On the release of a book by Cobus de Swardt, our former Managing Director

Transparency International has been alerted about the release of a book authored by Mr Cobus de Swardt, former Managing Director of our Berlin-based Secretariat.

We would like to clarify that neither the author nor the publisher have contacted us, and we are unable to comment on the specific details.

We can nevertheless confirm that there was a conflict between the Board and Mr Cobus de Swardt that led to his departure in 2017. In July 2017, Mr de Swardt filed a lawsuit against Transparency International with the Berlin Labour Court. After the election of the new Board in October 2017, both parties came to an agreement, which was approved by the same Court in December of the same year. It was agreed that neither party should have any further rights or claims resulting from, and in connection with, the employment relationship and its termination. All discrepancies were definitively settled. At that time, Transparency International recognised the important contributions Mr Cobus de Swardt had made to our organisation during his time as Managing Director and we still appreciate it.

Our organisation has faced challenging moments, but we are proud to have overcome them. Our staff, colleagues from across the movement, partners and other stakeholders were regularly consulted and informed about the obstacles we faced as well as the progress we made. Our governance structure and the integrity system have been reviewed and updated. Today we are a much stronger organisation.

We remain committed to stand up for Transparency International’s values. We are well-equipped to conduct continuous oversight of our systems and prepared to learn from failures in order to guarantee a safe and inclusive workplace for everyone and everywhere in our global movement.