(April 9, 2014) U.S. economist and columnist Irwin Stelzer draws on the doctrine of odious debts for his most recent opinion piece to suggest Ukrainian citizens repudiate public debt incurred by former regimes that instead of benefiting the people went to fund the “fancies” of the country’s “now-deposed gang of public- and private-sector cronies”.
China Three Gorges Corp bosses replaced after graft probe
(March 26, 2014) China’s central government replaces leadership at state-owned Three Gorges Corp. following graft probe. Signals suggest “it is probable there will be further investigations into corruption inside the corporation,” says Probe International’s Patricia Adams.
Bangladesh waiting on Canada to try SNC-Lavalin officials in corruption case
(March 18, 2014) Regulators in Bangladesh have put an investigation of corruption allegations involving SNC-Lavalin in that country on hold until a trial in Canada involving former employees of the engineering giant is […]
EDC’s involvement in Gaddafi’s Libya silenced until fall
(March 10, 2014) Export Development Canada says it needs nearly a year to sort through a mountain of documents regarding its involvement in Libya.
SNC-Lavalin facing allegations of kickbacks in Canada
(February 21, 2014) SNC-Lavalin, the Montreal-based engineering giant, is facing more allegations of corruption.
“An independent Catalonia should not pay” for Spain’s “odious debts,” says employer association CCN
(February 18, 2014) As Catalonia’s secession movement gains new momentum, Albert Pont, the leader of a Catalan pro-independence business lobby, recently called out part of the national debt owed by the government of Spain — estimated at 962 billion euros in 2013, its highest level in a century — as “odious debt.” In the event of separation from Spain, Pont said that while an independent Catalonia — currently a province widely known as “the factory of Spain” and as the country’s wealthiest region — would be willing to “assume part of [the Spanish] debt; obviously, a proportionate one…. there are shares of the debt that we are not responsible for.”
Does SNC-Lavalin deserve a clean bill of health?
(February 4, 2014) A “privileged and confidential” review by the Canadian Commercial Corporation (CCC), released to Probe International under the Access to Information Act, says graft-tainted engineering giant SNC-Lavalin has cleaned up its act. Reviews that lack rigour and independence, however, do not help the cause of rebuilding corporate reputations.
USAID and Chinese state companies look to build white elephant
(January 24, 2014) USAID may join forces with Chinese state companies to build a controversial and uneconomic dam in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Foreign aid: supporting dictators one at a time
(January 7, 2014) British foreign aid money is being used to prop up some of the most corrupt countries in the world.
SNC-Lavalin corruption case in India twists and turns
(November 26, 2013) A corruption trial in India involving Montreal-based engineering giant SNC-Lavalin has taken another turn.
Why foreign aid to Zimbabwe won’t work
(November 5, 2013) A Zimbabwe-based newspaper says greater accountability and transparency will help the country’s struggling economy, not foreign aid.
How Canada encourages corrupt companies

(November 5, 2013) The alleged “culture of corruption” by SNC-Lavalin and others was encouraged by the government’s willingness to turn a blind eye.
Canada’s taxpayers are giving billions to a national embarrassment
(October 23, 2013) Don’t count on any government in Canada to hold SNC-Lavalin’s feet to the fire. Blinders on and taxpayers’ cash in hand, they’re willing to reward allegations of corruption with big, fat contracts, says Huffington Post’s Daniel Tencer.
“Lost” foreign aid money, this time in Palestine
(October 18, 2013) A European Union auditor says billions of dollars in foreign aid to the Palestinian government has been squandered or lost to corruption.
SNC-Lavalin may have to abandon involvement in DRC dam project
(September 24, 2013) SNC-Lavalin may have to pull out from a consortium bidding on a contract to construct a massive dam project in the Democratic Republic of Congo.