Holder pushes anti-corruption treaty

PARIS: US Attorney General Eric Holder says China, India and Russia should sign on to an international anti-bribery pact.

Holder has also pledged that Washington will maintain efforts to fight the $1 trillion in corrupt activities estimated to take place every year worldwide.

Holder, in Paris on Monday, called on rising economies likes China, India and Russia to join the Anti-Bribery Convention. It is a pact overseen by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development that boosts international investigations against firms that bribe officials. Currently it has 31 signatories.

Holder says that the US has prosecuted 37 companies both foreign and domestic for international corruption since 2004, inflicted $1.5 billion in penalties and charged 80 individuals.