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Date: November 25, 2024 Mon
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Results for bribery
45 results foundAuthor: Haggard, Stephan Title: Economic Crime and Punishment in North Korea Summary: The penal system has played a central role in the North Korean government's response to the country's profound economic and social changes. As the informal market economy has expanded, so have the scope of economic crimes. Two refugee surveys - one conducted in China, one in South Korea - document that the regime disproportionately targets politically suspect groups, particularly those involved in market-oriented economic activities. Levels of violence and deprivation do not appear to differ substantially between the infamous political prison camps, penitentiaries for felons, and labor camps used to incarcerate individuals for a growing number of eocnomic crimes. Such a system may also reflect ulterior motives. High levels of discretion with respect to arrest and sentencing and very high costs of detention, arrest, and incarceration encourage bribery; the more arbitrary and painful the experience with the penal system, the easier it is for officials to extort money for avoiding it. These characteristics not only promote regime maintenance through intimidation, but may facilitate predatory corruption as well. Details: Washington, DC: Peterson Institute for International Economics, 2010. 24p. Source: Working Paper Series; WP 10-2 Year: 2010 Country: Korea, North URL: Shelf Number: 118527 Keywords: BriberyCorruptionEconomic Crimes (North Korea)Penal System (North Korea)Punishment (North Korea) |
Author: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. Statistics and Surveys Section Title: Corruption in Afghanistan: Bribery as Reported by the Victims Summary: Poverty and violence are usually portrayed as the biggest challenges confronting Afghanistan. This report, however, reveals that for an overwhelming 59% of the population the daily experience of public dishonesty is a bigger concern than insecurity and unemployment. Details: Geneva: UNODC, 2010. 42p. Source: Internet Resource Year: 2010 Country: Afghanistan URL: Shelf Number: 110825 Keywords: BriberyCorruption (Afghanistan) |
Author: World Bank Title: Stolen Asset Recovery (STAR) Initiative: Challenges, Opportunities, and Action Plan Summary: The theft of public assets from developing countries is a huge and serious problem. While the traditional focus of the international development community has been on addressing corruption and weak governance within developing countries themselves, this approach ignores the other side of the equation: stolen assets are often hidden in the financial center of developed countries; bribes to public officials from developing countries often originate from multinational corporations; and the intermediary services provided by lawyers, accountants, and company formation agents, which could be used to launder or hide the proceeds of asset theft by developing country rulers, are often located in developed country financial centers. The STAR Initiative is an integral part of the World Bank Group's strategy which recognizes the need to help developing countries recover stolen assets. This action plan presented in this report responds to feedback received from consultations with developed and developing countries, as well as lessons from the experience of Nigeria, Peru, and the Philippines. Details: Washington, DC: The World Bank; Vienna: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, 2007. 48p. Source: Internet Resource Year: 2007 Country: International URL: Shelf Number: 119268 Keywords: BriberyCorruptionFinancial CrimesMoney LaunderingStolen Asset Recovery |
Author: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime Title: Corruption in Afghanistan: Bribery as Reported by the Victims Summary: Based on interviews with 7,600 people in Afghanistan, this report discusses the experiences and perceptions of bribery and corruption in Afghanistan during the period autumn 2008 - autumn 2009. Details: Vienna: UNODC, 2010. 42p. Source: Internet Resource Year: 2010 Country: Afghanistan URL: Shelf Number: 117725 Keywords: BriberyPolitical Corruption |
Author: Guttschuss, Eric Title: "Everyone's in on the Game": Corruption and Human Rights Abuses by the Nigeria Police Force Summary: "This report documents the myriad forms of corruption within the Nigeria Police Force, including bribery and extortion by rank-and-file officers and embezzlement and other forms of abuse of office by senior officials. These criminal acts by police undermine the rule of law and severely impact the human rights of all Nigerians. The Nigeria Police Force has a long history of engaging in unprofessional, corrupt, and criminal conduct. While many Nigerian police officers conduct themselves in an exemplary manner, working in difficult and often dangerous conditions, corruption and abusive behavior remain endemic. For many Nigerians, members of the force are viewed more as predators than protectors. On a daily basis, countless ordinary citizens are accosted by armed police officers who demand bribes and commit human rights abuses against them as a means of extorting money. These abuses range from arbitrary arrest and unlawful detention to threats and acts of violence, including sexual assault, torture, and even extrajudicial killings. Police also routinely extort money from victims of crimes to initiate investigations and demand bribes from suspects to drop investigations. There continue to be numerous reports of high-level police officials embezzling staggering sums of public funds meant to cover basic police operations. Despite one landmark conviction of a former inspector general of police, impunity is the norm. Senior police officers also enforce a perverse system of “returns” in which rank-and-file officers are compelled to pay up the chain of command a share of the money they extort from the public. Government officials charged with police oversight, discipline, and reform have failed to root out the systemic corruption that is fueling many of the police abuses. “Everyone’s in on the Game” sets forth detailed recommendations to the Nigerian government, urging officials to follow through on police reform initiatives and hold accountable police officers of any rank implicated in extortion, embezzlement, or other serious crimes." Details: New York: Human Rights Watch, 2010. 108p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 18, 2010 at: http://www.hrw.org/en/reports/2010/08/17/everyone-s-game Year: 2010 Country: Nigeria URL: http://www.hrw.org/en/reports/2010/08/17/everyone-s-game Shelf Number: 119626 Keywords: BriberyHuman Rights (Nigeria)Police Corruption (Nigeria)Police EthicsPolice Misconduct (Nigeria)Policing (Nigeria) |
Author: Choo, Kim-Kwang Raymond Title: Challenges in Dealing with Politically Exposed Persons Summary: Politically exposed persons (PEPs) are individuals who are, or have been, entrusted with prominent public functions. PEPs are potential targets for bribes due to their prominent position in public life. They have a higher risk of corruption due to their access to state accounts and funds. A review of Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and FATF-style regional bodies' mutual evaluation reports reveals that a significant number of jurisdictions are found to be either non-compliant or partially-compliant with the FATF recommendation on PEPs. Corrupt PEPs may exploit the regulatory difference between jurisdictions to facilitate the laundering of corruption proceeds and/or illegally diverted government, supranational or aid funds. To combat money laundering risks posed by PEPs, there is a need for ongoing monitoring of risks by regulated entities. This paper also outlines three policy implications, namely: deciding whether to include domestic public office holders in existing PEP definitions; deciding when to terminate PEP status; and deciding whether to extend PEP monitoring to individuals holding important positions in the private sector, that is, financially exposed persons. Details: Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology, 2010. 6p. Source: Internet Resource: Trends and Issues in Crime and Criminal Justice, No. 386: Accessed November 3, 2010 at: http://www.aic.gov.au/documents/D/3/6/%7BD36F2729-AFC4-48CC-8A3C-2C81FCDCE5A3%7Dtandi386.pdf Year: 2010 Country: International URL: http://www.aic.gov.au/documents/D/3/6/%7BD36F2729-AFC4-48CC-8A3C-2C81FCDCE5A3%7Dtandi386.pdf Shelf Number: 120173 Keywords: BriberyCorruptionFinancial CrimesMoney Laundering |
