UN launches Business Integrity Portal to bolster anti-corruption efforts

New Business Integrity Portal launched to bolster anti-corruption efforts in the private sector

16 countries included in the portal thus far.

Vienna (Austria), 30 June 2022 —Tackling corruption requires all parts of society to play their part. One sector, though, has a particularly critical role as the world’s key economic driver: the private sector.

The private sector has a vested interest in curbing corruption. Corruption impedes the economic and financial growth of businesses by distorting markets and increasing costs. The private sector can therefore be a powerful agent for change by contributing to a culture of integrity and transparency and by strengthening the rule of law. It is not only possible but also beneficial for the business community to create stronger economies and more prosperous societies.

For over a decade, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has been fostering dialogue between businesses and governments to find common solutions to a common problem and enhance the capacity of both sectors to prevent and counter corruption. By improving accountability and transparency in industries and supply chains, and by educating and empowering employees to speak up and report corrupt practices, UNODC promotes a culture of integrity in business. Educating youth on fairness and ethics today is key to building generations of integrity business leaders tomorrow.

To ensure forward momentum on business integrity, UNODC has launched its brand-new Business Integrity Portal. Serving as an online one-stop shop, the Portal houses a wealth of resources, tools, and good practices, emerging from a range of anti-corruption projects for the private sector implemented by UNODC and funded by the Siemens Integrity Initiative. The projects, delivered in 16 countries across the globe, are designed to reduce corruption by strengthening legal frameworks, public-private dialogue and private sector capacity in line with the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC), the only legally binding universal anti-corruption instrument. Collective action increases the impact and credibility of individual action.

“Addressing corruption in the private sector demands collective action, which can be effective only when we cooperate and coordinate with one another,” commented UNODC’s Brigitte Strobel-Shaw on the launch of the Portal. “The Business Integrity Portal is another crucial step in the right direction. It showcases preventive action in the private and public sectors, a key driver for change and for the establishment of a culture of integrity.”

The Portal provides users with an overview of how governments and other stakeholders such as civil society and academia have joined forces with the corporate world to develop practical solutions to prevent and counter corruption in specific countries and sectors.

In addition to providing users with an in-depth look at UNODC activities in the area of business integrity, the Portal also offers opportunities to connect with the Office and participate in events. More details can be found here.

Further information

Business Integrity Portal

To support States parties’ efforts to fully implement the United Nations Convention against Corruption, UNODC delivers technical assistance in various corruption-related thematic areas, including prevention, education, asset recovery, and integrity in the criminal justice system, among others. Learn more here.

A Turkish farmer became a millionaire with purple stones from his field

Farmer Ali Aiden, who lives in the village of Akpanar in the Harmandzhik region, found unusual purple stones in his field. He became curious and brought them for expertise in the regional city of Bursa. As a result of their research, it was established that the stones found in his field were made of purple jade.

These purple colored stones are a mixture of the colors of basic jadeite, quartz, phlogopite, chlorotoid, epidote and six orthoclase minerals. They are known to occur only in this region.

In the past, villagers in the region were unaware of the value of the stones and sold them cheaply as a cladding material. Foreign traders bought them by truck, and some of them were even simply stolen or taken without money.

It turns out that purple stones are used in jewelry design. So Ali Aidan, who has about 1 ton of stone left, is really lucky. Now he is considering selling the stones for a large sum if he finds a buyer.

He complained to the Anatolian State Agency:

“It was too late until I realized the fact that the purple stones found in my field were the purple jade gemstone. I have missed a great fortune so far, but I now aim to make money with the last stones I have left.”

Aiden added: “I understand that this stone cost $ 1,600. He was known in Japan to bring happiness. He brought happiness to me too. It turned out that I have a treasure in my field. At first I couldn’t believe it. “

Although the green and white “jade” found in many regions of the world has been known since ancient times, the rich mineral deposit containing purple jade with the quality of precious stones has not been registered elsewhere. Therefore, the only known source of purple jade in the world is located in this geologically studied region. The most typical raw blocks of purple jade are obtained from the deposit near the village of Akpanar. This bulky material is known for its “very suitable for cutting various objects and gemstones”.

Cash remains in vogue in Switzerland

Cash remains the preferred method of payment in Switzerland, although during the pandemic wealthy citizens increasingly turned to card payments and payment applications. That’s according to a study by the Swiss Central Bank, quoted by Reuters. About 43% of one-off payments for purchases in supermarkets and restaurants are made in cash, which remains the most popular payment method in Switzerland, according to the study. However, cash has lost its position, as its share amounted to 70% in 2017.

“In terms of the number of payments made, cash continues to be the most commonly used payment instrument by the Swiss population,” said Fritz Zurbrug, vice president of the Swiss Central Bank.

“Compared to 2017, their share has decreased significantly. The pandemic has given additional impetus to this transition from cash to cashless payment methods,” he added.

One third of the payments are made by debit cards, which is an increase compared to the situation four years ago, when 22% of payments in the country were through this method. Credit cards have also increased in popularity over the period. The increase in contactless payments contributes to the rise of card payments.

Mobile payment applications such as Twint and Paypal account for 5% of transactions in Switzerland, while in 2017 their share was almost zero.

“Cashless payment methods have begun to be considered, at least in part, as easier to use than cash,” according to a study conducted in August-November 2020. The growth in online shopping has fueled the popularity of maps and apps during the pandemic, as well as the fact that consumers are shopping more from grocery stores during the pandemic.

As the Swiss slowly withdraw from cash, banknotes in circulation are growing. This suggests that cash is used to store value, according to the Swiss central bank.

The report states that people in the country have stored about 10 billion francs or 12% of banknotes in circulation on rainy days.

Nearly 70% of the population keeps cash at home or in a safe, with most (77%) holding up to 1,000 francs to meet unforeseen expenses or to store value in the long run.

Negative interest rates of the Swiss central bank are not a factor, as most people are not directly affected by them.