Siemens to again support international initiatives in the fight against corruption

Building on the first three rounds of the Siemens Integrity Initiative, Siemens AG has again announced projects to receive funding to drive and support clean markets. Initially launched in 2010, the initiative has a volume of more than US$100 million. The new projects will enhance the initiative’s portfolio to reach a total of 85 projects in over 50 countries and increase its committed funding to nearly US$120 million.

Funding will be provided to projects that are committed to joining forces in order to fight corruption under the “Collective Action” banner. Collective Action plays a key role in ensuring clean business and fair competition and is attracting more and more dedicated supporters.The Siemens Integrity Initiative is part of the July 2009 settlement between Siemens and the World Bank and the March 2013 settlement between Siemens and the European Investment Bank (EIB).
A total of eight additional projects will receive between US$1 million and US$4 million each over a period of three years. Building on the Third Funding Round launched in 2018, and taking into account the application and selection criteria published at siemens.com/integrity-initiative, a selection of shortlisted candidates were invited in December 2020 to apply for additional funding.
A team of experts from different specialist areas and regions subjected the projects to careful due diligence before presenting them to the Siemens Steering Committee for approval and then to the World Bank as part of the non-veto process and to the European Investment Bank for informational purposes.
“This is the final funding round under the settlement with the World Bank. In selecting the projects to be supported, we placed particular emphasis on how the sustainability of their activities and results can be ensured beyond 2024, and on how our partners will inspire, support and engage local non-governmental organizations and the public and private sectors through their longstanding networks and institutional standing. We’re pleased to again support diverse projects in order to promote fair competition and fight corruption with a portfolio balanced by region and topic,” said Sabine Zindera, Head of the Siemens Integrity Initiative and Vice President in Legal and Compliance at Siemens.
In this round, funding will be provided to the following organizations:

the Basel Institute on Governance, Switzerland
the International Anti-Corruption Academy (IACA), headquartered in Austria
the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), headquartered in Paris
the Maritime Network on Anti-Corruption (MACN), Denmark
the Transparency International Secretariat, headquartered in Berlin
the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), headquartered in New York through the Foundation for the Global Compact
the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), headquartered in Vienna
the Vienna University of Economics and Business with a focus on tax law, Austria
Projects were selected with a view to achieving a balanced portfolio of topics and a wide regional distribution of funding. To further round off the portfolio, this funding round will focus on projects with activities in the Adriatic Region, Algeria, Argentina, Bangladesh, Brazil, Colombia, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Nigeria, Malaysia, Pakistan, Romania, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Spain, Thailand, Uganda, Uzbekistan and Zambia. Additional globally oriented projects and projects that are focused on least developed countries (LDCs) and emerging markets (EMs) will extend the current portfolio to over 50 countries.
As part of the settlement between Siemens and the World Bank, the World Bank has had the right since 2009 to audit the distribution of US$100 million in funding over a 15-year period. The World Bank may also veto Siemens’ selection of projects and organizations. As part of the settlement between Siemens and the European Investment Bank (€13.64 million over five years), the EIB has the right to reject the projects proposed.
The Annual Reports of the Siemens Integrity Initiative, information about the funding rounds, the selection process, the detailed profiles of the projects selected and the independent 2017 Mid-term Review of the Initiative are available at siemens.com/integrity-initiative.