The UN-backed Global Fund against Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria has announced it is strengthening financial safeguards following corruption claims. The fund, with a budget of almost $22 billion, said the new measures would include a panel of independent experts to review financial procedures. Last week, Germany, the fund's third-largest contributor, said it was suspending its financial support. Media reports speculate that billions of dollars may have been siphoned off. Experts will look at the fund's ability to prevent and detect fraud and misuse in its grants. Last December, the fund confirmed that large sums of money had been misappropriated. Its principle donors are the US, France, Germany and Japan.