Author: Fan, C. Simon Title: Embezzlement Versus Bribery Summary: Corrupt officials can use their positions to enrich themselves in two ways. They can steal from the state budget-embezzling or misspending funds-or they can demand extra payments from citizens in return for services-bribery. In many circumstances, embezzlement is less distortionary than bribery. We analyze the tradeoff for governments in deciding how strictly to monitor and punish these two kinds of bureaucratic misbehavior. When bribery is more costly to economic development, governments may tolerate some embezzlement in order to reduce the extent of bribery-even though embezzlement is generally easier to detect. Embezzlement serves as a parallel to the "efficiency wage." This logic appears to hold in China, where misappropriation of public funds by officials appears to be ubiquitous. Details: Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research, 2010. 38p. Source: Internet Resource: NBER Working Paper Series; Working Paper 16542: Accessed December 3, 2010 at: http://www.nber.org/papers/w16542.pdf Year: 2010 Country: International URL: http://www.nber.org/papers/w16542.pdf Shelf Number: 120372 Keywords: BriberyCorruptionEconomics and CrimeEmbezzlement |
Author: Lambsdorff, Johann Graf Title: Deterrence and Constrained Enforcement – Alternative Regimes to Deal with Bribery Summary: This paper provides interesting insights into deterence of bribery by investigating how bribe transactions are enforced. It integrates insights from a Law and Economics perspective with transaction cost analysis. The author develops a game-theoretic approach to show that, irrespective of whether a rational choice or a behavioral approach is employed, increasing penalties and the risks of detection is not always advisable. Penalties can have a perverse effect by helping corrupt actors create the bonds that are needed for enforcing their deal. It argues that governments may deter bribery either by high penalties and risks of detection, potentially supported by leniency given to those who report their infraction. Another approach can be amplifying the risk of opportunism, aggravating the difficulties of enforcing a bribe transaction. This should involve a low probability of detection and allowing offenders to keep their ill-gotten gains. Details: Passau, Germany: Universitat Passau, 2010. 39p. Source: Internet Resource: Passauer Diskussionspapiere, no. v-60-10: Accessed March 16, 2011 at: http://www.wiwi.uni-passau.de/fileadmin/dokumente/lehrstuehle/wilhelm/Working_Papers_PDF/Disk_60_Deterrence_and_Constrained_Enforcement.pdf Year: 2010 Country: International URL: http://www.wiwi.uni-passau.de/fileadmin/dokumente/lehrstuehle/wilhelm/Working_Papers_PDF/Disk_60_Deterrence_and_Constrained_Enforcement.pdf Shelf Number: 121041 Keywords: BriberyCorruptionWhistleblowing |
Author: Amin, Mohammad Title: Crime, Security, and Firms in Latin America Summary: Existing studies show that crime is more rampant in the larger cities and that wealthier individuals are more often targeted. Using Enterprise Surveys data for 14 Latin American countries, we find that one- third of the firms surveyed suffer from one or more incident of crime annually, which is roughly similar to the percentage of households affected. Crime-related losses average 2.7 percent of annual sales for all firms in the sample, which is more than the reported amount of bribery, losses due to power outages, and firms’ expenditure on research and development. We also find that the relatively well-off large firms are more likely to be victims of crime than the small firms, but losses due to crime as a percentage of annual sales are bigger for small firms. In short, crime in the region is regressive. Last, larger cities are more prone to crime than the smaller cities. However, we find that what matters for crime is the relative size of a city within a country; its absolute size is irrelevant. Details: Washington, DC: World Bank Group, International Finance Corporation, 2009. 4p. Source: Internet Resource: Enterprise Note No. 2: Accessed May 11, 2011 at: http://www.enterprisesurveys.org/Documents/EnterpriseNotes/Note2.pdf Year: 2009 Country: Central America URL: http://www.enterprisesurveys.org/Documents/EnterpriseNotes/Note2.pdf Shelf Number: 121714 Keywords: BriberyCrimes Against Businesses (Latin America)Financial CrimesVictimization |
Author: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime Title: Corruption in the Balkans: Bribery as Experienced by the Population Summary: Corruption is a notoriously difficult phenomenon to quantify, yet in one form or another it plays a role in every country on our planet. Like the wind, corruption remains invisible though its destructive capacity is plain to see. But in contrast to our knowledge of the elements, we still lack systematic evidence on the nature and patterns of corruption. For the countries of the western Balkans, corruption is an issue of particular concern because of its detrimental impact on their social and economic development. Moreover, as this report demonstrates, corruption is a major concern of ordinary citizens in the region. Even so, that does not make it any easier to address the problem, or even broach the subject. The countries of the western Balkans are to be commended for acknowledging the need to conduct this evidence-based survey as part of their ongoing efforts to curb corruption. On the basis of a bilateral agreement between the European Commission and the relevant national authorities of the western Balkan region, UNODC supported each country or area in conducting large-scale surveys on corruption in 2010. In most cases, national statistical authorities were directly or indirectly involved in implementing the survey, while other stakeholders contributed to the development of its methodology. As a result of this collaborative study, which is based on a large-scale sample survey of more than 28,000 interviewees across the western Balkans, we now have greater understanding of the nature of corruption and its impact on the everyday lives of people in the region. It captures the actual experience — not the perception — of ordinary citizens and how bribery affects their dealings with the public administration. The report analyzes the sectors most affected, the role of public officials and bribepayers, forms of bribery and other relevant issues. This information will aid in the development of effective anti-corruption policies. It also provides a benchmark to assess future progress. Although this report provides a comparative analysis, it is not an attempt to rank the participating countries or areas on a corruption scale. On the contrary, the aim is to learn from their different experiences — which can help to develop good practices — and to increase awareness that the battle against corruption is a common one that is best waged with help from neighbouring countries. Detailed individual reports have also been published for each country or area of the western Balkans that was surveyed. This wealth of information will shed needed light on the nature and local patterns of corruption and can assist policymakers in developing anti-corruption measures and plans that are more precisely tailored to national conditions. Combating corruption effectively requires the implementation of specific, well-targeted measures. The United Nations Convention against Corruption provides States with the essential elements to develop the legislative and institutional framework and a number of preventive measures to fight corruption. In this context, the findings in this report can help identify priority areas for action. Details: Vienna: UNODC, 2011. 71p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 22, 2011 at: http://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/statistics/corruption/Western_balkans_corruption_report_2011_web.pdf Year: 2011 Country: Europe URL: http://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/statistics/corruption/Western_balkans_corruption_report_2011_web.pdf Shelf Number: 122150 Keywords: BriberyCorruption (Europe) |
Author: Doyle, Charles Title: Mail and Wire Fraud: A Brief Overview of Federal Criminal Law Summary: It is a federal crime to devise a scheme to defraud another of property, when either mail or wire communications are used in furtherance of the scheme, 18 U.S.C. 1341, 1343. Mail or wire fraud includes schemes to defraud another of honest services, when the scheme involves bribery or a kick back, 18 U.S.C. 1346; Skilling v. United States, 130 S.Ct. 2896 (2010). In order to convict, the government must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant (1) used either mail or wire communications in the foreseeable furtherance, (2) of a scheme to defraud, (3) involving a material deception, (4) with the intent to deprive another of, (5) either property or honest services. Offenders face the prospect of imprisonment for not more than 20 years, a fine of not more than $250,000 (not more than $500,000 for organizations), an order to pay victim restitution, and the confiscation of any property realized from the offense. Misconduct that constitutes mail or wire fraud may also constitute a violation of one or more other federal crimes. Principal among these are predicate offense crimes, frauds based on jurisdictional factors other than use of mail or wire communications, and other honest services frauds in the form of bribery or kickbacks. The other federal bribery and kickback offenses include bribery of public officials, federal program bribery, extortion under color of official right, and Medicare/Medicaid kickbacks. Mail and wire fraud are money laundering and racketeering predicate offenses. Numbered among the fraud offenses based on other jurisdiction grounds are the false claims and false statement offenses, bank fraud, health care fraud, securities fraud, and foreign labor contracting fraud. Details: Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service, 2011. 27p. Source: Internet Resource: R41930: Accessed August 9, 2011 at: http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R41930.pdf Year: 2011 Country: United States URL: http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R41930.pdf Shelf Number: 122333 Keywords: BriberyExtortionFraudMail FraudMoney LaunderingWire Fraud |
