#EU: Euro Parliament Bans Lobbying By Qataris After Suspected Bribery Attempts

[world politics news]

Members of the European Parliament voted on Thursday to suspend access to the body's premises to Qatari representatives as the Gulf country is suspected of having offered "large sums of money" and "substantial gifts" to MEPs and assistants in a bid to influence European decision-making.

Lawmakers also decided to halt all pending legislation involving Qatar.

The investigation by Belgian police into undue influence by a Persian Gulf state widely believed to be Qatar has sent shockwaves through Brussels and thrown into question the parliament's transparency and lobbying rules.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#UKRAINE: Member Of Parliament Expelled From Ruling Party Over Bribery Scandal

[world politics news]

 

Oleksandr Trukhin, a lawmaker from the governing President Volodymyr Zelensky’s Servant of the People faction, was kicked out of the party after a journalistic investigation exposed his attempts to bribe police officers at a car crash site.

The party announced the decision to expel Trukhin on Feb. 2, a day after the Ukrainska Pravda’s investigation was published. Now the party will also consider expelling Trukhin from the party's parliament faction, that including 242 members of parliament. However, even if he is expelled, Trukhin won't lose his seat in parliament.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#UK: Gov't Adopts New Anti-Corruption Sanctions Program

[world politics news]

The government of the UK has  adopted new sanctions program designed to more closely resemble that of the US, rather than the EU, which UK left recently.

The new regulations are designed to target individuals involved in serious corruption and prevent them from entering the UK or using the UK financial system. To date, 22 individuals have been designated. 

The Global Anti-Corruption Sanctions Regulations 2021 enable the UK government to designate persons where there are reasonable grounds to suspect that they are, or have been, involved in "serious corruption", which covers bribery involving foreign public officials and misappropriation of property by foreign public officials.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#COLOMBIA: Former Congressman Denies Receiving $1 Million Bribe From Brazilian Firm

[world politics news]

A former Colombian congressman detained on accusations that he received millions in bribes from Brazilian engineering firm Odebrecht SA denied on Tuesday that a $1 million portion of the money was given to President Juan Manuel Santos’ 2014 campaign. Senator Otto Bula also flatly denies the charges. A commission investigating bribery also suspects Pres. Santos' opponent of receiving bribes from the firm.

[FULL STORY HERE]

Pictured: Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos 

#CHINA: Former High Court Judge Faces Prosecution For Bribery

[world politics news]

Xi Xiaoming, a former judge of the Supreme People's Court, has been indicted for taking bribes. According to the indictments, Xi and another official took advantage of their posts to seek benefits for others and accepted a huge amount in bribes.

#GERMANY: Austrian Politician Was Bribed By German Bank President, Rules Court

[world politics news]

Austrian politician Jörg Haider, left, accepted a bribe from Bavarian banker Werner Schmidt, says a Munich court.

The former chief executive of the German bank BayernLB has been found guilty of bribing the late Austrian politician Jörg Haider to facilitate the acquisition of Hypo Alpe-Adria-Bank in 2007, the latest criminal conviction linked to the troubled Austrian lender.

#TURKEY

Police Detain Sons of Three Gov't Ministers In Bribery, Corruption Probe [world politics news]

KENYA: Video Catches Political Operatives Buying Votes [world politics news]