Government officials who seek to use their public position for private gain violate public trust as well as anti-corruption law. Preventing public officials from accepting bribes or otherwise misusing their positions is a key challenge for anti-corruption initiatives. This panel will focus on the role of public accountability and transparency mechanisms. Should public officials who engage in corruption be punished more harshly, or in a different way, from private actors? Can government oversight bodies, independent auditors, or citizen-powered reporting organizations deter corrupt officials? Have internationally-endorsed accountability mechanisms lived up to their potential? How can anti-corruption initiatives counteract the temptation of illicit profits from lucrative oil, mineral, timber or other resource contracts? Speakers: Ling Li, Senior Research Fellow, US-Asia Law Institute, New York University Law School; Marlon Paz, Partner, Locke Lord LLP; Adjunct Professor, Georgetown University Law School; Irma Sandoval, Director, Laboratory for the Documentation and Analysis of Corruption and Transparency, National Autonomous University of Mexico; Anwar Shah, Advisor, World Bank and Asian Development Bank; Director, Center for Public Economics Moderator: David Hunter