Transparency International


Transparency International e.V. is a German non-governmental organization founded in 1993. Based in Berlin, its nonprofit purpose is to take action to combat global corruption with civil societal anti-corruption measures and to prevent criminal activities arising from corruption. Its most notable publications include the Global Corruption Barometer and the Corruption Perceptions Index. Transparency International has the legal status of a German registered voluntary association and serves as an umbrella organization. Its members have grown from a few individuals to more than 100 national chapters which engage in fighting corruption in their home countries. TI is a member of UNESCO Consultative Status, United Nations Global Compact and shares the goals of peace, justice, strong institutions and partnerships of the United Nations Sustainable Development Group. TI confirmed the dis-accreditation of the national chapter of United States of America in 2017.
According to the 2016 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report, Transparency International was number 9 of 100 in the Top Think Tanks Worldwide category and number 27 of 150 in the Top Think Tanks Worldwide category.

History

Transparency International was founded in May 1993. According to political scientist Ellen Gutterman, "TI's presence in Germany, and indeed its organizational development and rise from a small operation to a prominent international TNGO, benefited from the activities and personal connections of at least three key German individuals: Peter Eigen, Hansjoerg Elshorst, and Michael Wiehen".
The founding members included:
In 1995, Transparency International developed the Corruption Perceptions Index. The CPI ranked nations on the prevalence of corruption within each country, based upon surveys of business people. The CPI was subsequently published annually. It was initially criticized for poor methodology and unfair treatment of developing nations, while also being praised for highlighting corruption and embarrassing governments.
In 1999, Transparency International began publishing the Bribe Payers Index which ranked nations according to the prevalence that a country's multinational corporations would offer bribes.

Areas of work and products

Transparency International is the global civil society organization leading the fight against corruption. It brings people together in a powerful worldwide coalition to end the devastating impact of corruption on men, women and children around the world. TI's mission is to create change towards a world free of corruption.

The organization defines corruption as the abuse of entrusted power for private gain which eventually hurts everyone who depends on the integrity of people in a position of authority.
It develops tools for fighting corruption and works with other civil society organizations, companies and governments to implement them. Since 1995, Transparency International has issued an annual Corruption Perceptions Index ; it also publishes a Global Corruption Report, a Global Corruption Barometer, and a Bribe Payers Index.
In 2010, Transparency International developed a five-year strategy with six strategic priorities organized by the following categories: People, Institutions, Laws, Values, Network, Impact.
In 2015, Transparency International developed a five-year strategy which sets out their collective ambition for the coming years. Together against Corruption: Transparency International Strategy 2020 is a strategy by and for the Transparency International movement. This strategy is based on more than 1500 external and internal contributions addressing both the corruption environment of today and the one TI anticipates in the years ahead.

Corruption Perceptions Index

The Corruption Perceptions Index ranks countries and territories based on how corrupt their public sector is perceived to be. It is a composite index – a combination of polls – drawing on corruption-related data collected by a variety of reputable institutions. The CPI reflects the views of observers from around the world.
The Corruption Perceptions Index has received criticism over the years. The main one stems from the difficulty in measuring corruption, which by definition happens behind the scenes. The Corruption Perceptions Index therefore needs to rely on third-party survey which have been criticized as potentially unreliable. Data can vary widely depending on the public perception of a country, the completeness of the surveys and the methodology used. The second issue is that data cannot be compared from year to year because Transparency International uses different methodologies and samples every year. This makes it difficult to evaluate the result of new policies. The Corruption Perceptions Index authors replied to these criticisms by reminding that the Corruption Perceptions Index is meant to measure perception and not "reality". They argue that "perceptions matter in their own right, since... firms and individuals take actions based on perceptions".

