World Bank believes new tech tools can detect fraud, corruption faster

The World Bank Group has high hopes of using new technological tools and resources which they believe can support the collective fight against global corruption.

The Group on June 5-6, hosted the 2nd meeting of the International Corruption Hunters Alliance (ICHA) to engage its members on how to use the new technological tools.

“Technology can help us move faster and with greater accuracy to detect and catch fraud and corruption,” said Robert B. Zoellick, outgoing World Bank Group President, in his opening address to more than 300 senior anti-corruption officials and heads of enforcement organizations who participated in the meeting.

According to Mr Zoellick, anti-corruption officials could develop a “compendium of resources” that support integrity in financial centers which could serve as a useful information resource for all members of the Alliance.

Building on the network of corruption fighters that was launched in 2010, the ICHA 2012 is driving the fight against corruption to a new level defined by technological tools, new bilateral and multilateral partnerships, a broader range of enforcement action and a wealth of investigative, forensic and preventive knowledge that is now accessible to all Alliance members.

“To succeed in the prevention, investigation and prosecution of fraud and corruption, we need to create a community of practice that can leverage the tools, knowledge and expertise needed to fight transnational crimes and expedite actions by national anticorruption authorities,” said Leonard McCarthy, World Bank Integrity Vice President.

The ICHA 2012 programme focused on the introduction of new approaches such as crowd sourcing and citizen engagement, the use of open source data to support forensic investigations and evidence gathering, as well as bringing a corruption prevention perspective through the experiences of a number of countries and international organizations.

In conjunction with the core programme, the World Bank Group hosted a Technology EXPO to showcase technology that can be tailored to the specific needs of corruption fighters.

By Ekow Quandzie