Resources on Corruption

GIJN's Global Guide to Investigating Organized Crime

Reporting Guide

Leading crime reporters (and one professor) offer their hard-won advice about how to tackle these complex — and dangerous — topics. We've chosen nine key areas: criminal finance, narcotics, arms trade, environmental crime, forced disappearances, cybercrime, mafia states, human trafficking, and art and antiquities.

Investigative Dashboard by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP)

Databases; Experts

OCCRP's Investigative Dashboard includes software tools and databases useful for researching and mapping individuals and companies. Its ID Search indexes more than two million documents on Politically Exposed Persons. Links to external databases include business registries, regional procurement registries, regulatory agencies, commercial registries and court registries around the world. Experts are available to assist with research.

Offshore Leaks Database by International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ)

Database

ICIJ has compiled a database of corporate information based on leaked documents on nearly 810,000 offshore companies and trusts from the Pandora Papers, Paradise Papers, Bahamas Leaks, Panama Papers and Offshore Leaks investigations. The database can be searched by people, companies, and addresses connected to offshore entities and country, or by jurisdiction.

OpenCorporates

Database

The UK-based company Chrinon Ltd operated OpenCorporates. In early 2024 it had nearly 223 million companies from more than 140 jurisdictions. The information is sourced from national business registries and linked/matched by association. The database is searchable by company, officer, and jurisdiction.

Database

Transparency International

Information; Databases; Expert Sources; Case Studies; Toolkit

The anti-corruption NGO is active in nearly 100 countries and publishes the annual Corruption Perceptions Index, which measures levels of perceived public sector corruption in 180 countries around the world, providing details for indicators at country level and ranking countries based on those indicators. TI also publishes the Global Corruption Barometer, which is updated periodically. It also provides a toolkit for journalists that want to investigate corruption: https://www.transparency.org/en/toolkits/media. The Knowledge Hub includes TI research output and is home to the Anti-Corruption Helpdesk and TI's expert network: research. https://knowledgehub.transparency.org/

Databases

Global Financial Integrity (GFI)

Information; Datasets; Expert Sources; Reports

The Washington-based nonprofit conducts original analysis of "illicit financial flows, corruption, illicit trade, and money laundering. Through high-caliber analyses, fact-based advocacy to promote beneficial ownership and a cloud-based database to curtail trade fraud, GFI aims to address the harms inflicted by trade misinvoicing, transnational crime, tax evasion and kleptocracy."

Data on Corruption by the World Bank

Datasets

The World Bank Group Enterprise Survey provides indicators of the prevalence of different types of bribery in 159 economies, based on surveys of more than 219,000 firms. Database query tool available; graphs can be generated to compare countries. A database query tool is available to help you better understand the prevalence of corruption across various firm subgroups. You can also generate graphs to compare countries.

Global Infrastructure Anti-Corruption Centre - Project Anti-Corruption System (PACS)

Information

The UK-based international non-profit focuses on corruption in infrastructure, construction and engineering sectors and provides resources (including the PACS, the Project Anti-Corruption System, and specific measures) for governments, organizations, funders, project owners, and institutions/associations to understand, identify, and prevent corruption. National affiliates are located in Colombia, Germany, Italy, Tunisia, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

International Anti-Corruption Resource Center

Guide & Training Tool. Information; Expert Sources

The guide provides detailed information and steps on detecting corruption and fraud in development projects and addresses bribery, bid rigging, collusive bidding, and fraud. A training tool designed for analysts and investigators reviewing bids is also available. List of "red flags" available.

U4 Anti-Corruption Resource Centre

Information; Expert Sources

The Norway-based organization offers a resource center of anti-corruption material and a help desk for questions. Basic services, development cooperation, evaluation and measurement, health, informal contexts, international drivers of corruption, justice sector, migration, natural resources and energy, "oil, gas, and mining," people's engagement, private sector, public financial management, and renewable resources.

