Stimulus packages must include anti-corruption measures if they are to be successful, Transparency International warned the US Congress and the Senate ahead of Wednesday’s  adoption of a historic US$2 trillion rescue package aimed to help the economy crippled by the coronavirus pandemic.

Although the government of Turkmenistan hasn’t confirmed any cases of coronavirus, many senior officials in the eastern Lebap Region aren’t taking any chances: They moved to a local nature reserve along with their families to avoid the outbreak, local media reported on Monday.

Negotiations for a US$2 trillion stimulus plan that includes a bailout for major sectors of the US economy stalled Sunday night, as critics argued that the proposed financial relief should not go to certain industries such as commercial cruise liners, which pay virtually no taxes.

The EU’s anti-fraud agency has launched an inquiry to combat the sale of black market medical products amid the ongoing spread of the coronavirus pandemic on the continent.

Rich Russians are buying ventilators for themselves, trying to make sure they will have the best possible care if they get sick during the global outbreak of COVID-19, The Moscow Times reported Saturday.

As COVID-19 shut down the world in less than a month, cybercriminals seized the opportunity to use the Internet to defraud and blackmail people and companies.

A federal court in Texas has blocked a website selling fake coronavirus vaccine kits in the first US judicial action against pandemic-related fraud, according to a statement from the Justice Department.

The head of Indonesia’s Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), Firli Bahuri, said the country could start sentencing people to death if they are convicted of corruption during the COVID-19 pandemic, Jakarta Post reported on Sunday.

Several prominent politicians sold off significant portions of their stocks prior to the market crash attributed to the coronavirus outbreak. Many now face public scrutiny, and some have called for their resignation. 

As millions in the United States experience economic despair in the face of the coronavirus pandemic, recent reports show that the pharmaceutical industry, banking executives on Wall Street, and politicians are exploring ways to profit.