Varuzhan Hoktanyan, Executive Director of Transparency International Anti-corruption Center was in Berlin to participate in Transparency International's 2009 annual membership meeting (AMM) and TI international conference between October 16 and 18. On October 15, prior to the meeting, Hoktanyan attended Europe and Central Asia Regional Meeting and Sub-Regional Meeting of Commonwealth of Independent States and Mongolia and South East Europe. His presentation covered business and corruption and was related to Teghut case.

The anti-corruption coalition geared up in depth discussions and strategizing with a pre-meeting conference "Beyond the global crisis: The transparency imperative" on October 16 to reflect on the global financial crisis, its roots and ways to instill transparency and accountability as cornerstones of a new financial architecture. The dialogue between civil society, government and the private sector analyzed the social costs of the crisis and determined the steps required for sustainable reform.

Convened from October 17 to 18, the AMM, which was the largest to date, brought together around 300 leading experts and advocates from 90 national chapters of some 100 countries and territories around the world. Resolutions dealing with three issues representing immediate priorities for TI - the UN Convention against corruption review mechanism, the protection of whistleblowers and Germany's need to ratify the UNCAC were adopted during the meeting.

Jeremy Carver (UK) and Sergej Muravjov (Lithuania) were elected to the TI board of directors at the meeting.