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☆ South Africa’s democracy is turning 30 – but a silent crisis threatens its hard-fought gains
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-26 | by ( David Mckenzie | Sarah Dean | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Soweto, South Africa CNN —Seth Mazibuko strides into the intersection of Moema and Vilakazi Street in Soweto, gesturing to the spot that changed South African history. Cars are used as roadblocks on June 21, 1976, during unrest in Soweto, South Africa, stemming from protests against the use of Afrikaans in schools. But as South Africans celebrate 30 years of democracy this week, many educators and activists believe that there is a crisis hollowing out the country’s education system – a crisis that threatens democracy’s hard-fought gains. Despite substantial education funding, South African students consistently rank among the lowest in global assessments of literacy and numeracy skills. South Africa has the highest unemployment rate in the world and many university graduates struggle to enter the workforce.

Persons: South Africa CNN — Seth, ”, Mazibuko, Mike Mizleni, Prince Mulwela, Angie Motshekga, Motshekga, Nelson Mandela, Walter Dhladhla, it’s, Ann Bernstein, Bernstein, Morris Isaacson, “, ‘, ’, General, Mbali Msimanga, Atlegang Alcock, Mandela Organizations: South Africa CNN, Black South, Getty, Keystone, Hulton, “, Morris Isaacson High School, CNN, South, Basic, African National Congress, ANC, of Development, Enterprise, Corruption, South African Democratic Teachers Union, Cape Town Locations: Soweto, South Africa, Moema, gesturing, AFP, Africa, Canada, Kenya, Oshlange, Black, Durban, South Africa's, Johannesburg, Robben, Cape

☆ Treasury proposes rule to extend anti-money laundering regs to investment advisers
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-13 | by ( Rebecca Picciotto | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The Treasury Department's corruption watchdog on Tuesday issued new proposed regulations that would extend major pieces of the anti-money laundering (AML) rules that apply to banks to some investment advisers. The new rules would apply to investment advisers who are registered with or report to the Securities Exchange Commission, leaving out what FinCEN estimates to be at least 17,000 state-registered investment advisers. The proposed regulations stop short of requiring investment advisers to adopt formal customer identification programs, like banks do. Investment advisers manage tens of trillions of dollars, but until now, they have been largely exempt from the AML regulations arising from the 1970 Bank Secrecy Act and subsequent legislation. In 2003 and 2015, FinCEN proposed similar rules that would have expanded BSA provisions to cover investment advisers.. to combat money laundering and terrorist financing.

Persons: Janet Yellen, FinCEN, Andrea Gacki Organizations: Financial, Treasury, Securities Exchange Commission, Investment Locations: Vienna , Virginia, FinCEN, China, Russia

☆ Former Chinese central banker took ‘extraordinarily massive’ bribes, state media says
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-11 | by ( Michelle Toh | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Hong Kong CNN —Fan Yifei, a disgraced former Chinese central banker, has admitted making a “huge mistake” in comments aired as part of a documentary by state broadcaster CCTV that alleges he accepted massive bribes from the beginning of his tenure. It described how he had received “extraordinarily massive” payments from executives of various companies in exchange for favors after taking up the PBOC’s second-highest position. “I wanted to possess great power, and at the same time, to be rich,” Fan said in the documentary. “I made a huge mistake.”According to CCTV, Fan accepted payments from businesspeople through his brother’s investment company. In addition to Fan’s case, the CCTV documentary exposed graft at a state-owned energy investment group and at the highest levels of Chinese sport.

Persons: Fan, Xi Jinping, “, Qian Long, Liu Liange, Wang Bin, Tang Shuangning, Tang, Wang Yongsheng, Wang, Li, China’s Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, People’s Bank of China’s, Central Commission, Xinhua, Communist Party, National Supervisory Commission, of China, China Life Insurance, China Everbright, China Development Bank, China Daily, soccer team, China’s Twitter Locations: China, Hong Kong, Xinhua, Weibo

☆ Shanghai Industrial Investment: Another executive in China being investigated by corruption watchdog
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-21 | by ( Michelle Toh | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Hong Kong CNN —Another business leader in China is being probed by the country’s anti-graft watchdog, in a sign of an ongoing crackdown in the world’s second largest economy. Zhou Jun, president of state-owned Shanghai Industrial Investment, is under investigation by the Shanghai Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection, a branch of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI), according to a CCDI statement Monday. Shanghai Industrial Investment’s business spans infrastructure, property and pharmaceuticals. Just this month, the CCDI said it was investigating Zhang Hongli, a former senior executive vice president at the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China. That was followed by a report by Chinese state-owned media outlet Cover News that tech entrepreneur Chen Shaojie had become unreachable, citing unconfirmed reports that he was being investigated.

