When the military junta in Thailand, also known as the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), seized power on 22 May, 2014, one of the main reasons it gave for doing so was to address the high levels of corruption plaguing the country under then-Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra.

Following Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad’s surprise victory in Malaysia’s 14th general election on 9 May, which was widely seen as a step forward for democracy, analysts and heads of government worldwide are now turning their eyes to the rest of the region in anticipation of similar political reversals.Mahathir Mohamad, who led a coalition of opposition parties dubbed the Alliance of Hope (Pakatan Harapan) to victory against the incumbent National Front (Barisan Nasional) party, based a larg

China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) was intended to empower developing countries with improved infrastructure and trade relations. In the five years since it was mooted, the BRI is now being demonised as a debt-trap that ensnares poor nations into subservience to China. Another unintended consequence is its alleged connection to corruption.Infrastructure projects are notoriously vulnerable to corruption, featuring inflated costs and kickbacks.

Just this Tuesday, Thailand’s cabinet approved the transfer of three senior head officials from the country’s Ministry of Education amid a probe into alleged malfeasance in relation to the construction of the Songkhla Lake Aquaculture Research Centre, an aquarium and marine research centre in the southern province of Songkhla. This is the latest step in a high-profile corruption probe that the ministry is conducting.

When the military junta in Thailand, also known as the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), seized power on 22 May, 2014, one of the main reasons it gave for doing so was to address the high levels of corruption plaguing the country under then-Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra.

A court in Vietnam has convicted 46 former bankers and businessmen of corruption on Monday over a multi-million-dollar lending scam spearheaded by the once-powerful chairman of Vietnam's Construction Bank.It is the latest in a series of major banking trials aimed at cleaning up the opaque sector long plagued by bad debts, corruption and nepotism.Vietnam's communist leaders have vowed to target the banking business as they wage a sweeping anti-graft campaign which observers say is un

It will be months before a verdict is reached in the corruption case brought against ex-Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, who is accused of siphoning money from a former unit of the state-owned 1MDB development fund. (He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.) But his arrest this week is more significant than many people outside the region may realize.

Singapore which prides itself as one of the "cleanest" countries in the world is now listed at number seven on the top 10 biggest penalties paid list after being prosecuted under the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).The last biggest case seen in Singapore was the Singapore Technologies (ST) Marine scandal, where seven senior executives were towed to court and given six-figure fines and jail sentences for making petty-cash claims on fake entertainment expenses, but was instead

A former Vietnamese official allegedly kidnapped from Germany will go on trial in Hanoi in January on corruption charges, officials said Wednesday, a high-profile case that could see the ex-oil executive put to death.Vietnam's communist government has jailed or arrested scores of former officials, bankers and state executives this year as part of a sweeping anti-corruption crackdown that some observers say is driven by political infighting.

A senior Thai royal official has been sacked for "evil acts" including having an extramarital affair and forcing his alleged mistress to get an abortion, the palace said, the latest top aide to be axed under King Maha Vajiralongkorn.Vajiralongkorn, 65, took the throne one year ago following the death of his widely revered father King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who reigned for seven decades.He has yet to attain his father's widespread popularity but remains insulated from any criticism