2008 Integrity Awards/2009/in focus/news room

16 February 2009

Corruption has undoubtedly a long history, but it does not mean that it is inevitable. Everyday people around the world battle against physical, legal and bureaucratic obstacles to expose and uproot corruption, breaking down public apathy and demonstrating that just because something was accepted nearly 5000 years ago it need not be the case today.

Transparency International’s (TI) Integrity Awards honour the work of these courageous individuals and organisations that make a real difference in the fight against corruption. From accountants and public prosecutors to government officials and pharmacologists, their backgrounds may be diverse, but the message is the same: corruption can be beaten.

TI’s 2008 Integrity Awards pay tribute to two remarkable investigative journalists, David Leigh and Roman Shleynov, whose untiring determination to expose corrupt dealings in the face of formidable odds serve as inspiration to the anti-corruption movement.

	Integrity Awards 2008 ceremony slideshow Click to launch>>

Integrity Awards 2008 ceremony slideshow

Click to launch>>

the 2008 Integrity Awards winners

David Leigh

Investigations Editor at the Guardian (UK)

David Leigh’s extensive reporting on foreign bribery in business, his exposure of corruption allegations in projects guaranteed by the UK’s Export Credit Guarantees Department as well as political corruption in the UK, underline his dedication to a multi-faceted problem. Since 2004, Leigh’s landmark investigations into alleged bribery by British Aerospace Systems (BAES) in relation to the UK-Saudi Al Yamamah arms deal, as well as deals with other countries, has laid bare how developed countries may be complicit in fuelling corruption in developing nations.

His untiring pursuit of the truth has also helped journalists in other countries to report on accusations involving BAES and their own governments.

“The OECD rightly harangues Britain for a dire record on tackling bribery – especially as the government is the worst offender”.
David Leigh (Guardian)

Roman Shleynov

Investigations Editor at Novaya Gazeta (Russia)

From embezzlement by a former Russian nuclear energy minister to billions of black market cigarettes en route to Europe, Roman Shleynov focuses almost exclusively on exposing the corrupt bonds between business and politics.

His independent reporting and investigative expertise at Novaya Gazeta has brought Shleynov to the attention of Russia’s Federal Security Service (the former KGB) on several occasions.

Since 2000, Novaya Gazeta has seen four of its journalists brutally murdered, including three who worked on corruption stories. The well-respected paper is known for its independent, investigative reporting, and has exposed incidences of high-level corruption in Russia, where the majority of the media is state controlled.

“It is not criticism of the Kremlin itself that endangers Russian journalists, but the threat they pose to an old system of relationships that benefits a tiny minority of people. And that will not be permitted.”
Roman Shleynov (New Statesman)

honouring anti-corruption heroes

TI’s Integrity Awards were created to recognise the courage and determination of the many individuals and organisations confronting corruption around the world, often at great personal risk. The recent murder of Lasantha Wickramatunga, who was awarded TI’s first Integrity Award in 2000, serves as a brutal reminder.

The 2007 awards recognised the unflinching dedication of Le Hien Duc, a retired Vietnamese school-teacher and resourceful anti-corruption fighter, and Professor Mark Pieth, a criminal law and criminology professor at the University of Basel, Switzerland. Duc tackles petty bribing and large-scale graft by filing complaints and helping fellow citizens in spite of physical threats and warnings. Pieth meanwhile has an outstanding track record in fighting corruption on an international scale, not only as a co-founder of the Basel Institute on Governance, but as chair of the OECD Working Group on Bribery in International Business Transactions and as a member of the Independent Inquiry Committee into the Iraq Oil-for-Food Programme of the United Nations.

>>To learn more about TI’s Integrity Awards, the previous winners and how to make a nomination please click here.

news coverage

Prix de l'intégrité 2008 à 2 journalistes (Integrity Award 2008 awarded to 2 journalists)
Agence France-Presse, 13 February 2009 [French]
Transparency International honours 2 investigative journalists
Pana, 13 February 2009
Russian, British journalists scoop anti-corruption award
Agence France-Presse, 17 February 2009
Russia, UK win 2008 Integrity Awards
Press TV, 17 February 2009
Редактору отдела расследований "Новой" вручена премия Integrity Awards (The Editor of Investigations form Novaya Gazeta receives the Integrity Awards)
Novaya Gazeta, 18 February 2009
Transparency International Moved by Mr Fatai's Achievements
Solomon Times, 19 February 2009
Transparency pays tribute to late Fatai
Solomon Star, 20 February 2009

contacts

Gypsy Guillén Kaiser
Tel: +49-30-3438 20 662
ggkaiser@transparency.org