Persons: Zhou Jun, CCDI, Zhou, ”, Zhang Hongli, Chen Shaojie, Chen, Tencent, Fred Hu Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Shanghai Industrial Investment, Shanghai Municipal Commission, Central Commission, Shanghai Industrial, Industrial, Commercial Bank of China, CNN, International, Bloomberg, Primavera Capital Locations: China, Hong Kong, Shanghai

☆ Opinion | Ivanka Trump, Witness for the Prosecution
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-11 | by ( Nina Burleigh | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

The woman Republicans once talked of as a candidate for president — after her dad’s eight years, of course — is both known and a cipher. They seemed to have in their possession way too many Trump Organization documents with her arabesque signature and too many of her emails in which nine-figure loans were being discussed. Before her stint in Washington with her father, Ms. Trump was pals with the children of the American aristocracy — even if their parents scorned him as a parvenu and a golf cheat. A granddaughter of a woman who worked as a maid in the Carnegie mansion and a great-granddaughter of the widowed German immigrant who gave the Trump Organization its start, Ms. Trump was the first Trump woman to the manner born. For that, even more than the beauty her father frequently and creepily extolled, she played a special role in the Trump Organization.

Persons: —, ” Barry Diller, Maureen Dowd, Trump, ” Alexandra Wrage, ”, Letitia James Organizations: Republicans, New, Prosecutors, Trump Organization, Carnegie, Trump Locations: New York, Washington

☆ Detained, missing or under investigation: Business leaders in China face an ‘aggressive’ crackdown
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-10 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Hong Kong CNN —Business leaders in China are under immense pressure, as the country’s leader Xi Jinping intensifies a regulatory crackdown on companies and strengthens its control of the economy. They face rising risks, including the possibility of police raids and detentions of staff, in the world’s second largest economy. A former banker, he has invested in a series of Chinese companies since 2000 and brought their shares to the public markets in mainland China and Hong Kong. No end in sightThe crackdown this year has spooked the business community in China, but it is not unfamiliar. Xi launched a sweeping regulatory crackdown on the private sector in 2020, which wiped trillions of dollars off the market value of Chinese companies worldwide.

Persons: Xi Jinping, ”, Doug Guthrie, ” Guthrie, Tencent, Chen, Zhao Bingxian, “ China’s Warren Buffett, Zhao, Guthrie, “, Zhou Zheng, Zhou, watchdogs, Zhang Hongli, Bao Fan, Bao, Xi, Kevin Frayer, Mauro Guillen, ” Guillen Organizations: Hong Kong CNN — Business, China Initiatives, Arizona State University’s Thunderbird School of Global Management, CNN, Cyberspace Administration of China, Wohua Pharmaceutical, Central Commission, National Supervisory Commission, COFCO, Industrial, Commercial Bank of, Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania Locations: China, Hong Kong, Communist, Beijing, Arizona, Shenzhen, “ Beijing, DouYu, Shandong, Commercial Bank of China

☆ DouYu CEO Chen Shaojie: Yet another CEO is missing in China
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-07 | by ( Manav Tanneeru | Diksha Madhok | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New Delhi CNN —The CEO of a Chinese live-streaming service backed by Tencent has become the latest high-flying executive to fall mysteriously silent in the world’s second largest economy. According to a Monday report from the Cover News, a state-owned media outlet, DouYu (DOYU) CEO Chen Shaojie has been unreachable in recent days. It also cited unconfirmed reports that Chen was being investigated and had been missing for nearly three weeks. DouYu listed on the Nasdaq in 2019, where it raised about $775 million in one of the largest share offerings by a Chinese company on Wall Street that year. Chen’s unexplained absence comes as China continues an anti-corruption crackdown that has ensnared top executives, particularly in the finance and tech sectors.

