Corruption

Pakistan's former PM Imran Khan sentenced to 17 years in graft case

Judge Shahrukh Arjumand of an anti-graft court handed Khan the maximum prison sentence for illegally undervaluing and then obtaining expensive gifts from the national treasury when he was premier

Ex-Pakistan PM Imran Khan, wife sentenced to 17 yrs in corruption case

A Pakistan accountability court on Saturday sentenced jailed former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi to 17 years imprisonment each in the Toshakhana 2 corruption case. The case is about alleged fraud in state gifts, which the former first couple received from the Saudi government in 2021. Special court judge Shahrukh Arjumand announced the judgment in the case in the high-security Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi. Khan and Bushra were awarded 10 years' rigorous imprisonment under Section 409 (criminal breach of trust) of the Pakistan Penal Code and seven years under different Sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 10 million on each of them.

Ex-Nepal ministers, Chinese firm charged with graft in Pokhara airport case

Former Nepali ministers, officials and a Chinese company were charged with corruption over financial irregularities during the construction of an international airport. The Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority filed on Sunday cases against 55 people and the China CAMC Engineering Company Limited, one of the biggest such cases in the Himalayan nation, accusing them of inflating construction expenses by more than USD 74 million. It remains unclear when the hearing will begin. Two officials of the Chinese company have been named in the charges filed at the Special Court in Kathmandu, which handles corruption cases related to government dealings. The bidding agreed on with the government in 2012 was set at USD 169.6 million, but Nepali officials increased the amount to a little over USD 244 million "in collusion with the Chinese company," the commission said. The airport, at the resort city of Pokhara, 200 kilometres west of Kathmandu, was built with a loan from China Exi

Thousands in Philippines protest corruption, demand return of stolen funds

Thousands of demonstrators, including members of the Roman Catholic church clergy, protested in the Philippines on Sunday, calling for the swift prosecution of top legislators and officials implicated in a corruption scandal that has buffeted the Asian democracy. Left-wing groups led a separate protest in Manila's main park with a blunt demand for all implicated government officials to immediately resign and face prosecution. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has been scrambling to quell public outrage over the massive corruption blamed for substandard, defective or non-existent flood control projects across an archipelago long prone to deadly flooding and extreme weather in tropical Asia. More than 17,000 police officers were deployed in metropolitan Manila to secure the separate protests. The Malacanang presidential palace complex in Manila was in a security lockdown with key access roads and bridges blocked by anti-riot police forces, trucks and barbed wire railings. In a deeply ..

Bangladesh ex-PM Hasina gets 21 yrs prison sentence in corruption cases

A Bangladesh court on Thursday sentenced ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina to 21 years of imprisonment in three corruption cases, local media reported. The three cases were lodged over alleged irregularities in allocating plots in the Rajuk New Town Project in Purbachol, state-run BSS news agency said. The judge pronounced the judgment in absence of the convict as she is yet to be arrested and was tried in absentia. Hasina was sentenced to seven years in each case, totalling 21 years in prison. "The plot was allotted to Sheikh Hasina without any application and in a manner that exceeded the legally authorised jurisdiction," the court observed in its judgment.

Corruption scandal pressures Zelenskyy to show greater accountability

Pressure is mounting on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to take stronger action to show accountability in the face of a corruption scandal presenting the greatest threat to his government since Russia's full-scale invasion. Last week, Zelenskyy dismissed two top officials and imposed sanctions on close associates after government investigators revealed that USD 100 million had been embezzled from the country's energy sector through kickbacks paid by contractors. But that hasn't quieted the political storm. After more than three years of war in which Ukrainians face regular power outages as a result of Russia's fierce bombardment, corruption in the energy sector isn't sitting well with the public. Calls are growing for Zelenskyy to remove his longtime chief of staff, Andrii Yermak, who many consider to be Ukraine's de facto vice president. Neither Zelenskyy nor Yermak have been accused of any wrongdoing by those leading the corruption investigation. Yet Zelenskyy's political

Over 65% owners paid part of property deal in cash: LocalCircles Survey

A LocalCircles survey says black money use remains rampant in India's real estate market, with two-thirds of buyers paying in cash and 44 per cent admitting to bribing multiple officials

From Dhaka to Colombo, Gen Z has started raging at rotten governance

Each revolt in our neighbourhood was driven by corruption, with lessons for India

Rahul Gandhi links rising unemployment, corruption to 'vote theft'

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday claimed that as long as elections are "stolen", unemployment and corruption will continue to rise, and asserted that young people will no longer tolerate "job theft" and "vote theft". In a post on X in Hindi, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha said unemployment is the biggest problem facing youth in India and it is directly linked to "vote chori". When a government wins public trust and comes to power, its first duty is to provide employment and opportunities to the youth, he said. "But the BJP doesn't win elections honestly -- they stay in power by stealing votes and controlling institutions," Gandhi alleged. That's why unemployment has reached a 45-year high, he said. "That's why jobs are declining, recruitment processes have collapsed, and the future of youth is being jeopardised. That's why every exam paper leak and every recruitment is linked to stories of corruption," Gandhi said. "The country's youth work hard, dream, and figh

