Anti-Corruption • Ethics & Integrity
Frank has been engaged with global economics, banking, governance and anti-corruption for more than 40 years, as a journalist, as a World Bank senior official, as an anti-corruption civil society leader, and as a top level advisor to financial institutions. Frank is President of Vogl Communications, Inc., which has provided advice to leaders of international finance for more than two decades.
When countries are in acute difficulties and turn to the United States for support, then they do not expect to be publicly rebuked for corruption. Now, Vice President Joe Biden on a visit to Ukraine has done just this and it may signify a change in U.S. foreign policy approaches to dealing with kleptocratic regimes.
Read MoreDespite all the swagger of Russia's Putin and the pro-Russian sentiments of many citizens of Ukraine living in Crimea, the people of Ukraine remain angry about the staggering sums of cash allegedly stolen from them by the country's former government leaders and their cronies.
Read MoreThe image of the serene Avon Lady calling on charming housewives to sell beauty products is being replaced by a picture of hardened Avon executives across the developing world paying bribes to build their business.This is not a trivial matter. Avon is in trouble.
Read MoreWall Street's trumpets blasted in full force from the top of America's largest bank today to declare: all we care about is making money, even if that means breaking the law at times.
Read MoreAcross the world people have been asking why none of America’s top bankers went to jail for the crimes that caused the 2008 financial crisis. A leading New York judge now provides disturbing answers and underscores that none of the key bankers who caused the crisis will ever be criminally prosecuted.
Read MoreAcross the globe the call -- "End Corruption" -- is ringing loud. In the bitter cold of Ukraine's capital, Kiev, tens of thousands of citizens are demonstrating against the government of president Viktor Yanukovych. The protesters declared: "Out with the bandits!"
Read MoreCorporations engaged in international business are facing formidable anti-corruption challenges. U.S. and other Western companies face the dual pressures of looming ever larger on the screens of official and media investigators, while on the other hand they find that winning big foreign deals is increasingly more difficult because of the rise of unscrupulous competitors.
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TI Canada Business Roundtable Speech October 1 2013
An unprecedented attack on corruption at the top of the Chinese Communist Party is now underway. Suddenly, following a spate of trials, arrests and investigations, it seems as if even the most senior leaders in the Communist Party are vulnerable.
Read MoreThe horrendous slaughter in the streets of Egyptian cities is calling into question the value of U.S. foreign aid to Egypt. Currently, the U.S. provides about $1.5 billion annually in aid to Egypt.
Hopefully, this discussion will lead to a deeper and broader debate about the objectives of our aid programs and the methods used to provide aid and monitor its uses. – not just to Egypt, but to countries like Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen and Kenya where key issues of international security are a prime driver of U.S. largesse.
Read MoreInfant mortality in oil rich Nigeria is three times as great as in one of the world’s very poorest countries, Bangladesh.
Indeed, social indicators in many of the sub-Sahara African countries endowed with oil, gas and mining wealth are appalling.
Read MoreThe American political system is damaged goods. Public confidence in the U.S. Congress is at an all-time low of just 10 percent, according to a recent Gallup Poll. Then, according to a brand new poll, 85 percent of U.S. business leaders see major problems with the U.S. campaign finance system, indeed 42 percent say the system is completely broken.
Read MoreThe article highlights theimportant new African Progress Report 2013, produced by the African Progress Panel of distinguished persons chaired by former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan. The report, due its detailed research and compelling logic of argument, should have a major influence on public debate about reducing poverty in Africa. Frank Vogl provides some answers and insights in this blog.
Read MoreChina’s President Xi Jinping has announced a full-scale attack on corruption, stressing that he will crack down on both "tigers" and "flies"–powerful leaders and lowly bureaucrats in the government. He is the first leader of China to so publicly condemn corruption and to acknowledge that it is a rising threat to governmental cohesion and economic prosperity.
Read MoreRaging debates about whether or not the CEO and Chairman roles at J.P. Morgan Chase should be divided have centered on the skills and personality of Jamie Dimon who currently holds both positions. Shareholders of J.P. Morgan Chase will vote on this issue at their annual meeting on May 21, 2013. They should not focus on the particular skills of Dimon, but rather on core issues of good governance.
Read More....the breakdown of the rule of law in a country where corruption is widespread has led to the deaths of hundreds of people: civil society needs to lead actions to force changes by government and business alike...
Read MoreShining a bright light on the global operations of major multinational corporations, including details of the cash they pay to foreign governments, will not end corruption. But, it is a very good start on a long and vital journey.
Read MoreHistorians will look back to chaotic financial events in late March/early April 2013 on the tiny island of Cyprus as the start of a new and more dangerous phase in Europe’s crisis. Now, after years of mounting debt and economic problems from Portugal and Spain to Greece and Italy, Europe is entering what may be an era of rising challenges to its democratic institutions.
Read MoreA Matter That Goes to the Top," that the chairmen and CEOs of major financial services firms need to recognize the power of the 24/7 global news cycle, the widespread public suspicion of banks and bankers, the cultural changes that are being demanded by the public and regulators alike.
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