Author: Transparency International Title: The East African Bribery Index 2011 Summary: Burundi has retained the top position as the most bribery prone country in East Africa, according to the East African Bribery Index 2011. Burundi has a bribery prevalence level of 37.9% up from 36.7% in 2010, while Uganda and Tanzania have been ranked second and third at 33.9% and 31.6% respectively, both up from 33% and 28.6% in 2010. Kenya recorded a slight improvement at 28.8% down from 31.9% in 2010. Rwanda is once again ranked fifth with a bribery prevalence of 5.1% down from 6.6% last year. Methodology The East African Bribery Index is a governance tool developed to measure bribery levels in the private and public sectors in the region. The survey was conducted among 12,924 respondents selected through random household sampling across all the administrative regions in the five countries between February and May 2011. The respondents were asked to mention institutions where they were required to pay bribes or where bribes were expected as a condition to access services, and if the service sought was delivered upon payment or refusal to pay the bribe. KEY FINDINGS Institutional rankings The police, revenue authorities and the judiciary across the different countries were poorly rated in the regional aggregate index. All the police institutions in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Burundi appeared in the list of the ten most bribery prone institutions in East Africa. Uganda Police lead the pack of the most bribery prone institutions in the region, followed by the Burundi Police, Customs/Revenue Authority – Burundi, Kenya Police and Uganda Revenue Authority in that order. For the second year running, the survey did not record enough bribery reports to formulate an index for Rwanda. The bribery reports recorded for most of the institutions were statistically insignificant to form a reliable basis for ranking. The survey also sought to establish the sectors most affected by bribery. The law enforcement sector emerged the most bribery prone sector in Kenya, Tanzania, Burundi and Uganda. The health and education sectors were also ranked adversely in comparison to the other sectors. Bribery incidence across genders The survey also analysed bribery payments in the water, education and health sectors according to gender. In Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya, there were higher instances of women experiencing bribe demands or expectations in the health sector and similarly paying a bribe than the men. In the water and education sectors, more bribes were demanded from and paid by the men than women in the three countries. Male respondents were more likely to experience a bribery situation as well as pay a bribe in the different sectors in Burundi. Reporting of corruption cases Reporting of corruption cases was low in all the five countries. Burundi recorded the lowest number of people forwarding corruption complaints with only 3.2% reporting corruption incidents. Only 7.1 % of the respondents in Kenya reported incidents of corruption compared to 10.8% last year; 9.9% and 6.9% forwarded corruption complaints in Uganda and Tanzania respectively while 16% filed complaints in Rwanda. Corruption perception Rwanda retained the most positive outlook in this regard. Only 2.4 of the Rwandan respondents described the country as extremely corrupt compared to 36.8% in Tanzania, 44% in Kenya, 51.3% in Uganda and 53.1% in Burundi. In terms of the public’s perception on the government’s commitment to tackle graft, Rwanda topped once again with 93% of the respondents saying that their government is sufficiently committed to the cause. This perceptual judgment was most adverse in Uganda where 61% of the respondents believe their government lacks the commitment to confront corruption. 45.4% and 47.3% held the same view in Kenya and Burundi respectively. Next steps The commitment shown by the East African countries to attract foreign investments and promote trade in the region may face challenges if corruption and other forms of public inefficiencies are not tackled. Improving governance practices therefore becomes an urgent imperative if the East African countries are to achieve developmental objectives and realise full economic and political integration. Confronting corruption occupies the core of such a response. The bribery index is a snapshot of corruption in a region or country and is not institution-specific. Therefore, in order to understand the extent and scope of corruption in an institution, an institutional integrity study to identify systematic weaknesses that may predispose the organisation to corrupt practices is necessary. The TI national chapters and contacts (partners) in the five East African countries thus welcome partnerships with public institutions aimed at comprehensively identifying and strengthening internal systems and procedures to curb corruption. Details: Berlin: Transparency International, 2011. 73p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 28, 2011 at: http://www.transparency.org/news_room/latest_news/press_releases_nc/2011/2011_10_20_east_african_bribery_index_2011 Year: 2011 Country: Africa URL: http://www.transparency.org/news_room/latest_news/press_releases_nc/2011/2011_10_20_east_african_bribery_index_2011 Shelf Number: 123165 Keywords: BriberyBribesFraud and Corruption (East Africa)Misconduct in OfficePolitical Corruption |
Author: Bag, Parimal Kanti Title: Betting in the Shadow of Match-Fixing Summary: Two bookmakers compete in Bertrand fashion while setting odds on the outcomes of a sporting contest where an influential punter (or betting syndicate) may bribe some player(s) to fix the contest. Zero profit and bribe prevention may not always hold together. When the influential punter is quite powerful, the bookies may coordinate on prices and earn positive profits for fear of letting the `lemons' (i.e., the influential punter) in. On the other hand, sometimes the bookies make zero profits but also admit match-fixing. When match-fixing occurs, it often involves bribery of only the strong team. The theoretical analysis is intended to address the problem of growing incidence of betting related corruption in world sports including cricket, horse races, tennis, soccer, basketball, wrestling, snooker, etc. Details: Norwich, UK: University of East Anglia AEP Discussion Papers in Economics, 2010. 57p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 7, 2011 at: http://ideas.repec.org/p/uea/aepppr/2010_11.html Year: 2010 Country: International URL: http://ideas.repec.org/p/uea/aepppr/2010_11.html Shelf Number: 123246 Keywords: BookiesBriberyCorruptionGamblingSports Betting |
Author: D'Amato, Alessio Title: Bureaucrats vs the Mafia: Corruption, Extortion and Illegal Waste Disposal Summary: We develop a simple model where an economic agent chooses the level of legal and illegal disposal. Illegal disposal implies corruption of a bureaucrat in charge of waste management. In the absence of a criminal organization, illegal disposal is performed by the agent, who is subject to enforcement and bribes the bureaucrat. At the opposite, in the presence of a criminal organization, illegal disposal is performed by the mafia, which requires an extortion rate from the agent and bribes the public official; in this latter case no enforcement on the agent is possible. The environmental authority sets the enforcement e¤ort as well as the waste tax rate. In our setting the waste tax rate can be either budget balancing or optimally de ned. Results suggest that the presence of the ma fia leads to a larger illegal disposal and a larger economic activity. Enforcement is always smaller in the presence of the mafi a under the optimal tax rate, while the results are ambiguous under a budget balancing tax rate. Interestingly, the optimal tax rate implies smaller incentives for the criminal organization to enter the market, and welfare might be higher when the mafia is present. Details: Unpublished paper: 2011. 16p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 13, 2012 at: http://www.webmeets.com/files/papers/EAERE/2011/434/Corruption_Mafia_Waste_EAERE2011.pdf Year: 2011 Country: International URL: http://www.webmeets.com/files/papers/EAERE/2011/434/Corruption_Mafia_Waste_EAERE2011.pdf Shelf Number: 123602 Keywords: BriberyCorruptionExtortionOrganized CrimeWaste Management |