Philippine police arrest 49 amid violent clashes at anti-corruption protest

Philippine police arrested 49 people suspected of hurling rocks, bottles and fire bombs at officers and blocking heavily guarded roads and bridges leading to the presidential palace Sunday while a peaceful anti-corruption rally took place in the capital, officials and witnesses said. The melee outside the country's seat of power unfolded while more than 33,000 other protesters rallied in a historic park and a democracy monument in Manila. They expressed outrage over a corruption scandal involving lawmakers, officials and construction company owners who allegedly pocketed huge kickbacks from flood-control projects in the impoverished Southeast Asian country that is regularly buffeted by storms and typhoons. The hourslong rampage by about 100 mostly club-wielding people, some of whom waved Philippine flags and displayed carton posters with anti-corruption slogans, wounded about 70 Manila law enforcers, according to the Manila police. Schools were cancelled due to the violence. Police

Thousands protest in Philippines against massive corruption scandal

Thousands of protesters took to the streets in the Philippine capital on Sunday to express their outrage over a corruption scandal involving lawmakers, officials and businesspeople who allegedly pocketed huge kickbacks from flood-control projects in the poverty-stricken and storm-prone Southeast Asian country. Police forces and troops were put on alert to prevent any outbreak of violence. Thousands of police officers were deployed to secure separate protests in a historic Manila park and near a democracy monument along the main EDSA highway, also in the capital region, where organisers hoped to draw one of the largest turnouts of anti-corruption protesters in the country in recent years. The United States and Australian embassies issued travel advisories asking their citizens to stay away from the protests as a safety precaution. A group of protesters waved Philippine flags and displayed a banner that read: No more, too much, jail them, as they marched in the Manila protest and ...

ED raids 13 premises of B C Jindal Group over FEMA violation charges

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday conducted searches against the B C Jindal Group of companies on charges of violation of the foreign exchange law, official sources said. They said at least 13 premises of the directors and officials of the group located in Delhi-NCR and Hyderabad are being searched under the provisions of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA). The ED is investigating suspected FEMA violations by the group entities of the company such as Jindal India Thermal Power Ltd. and Jindal India Powertech Ltd. for its overseas investments and parking of funds in their overseas entities, the sources said. The company could not be contacted immediately for comment on the ED action. The business conglomerate has recorded an annual turnover of over Rs 18,000 crore and is a major player in the power sector.

Sudan Gurung's group demands PM Karki's resignation over cabinet picks

A group led by Sudan Gurung protested in Baluwatar, Kathmandu, opposing Om Prakash Aryal's appointment as Home Minister and accusing PM Sushila Karki of ignoring their concerns

Nepal on the brink: Ruling elites increasingly out of sync with the people

Nepal's youth-led protests, triggered by a sweeping social media ban, have exposed deep political and economic rot, forcing PM Oli's resignation and leaving the country at a crossroads

South Korea's ex-First Lady to face questioning after corruption arrest

This comes less than 48 hours after her arrest on corruption charges, when the Seoul Central District Court issued an arrest warrant on Tuesday, citing concerns that she might destroy evidence

Wife of S Korea's jailed ex-President Yoon held over corruption allegations

The wife of South Korea's jailed former President Yoon Suk Yeol has been arrested as investigators seek to charge her over various suspected crimes, including bribery, stock manipulation and meddling in the selection of a candidate. In granting a special prosecutor's request for an arrest warrant late Tuesday, the Seoul Central District Court said Kim Keon Hee posed a risk of destroying evidence. The investigation into Kim is one of three special prosecutor probes launched under Seoul's new liberal government targeting the presidency of Yoon, a conservative who was removed from office in April and rearrested last month over his brief imposition of martial law in December. While Yoon's self-inflicted downfall extended a decades-long run of South Korean presidencies ending badly, he and Kim are the first former presidential couple to be jailed simultaneously over criminal allegations. Yoon's surprising yet poorly planned power grab on December 3 came amid a seemingly routine standoff

CBI finds no evidence, court closes corruption case against Satyendar Jain

A Delhi court has closed the corruption case against AAP leader Satyendar Jain after the CBI found no evidence of criminal conspiracy, corruption, or personal gain

SC reserves verdict on Justice Varma's plea against panel findings

Supreme Court reserves verdict on Justice Varma's challenge to a panel report indicting him in the cash discovery case as court questions his conduct and CJI's duties

Lok Sabha to take up removal motion against Justice Varma: Rijiju

The development comes after 152 members of Lok Sabha submitted the motion on impeachment of Justice Varma to Speaker Om Birla on July 21

Three-member Parliament panel likely to probe charges against Justice Varma

This comes after over 200 members of parliament submitted a motion in both the Houses to probe the allegations against Justice Varma