If you admire an anti-corruption activist, journalist, government official or organization in any country in the world, then Transparency International’s Anti-Corruption Award 2020 is the opportunity to speak up about your anti-corruption hero.
The TI Global Anti-Corruption Movement has been celebrating this award since 2000. Its winners truly inspire the world. The award goes to the inspiring individuals or entire initiatives that have a major impact on the social, economic and political development of countries around the world. The jury will select up to two winners. Anyone can nominate candidates online – http://bit.ly/anticoraward2020. Deadline: March 16th. The winners will be awarded at the International Anti-Corruption Conference in Seoul, Korea in June 2020.
So now is the perfect time to read the stories of those who have already won this international award since 2000.
Lava Jato / Operation Car Wash
One of the most famous corruption scandals in the world is Lava Jato / Operation Car Wash. In 2016, it was precisely for the investigation of this case that Brazilian law enforcement received an anti-corruption award. In particular, Prosecutor Deltan Dallagnol, Federal Judge Sergio Moro and Federal Police Investigator Mauricio Moscardi. This high-profile case began with a local investigation into money laundering through the car washes of the capital Brasilia. And it has grown to more than 200 charges and more than 1,000 years in total prison terms. Investigations are ongoing into dozens of high-level officials and businessmen previously considered untouchables.
Twenty years of life without a name
Can you imagine twenty years of life without your own name? A Sri Lankan journalist has “refused” his name in favor of a pseudonym. Otherwise, it was impossible to investigate high-profile cases. Attotage Prema Jayantha, better known as Poddala, investigated corruption offenses in the education, health and transportation sectors of Sri Lanka.
He found one of the biggest corruption schemes – the misappropriation of $ 37 million by officials. After numerous threats, Poddala Jayantha was abducted by unknown persons and brutally beaten in 2009. After that he became disabled and continued his life in exile. In 2010, he received the world’s largest anti-corruption award – the Transparency International Integrity Award 2010.
2.5 years in prison for reporting corruption
Morocco Air Force captain Mustapha Adib endured this “punishment” for exposing the Moroccan army fuel schemes. In 2000, he was awarded Transparency International’s top anti-corruption award. However, he only managed to obtain it in 2002, when he was released from prison. A year later he moved to France, where he continued to fight for the rights of the whistleblowers.
Malta’s strongest voice
The reports of Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia have disclosed dozens of corruption scandals involving influential politicians and others in Malta and beyond. Daphne died at the age of 53 in a car bomb attack. “The bomb that took Daphne away from us extinguished the most powerful voice we ever had in our country’s fight for integrity,” her son Matthew said while receiving the 2018 Award instead of his mother. Since her murder on October 16, 2017, the Malta authorities have opened a criminal case against the suspects. In addition, Caruana Galizia`s family called on the Maltese authorities to investigate whether the state was responsible for her death or for their inability to protect her.
300 pages of evidence of corruption
In 2009, Ana Garrido Ramos delivered a 300-page dossier to a Spanish trade union containing evidence of corrupt practices within the Boadilla Town Hall, her former place of employment. What began as an investigation into corruption in a local town hall expanded into a larger investigation, later dubbed the “Gürtel case”. It exposed a scheme involving kickbacks for government contracts headed by the then-ruling party. Her claims as a whistleblower and key witness contributed to the downfall of the government in June 2018.
On the other hand, Ana has suffered a virulent campaign of harassment. “Unfortunately, in Spain, the system ruins the life of the corruption complainant. On the other hand, the corrupt are usually rewarded with promotions and perks. Spain urgently needs an effective law to protect whistleblowers. But citizens cannot sit idly by waiting for the world to change, each of us must be part of that transformation,” Ana said.
Spanish whistleblower received the Anti-Corruption Award-2018.
For more on Transparency International’s Anti-Corruption Award and the winners of previous years, visit: https://www.transparency.org/getinvolved/anticorruptionaward
