Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project

Want to know if a politician is corrupt? Look at his face.

The former president of El Salvador, Antonio “Tony” Saca, was sentenced in a Salvadoran court Wednesday to 10 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to diverting more than US$300 million in state funds to his own businesses and third parties, the Associated Press reported.

Seven New York City police officers were arrested Wednesday as part of a wide-ranging gambling and prostitution inquiry, The New York Times reported.

 Twenty traffic cops from various districts in the South African province of Limpopo were charged this week for corruption, theft and “defeating the ends of justice,” the Citizen, a South African tabloid, reports.

Three officials were arrested Sunday on charges of corruption and misuse of authority in Gujranwala, a city of some 2.25 million in the Punjab province of Pakistan, the Daily Times reported.

Brazil’s federal police filed a report Wednesday requesting corruption charges to be raised against President Michel Temer, which could lead to his suspension from office, the Associated Press reports.

A court in the southern port of Karachi granted on Friday interim bail to former Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari who is facing a money laundering trial for transferring Rs 35 billion (US$284 million) through three fake bank accounts, media reported.

Following a series of groundbreaking convictions and pleas that reveal fraud in Trump’s campaign, Senator Elizabeth Warren announced a new anti-corruption plan on Tuesday at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. that promises to reduce corporate influence on government.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte is tired of fighting corruption and is contemplating stepping down--but only if someone other than his constitutional successor takes the reins, he and his spokesperson told reporters on several occasions this week.

Israeli police questioned billionaire Shari Arison on Sunday about her role in alleged bribery of Kenyan officials by the construction company she co-owned until recently, Reuters reported, citing the Israeli police and the Israel Securities Authority.

In its newly-released 2018 code of ethics, FIFA, the world governing body for football, has scrubbed the word “corruption” from the text, put a time limit on prosecuting bribery, and introduced a new charge of “defamation.”

Two men in charge of a new US$3 billion railway in Kenya were arrested Saturday on suspicion of corruption over land allocation, according to a statement posted on the country’s Office of the Public Prosecutor Twitter feed.

The former Vice President of Argentina, Amado Boudou, was convicted of corruption on Tuesday, and sentenced to six years in prison, Agence France-Presse reported.

Former Argentine President Cristina Kirchner was summoned for questioning in a breaking corruption investigation, Reuters reported Friday.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte watched as bulldozers crushed over US$5 million worth of contraband Porsches, Lamborghinis, and other luxury vehicles on Monday in a flashy crackdown on corruption.

The trial of former South African President Jacob Zuma who faces 16 charges of corruption, is adjourned until November 30th, Reuters reported.

Three members of Congress, a deputy minister, and over a dozen others are in jail in Tegucigalpa awaiting trial on allegations in a US$12 million embezzlement case, Reuters reported Tuesday.

Jordanians are calling for inquiries after rumors emerged that politicians were involved in a multi-million dollar illegal cigarette production ring, Al-Jazeera reported Monday.

An ex minister in former president Robert Mugabe’s government was convicted of corruption and sentenced to four years in prison on Friday, Reuters reported.

Under the rule of ousted dictator Yahya Jammeh, the Gambian government signed an opaque contract with a controversial firm to manage its citizens’ identity documents. The new rulers promise a new way of doing things, but they’re sticking to the deal.

Adama Barrow, President of The Gambia since January 2017. Credit: Marvanda