In June 2000, Antonio Belinati, the mayor of Londrina, a city in the State of Paraná in southern Brazil, was impeached on charges of corruption. It is estimated that a total of US$ 45 million disappeared during his three terms in office, plus millions more during the privatisation of the municipal telephone utility. The mayor's removal from office was the result of the unique combined effort of the local Public Prosecutor's Office and a coalition of civil society organisations specially created in support of the Londrina prosecutors.

The case against the mayor began when public prosecutor Bruno Galatti was appointed to investigate charges of overpricing in contracts for municipal outdoor maintenance services. It soon became apparent that irregularities were widespread. Galatti was joined by prosecutor Cláudio Esteves, and the two discovered irregularities affecting more than 200 procurement procedures, including contracts with non-existent firms that were paid for services that were never performed. From February 1999 to early 2001, Galatti, Esteves and their colleague Solange Vicentin initiated 29 legal proceedings against Mayor Belinati and 116 others. They persisted in their efforts despite the intensification of threats made against them and the characterisation of their work by Belinati's cronies as "political persecution".

The prosecutors sought the help of Londrina's civil society organisations. As the number of investigations and support from the community grew, the Movement for the Moralisation of Londrina's Public Administration was formed. A coalition of civil society organisations, numbering 80 at the height of the campaign, began holding weekly meetings to support the investigations and put pressure on the administration. Never before had so many disparate organisations rallied around a common cause.

The Integrity Award 2001 was presented to state prosecutors Bruno Galatti, Cláudio Esteves and Solange Vicentin in recognition of their dogged pursuit of administrative corruption, and to the people of Londrina for the crucial support they collectively mobilised and which ultimately led to the mayor's impeachment.

"Corruption is a universal problem. What we see is not a singular phenomenon, is not a curiosity, is not individuals having lost their direction. It looks like a system."
Eva Joly, Integrity Awards winner 2001.

Eva Joly was an investigating magistrate for more than seven years. A Norwegian by birth, she came to France three decades ago. She was propelled into the limelight by her seven-year investigation of the Elf - Aquitaineoil company scandal, which involved corruption at the highest levels of business and political life in France.
In the course of this and other high-profiled investigations, Joly was subjected to intimidation and death threats, and remained under constant police protection.
Joly is seen as the leader of a new breed of judges who have not shied away from calling to account crooked businessmen and the French political elite. In a country where the lines between the judiciary and the executive have traditionally been blurred, her investigations into the affairs of highly influential politicians, such as Roland Dumas and Bernard Tapie, have made her the champion of determined efforts to uphold judicial independence and uncover a system of pervasive corruption.

The belief that lack of transparency can destroy democracy has been a strong motivation in her investigative work. "If the citizens of this country are convinced that government contracts are not being awarded with the public interest in mind but rather to fill the secret bank accounts of the political elites or to maintain their networks, the confidence of voters will be destroyed for decades to come," says Joly.

Joly has investigated financial crime in France with unprecedented zeal, ending a tradition of not treating high-class financial wrongdoings as crimes at all. "The great fiscal frauds involved very powerful and respectable people who were convinced - and still are - that they are entitled to be above the law.

Transparency International presented its Integrity Award to Eva Joly in recognition of her outstanding contribution to the fight against corruption in France and the example she has set for other members of the judiciary in her country and elsewhere, as well as her courage in the face of political danger.