Author: Transparency International Title: Daily Lives and Corruption: Public Opinion in Southern Africa Summary: Public views on corruption are of critical importance. They offer significant insight into how corruption affects lives around the world. Transparency International believes it is crucial to present the public’s perspective on corruption – for it is they who suffer its direct and indirect consequences. At the same time, Transparency International encourages the public to play an active role in stopping corruption and improving governance. To this end, this survey also probes public willingness to engage in the fight against corruption. Between 2010 and 2011, more than 6000 people were interviewed in six Southern African countries – the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe – on their views of corruption levels in their countries and their governments’ efforts to fight corruption. This report also examines the frequency of reports of bribery in different sectors and institutions, and the reasons respondents paid bribes during the last year. It also investigates public willingness to engage in the fight against corruption. Details: Berlin: Transparency International, 2011. 33p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 5, 2012 at: http://us-cdn.creamermedia.co.za/assets/articles/attachments/36561_daily_lives_and_corruption,_public_opinion_in_southern_africa.pdf Year: 2011 Country: Africa URL: http://us-cdn.creamermedia.co.za/assets/articles/attachments/36561_daily_lives_and_corruption,_public_opinion_in_southern_africa.pdf Shelf Number: 124845 Keywords: BriberyCorruption (Southern Africa)Public Opinion Surveys |
Author: Transparency International Title: Daily Lives and Corruption: Public Opinion in South Asia Summary: South Asians regularly have to pay bribes when dealing with their public institutions, be it to speed up paperwork, avoid problems with authorities such as the police, or simply access basic services. A new survey of six South Asian countries published today by Transparency International, the anti-corruption organisation, found that more than one in three people who deal with public services said they pay bribes. In previous surveys of this nature, only Sub-Saharan Africa had a higher rate of bribe-paying. The report, Daily Lives and Corruption, Public Opinion in South Asia, surveyed 7500 people between 2010 and 2011 in Bangladesh, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The results help explain why the region is perceived to have some of the world’s highest levels of corruption, with none of the surveyed countries in the top half of Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index, in which they all score less than 3.5 out of 10. Political parties and the police are the most corrupt institutions in all six countries according to the survey, followed closely by the parliament and public officials. Officials entrusted to oversee deals related to buying, selling, inheriting and renting land were the next likely to demand a bribe. Details: Berlin: Transparency International, 2011. 31p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 5, 2012 at: http://www.transparency.org/news_room/latest_news/press_releases/2011/2011_12_22_south_asia_corruption_plagues_daily_life Year: 2011 Country: Asia URL: http://www.transparency.org/news_room/latest_news/press_releases/2011/2011_12_22_south_asia_corruption_plagues_daily_life Shelf Number: 124846 Keywords: BriberyCorruption (South Asia)Public Opinion Surveys |
Author: Cheung, Yan Leung Title: How Much Do Firms Pay As Bribes and What Benefits Do They Get? Evidence From Corruption Cases Worldwide Summary: We analyze a hand-collected sample of 166 prominent bribery cases, involving 107 publicly listed firms from 20 stock markets that have been reported to have bribed government officials in 52 countries worldwide during 1971-2007. We focus on the initial date of award of the contract for which the bribe was paid (rather than of the revelation of the bribery). Our data enable us to describe in detail the mechanisms through which bribes affect firm value. We find that firm performance, the rank of the politicians bribed, as well as bribe-paying and bribe-taking country characteristics affect the magnitude of the bribes and the benefits that firms derive from them. Details: Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research, 2012. 71p. Source: Internet Resource: NBER Working Paper Series, Working Paper 17981: Accessed April 9, 2012 at: http://www.nber.org/papers/w17981 Year: 2012 Country: International URL: http://www.nber.org/papers/w17981 Shelf Number: 124889 Keywords: BriberyBribesPolitical Corruption |
Author: Justesen, Mogens K. Title: Exploiting the Poor: Bureaucratic Corruption and Poverty in Africa Summary: Corruption is a major source of slow development in Africa – the poorest region of the world. While extant research has focused on the causes and consequences of corruption at the macro-level, less effort has been devoted to understanding the micro-foundation of corruption, as well as the mechanisms through which poverty may be related to corruption and bribery. In this paper, we develop a simple model of the relationship between poverty and corruption. The model suggests that poor people are more likely to be victims of corrupt behavior by street-level government bureaucrats. Poor people often rely heavily on services provided by governments and are therefore more likely to be met by demands for bribes in return for obtaining those services. We test this proposition using micro-level survey data from the Afrobarometer. Since individuals are surveyed in different countries, we use multilevel regressions to estimate the effect of poverty on people’s experience with paying bribes. The results show that poor people are indeed much more prone to pay bribes to government officials. This suggests that the people who are worst off materially are also more likely to be victims of corruption. Details: Legon-Accra, Ghana: Afrobarometer, 2012. 33p. Source: Internet Resource: Working Paper No. 139: Accessed September 13, 2012 at: http://www.isn.ethz.ch/isn/Digital-Library/Publications/Detail/?ots591=0c54e3b3-1e9c-be1e-2c24-a6a8c7060233&lng=en&id=151822 Year: 2012 Country: Ghana URL: http://www.isn.ethz.ch/isn/Digital-Library/Publications/Detail/?ots591=0c54e3b3-1e9c-be1e-2c24-a6a8c7060233&lng=en&id=151822 Shelf Number: 126327 Keywords: BriberyPolitical CorruptionPoverty (Ghana) |
Author: Muzila, Lindy Title: On the Take: Criminalizing Illicit Enrichment to Fight Corruption Summary: Developing countries lose an estimated US$20–40 billion each year through bribery, misappropriation of funds, and other corrupt practices. Often, the most visible manifestation of corruption is the enrichment of a corrupt public official. Despite such visibility, prosecuting corruption can be very problematic, particularly when it requires proving the offer or acceptance of a bribe. Even when the corruption is established in a court of law, linking the proceeds of the crime to the offense in order to recover assets is a complex endeavor. In response, some countries looking to strengthen their overall arsenal against corruption have criminalized illicit enrichment. In its Article 20, the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) recommends, but does not mandate, States Parties to adopt illicit enrichment as a criminal offense, defining the same as an intentional and “significant increase in the assets of a public official that he or she cannot reasonably explain in relation to his or her lawful income.” The illicit enrichment offense has spurred significant debates involving due processes of law. Others question how jurisdictions are actually using the offense. Finally, many jurisdictions that serve as financial centers do not recognize illicit enrichment as an offense, so tracing and recovering assets through mutual legal assistance is further complicated in illicit enrichment prosecutions. Against this background, this study provides policy makers, prosecutors, and other practitioners with a better understanding of the features of illicit enrichment. It draws on the preparatory work of international conventions, reviews of existing domestic provisions, and the jurisprudence on illicit enrichment. It is the StAR Initiative’s hope that the study will inform the work of decision makers considering adopting an illicit enrichment offense, and assist those implementing illicit enrichment to do so in a way that contributes to effective prosecution, confiscation, and asset recovery. Details: Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 4, 2013 at: http://star.worldbank.org/star/sites/star/files/on_the_take-_criminalizing_illicit_enrichment_to_fight_corruption.pdf Year: 2012 Country: International URL: http://star.worldbank.org/star/sites/star/files/on_the_take-_criminalizing_illicit_enrichment_to_fight_corruption.pdf Shelf Number: 127477 Keywords: Asset RecoveryBriberyBribesCorruption |
