Probe International

(December 24, 2007) The State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA) wants listed companies to disclose environmental information, the official China Daily reported. The newspaper cited Ge Chazhong, an official with SEPA, as saying that the agency is drafting rules for compulsory disclosure, which could be finalized in the next six months. The new reporting system could include key emission indexes for sulfur dioxide and carbon dioxide and company targets to increase energy efficiency and reduce emissions.

(December 12, 2007) The Nigerian government has cancelled a $1.1 million contract with Siemens pending an investigation into bribery allegations.

(December 12, 2007) Angel Gurria, the head of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), says governments need to do much more in the fight against international corruption. Speaking at a conference in Rome last month to mark the 10th anniversary of the OECD’s Anti-Bribery Convention, created to outlaw international bribery, Mr. Gurria expressed concern that "some countries are still holding back on implementing the Convention" and "have almost no investigations," and "have brought no cases to court."

(December 12, 2007) Passed by U.S. Congress three decades ago in the wake of the Watergate scandal, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act has become a powerful tool in the last five years for prosecuting domestic and overseas companies suspected of bribing foreign officials to secure business.

(December 12, 2007) Concerns about the status of Fiji’s current governing power have prompted some analysts to warn lenders they should beware of dealing with the country’s self-declared leader and his administration, who rule without having been democratically elected by the citizens of Fiji.