Other key products

Transparency International consists of chapters – locally established, independent organizations – that address corruption in their respective countries. From small bribes to large-scale looting, corruption differs from country to country. As chapters are staffed with local experts they are ideally placed to determine the priorities and approaches best suited to tackling corruption in their countries. This work ranges from visiting rural communities to provide free legal support to advising their government on policy reform. Corruption does not stop at national borders. The chapters play a crucial role in shaping its collective work and realising its regional and global goals, such as Strategy 2015. Transparency International's multi-country research and advocacy initiatives are driven by the chapters.
According to its 2012 Annual Report, it is funded by western governments and several multinational companies, including oil companies Exxon Mobil and Shell, hedge funds KKR and Wermuth Asset Management, Deloitte and Ernst & Young. It does not however seem to affect their practices, as Exxon Mobil itself was ranked in 2008 as the least transparent of 42 major oil and gas firms.
As far as organizational structure is concerned, one important leadership structure is their advisory council. The Advisory Council is a group of individuals with extensive experience in the areas of Transparency International's work. They come from diverse geographical, cultural and professional backgrounds. The council is appointed by the Board of Directors to advise them and to support the work of the organization as a whole.

Controversies

According to the newspaper Le Monde : "In its main surveys, Transparency International does not measure the weight of corruption in economic terms for each country. It develops a Corruption Perception Index based on surveys conducted by private structures or other NGOs: the Economist Intelligence Unit, backed by the British liberal weekly newspaper The Economist, the American neoconservative organization Freedom House, the World Economic Forum, or large corporations. The IPC ignores corruption cases that concern the business world. So, the collapse of or the manipulation of the money market reference rate by major British banks revealed in 2011 did not affect the ratings of the United States or United Kingdom." The organization also receives funding from companies that are themselves convicted of corruption offences.

2019-20 Reports of bullying and harassment by senior management and Board members

In August 2019 whistleblower accounts from seven current and former TI Secretariat staff emerged alleging a “toxic” workplace culture under the current Managing Director, Patricia Moreira. Reported in The Guardian, the alleged misconduct reported ranged from gagging orders in termination agreements, to bullying and harassment of critical internal voices. Moreira and other senior managers were alleged to have targeted dissident staff members and bullied them toward resignation. The report cited a staff survey carried out by works council staff representatives, which found that 66% of 92 respondents had observed or experienced bullying at TI and one in five felt sexual harassment to be a problem.
Transparency International Ireland made a protected disclosure on behalf of the whistleblowers to the international board of TI in August 2019, calling for an investigation into the alleged misconduct. Transparency International announced an investigation into the whistleblower reports within days, stating that “e are absolutely committed to transparently addressing any failings. If misconduct is found, at any level of the organization, it will not be tolerated.” Two investigations followed, conducted by law firm Taylor Wessing and Transparency International's Ethics Panel. Both investigations exonerated Moreira of the bullying charges, but concluded the sending of disciplinary letters to a staff member in one particular, separate case had resulted in the creation of a “hostile and offensive environment”, a finding Moreira rejected.
In June 2020, The Guardian reported that Transparency International had dismissed Moreira in February 2020, after she filed a complaint of bullying against the organisation's Board of Directors. Moreira had reportedly also criticised the conduct of both investigations, claiming that they had not taken evidence from her or even told her of what she was accused. She also claimed that the investigations had breached their own undertakings and Transparency International's principles by failing to investigate her own complaints of misconduct against Board members
The Guardian quoted a friend of Moreira as saying: “TI tried to persuade Patricia to take a payoff in exchange for dropping her formal complaint against the board. She refused, and walked away from negotiations. She plans to sue TI for unfair dismissal, and wants to see her bullying complaints properly investigated by an independent party.” The article suggested the row could damage Transparency International's hopes of securing further funding from the UK's Department for International Development, which has given it almost £5m since 2017.
The German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung simultaneously reported that Transparency International dismissed Moreira “without giving any reasons”. The article added that “dozens of employees, including high-ranking ones, have left the organisation in recent years. Even long-standing and deeply committed employees complain that TI is involved in political intrigues in which some are only interested in their own progress. For a non-governmental organization whose goal is to fight corruption around the world, and which collects millions of dollars in funding from governments and companies every year, this is a disturbing finding."
Following Moreira's dismissal the Senior Management Team of Monika Ebert, Rute Caldeira, and Maximilian Heywood was dissolved in April 2020. Daniel Eriksson was appointed Interim Managing Director in March 2020.