United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)

Country Profiles and Information

Country profiles, including status of ratification of the Convention Against Corruption, country evaluation reports and relevant links to country information in related UN anti-corruption platforms and databases. "Track" database on national laws: http://www.track.unodc.org/Pages/home.aspx

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)

Country Reports

Offers country monitoring reports on the implementation of the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention

Stolen Asset Recovery Initiative (StAR)

Database

StAR Asset Recovery Watch is a public database that tracks efforts by prosecution authorities worldwide to go after assets that stem from corruption. The objective of StAR Asset Recovery Watch is to collect and systematize information about completed and ongoing recovery efforts of proceeds of corruption that have an international dimension.

Databases

U.S. Department of State, Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs

Reports

US State Department's country-by-country two volume report describing efforts to combat all aspects of the international drug trade, chemical control, money laundering, and financial crimes.

Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) by the Council of Europe

Reports, factsheets

GRECO was established by the Council of Europe to monitor its 49 member states’ compliance with the organization’s anti-corruption standards. Includes reports, fact sheets, etc., on member countries.

Reports

Overseas Business Risk by the Foreign & Commonwealth Office and UK Trade & Investment

Information

UK Overseas Business Risk service offers guides, geopolitical, and economic analysis on overseas markets to exporters, including guides to potential risks such as human rights issues, bribery and corruption, terrorism, criminal activity, and intellectual property.

Basel Anti-Money Laundering Index by the The Basel Institute

Datasets

The Switzerland-based nonprofit organization focuses on international banking standards and compliance and has created the ranking index based on the risk of factors such as money laundering, terrorist financing, financial/public transparency, and judicial strength for 152 jurisdictions.

TRACE Compendium

Database

The TRACE Compendium is a "searchable database of summaries of international anti-bribery enforcement actions. Most actions included in the TRACE Compendium are Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”) enforcement actions brought by the U.S. Department of Justice and/or the US Securities and Exchange Commission, but also includes growing number of international anti-bribery enforcement actions brought by enforcement authorities outside of the US, particularly amongst signatories to the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention."

UNCA Civil Society Coalition

Sources

The coalition's list of 350 members from more than 100 countries that are civil society anti-corruption organizations can be used to find sources within a country or region.

Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER)

Database

An electronic public access service that allows users to obtain case and docket information online from US federal appellate, district, and bankruptcy courts, and the PACER Case Locator.

Marine Traffic

Database

Search the MarineTraffic ships database of thousands of active and decommissioned vessels. Find locations of ports and ships using the near Real Time ships map.

The Global Anticorruption Blog

Resources

Long list of organizations, also list of blogs on the topic.

Investigating Land and Corruption in Africa - A Training Manual For Journalists by Transparency International

News

A training manual supports journalists in Africa to investigate and report stories of land corruption. Lots of other publications also included in this link https://www.transparency.org/publications

Curbing Corruption

Resources

A website "providing practical help for public officials and politicians planning anti-corruption reforms." See the analysis and diagnosis section for suggestions of the kinds of corruption that occur.

GIJN's Guide to Investigating Organized Crime in Africa: Kleptocracies

Tips & Tools

Kleptocracy is government by theft. The Cambridge English Dictionary defines it as “a society whose leaders make themselves rich and powerful by stealing from the rest of the people.” This GIJN chapter offers tips and tools on investigating kleptocracy in Africa.

Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime (GITOC)

Resources

Multiple reports on Arms Trafficking, Cybercrime, Development, Drug Trafficking, Financial Crime, Governance and corruption.

Inter-American Development Bank

Reports

A series of published reports on corporate, police, political, transparency, and anticorruption.

Globalization and Health

Academic Essay

Exploring anti-corruption, transparency, and accountability in the World Health Organization, the United Nations Development Programme, the World Bank Group, and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

Africa Anti-Corruption Platform

Resources

This Anti-Corruption Platform for Sub-Saharan Africa provides a platform to showcase civil society organizations working on anti-corruption, in particular through activities around UN Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) and its review process.

GIJN's 10 Steps for Fighting Kleptocracy

Resource

With democratic progress at stake globally, Stanford scholar Larry Diamond gives a 10-step program to fight kleptocracy, including a call for increased support of investigative journalism.