Author: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime Title: Corruption in Afghanistan: Recent Patterns and Trends Summary: Corruption is widely understood to be the improper use of a public or official position for private gain. To strengthen the fight against corruption, the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC), which Afghanistan ratified in 2008, criminalizes various types of corrupt acts committed by public officials or by individuals working for private-sector entities. Quite apart from specific legal definitions, this includes offences such as bribery, embezzlement, abuse of power and nepotism. A further distinction can be made between political or “grand” corruption on the one hand and administrative or “petty” corruption on the other. While the former refers to acts of corruption perpetrated by high-ranking politicians and decision-makers, the latter concerns offences committed by mid- and lower-level public officials who are responsible for administrative procedures and services provided to the public. Political corruption often receives the greatest attention due to its visible impact on political decision-making and good governance, but the pervasive and devastating impact of administrative corruption on the everyday lives of ordinary Afghan citizens receives far less publicity. Yet for the vast majority of the Afghan population, by limiting and distorting their right to access essential public services, hindering their chances of economic development and eroding their trust in government, justice and the rule of law, it is administrative corruption that is most keenly felt. Taking all these different aspects into account, in 2012, as in 2009, the population of Afghanistan considered corruption, together with insecurity and unemployment, to be one of the principal challenges facing their country, ahead even of poverty, external influence and the performance of the Government. If during the last three years there have been slight changes in the rating of these issues by the Afghan population, its perceptions of corruption have not improved significantly. This summary report highlights the major findings of a large-scale survey in 2012 on the extent of bribery and other forms of corruption in Afghanistan. The research follows up on a previous UNODC corruption survey in 2009 and, using a structurally similar research design, provides comparative results of the extent and patterns of bribery in Afghanistan. As in 2009, the survey focuses on the respondents’ personal experience of bribery, on the modalities, mechanisms and socio-economic patterns of corruption, as well as on perceptions of corruption. In addition to the general population survey, four sector-specific integrity surveys of civil servants were carried out from 2011 to 2012 in the judiciary, police, local government and education sectors,1 with the purpose of identifying particular integrity challenges in public service and shedding light on sector-specific patterns of corruption. Details: Vienna: UNODC, 2012. 40p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 15, 2013 at: http://www.unodc.org/documents/frontpage/Corruption_in_Afghanistan_FINAL.pdf Year: 2012 Country: Afghanistan URL: http://www.unodc.org/documents/frontpage/Corruption_in_Afghanistan_FINAL.pdf Shelf Number: 127629 Keywords: BriberyCorruption (Afghanistan) |
Author: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime Title: Business, Corruption and Crime in the Western Balkans: The impact of bribery and other crime on private enterprise Summary: This study offers a comprehensive assessment of corruption as experienced by businesses in the western Balkans, based on interviews with more than 12,700 companies. If not countered by strong preventive and law enforcement action, corruption and crime can act as a barrier to private and foreign investment as well as trade, and hinder economic development. By identifying areas of vulnerability, the study aims to support governments in the region to implement the United Nations Convention against Corruption and work effectively with the private sector to develop and put into action anti-corruption strategies and measures. In order to provide guidance for public interventions and evidence-based policymaking that support the rule of law and fair markets, it is necessary to go beyond perception-based and general indicators of corruption and measure the actual experience of corruption and crime. This survey, which follows UNODC's 2011 survey of bribery and other forms of corruption as experienced by private households in the western Balkans, seeks to provide this tool. Furthermore, building long-term capacity and promoting the sustainability of corruption monitoring instruments was an explicit goal of this undertaking. Quantitative monitoring of corruption and integrity - of the related vulnerabilities but also the successes achieved in fighting corruption - needs to be carried out regularly and consistently so that policy makers have the necessary information to implement and evaluate anti-corruption measures. A broad range of stakeholders in the western Balkans, ranging from anti-corruption agencies, law enforcement and criminal justice institutions to business organizations and chambers of commerce, were consulted during the preparatory phase of the survey. UNODC partnered with National Statistical Offices and other data producers, and involved national anti-corruption agencies, business organizations and others in the design of the survey as well as in the dissemination of the results, thereby helping to strengthen national capacities to produce evidence-based assessments of corruption and crime. The study demonstrates that measuring corruption affecting the business sector is both possible and useful. It is also an excellent example of the work carried out by UNODC to support Member States in areas related to our mandate and expertise. UNODC's Regional Programme for South Eastern Europe (2012-2015) was recently launched at the request of, and in close partnership with, the countries of the region, to provide concrete assistance in addressing the challenges identified and analysed through studies like this one. Details: Vienna: UNODC, 2013. 79p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 7, 2013 at: http://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/statistics/corruption/Western_balkans_business_corruption_web.pdf Year: 2013 Country: Europe URL: http://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/statistics/corruption/Western_balkans_business_corruption_web.pdf Shelf Number: 131605 Keywords: BriberyCrimes Against BusinessesFinancial CrimesFraud and Corruption (Balkans) |
Author: Heimann, Fritz Title: Exporting Corruption: Progress Report 2013: Assessing Enforcement of the OECD Convention on Combating Foreigh Bribery Summary: This is the eighth annual progress report on OECD Convention enforcement by Transparency International. The OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions, adopted in 1997, requires each signatory country to make foreign bribery a crime. It is a key instrument for curbing the export of corruption globally because the 39 signatory countries are responsible for two-thirds of world exports and three-quarters of foreign investment. The OECD Working Group on Bribery conducts a follow-up monitoring programme which reviews the parties' implementation of the Convention's provisions. Nine to ten country reviews are issued each year. Our annual progress reports represent an independent assessment of the status of OECD Convention enforcement, based on reports from our national chapters in 37 OECD Convention countries (excluding Iceland and Russia). Countries are classified in four enforcement categories this year: Active, Moderate, Little and No enforcement. Details: Berlin: Transparency International, 2013. 119p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 13, 2013 at: http://www.transparency.de/fileadmin/pdfs/Themen/Internationales/2013_ExportingCorruption_OECDProgressReport_EN.pdf Year: 2013 Country: International URL: http://www.transparency.de/fileadmin/pdfs/Themen/Internationales/2013_ExportingCorruption_OECDProgressReport_EN.pdf Shelf Number: 131655 Keywords: BriberyCorruption (International) |