Persons: Tencent, Chen Shaojie, Chen, DouYu, Zhang Hongli, Zhang, Bao Fan, Bao, haven’t, Xu Jiayin Organizations: New Delhi CNN, CNN, Nasdaq, Wall, Industrial, Commercial Bank of China, Central Commission, Inspection, Evergrande Locations: China, New Delhi, Hong Kong

☆ ICBC ex-VP being probed by China’s anti-graft body
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-06 | by ( Manav Tanneeru | Michelle Toh | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Hong Kong CNN —Zhang Hongli, a former senior executive at Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), is being probed by China’s top anti-corruption watchdog, in a sign of a continuing crackdown in the country’s financial sector. State-owned ICBC is one of China’s “Big Four” banks and the world’s largest lender by assets, according to S&P Global. Prior to joining ICBC, Zhang worked at Deutsche Bank and Goldman Sachs, where he held senior management roles. They include three top executives at the highest ranks of China’s financial world, who have either been probed or charged, according to the commission. In October, Li was expelled from the Communist Party and arrested for allegedly taking bribes, according to Xinhua.

Persons: Hong Kong CNN — Zhang Hongli, Zhang, Goldman Sachs, Bao Fan, Bao, Xi, Li Xiaopeng, —, Li, Liu Liange, Liu, “, Wang Bin, Wang Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Industrial, Commercial Bank of China, Central Commission, P, Deutsche Bank, ICBC’s Communist Party, Xinhua, CNN, China, Communist Party, of China, China Life Insurance Locations: China, Hong Kong, ICBC, Xinhua

MAPUTO, Mozambique (AP) — Protests in Mozambique over disputed local election results resulted in the deaths of a police officer and a civilian Friday, a corruption watchdog group said. The unrest followed Thursday's official validation of the election results, which gave the ruling Frelimo party victory in 64 out of 65 municipalities. A consortium of election observers had reported widespread ballot stuffing, voter intimidation and falsification of results in favor of Frelimo in the Oct. 11 elections. Demonstrators barricaded streets during the protests, which were concentrated in Mozambique's capital, Maputo, and the northern cities of Nampula and Nacala. In Maputo, main opposition party Renamo led its supporters in a march.

Persons: Renamo, Orlando Mudomane, Mudomane Organizations: —, Police, Riot, Center for Public Integrity, ___ AP Locations: MAPUTO, Mozambique, Maputo, Nampula, Nacala, Mozambican, Quelimane, Matola, Portugal, ___, africa

The ramifications for global markets are significant, with Washington and Beijing's determination to loosen dependence on each other fraying long-established supply chains. Many central banks target 2% inflation; market gauges of traders' long-term U.S. and European inflation expectations are running higher , . Anna Rosenberg, head of geopolitics at the Amundi Investment Institute, said Sino-U.S. tensions, provide a "new lens" through which to analyse emerging markets' growth prospects. But the performance of big U.S. tech stocks and global share indices are vulnerable to signs of Chinese retaliation. With China underperforming global stocks, investors are split on how to approach this market.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Joe Biden, Goldman Sachs, Wouter Sturkenboom, Laura Alfaro, Anna Rosenberg, Christopher Rossbach, J, Stern, Carole Madjo, Wendy Liu, Baird, Patrick Spencer, Naomi Rovnick, Kripa Jayaram, Riddhima, Vineet, Sumanta Sen, Pasit, Louise Heavens Organizations: REUTERS, EMEA, APAC, Northern Trust, Reuters, Research, Harvard Business, Amundi Investment Institute, INDIA RUSH, Barclays reckons, EU, Apple, China, Barclays, JPMorgan, Thomson Locations: West, China, Washington, Western, Germany, Northern, Europe, FRIENDSHORING Washington, Vietnam, Mexico, Mongolia, Philippines, Sino, U.S, India, Beijing, COVID, CHINA

☆ Furious Chinese investors lodge complaints over trust firm's missed payments
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Aly Song/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsBEIJING, Aug 18 (Reuters) - Angry investors in trust products of a leading Chinese shadow bank have lodged complaint letters with regulators, pleading with the authorities to step in after the big Chinese trust firm missed payments on dozens of investment products. "Every day, a large number of people gathered at business departments of Zhongrong Trust are praying for the firm can give an explanation to investors ... investors are immersed in unlimited horror and fear every day." In the letter to the NFRA , investors demanded that Zhongrong provide reports of the underlying assets of defaulted products. "We hope officials can attach great attention to Zhongrong Trust ... and not let this to become a milestone vicious economic event," the letter sent to the NFRA said. In the letter to the CCDI, investors complained that management of Zhongrong failed to fulfill their responsibilities and caused huge losses to investors.

