This year's theme for the WIN WIN Gothenburg Sustainability Award is anti-corruption. During the past few months, the world-leading sustainability award has sought nominations from individuals and organisations that actively combat corruption and thereby improve the opportunities for the world's countries to achieve the UN's Sustainable Development Goals. The jury is now presenting the five finalists who have a chance to win this year's award, with a prize of one million SEK.

USD 4 000 billion. That is the amount of money that is lost every year to corruption according to the OECD, the World Bank and the IMF. An enormous figure, which can be compared with the USD 2 930 billion that is the financial gap that needs to be filled in order for us to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. Efforts that counteract and put the spotlight on corruption are highlighted this year by WIN WIN Gothenburg Sustainability Award, which states that the work against corruption is a necessary condition for global sustainable development.

– The calculations of how much money disappears in decision-makers' pockets is just the tip of the iceberg. The societal costs of corruption are enormous and they have a major impact on our ability to achieve both economic, ecological and social sustainability. Anti-corruption is a matter for us all and therefore we are very happy to be able to draw attention to prominent individuals and organisations in the area, says jury chairperson Emma Dalväg.

Corruption increases poverty, complicates effective climate action and hinders the chances of achieving global goals. Money specifically set aside for healthcare or sustainability projects all too often ends up in the pockets of decision-makers, and companies and organisations bribe themselves free from laws and regulations that apply to everyone. In the end, it is the already vulnerable who suffer the most.

Since the theme of anti-corruption was revealed in October 2020, the jury of the WIN WIN Gothenburg Sustainability Award have received nominations of initiatives and candidates who actively oppose corruption and thus strengthen our opportunities for a sustainable future. After carefully going through the 64 nominations from 34 countries around the world, the jury has selected five finalists that are presented today.

– This year's finalists all show great integrity and impressive social responsibility. Fighting corruption often involves risks and requires courage. We are very proud to present a wide range of finalists who, in different ways and in different parts of the world, fight for a more fair and sustainable world, Emma Dalväg continues.

These are the five finalists of this year's WIN WIN Gothenburg Sustainability Award:

Jóhannes Stefánsson is the Icelandic whistleblower who revealed ‘The Fishrot Files’, the corruption scandal with roots in Iceland and Namibia. The jury nominates Stefánsson for his courage to speak up and leave his post as leader of the fishing company Samherji's operations in Namibia in protest against the corrupt methods his company engaged in to ensure access to fishing quotas. The act shows the importance of individuals in the business world who have the courage to take a stand against abuse of power and corruption.

Integrity Watch Afghanistan (IWA) is a non-profit organisation in Afghanistan that works to shed light on corruption through revelations, surveillance and advocacy. The jury nominates Integrity Watch Afghanistan for its range of efforts to systematically combat corruption, such as the mobilisation of local volunteers to monitor government projects, in the dangerous and corrupt country of Afghanistan.

International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) is a global network of reporters and media houses working together to expose corruption among those in power. The jury nominates ICIJ for their work in highlighting international money laundering and publishing stories such as The Panama Papers and China's detention camps for the Muslim minority group Uighurs. ICIJ contributes to strengthening the journalist corps as an important social group in the fight against corruption by working together and making the individual journalist less vulnerable.

Nicola Gratteri is the lead prosecutor in Italy’s largest anti-maffia trial, overseeing the prosecution of over 350 people with alleged links to the southern Italian mafia organisation 'Ndrangheta. The jury nominates Gratteri for his determination to put the safety of the collective before his own while being forced to live under constant threats of reprisals from the criminal syndicates he has set out to fight. Gratteri’s story shows the importance of countries having well-functioning formal institutions that are taken seriously and used correctly.

Hamzat Lawal is a Nigerian anti-corruption activist and co-founder of the organisation Connected Development and the Follow the Money initiative. The jury nominates Hamzat Lawal for his tireless commitment to strengthening the local civil society and for his large-scale campaigns which have succeeded in creating transparency about public spending and ensuring that international aid funds end up where they should.

WIN WIN Gothenburg Sustainability Award aims to recognise and support outstanding contributions from around the world for the benefit of humans, the planet and our common future. This year's winner of the WIN WIN Gothenburg Sustainability Award will be announced on April 21.

For this year's theme, WIN WIN Award collaborates with the Swedish leg of the leading anti-corruption organisation Transparency International.