Author: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. Statistics and Surveys Section Title: Business, Corruption and Crime in Bosnia and Herzegovina: The impact of bribery and other crime on private enterprise Summary: This survey of private businesses in Bosnia and Herzegovina reveals that corruption and other forms of crime are a great hindrance to private enterprise and have a negative effect on private investment. A significant percentage of businesses pay bribes to public officials repeatedly over the course of the year. Businesses in the Building and Construction sector are those most affected by bribery, followed by businesses in the Transportation and Storage sector. The public officials with the highest risk of bribery in interactions with businesses are health authorities, police officers, customs officers and judges/prosecutors. While indicators of corruption perceptions are undoubtedly useful for raising awareness, this survey measures the actual experience of corruption and crime through representative sample surveys of businesses in order to provide a more realistic, evidence-based assessment of corruption and crime affecting the business sector. In so doing it focuses on the extent and pattern of bribery by businesses from five different sectors (accounting for 66.8 per cent of all businesses in Bosnia and Herzegovina) in their frequent interactions with the public administration. According to the survey, of all the businesses that had contact with a public official in the 12 months prior to the survey 10.4 per cent paid a bribe to a public official. The average prevalence of business bribery in Bosnia and Herzegovina is lower than the share of ordinary citizens (20.7 per cent) who experienced the same in UNODC's 2011 general population survey. The examination of the experience of businesses that pay bribes to public officials underlines the fact that corruption plays a role in the daily business of many companies. Bribe-paying businesses pay an average of 6.6 bribes per year, or about one bribe every eight weeks. The prevalence of bribery is substantially higher among small (10 to 49 employees) businesses than among businesses of other sizes. A substantial share of all the bribes paid to public officials by businesses in Bosnia and Herzegovina are paid in cash (46.6 per cent), followed by the provision of food and drink (29 per cent) and the exchange of one "favour" for another (11.4 per cent). When bribes are paid in cash, the mean amount paid per bribe is 318 BAM, or the equivalent of 327 EUR-PPP. As for which party actually broaches the subject of kickbacks, in about 15.8 per cent of all bribery cases the payment of a bribe is offered by a representative of the business without a prior request being made, whereas in around over two thirds (70.2 per cent) of cases payment is either explicitly (26.8 per cent) or implicitly (20.4 per cent) requested by the public official. In a further 23 per cent of cases, bribes are paid after a third-party request. The most common purposes for paying bribes cited by businesses is to "speed up business-related procedures" (29.1 per cent of all bribes), "making the finalization of a procedure possible" (17.4 per cent) and "receiving better treatment" (14.4 per cent). At the same time, 8.6 per cent of bribes paid serve for no specific immediate purpose for the businesses paying them, suggesting that these are "sweeteners" given to public officials to "groom" them for future interactions in the interest of the company. As little as 6.6 per cent of bribes paid by businesses are reported to official authorities, mostly to the police, which suggests that businesses in Bosnia and Herzegovina often feel obliged to participate in bribery. This is also reflected in the main reasons cited for not reporting bribery: "pointless to report it as nobody would care" (44.1 per cent), "giving gifts to public officials is common practice" (17.3 per cent) and "lack of knowledge of where to report" (15.5 per cent). Bribery in the private sector not only comprises bribes paid by businesses to public officials, it also takes place between businesses themselves in order to secure business transactions. Though lower than the prevalence of bribery between the private and public sector, at 1.7 per cent the prevalence of business-to-business bribery indicates that the practice does exist in Bosnia and Herzegovina. This type of corruption is not to be confused with normal marketing or public relations activities, in that it specifically aims, through illegal means, to breach the integrity of the bribe-taker in exchange for a bribe. Some 5.5 per cent of business representatives decided not to make a major investment in the 12 months prior to the survey due to the fear of having to pay bribes to obtain requisite services or permits, thus the impact of bribery on business activity can be substantial. The consequences of other more conventional crimes on a business's property and economic activities can also be considerable, both in terms of direct costs stemming from physical damage and indirect costs in the form of insurance premiums, security expenditure and lost investment opportunities. For instance, around 7.1 per cent of businesses in Bosnia and Herzegovina fell victim to fraud by outsiders and such businesses were victimized an average of 3 times in that time period. Annual prevalence rates for burglary (5.8 per cent) and vandalism (2.5 per cent) in the private sector are also significant, as are the average number of times businesses affected fall victim to those crimes (1.8 and 1.4, respectively). Moreover, over the past 12 months some 0.7 per cent of all businesses in Bosnia and Herzegovina fell victim to extortion, a crime that can be linked to organized criminal groups. In marked contrast to corruption, a larger share of conventional In marked contrast to corruption, a larger share of conventional crimes (on average, 65.1 per cent for five crime types) is reported to the police by businesses in Bosnia and Herzegovina. While the majority of business representatives (64.7 per cent) consider that the crime risk for their company has remained stable in comparison to the previous 12 months, more than one in ten (11.5 per cent) think it is on the increase and 15.7 per cent on the decrease. The fear of crime plays a very important role in the decision-making process of business leaders when it comes to making major investments. Although there are some differences by economic sector, on average 8.5 per cent of entrepreneurs in Bosnia and Herzegovina state that they did not make a major investment in the previous 12 months due to the fear of crime. Yet while seven out of ten (70.1 per cent) businesses in Bosnia and Herzegovina use at least one protective security system against crime, only slightly more than a quarter (28.2 per cent) have any kind of insurance against the economic cost of crime. Together corruption and other forms of crime place a considerable burden on economic development in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Putting in place more and better targeted measures for protecting businesses against crimes, as well as for preventing corruption (such as effective internal compliance measures and other policies concerning corruption) could make that burden considerably lighter. Details: Vienna: UNODC, 2013. 78p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed December 5, 2013 at: https://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/statistics/corruption/UNODC_BiH_Business_corruption_report_2013.pdf Year: 2013 Country: Bosnia and Herzegovina URL: https://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/statistics/corruption/UNODC_BiH_Business_corruption_report_2013.pdf Shelf Number: 131750 Keywords: BriberyBribesCrimes Against BusinessesFinancial CrimesPublic Corruption |