Persons: Aly, Zhongrong, didn't, NFRA, Ziyi Tang, Ryan Woo, Sumeet Chatterjee, Kim Cogill Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Trust Co, Investors, Financial Regulatory Administration, Central Commission, Reuters, Zhongzhi Enterprise Group, Zhongrong, Thomson Locations: Shanghai, China, Rights BEIJING, Zhongrong

☆ South Africa’s stance on Russia puzzles many. Could a mine in the desert hold answers?
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-28 | by ( David Mckenzie | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

Johannesburg, South Africa CNN —To many observers, South Africa’s stance on Russia’s war in Ukraine is puzzling. This week, while many African leaders stay away, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa is attending a Russia-Africa summit in St. Petersburg along with key ministers. So, why is South Africa putting this important relationship at risk? The US had long treated South Africa with kid gloves, he said, mindful of not risking an important relationship. Officials have denied that anything was loaded up, but the claim is now subject to a sealed South African government inquiry.

Persons: South Africa CNN —, Cyril Ramaphosa, Viktor Vekselberg, Vladimir Putin, Byron Blunt, Chancellor House, Mogopodi Mokoena, Mokoena, UMK, ”, Karam Singh, Steven Gruzd, Reuben Brigety II, Brigety, Mikhail Metzel, Chancellor House’s, Putin, Yuri Trutnev, Konstantin Zavrazhin, Vekselberg, “, “ Mr Organizations: South Africa CNN, Russia, United Nations, Russian Navy, National Congress, Soviet Union, AmaBhungane, Investigative Journalism, CNN, Chancellor House Holdings, ANC, Mail & Guardian, Chancellor House, Corruption Watch, Chancellor, South African Institute of International Affairs, US, South, AP Mokoena, International Criminal Court, ICC, Getty, Treasury, FBI, Renova Group Locations: Johannesburg, South Africa, Ukraine, Africa, United States, Russian, Russia, St . Petersburg, States, St, Petersburg, Cape Town, African, Cape Town , South Africa, Mallorca, UMK, Cyprus, South

The "Dana Desa" village fund introduced by President Joko Widodo in 2015 and valued at $4.7 billion this year has long been criticised as prone to corruption. "So it's reasonable if the use of the village fund is somewhat loose and anyone can do what they want with it." ILLEGAL ARMSIt is unclear how much of the $337 million in village funds allocated for the Papua region in 2023 is being diverted into arms. "I have never seen a project funded by the village fund, not at all," said Bernadus Kobogau, a tourism official in Intan Jaya. In Papua's highlands, village funds are treated like a "revolutionary tax", he said, commandeered either via intimidation and coercion, or given willingly by supporters of independence.

Persons: Dana, Joko Widodo, Phillip Mehrtens, Ignatius Benny Ady Prabowo, Dana Desa, Faizal Ramadhani, Sebby Sambom, Bernadus Kobogau, Deka Anwar, Anwar, Latifah Anum Siregar, makan tuan, Stefanno Sulaiman, Lincoln Organizations: Reuters, Indonesia Corruption Watch, West Papua National Liberation Army, Free Papua Movement, Institute for, Democracy Alliance for Papua, Thomson Locations: JAKARTA, Indonesian, Papua, New Zealand, Jakarta, Indonesia, Nduga, Intan Jaya, Nabire

☆ Labor party takes power in 'fresh start' for Australia's biggest state
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-26 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The Australian Labor Party in New South Wales state claimed power in an election on Saturday night, with voters backing the center-left party's pledges on anti-privatization and cost of living relief. Labor's win in New South Wales means the party now governs at state and federal level across Australia's mainland, leaving island state Tasmania as the conservative outlier. "After 12 years in opposition the people of New South Wales have voted for a fresh start," Minns told supporters in Sydney late on Saturday. "The people of New South Wales voted to put in a government that would put people at the heart of all decision-making". Speaking on Sunday, Minns said Labor had "commonsense initiatives" that would help bring down cost of living in the state.

☆ Labor Party takes power in 'fresh start' for Australia's biggest state
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SYDNEY, March 26 (Reuters) - The Australian Labor Party in New South Wales claimed power in a state election on Saturday, with voters backing the centre-left party's pledges on anti-privatisation and cost of living relief. "A huge congratulations to @ChrisMinnsMP ... and the whole NSW Labor team on your election victory," Albanese said on Twitter late on Saturday. Labor's win in New South Wales means the party now governs at state and federal level across Australia's mainland, leaving island state Tasmania as the conservative outlier. "After 12 years in opposition the people of New South Wales have voted for a fresh start," Minns told supporters in Sydney late on Saturday. "The people of New South Wales voted to put in a government that would put people at the heart of all decision-making".

