Disclosure of Scandinavian telecom companies’ corruption in Uzbekistan: The role of investigative journalists

Abstract

Transparency International's yearly Corruption Perceptions Index ranks Scandinavia as one of the least corrupt regions in the world. However, during the past decades, large Scandinavian corporations in the telecommunications, oil and defence industries have-in their struggle for business contracts in other countries-been involved in several large-scale bribery scandals. There has also been a growing range of corruption cases in the Swedish and Norwegian public sectors. In many of these cases, investigative journalists have played a crucial role in the disclosure of corruption, sometimes cooperating across media organisations and countries, demonstrating the importance of journalism as a public good for democracy. In this article, we explore, discuss and analyse the work of and methods used by investigative journalists in revealing large-scale corruption related to the expansion of Nordic telecom companies in Uzbekistan.

Unveiling of Matters: The Role of Investigative Journalism in Uncovering Corruption in the Arab World

“…Together with these visible effects, media reporting has also had equally important indirect effects thanks to the role it plays in society ( [30], pp. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20].…”

“…Pollack and Allern investigated the work of and methods used by investigative journalists in revealing large-scale corruption related to the expansion of Nordic telecom companies in Uzbekistan. They found that investigative journalists have played a crucial role in the disclosure of corruption, sometimes cooperating across media organizations and countries, demonstrating the importance of journalism as a public good for democracy [11].…”

Investigative Journalism on Oil, Gas and Mining: Has Donor-Driven Use of Digital Technology Made a Difference?

“…I conducted one telephone interview with Ekeberg to retrieve more details from the investigative work. Moreover, the work of Gottschalk (2018) and Allern and Pollack (2018) offer the necessary recap of the Telenor/VimpelCom case, along with the articles printed in Dagens Naeringsliv in 2012 and Klassekampen in the autumn of 2014.…”

What Tools Can States Use When Faced with Systematic Tax Avoidance?

“…Quality journalism can amplify popular opinion, improve the depth and range of political decision-making and discipline abuse of power. These are among the positive externalities of high-grade journalism (Møen, cited in Allern & Pollack, 2018). On the other hand, Allern and Pollack emphasize the fact that the lack of investigative journalism and the success of superficial, sensationalized journalism make it easier to cover up malpractice and crime in economic and political life (Allern & Pollack, 2018, p. 3).…”

“…14 See Søreide 2016, Chapter 3 for examples from OECD countries. 15Pollack and Allern (2018) point out this concern with reference to the telecom sector. For cases of financial secrecy, seeShaxson (2011), andSchjelderup (2016).…”