2017 USA chapter disaccreditation

In January 2017, the TI Secretariat confirmed that its International Board of Directors decided on 10 January 2017 to strip its US affiliate – Transparency International USA – of its accreditation as the National Chapter in the United States.
The stated basis for the dis-accreditation was the board's recognition of differences in philosophies, strategies, and priorities between the former chapter and the Transparency International Movement. Elsewhere, it was reported that TI-USA came to be seen in the United States as a corporate front group, funded by multinational corporations. TI-USA's funding was provided by Bechtel Corporation, Deloitte, Google, Pfizer , Citigroup, ExxonMobil, Fluor, General Electric, Lockheed Martin, Marsh & McLennan, PepsiCo, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Raytheon, Realogy, Tyco, and Freeport-McMoRan and Johnson & Johnson. TI-USA previously awarded an annual corporate leadership award to one of its big corporate funders. In 2016, this award went to Bechtel. In April 2015 the Secretariat defended the decision by TI-USA to give Hillary Clinton its Integrity Award in 2012.

2015 Croatia chapter disaccreditation

Due to a "lack of confidence", TI's chapter in Croatia was disaccredited by the organization's board of directors in November 2015. The previous year, several leaders of the Croatia chapter challenged the legality of the chapter president's election. The president was accused of falsifying records, conflicts of interest, and arbitrarily expelling 10 chapter members who opposed the hiring of staff against the organization's rules. The Croatian government eventually revoked the president's appointment.

2015 Whistleblowing

In August 2015 former TI staffer Anna Buzzoni went public regarding retaliation she and her colleagues faced after reporting to managers questionable financial dealings at TI's Water Integrity Network. Two of Buzzoni's project responsibilities were suspended and she was transferred against her will. She left TI shortly before internal whistleblower guidelines were adopted in June 2014.

2014 Funding from Siemens

In January 2015 it was reported that Transparency International accepted $3 million from the German engineering multinational Siemens, which in 2008 paid one of the largest corporate corruption fines in history – $1.6 billion – for bribing government officials in numerous countries. In 2014, Siemens made the donation Transparency International after pleading guilty in 2008 to bribery charges relating to widespread corrupt practices in Greece, Norway, Iraq, Vietnam, Italy, Israel, Argentina, Venezuela, China and Russia.
Transparency International applied for and received the funding from Siemens, even though TI's due diligence procedures prohibit the organization from accepting money from corporations that want to "greenwash" their reputations by making donations to TI. "If any corporate donor is accused of having been involved in corruption, the donor can expect no protection from TI," the procedures state. Transparency International received the funding from the Siemens Integrity Initiative about a year after the Initiative hired former TI staffer Jana Mittermaier, raising questions of a "revolving door" that has benefited both the organization and the company.
Several of TI's national chapters also have accepted money from Siemens: $660,000 for TI USA, $600,000 for TI Italy, $450,000 for TI Bulgaria, and $230,000 for TI Mexico – each for a period of three years. "This really shows that Transparency International is not as pure as people think," a TI insider told Corporate Crime Reporter. Transparency International Managing Director at the time, Cobus de Swardt, said, "We did not file an application to Siemens, we applied to the Siemens Integrity Initiative. There's a difference. We have not applied to Siemens." However, according to Siemens, the money for these grants is "provided by Siemens".

2013 Non-support of Edward Snowden

At its annual members' meeting in November 2013 in Berlin, Transparency International's national chapters from Germany and Ireland proposed a resolution calling for the "end of the prosecution of Edward J. Snowden... He should be recognized as a whistleblower for his help to reveal the over-reaching and unlawful surveillance by secret services... He symbolizes the courage of numerous other whistleblowers around the world."
The final resolution that was passed by the plenary excluded any reference to Snowden, and excluded a call for "comprehensive protection on whistleblowers from all forms of retaliation". The original resolution was weakened following the intervention of the USA chapter. Five months earlier, in June 2013, representatives from Transparency International declined Snowden's request to meet him at the Moscow airport. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch met Snowden to support his asylum request, but Transparency International refused.

Dissmissal of Wolfgang Wodarg

On 25 March 2020 Wolfgang Wodarg was dismissed from his place as a member of the board of directors of Transparency International, after he expressed the opinion that the new coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 was only one of many similar viruses which usually go undetected as part of an ordinary seasonal period of respiratory infections, and that the worldwide activities to stop the pandemic were "hype" caused by the selective perception of researchers.