Vienna: Interpol and the UN crime agency set up a special academy today to teach officials around the world how to fight corruption, a USD 1 trillion a year drain on the global economy.

Authorities said the International Anti-Corruption Academy will open its doors in autumn 2009 in the Vienna suburb of Laxemburg to train senior government and police officials in techniques designed to prevent, detect and root out graft and bribery.

Corruption remains an entrenched problem, particularly in developing countries and fledgling democracies where it manifests itself "in the cop turning a blind eye or the official granting an export license" in exchange for a wad of cash, said Antonio Maria Costa, executive director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime.

Although corruption isn t a major factor in the turmoil now buffeting world financial markets, "a sense of urgency is definitely there" as law enforcement officials battle white-collar crimes, Costa said.

"We know that as a result of this crisis, resources will become more scarce" and foreign aid will dwindle, Interpol Secretary-General Ronald K Noble told reporters.

Noble, who came up with the idea for the academy, said it would help ensure that crucial aid reaches those who need it instead of being pocketed by corrupt bureaucrats.

Officials signed an agreement establishing the academy as an offshoot of a 148 nation Vienna meeting on the illicit trade in firearms, human trafficking and other so called "transnational" crimes.
Source : PTI