FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
WASHINGTON – A whistleblower is among four candidates shortlisted for the 2018 Transparency International Anti-Corruption Award, which “recognizes the courage and determination of the many individuals and organizations fighting corruption around the world.” Government Accountability Project’s Bea Edwards will announce the winner of the prize at the 18th International Anti-Corruption Conference (IACC), held in Copenhagen, Denmark.
The whistleblower, Ana Garrido Ramos, is a former public servant from Spain who worked at Boadilla del Monte Town Hall in Madrid. In 2007, Garrido Ramos blew the whistle on corruption in the Madrid region, triggering the Gürtel case, which eventually led to the sentencing of 29 government officials and businessmen including the former treasurer of the then-governing party, People’s Party, to 33 years in jail.
Today, Garrido Ramos continues to fight for greater government transparency and accountability as a campaigner for effective whistleblower protection legislation. Garrido Ramos said, “Citizens [cannot] sit idly by waiting for the world to change, each of us must be a part of that transformation.”
Members of the public originally submitted over 1,000 nominations and the shortlist of candidates was drawn from a list of 169 nominated individuals and organizations. Also included on the shortlist are three other candidates who have pursued anti-corruption efforts including Daphne Caruana Galizia (posthumous), an investigative journalist who was murdered in October 2017; the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CIGIG), an international organization that investigates and prosecutes crime in Guatemala; and Khadija Ismayilova, a renowned investigative journalist and human rights activist in Azerbaijan who currently faces a travel ban.
Contact: Andrew Harman, Government Accountability Project Communications Director
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 202-457-0034 ext. 156
Government Accountability Project
The Government Accountability Project is the nation’s leading whistleblower protection organization. Through litigating whistleblower cases, publicizing concerns and developing legal reforms, the Government Accountability Project’s mission is to protect the public interest by promoting government and corporate accountability. Founded in 1977, the Government Accountability Project is a nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy organization based in Washington, D.C
###