Catalog

	Table of Contents
p. 7 of 10 BACK | NEXT I. Introduction II. ADB'S Response III. Definitions of Corruption IV. The Costs of Corruption V. ADB's Position on Anticorruption Issues Objective no. 1: Supporting Competitive Markets, and Efficient, Effective, Accountable, and Transparent Public Administration Objective no. 2: Supporting Promising Anticorruption Efforts on a Case-by-Case Basis and Improving the Quality of Dialogue on Governance Issues Objective no. 3: Ensuring Bank Projects and Staff Adhere to the Highest Ethical Standards VI. Conclusions and Recommendations VII. Appendixes

Anticorruption : V. ADB's Position on Anticorruption Issues

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Objective no. 2: Supporting Promising Anticorruption Efforts on a Case-by-Case Basis and Improving the Quality of Dialogue on Governance Issues

46. ADB may also be called upon to assist its DMCs in pursuing explicit anticorruption programs. Such assistance could include efforts to develop a national anticorruption strategy; improve the ability of the courts to try corruption cases; respond to requests from legislators and government officials for legal or TA in drafting anticorruption statutes or professional codes of conduct; strengthen the legal mechanisms for review of administrative action, e.g., the creation of an ombudsman or provision for judicial review; or improve the capacity of anticorruption agencies to detect or prosecute illicit behavior.

47. ADB will give careful consideration to any request from a DMC for assistance in developing an anticorruption effort. Since these activities are likely to be politically delicate and require detailed knowledge of the particular circumstances surrounding each case, ADB will provide staff with flexibility and discretion in pursuing such initiatives on a case-by-case basis. ADB assistance should be guided by three principles: (i) the assistance must be requested by the DMC government; (ii) the request must be consistent with ADB's broader country operational strategy and ongoing efforts in the field of governance and capacity building; and (iii) the request should fall in an area where ADB has or can provide relevant expertise.

48. In a similar fashion, ADB will consider supporting regional anticorruption efforts; workshops, seminars, conferences, and training activities; research and publications dealing with anticorruption issues; and possible collaboration with local and international NGOs whose mission or work program advances such initiatives.

49. Staff should exercise caution in addressing several sets of initiatives that will typically remain beyond ADB’s scope of involvement. They include efforts to influence the domestic debate within its DMCs regarding a particular anticorruption strategy or set of anticorruption initiatives; anticorruption programs that are highly politicized and targeted at a particular individual or political party; and initiatives that are largely cosmetic in nature and designed to foster the illusion of progress without the substance. ADB should not provide assistance to any anticorruption measure unless there is an understanding with its DMC over the nature and scope of these initiatives and their importance within that country’s overall development strategy.

50. ADB has several mechanisms for engaging in dialogue with its DMCs on issues of governance (including corruption), ranging from the country operational strategy and the country assistance program discussions, to country portfolio review missions, to project appraisal, implementation, and review missions. ADB staff charged with country strategy and program formulation, including the drafting of the country strategy and program documents, as well as staff responsible for loan or TA projects, should address corruption in the context of broader governance and capacity-building issues. They should be knowledgeable about issues of corruption and its impact within their particular geographic and/or sectoral sphere of operations. They will use these mechanisms to discuss and recommend ways in which ADB can help advance the principles of sound development management, including measures that would help combat corruption, in any country where corruption affects ADB projects and the country’s general prospects for economic growth.

51. The country portfolio review missions and project review missions provide a useful venue for discussing the policies and practices that impede the efficient implementation of ADB projects. Under most circumstances, staff who suspect that corruption may have occurred or be occurring within a given ADB project should follow the procedures outlined in paragraph 64 and report the matter to the Office of the General Auditor (OGA), who will determine the optimal course of action. In rare cases where rapid follow-up actions may be needed, staff can address such issues explicitly with the relevant company, executing agency, or appropriate investigative agencies after clearance from their director and the Office of the General Counsel (OGC). Any discussion with a given firm or government agency should, however, be limited to a specific ADB operation or set of operations.

52. Consistent with the ADB’s Media Guidelines, the President, vice- presidents, and heads of offices or departments can speak to the press about issues of corruption as they deem necessary in the conduct of ADB operations. Other ADB staff are free to discuss issues of corruption in general terms, provided they follow the procedures prescribed in the Media Guidelines. However, they should not speak to the press about either specific examples of corruption among ADB suppliers or in DMCs, or the general level of corruption within a company or nation without previously receiving clearance from the vice-president concerned or, in his or her absence, ADB's chief information officer.

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