Transparency International Russia

💰 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐚𝐱𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓 𝐍𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐥 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐳𝐞 𝐨𝐧 𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐮𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐜 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐭𝐡 Today, the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel was awarded to Joel Mokyr, Philippe Aghion, and Peter Howitt — scholars who have shown why innovation and integrity in institutions matter more for prosperity than any tax reform. Mokyr was recognised “for identifying the conditions for sustainable growth through technological progress,” while Aghion and Howitt received the prize “for their theory of sustainable growth through creative destruction.” This is a good occasion to recall Philippe Aghion’s publication “Taxation, Corruption, and Growth” (2016), in which he and his co-authors demonstrated that reducing corruption yields far greater benefits for societal welfare than lowering taxes. Their research shows how corruption undermines the efficient use of tax revenues, while integrity ensures that taxes become roads, schools, and innovation — not offshore accounts.

The Transparency International family at the Open Government Partnership Summit in Spain this week 💙

🌍 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐤, 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐲 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐑𝐮𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐚 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐎𝐆𝐏 𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐕𝐢𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚-𝐆𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐢𝐳 Although Russia is not a member of the Open Government Partnership and has, in fact, been moving away from the very principles of open government, we believe 𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐮𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐥𝐨𝐛𝐚𝐥 𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐮𝐞. For us, these exchanges with colleagues and partners are not only about today’s challenges, but also about shaping the future – for ourselves, and 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐑𝐮𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐚 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐛𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐟𝐮𝐥, 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐞. Open Government Partnership Transparency International

“𝐀 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐠𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐦”: 𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐚 𝐂𝐈𝐀 𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐨 𝐨𝐧 𝐒𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐭 𝐬𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐭𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐲 𝟏𝟗𝟖𝟎𝐬 Transparency International Russia obtained a late-Soviet era CIA analytical memo assessing social sentiment after Leonid Brezhnev’s death. We shared the document with Meduza for their English-language feature. Why it matters: 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬𝐚𝐲 𝐨𝐫 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐚, the memo draws on interviews with Soviet officials, journalists, and members of the nomenklatura to capture the “gloom” of the early 1980s—anxieties about stagnation, fatigue with corruption, and a mounting sense that change was necessary. It’s an external assessment, unbound by the ideological constraints that coloured internal reports at the time. For those studying how opaque systems signal internal stress—and 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐮𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐬 𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐜𝐲—this primary source offers a rare, granular context for why perestroika did not come out of the blue. Read Meduza’s piece here 👉 https://lnkd.in/dHgRURPy (We’re grateful to Meduza for helping bring it to an international audience.)

𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐑𝐮𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐚’𝐬 𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐢𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐰𝐚𝐫 — 𝐣𝐨𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐖𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐨𝐧, 𝐃.𝐂. 𝐨𝐫 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 On 2 October, TI-Russia ED Alyona Vandysheva and the Board member Ilia Shumanov will speak at a seminar hosted by the Elliott School of International Affairs of The George Washington University. “From Russia with Love: Transnational Corruption and Sanctions Bypass in the Ukraine War.” 🕛 12:00 – 1:30 PM (EST) 📍 Washington, D.C. — Elliott School (Voesar Conference Room, 4th floor) 💻 Online via Zoom 🗣 The event will be held in English. The discussion will explore: – how Russia’s elites profit from war, – sanctions evasion and illicit finance networks, – corruption trends since the invasion, – and the role of civil society in resisting them. 👉 Whether in the D.C. or elsewhere, we invite you to join the conversation. 🔗 https://lnkd.in/dndybq_c

📅 𝐓𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐃𝐚𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐚𝐥 𝐀𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐈𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 For millions worldwide, this right is a vital tool to fight corruption and hold power to account. In Russia, however, the reality is the opposite: 🔒 The authorities conceal budget figures, military spending, and even demographic statistics 📰 Independent media and researchers are stigmatised as “foreign agents” 🚫 Organisations calling for transparency are branded “undesirable”. Bans do not change reality. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐚 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐞 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐚 𝐟𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭. The more the state hides, the clearer it becomes that it fears accountability. At Transparency International Russia (in exile), we continue our work because 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐚 𝐬𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐚𝐧 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐬𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐭𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐮𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐫𝐛𝐢𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞. Today, the authorities may attempt to close off information and hide the truth, but this only makes access to information more critical than ever: it remains the foundation for change.

Russian cryptocurrency exchange Garantex continues to flourish in the shadows, relying on offshore financial hubs and other platforms to transfer client funds while evading Western sanctions, according to a new report from Transparency International Russia. Read the story:

𝐀𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐭𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤: 𝐈𝐂𝐈𝐉 𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐓𝐈-𝐑𝐮𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐚’𝐬 𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐑𝐮𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐜𝐫𝐲𝐩𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐞𝐯𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) has published a detailed piece by Sam Ellefson on Garantax — the sanctioned cryptocurrency exchange that continues to fuel Russia’s war economy. The article draws on our latest investigation and includes insights from its author, Kristine Bagdasarian. 👉 Read the full story here: https://lnkd.in/dR-Mmkg9 At Transparency International Russia, we have been investigating 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐑𝐮𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐚 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐜𝐫𝐲𝐩𝐭𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐲𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐬 𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐲. This new coverage by ICIJ shows how global attention is growing — and why tighter oversight and more vigorous enforcement are urgently needed. We are grateful for the opportunity to share our findings with the international community and 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐮𝐬𝐡 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲.

Last week, we received excellent news from Brussels: the EU has just adopted its 19th package of sanctions, targeting illicit Russian cryptocurrencies and platforms for the first time. This is precisely the issue our colleagues at Transparency International Russia have been raising for over two years. They have demonstrated how crypto loopholes fund Russia’s war economy and enable sanctioned actors to bypass restrictions. We are very proud of them and their work. Read more: https://anticorru.pt/3ez

𝐙𝐃𝐅 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬 𝐑𝐮𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐚’𝐬 𝐜𝐫𝐲𝐩𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 German broadcaster ZDF has published a clear explanation of how Russia uses cryptocurrencies to channel money into its military-industrial complex, circumventing Western sanctions. Our researcher, Kristine Bagdasarian, provided expert commentary on how these opaque flows weaken sanctions and fuel Russia’s war economy. The article is in German, but you can read it using the built-in translation tools or share it directly with your German-speaking friends and colleagues—great work by the ZDF team Felix Klauser. 📖 Read the piece here 👇