corruption

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Indian Anti-Graft Crusader Freed to Start Hunger Strike

Tens of thousands rally in support of Anna Hazare

(Newser) - Indian authorities, facing huge protests in cities and towns across the country, have backed down and agreed to allow anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare to begin a 15-day hunger strike. The 74-year-old activist was arrested along with at least a thousand supporters Tuesday. Despite an order for his release, he had...

Lagarde Faces Probe in $400M Deal

Court orders look at $400M arbitration deal

(Newser) - Well, at least there’s no maid involved this time: A special French court has ordered an investigation into newly minted IMF chief Christine Lagarde, over her role in a $400 million arbitration deal with tycoon Bernard Tapie. The much-maligned settlement, awarded in 2008, came after Tapie sued a French...

Show-Off Mistress Tips Chinese to Red Cross Graft

Charity accused of embezzling public donations

(Newser) - One young woman's online boasting will likely derail the gravy train for a lot of people involved with the Red Cross Society of China. After the 20-year-old vamp's posts on China's equivalent of Twitter showed her with luxury cars and designer goods and identified her as a...

Blagojevich Guilty on 17 of 20 Charges

Could be facing some pretty serious jail time

(Newser) - Turns out Rod Blagejevich was right that President Obama's old Senate seat was worth something: A whole bunch of jail time. A jury today convicted Blago on 17 of 20 charges after deliberating for nine days. Blagojevich showed little emotion after the verdicts were read, notes the Chicago Tribune,...

Hated Assad Cousin Retires From Business

Rami Makhlouf was Syria's most powerful, least popular, tycoon

(Newser) - Syria’s most powerful, and possibly most hated, tycoon announced yesterday that he was retiring from business, in what’s seen as a major concession from President Bashar al-Assad to the protests raging through the country. Rami Makhlouf is Assad’s cousin and is seen as “a symbol of...

Philadelphia Launches App to Report City Corruption

iPhone users can send in photos, video of waste on the job

(Newser) - A new iPhone app in Philadelphia reverses the typical Big Brother roles. The city controller wants citizens to use the app, called Philly Watchdog , to report evidence of government waste and corruption, reports Fast Company . That could mean sending photos or video of city workers on long lunch breaks or...

Broke City Uncovers Pols’ Secret $4.5M Pension Fund

Calif. city manager stashed $4.5 million to dodge pension limits

(Newser) - A Los Angeles suburb with a big hole in its finances has found $4.5 million in secret pension funds a disgraced city manager set up for himself and his cronies. Robert Rizzo and his former assistant, Angela Spaccia, created the funds to allow public employees in Bell—especially themselves—...

Blagojevich: Kill Retrial, Sentence Me

Ex-Illinois governor says he's too poor for retrial

(Newser) - Rod Blagojevich has asked a judge to cancel his retrial and instead sentence him immediately on the lone count he was convicted of (lying to a federal agent), arguing that he doesn't have the money to mount another defense. The government is supposed to pick up the tab for Blagojevich's...

Former French President Jacques Chirac to Finally Stand Trial
 Chirac Finally Standing Trial 
Mar 6, 2011 4:18 PM CST

Chirac Finally Standing Trial

Former French prez goes before court tomorrow

(Newser) - After years of claiming presidential immunity to avoid legal proceedings, Jacques Chirac is finally facing a court. Tomorrow, the former president becomes France's first former head of state to go on trial since its Nazi-era leader was exiled—that is, if the whole case isn't derailed by a last-minute protest...

African Dictator's Son to Build $380M Yacht

Boat worth triple Equatorial Guinea's health, education spending

(Newser) - The son of a West African dictator is having a boat built for himself with a price tag of $380 million—or nearly triple what his country spends on health and education every year, AOL News reports. Teodorin Obiang, Equatorial Guinea’s agriculture minister, makes much more than most in...

China Drops Death Penalty for Tax Evasion

Along with a dozen other non-violent crimes

(Newser) - China has eliminated the death penalty as a possible punishment for 13 non-violent offenses, the AP reports. But critics say it probably won't make a big dent in the estimated 5,000 annual executions in the country—nearly 70 crimes still carry a possible death sentence, many of them non-violent....

Mahmood Karzai, Brother of Afghan Prez, May Be Indicted in US
 US May Indict Karzai Brother 
Feb 16, 2011 4:25 AM CST

US May Indict Karzai Brother

Grand jury probing racketeering, extortion allegations

(Newser) - Mahmood Karzai, brother of Afghan President Hamid Karzai, has risen from running a few modest restaurants in the US to being one of Afghanistan's most prosperous businessman. Federal authorities, believing there was more than just a little shady dealing along the way, are seeking his indictment on racketeering, extortion, and...

Putin's Seaside Palace: 8 Million Square Feet

Residence has casino, movie theater, amphitheater, pool, helipad...

(Newser) - With the Russian government described in leaked US cables as a "mafia state" in which bribery constitutes a "parallel tax system," it makes one wonder: What do the plutocrats do with all that cash? For Dmitry Medvedev and Vladimir Putin, one previously reported answer to that question...

Emails Spark Outrage in Town Corruption Scandal

Bell officials planned to 'get fat together'

(Newser) - Los Angeles county prosecutors have released a batch of damning emails as evidence in the corruption case in the city of Bell. The city was in the midst of hiring a new police chief, when the top candidate fired off the following message: “I am looking forward to seeing...

Mubarak Used Final 18 Days to Hide His Fortune

Intelligence sources say he moved money around

(Newser) - It took protesters 18 days to oust Hosni Mubarak, and he used that time wisely, funneling his fortune into untraceable overseas accounts, according to Western intelligence sources. During his 30 years in power, Mubarak is said to have amassed anywhere between $4.8 billion and $64 billion, and demand is...

'Cartel Queen' Gets Botox in Mexican Prison

Trying to look her best in cocaine smuggling biz

(Newser) - Mexican authorities have launched an investigation into a beauty treatment received by a suspected drug cartel queen while cooling her heels in prison. Sandra Avila Beltran—facing charges of cocaine trafficking to the US, money laundering and conspiracy—was given a Botox injection by a doctor last month in an...

Tunisia Arrests Kin of Booted Prez

Corrupt in-laws caught trying to flee country

(Newser) - Tunisia has arrested 33 members of the country's despised former first family. The relatives of ousted President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali were caught trying to flee the country with large amounts of valuables, reports the Financial Times . The clan of former first lady Leila Trabelsi had a huge amount...

'Baby Doc' Charged With Corruption

Supporters show up to cheer at court house

(Newser) - Haitian police officially charged Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier with corruption and embezzlement yesterday, putting a damper on his surprise return from exile. Groups of supporters lined the road to scream in outrage as police drove him from his hotel to the courtroom—some even hurled chunks of concrete or...

The Chinese Are Much Freer Than We Think
The Chinese Are Much Freer
Than We Think
OPINION
Jan 3, 2011 12:29 PM CST

The Chinese Are Much Freer Than We Think

Government 'incompetence' means greater freedoms, writes Ian Mills

(Newser) - Westerners worry that China is a “politically repressive, secretive new superpower," but in fact, it’s hardly as restrictive as many believe—thanks, in large part, to government “corruption and incompetence.” Before we engage with “the China threat,” we need to understand how the...

German Ford Plants Raided in Corruption Probe

Staff homes also searched amid bribe accusations

(Newser) - German authorities raided Ford plants and the homes of Ford employees and suppliers today as part of a corruption investigation, the Wall Street Journal reports. Some 100 police officers took part in the search of more than 30 locations; one person was arrested, a prosecutor said. Ford staff have allegedly...

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