Weeding out corruption

The big news covered in all the papers today is the government's renewed attack on corruption.

We've had a spate of allegations against senior executives in major development companies and financial institutions recently, including government organisations. Although the allegations are against individual executives not the companies, some big names are involved including Nakheel, Tamweel, Istithmar World, Deyaar Development, Dubai Islamic Bank.

Dubai has enjoyed a good reputation in the past as a reputable place to do business, with relatively little corruption. The government has cracked down heavily on officials found guilty of corruption and promises to continue to do that. With the future so heavily dependent on developing as a major world financial and commercial centre, that's critical.

The Ruler's office has issued a statement saying:

The Government will continue to have a strict stance against all aspects of corruption and will take legal measures against violators. There will be no tolerance shown to anybody who tries to exploit his position to make illegal profits.

With the names involved, and the share prices are already taking hits, the investigations need to be concluded and any prosecutions brought quickly. Justice must be done, but most importantly it must be seen to be done. We need maximum transparency, maximum publicity.



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