Violent protests, allegations of vote buying and ethnic tensions have marred the campaign period.  According to recent polling, any victor Sunday’s elections will win by a slim margin, probably slimmer than the 12% of the electorate who Transparency International identified as willing to sell their votes in exchange for money, food, or materials for heating.  Another 7% said they would be willing, except the remuneration was too small.

At least seven to 10 percent of votes are manipulated in Bulgaria, according to Professor Mihail Konstantinov, a mathematician and former member of Bulgaria’s Elections Commission.

Katya Hristova, Transparency International-Bulgaria's Program Director also said the organization had encountered attempts to launder campaign money by attributing donations to fictitious people.

Sunday’s race for the top of the ticket is sure to culminate in a run-off,

Corruption Across, and Even Within EU, According to Auditor

The European Union’s (EU) anti-fraud office (OLAF) has found that Bulgaria had more investigations into fraud pending than any other EU country, according to a report released yesterday in Brussels.

Out of a total of 419 investigations managed by OLAF in 2010, 81 involved Bulgaria, one of the EU’s newest states.  However, the next highest amount, 41 were in Italy, a founding EU member, while 37 were in the EU institution hub of Brussels.

In Italy, the report findings went largely unreported, while in Brussels, the investigations are ascribed to the self-investigations into a number of the EU’s institutions, which are based in Brussels.

Romania, which joined the EU with Bulgaria in January 2007, came in fourth with 36 cases.

Only Denmark had no cases, while the rest are spread among old and new EU members alike.  France had 20, the UK and Greece both had 23, and Germany had 34.

Read more from EurActiv.

VALERIE HOPKINS