The first International Anti-Corruption Conference was held in Washington, D.C. in 1983: <http://www.12iacc.org/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=65>. Transparency International was founded in Berlin in 1993. The World Bank Institute "anti-corruption activities date back to late 1994": <http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/WBI/EXTWBIGOVANTCOR/0,,contentMDK:20678932~pagePK:64168445~piPK:64168309~theSitePK:1740530,00.html>.
The IMF, of course, conducts surveillance and enforcement of codes and standards.
Corruption emerged as a meme in the late 20th century, first as a tool of international bureaucrats promoting neoliberal capitalism.
Despite the promotion of data transparency, though, the financial market seems as untransparent as ever, and the Financial Services Authority says the ownership of economic risk has actually become less clear, presenting an uncalculable threat to the system: "Private Equity -- A Discussion of Risk and Regulatory Engagement," November 2006, <http://www.fsa.gov.uk/pubs/discussion/dp06_06.pdf>.
By now the meme of corruption has mutated, however, and it's a meme popular on the Left as well, effectively employed by such populists as Chavez. -- Yoshie <http://montages.blogspot.com/> <http://mrzine.org> <http://monthlyreview.org/>