Case studies

Examples of where open data has been used to fight corruption include:

• In 2015, Global Witness published an investigation uncovering the powerful military, government and narcotics actors benefiting from Myanmar’s jade wealth, and the way in which they are using a web of anonymous companies to hide their gains at the expense of the rest of the population. This was in part based on data made accessible as open data through OpenCorporates.com.

• Ukraine’s public procurement system was once notorious for corruption and inefficiency. Since launching ProZorro, the country’s open source, open data e-procurement system the government has saved 14% on its planned spending (more than 300 million Euros) and seen a 50% increase in companies bidding for contracts - helping build business and citizen trust in the government process.

• In Latin America, the PODER network have built the ‘QuiénEsQuién.Wiki’ platform that combines procurement information and company ownership information to support journalistic investigations.

• Open Contracting Partnership have identified 150 suspicious behavior indicators, or “red flags”, that governments or civil society can use to identify potential corruption in procurement.