☆ Australia's biggest state to vote in close-run election
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SYDNEY, March 24 (Reuters) - Australia's most populous state will vote for a new government on Saturday with most opinion polls showing a close-run election with the opposition centre-left Labor party ahead of the ruling conservative coalition by a narrow margin. The poll said Labor could win up to six more seats. Labor Prime Minister Anthony Albanese urged voters in his home state to elect a Labor government, saying the current coalition government was "in shambles" due to infighting. Perrottet oversaw the brisk reopening of the state from COVID-19 restrictions in a bid to revive the state's economy that is larger than Singapore, Thailand or Malaysia. Reporting by Renju Jose in Sydney; Editing by Michael PerryOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Factbox: Why is Georgia in turmoil over a "foreign agents" law?
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Jake Cordell | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

TBILISI, March 9 (Reuters) - Ruling lawmakers in the South Caucasus country of Georgia on Thursday scrapped plans to introduce what critics called a Russian-inspired "foreign agents" law after two days of intense street protests in the capital Tbilisi. Here is a guide to what's going on:WHAT IS THE PROPOSED 'FOREIGN AGENTS' LAW? - Swathes of Georgian civil society, including election monitors, corruption watchdogs and independent media outlets would have been covered by the law. - Rights groups say the "foreign agent" tag is a designed to make it easier for the government to discredit its opponents. - It says it is modelled on the U.S. 1938 "Foreign Agents Registration Act", which primarily covers lobbyists and organisations directly working for or under the control of foreign governments.

☆ Factbox: Chinese business tycoons, executives who disappeared from public view
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Following is a list of some other high-profile Chinese executives who have abruptly gone missing from public view in recent years. Three months later, On Nov. 27, the company said Yang had resumed his duties after assisting an investigation in China. Shares and bonds related to CEFC China Energy plunged on the news, which was first reported by Chinese magazine Caixin. Chinese financial regulators in 2020 took over brokerages, trust companies and insurers linked to the group. Reporting by Brenda Goh and Xie Yu; Editing by Sumeet Chatterjee and Sonali PaulOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Malawi vice president arrested over corruption, says graft watchdog
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BLANTYRE, Nov 25 (Reuters) - Malawi's Anti-Corruption Bureau has arrested the country's Vice President Saulos Klaus Chilima over graft allegations, it said on Friday. Chilima would be taken to court where he was expected to be charged with three counts of corrupt practices by a public officer, among other charges, the corruption watchdog said in a statement. The statement alleged Chilima was rewarded for assisting Xaviar Limited and Malachitte FZE, two companies connected to British businessman Zuneth Sattar to be awarded contracts by the Malawi Government. In August, the Financial Times reported that Sattar was under investigation by Britain's National Crime Agency over alleged abuse of Malawi's public procurement system. Earlier this year, Malawi's President Lazarus Chakwera dissolved his entire cabinet on charges of corruption against three serving ministers.

☆ China's cbank deputy under probe for suspected violations - anticorruption body
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SHENZHEN, China, Nov 5 (Reuters) - China's top anti-corruption watchdog said on Saturday it is investigating Fan Yifei, one of six deputy governors of China's central bank, over "suspected serious violations of discipline and law". Fan, 58, has held the deputy governor position since early 2015, before which he had held senior roles with China Construction Bank (601939.SS) and China Investment Corporation. Chinese President Xi Jinping has stepped up efforts in recent years to weed out corrupt Communist Party officials in the financial sector. The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) announced the investigation in a statement but did not give any details. In May, the CCDI said it was investigating Sun Guofeng, the former head of the central bank's monetary policy department, for suspected violations.

☆ Australia to create national anti-corruption watchdog
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese speaks at the Sydney Energy Forum in Sydney, Australia July 12, 2022. Brook Mitchell/Pool via REUTERS/File PhotoSYDNEY, Sept 27 (Reuters) - Australia's government said on Tuesday it will introduce legislation to create a National Anti-Corruption Commission, after years of debate over the need for an independent watchdog for politicians. The commission will investigate serious or systemic corruption by federal government ministers, parliamentarians, political staff and employees of, or contractors to, government entities. A New South Wales state corruption watchdog has conducted a slew of investigations into politicians and political donations in Australia's biggest state economy, resulting in two Liberal state premiers resigning in the past decade. The national commission will be able to hold public hearings "in exceptional circumstances", and where it is in the public interest, the government statement said.

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