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Corruption

Corruption has many faces - accounting fraud, influence peddling, insider trading, and even the role of lobbying and perks-for-favors. This section examines general questions of ethics, the role of money in politics, and white-collar crime.


News Articles

US/ECUADOR: New nonprofit uses Web to pressure Chevron
by David A. BakerSan Francisco Chronicle
November 16th, 2009
Retired retail executive Richard Goldman was astonished when he heard about the $27 billion pollution lawsuit against Chevron Corp. in Ecuador. SO he has created a nonprofit group, Ethos Alliance, that will use social-networking tools to spread word of the case and put pressure on Chevron.

US: E. Coli Path Shows Flaws in Beef Inspection
by Michael MossNew York Times
October 3rd, 2009
Tracing the chain of production of an E. Coli-contaminated hamburger made by Cargill, through interviews and government and corporate records obtained by The New York Times, shows why eating ground beef is still a gamble. Neither the system meant to make the meat safe, nor the meat itself, is what consumers have been led to believe.

ANGOLA: The dark side of doing business
by Rob RoseTimes South Africa
September 17th, 2009
As Angolan leader Jose Eduardo Dos Santos wooed President Jacob Zuma this week, some South African companies are furious at having been fleeced out of cash by doing business with the oil-rich country

SOUTH AMERICA: Plundering the Amazon
by Michael Smith and Adriana BrasileiroBloomberg.com
August 16th, 2009
Alcoa and Cargill have bypassed laws designed to prevent destruction of the world’s largest rain forest, Brazilian prosecutors say. The damage wrought by scores of companies is robbing the earth of its best shield against global warming.

US: DynCorp Billed U.S. $50 Million Beyond Costs in Defense Contract
by V. Dion HaynesWashington Post
August 12th, 2009
A Defense Department auditor, appearing before the Commission on Wartime Contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan, testified Tuesday that DynCorp International billed the government $50 million more than the amount specified in a contract to provide dining facilities and living quarters for military personnel in Kuwait.


CorpWatch Blog

CorpWatch Bribery Report Helps Spark Dutch Inquiry
by Anton Foek
August 20th, 2009

The City Within
by Mark Floegel
February 26th, 2009

Not Quite Beyond Petroleum
by Philip Mattera
February 20th, 2009

Satyam’s Fraudulent “Maquiladora of the Mind”
by Philip Mattera
January 8th, 2009

Popular Uprising Against Barrick Gold in Tanzania sparked by killing of local
by Sakura SaundersProtestBarrick.net
December 14th, 2008
Why would "criminals" set fire to millions worth in mine equipment? How was it that these "intruders" had an estimated 3,000 people backing them up? In what appears to be a spontaneous civilian movement against Barrick Gold, the world's largest gold miner, thousands of people invaded Barrick`s North Mara Gold Mine this week in Tarime District and destroyed equipment worth $15 million.


CorpWatch Exclusives

Is Halliburton Forgiven and Forgotten? Or How to Stay Out of Sight While Profiting From the War in Iraq
by Pratap ChatterjeeTomDispatch.com
June 3rd, 2009
At Halliburton's recent annual shareholders meeting in Houston, all was remarkably staid as the company celebrated its $4 billion in 2008 operating profits, a striking 22% return at a time when many companies are announcing record losses. Just three months ago, however, Halliburton didn't hesitate to pay $382 million in fines to the U.S. Department of Justice as part of the settlement of a controversial KBR gas project in Nigeria in which the company admitted to paying a $180 million bribe to government officials.

GEO Group, Inc.: Despite a Crashing Economy, Private Prison Firm Turns a Handsome Profit
by Erin RosaSpecial to CorpWatch
March 1st, 2009
While the nation’s economy flounders, business is booming for The GEO Group Inc., a private prison firm paid millions by the U.S. government. Behind the financial success and expansion of the for-profit security company, there are increasing charges of negligence, civil rights violations, abuse and even death.

A Glittering Demon: Mining, Poverty and Politics in the Democratic Republic of Congo
by Michael DeibertSpecial to CorpWatch
June 26th, 2008
In the DRC, a nation rich in natural resources yet confounded by civil war and endemic poverty, artisanal mining communities are struggling for their livelihoods as foreign multinationals like AngloGold Ashanti rush to cash in.

Ecuador's Yasuni Park: Oil Exploration or Nature Protection?
by Agneta EnströmSpecial to CorpWatch
March 20th, 2008
Permission for Petrobras of Brazil to drill for oil in Yasuni National Park, one of the most biologically diverse places in the world, has been suspended, but some damage has already been done by Swedish construction giant Skanska. Unless new money is found to protect the forest, exploration may resume.

Burying Indonesia’s Millions: The Legacy of Suharto
by Andreas HarsonoSpecial to CorpWatch
February 15th, 2008
Over the last 50 years, a network of cronies helped former Indonesian president Suharto build a business empire and amass a multi-billion dollar fortune. Today his successors face an uphill battle to recover the money even after his death.


Commentary & Analysis

US: Science a la Joe Camel
by Laurie DavidThe Washington Post
November 26th, 2006
The producers of former vice president Al Gore's film about global warming decided to offer 50,000 free DVDs to the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) for educators to use in their classrooms. It seemed like a no-brainer. The teachers had a different idea: Thanks but no thanks, they said.

GOP Corruption? Bring in the Conservatives
by Thomas FrankThe New York Times
August 22nd, 2006

The Road From K Street to Yusufiya
by Frank RichThe New York Times
June 26th, 2006
The Bush brand of competitive sourcing, with its get-rich-quick schemes and do-little jobs for administration pals, spread like a cancer throughout the executive branch. It explains why tens of thousands of displaced victims of Katrina are still living in trailer shantytowns all these months later. It explains why New York City and Washington just lost 40 percent of their counterterrorism funds. It helps explain why American troops are more likely to be slaughtered than greeted with flowers more than three years after the American invasion of Iraq.

US: 12 Things to Do Now About Corporations
by Sarah Ruth van GelderYES! Magazine
September 11th, 2002
Americans know that corporate excess is about more than flawed accounting. It corrupts democracy, drives a wedge between rich and poor, degrades the environment, and disrupts communities. So what might we the people do?