Author: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. Statistics and Surveys Section Title: Business, Corruption and Crime in Kosovo: The impact of bribery and other crime on private enterprise Summary: This survey of private businesses in Kosovo reveals that corruption and other forms of crime are a great hindrance to private enterprise and have a negative effect on private investment. A significant percentage of businesses pay bribes to public officials repeatedly over the course of the year. Businesses in the Manufacturing, Electricity, Gas, and Water supply sector are those most affected by bribery, followed by businesses in the Wholesale trade and Retail trade sector. The public officials with the highest risk of bribery in interactions with businesses are customs officers, officials in the tax/revenue administration and municipal or provincial officers. While indicators of corruption perceptions are undoubtedly useful for raising awareness, this survey measures the actual experience of corruption and crime through representative sample surveys of businesses in order to provide a more realistic, evidence-based assessment of corruption and crime affecting the business sector. In so doing it focuses on the extent and pattern of bribery by businesses from five different sectors (accounting for over 79.7 per cent of all businesses in Kosovo) in their frequent interactions with the public administration. According to the survey, of all the businesses that had contact with a public official in the 12 months prior to the survey 3.2 per cent paid a bribe to a public official. The average prevalence of business bribery in Kosovo is lower than the share of ordinary Kosovar citizens (11.1 per cent) who experienced the same in UNODC's 2011 general population survey. The examination of the experience of businesses that pay bribes to public officials underlines the fact that corruption plays a role in the daily business of many companies. Bribe-paying businesses pay an average of 7.7 bribes per year, or about one bribe almost every seven weeks. The prevalence of bribery is substantially higher among medium and large (over 50 employees) businesses than among businesses of other sizes. A substantial share of all the bribes paid to public officials by businesses in Kosovo are paid in cash (59.2 per cent), followed by the provision of food and drink in exchange for an illicit "favour" by the public official (58.4 per cent) and other goods or advantages (12.1 per cent). When bribes are paid in cash, the mean amount paid per bribe is 844 Euro, or the equivalent of 1,787 EUR-PPP. As for which party actually broaches the subject of kickbacks, in about 38 per cent of all bribery cases the payment of a bribe is offered by a representative of the business without a prior request being made, whereas in around half (50.1 per cent) of cases payment is either explicitly (13.3 per cent) or implicitly (30.3 per cent) requested by the public official. In a further 6.5 per cent of cases, bribes are paid after a third-party request. The most common purposes for paying bribes cited by businesses is to "speed up business-related procedures" (28.4 per cent of all bribes), "receiving better treatment or information" (14.7 per cent) and "making the finalization of a procedure possible" (13.1 per cent). At the same time, almost a quarter (23.9 per cent) of bribes paid serve for no specific immediate purpose for the businesses paying them, suggesting that these are "sweeteners" given to public officials to "groom" them for future interactions in the interest of the company. As little as 3.7 per cent of bribes paid by businesses are reported to official authorities, mostly to the police, which suggests that businesses in Kosovo often feel obliged to participate in bribery. This is also reflected in the main reasons cited for not reporting bribery: "pointless to report it as nobody would care" (28.2 per cent), "fear of reprisal" (19.2 per cent) and "the payment or gift was given as a sign of gratitude" (19.4 per cent). Bribery in the private sector not only comprises bribes paid by businesses to public officials, it also takes place between businesses themselves in order to secure business transactions. Though lower than the prevalence of bribery between the private and public sector, at 0.6 per cent the prevalence of business-to-business bribery indicates that the practice does exist in Kosovo. This type of corruption is not to be confused with normal marketing or public relations activities, in that it specifically aims, through illegal means, to breach the integrity of the bribe-taker in exchange for a bribe. None of the businesses in the survey reported such business-to business bribery incidents to relevant authorities. Some 3.3 per cent of business representatives decided not to make a major investment in the 12 months prior to the survey due to the fear of having to pay bribes to obtain requisite services or permits, thus the impact of bribery on business activity can be substantial. The consequences of other more conventional crimes on a business's property and economic activities can also be considerable, both in terms of direct costs stemming from physical damage and indirect costs in the form of insurance premiums, security expenditure and lost investment opportunities. For instance, around one in ten businesses (10.1 per cent) in Kosovo fall victim to burglary in various different guises in a year and such businesses are victimized an average of 1.9 times in that time period. Annual prevalence rates for fraud (8 per cent) and vandalism (3.2 per cent) in the private sector are also significant, as are the average number of times businesses affected fall victim to those crimes (5.3 and 1.3, respectively). Moreover, over the past 12 months some 0.4 per cent of all businesses in Kosovo fell victim to extortion, a crime that can be linked to organized criminal groups. In marked contrast to corruption, a larger share of conventional crimes (on average, 59.3 per cent for five crime types) is reported to the police by businesses in Kosovo. While the majority of business representatives (70.5 per cent) consider that the crime risk for their company has remained stable in comparison to the previous 12 months, almost one in ten (9.8 per cent) think it is on the increase and 16.2 per cent on the decrease. The fear of crime plays a very important role in the decision-making process of business leaders when it comes to making major investments. Although there are some differences by economic sector, on average 9.1 per cent of entrepreneurs in Kosovo state that they did not make a major investment in the previous 12 months due to the fear of crime. Yet while about four fifths (80.4 per cent) of businesses in Kosovo use at least one protective security system against crime, only one third (33.5 per cent) have any kind of insurance against the economic cost of crime. Together corruption and other forms of crime place a considerable burden on economic development in Kosovo. Putting in place more and better targeted measures for protecting businesses against crimes, as well as for preventing corruption (such as effective internal compliance measures and other policies concerning corruption) could make that burden considerably lighter. Details: Vienna: UNODC, 2013. 76p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed December 5, 2013 at: http://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/statistics/corruption/Kosovo_Business_corruption_report_EN.pdf Year: 2013 Country: Republic of Kosovo URL: http://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/statistics/corruption/Kosovo_Business_corruption_report_EN.pdf Shelf Number: 131751 Keywords: BriberyBribesCrimes Against BusinessesFinancial CrimesPublic Corruption |
Author: United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime Title: Business, Corruption and Crime in Serbia: The impact of bribery and other crime on private enterprise Summary: This survey of businesses in Serbia reveals that corruption and other forms of crime are a great hindrance to private enterprise and have a negative effect on private investment. A significant percentage of businesses pay bribes to public officials repeatedly over the course of the year. Businesses in the Accommodation and Food service activities sector and the Transportation and Storage sectors combined are those most affected by bribery, followed by businesses in the Wholesale trade and Retail trade sector. The public officials with the highest risk of bribery in interactions with businesses are public utilities officers, police officers, municipal or provincial officers and customs officers. While indicators of corruption perceptions are undoubtedly useful for raising awareness, this survey measures the actual experience of corruption and crime through representative sample surveys of businesses in order to provide a more realistic, evidence-based assessment of corruption and crime affecting the business sector. In so doing it focuses on the extent and pattern of bribery by businesses from five different sectors (accounting for over 71.1 per cent of all businesses in Serbia) in their frequent interactions with the public administration. According to the survey, of all the businesses that had contact with a public official in the 12 months prior to the survey 17 per cent paid a bribe to a public official. The average prevalence of business bribery in Serbia is higher than the share of ordinary Serbian citizens (9.3 per cent) who experienced the same in UNODC's 2011 study on the general population. The examination of the experience of businesses that pay bribes to public officials underlines the fact that corruption plays a role in the daily business of many companies. Bribe-paying businesses pay an average of 7 bribes per year, or about one bribe every seven weeks. The prevalence of bribery is substantially higher among micro (up to 9 employees) businesses than among businesses of other sizes. A substantial share of all the bribes paid to public officials by businesses in Serbia are paid in cash (45.2 per cent), followed by the provision of food and drink in exchange for an illicit "favour" by the public official (25.5 per cent) and other goods (21.7 per cent). When bribes are paid in cash, the mean amount paid per bribe is 52,588 Dinar, or the equivalent of 935 EUR-PPP. As for which party actually broaches the subject of kickbacks, in 43.5 per cent of all bribery cases the payment of a bribe is offered by a representative of the business without a prior request being made, whereas in over half (56.1 per cent) of cases payment is either explicitly (16.2 per cent) or implicitly (22.4 per cent) requested by the public official or are paid after a third-party request (17.5 per cent). The most common purposes for paying bribes cited by businesses is to "speed up business-related procedures" (40.3 per cent of all bribes), "receiving better treatment" (19 per cent) and "making the finalization of a procedure possible" (11.3 per cent). At the same time, almost a quarter (23.4 per cent) of bribes paid serve for no specific immediate purpose for the businesses paying them, suggesting that these are "sweeteners" given to public officials to "groom" them for future interactions in the interest of the company. None of the businesses part of the survey had reported bribery incidents in the 12 months prior to the survey to official authorities in Serbia, which suggests that businesses often feel obliged to participate in bribery. This is also reflected in the main reasons cited for not reporting bribery: "it is common practice to pay or give gifts to public officials" (34.2 per cent), "it is pointless to report it as nobody would care " (30.8 per cent) and "the payment or gift was given as a sign of gratitude to the public servant for delivering the service requested " (21.6 per cent). Bribery in the private sector not only comprises bribes paid by businesses to public officials, it also takes place between businesses themselves in order to secure business transactions. Though lower than the prevalence of bribery between the private and public sector, at 6.6 per cent the prevalence of business-to-business bribery indicates that the practice does exist in Serbia. None of the businesses in the survey reported such business to business bribery incidents to relevant authorities. Some 9.2 per cent of business representatives decided not to make a major investment in the 12 months prior to the survey due to the fear of having to pay bribes to obtain requisite services or permits, thus the impact of bribery on business activity can be substantial. The consequences of other more conventional crimes on a business's property and economic activities can also be considerable, both in terms of direct costs stemming from physical damage and indirect costs in the form of insurance premiums, security expenditure and lost investment opportunities. For instance, more than one third of businesses (35.5 per cent) in Serbia fall victim to fraud by outsiders in various different guises in a year and such businesses are victimized an average of 10.1 times in that time period. Annual prevalence rates for burglary (10.2 per cent) and vandalism (9.5 per cent) in the private sector are also significant, as are the average number of times businesses affected fall victim to those crimes (4.4 and 2.8 respectively). The prevalence rate of motor vehicle theft (MVT) is 1.7 per cent of all car owning businesses, with victims suffering an average of 1.4 incidents. Moreover, over the past 12 months 1 per cent of all businesses in Serbia fell victim to extortion, a crime that can be linked to organized criminal groups. In marked contrast to corruption, a larger share of conventional crimes (on average, 41.8 per cent for five crime types) is reported to the police by businesses in Serbia. While the majority of business representatives (76.2 per cent) consider that the crime risk for their company has remained stable in comparison to the previous 12 months, around one in six (17.1 per cent) think it is on the increase and 2.8 per cent on the decrease. The fear of crime plays a very important role in the decision-making process of business leaders when it comes to making major investments. Although there are some differences by economic sector, on average one out of ten (10.6 per cent) entrepreneurs in Serbia state that they did not make a major investment in the previous 12 months due to the fear of crime. Yet while about 93.2 per cent of businesses in Serbia use at least one protective security system against crime, only 44.8 per cent have any kind of insurance against the economic cost of crime. Together corruption and other forms of crime place a considerable burden on economic development in Serbia. Putting in place more and better targeted measures for protecting businesses against crimes, as well as for preventing corruption (such as effective internal compliance measures and other policies concerning corruption) could make that burden considerably lighter. Details: Vienna: UNODC, 2013. 76p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 27, 2014 at: http://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/statistics/corruption/Serbia_Business_corruption_report_ENG.pdf Year: 2013 Country: Serbia and Montenegro URL: http://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/statistics/corruption/Serbia_Business_corruption_report_ENG.pdf Shelf Number: 131809 Keywords: BriberyBusiness CrimeCommercial CrimeCrime Against BusinessesCrime StatisticsPolitical Corruption |
Author: Australia. Auditor General Title: Fraud Control Arrangements: Across Entities Summary: 1. Fraud against the Commonwealth is defined as 'dishonestly obtaining a benefit, or causing a loss, by deception or other means.' Fraud against the Commonwealth can be broadly categorised as being either external (fraud committed by clients or customers, service providers and members of the public) or internal (fraud committed by employees and contractors). In some cases, fraud against the Commonwealth may involve collusion between external and internal parties, which may not only result in loss for the Commonwealth, but may also involve corrupt conduct such as bribery and secret commissions. 2. The consequences of fraud against the Commonwealth include financial and material loss which can impact on the Australian Government's ability to deliver services and achieve its policy objectives. More broadly, fraud can result in reputational damage to government and responsible entities, and potential loss of confidence in Australian Government administration. 3. Fraud threats are ongoing and can affect any Australian Government entity. In 2010-11, external and internal fraud losses against the Commonwealth were estimated at $119 million. Approximately $116 million of these estimated losses related to external fraud, while some $3 million related to internal fraud. Details: Sydney: Australian National Audit Office, 2014. 120p. Source: Internet Resource: ANAO Report No. 3 3014-15: Accessed November 12, 2014 at: http://www.anao.gov.au/~/media/Files/Audit%20Reports/2014%202015/Report%203/AuditReport_2014-2015_3.pdf Year: 2014 Country: Australia URL: http://www.anao.gov.au/~/media/Files/Audit%20Reports/2014%202015/Report%203/AuditReport_2014-2015_3.pdf Shelf Number: 134062 Keywords: BriberyCosts of CrimesFinancial CrimesFraud (Australia)Fraud Investigations |
Author: Wyatt, Tanya Title: Corruption and wildlife trafficking Summary: Wildlife trafficking is a growing global concern. It takes place in all regions of the world with those nations with high biodiversity being the source and the consumers of the wildlife as well as transit areas and hubs for smuggled wildlife. It is a significant contributor to biodiversity loss and species extinction. Many if not most developing nations are rich in biodiversity and therefore must contend with wildlife trafficking. It is a critical concern for these nations' environment and economies. It has been documented that corruption is an essential component in the facilitation and perpetration of the illegal wildlife trade, but a comprehensive study into the scale, scope and structure has yet to be undertaken. This U4 Issue paper conducts a meta-study regarding corruption's role in wildlife trafficking from the available literature, interviews with experts and a case study of Vietnam in an attempt to highlight concerns for bilateral donors in regards to conservation, environment and law enforcement programmes. Details: Bergen, NO: U4 Anti-Corruption Resource Centre, Chr. Michelsen Institute, 2015. 48p. Source: Internet Resource: U4 Issue no. 11: Accessed July 15, 2015 at: http://www.u4.no/publications/corruption-and-wildlife-trafficking/ Year: 2015 Country: Vietnam URL: http://www.u4.no/publications/corruption-and-wildlife-trafficking/ Shelf Number: 136038 Keywords: BriberyCorruptionMoney LaunderingTrafficking in WildlifeWild Animal TradeWildlife Crimes |
Author: Fontana, Alessandra Title: Making development assistance work at home: DfID's approach to clamping down on international bribery and money laundering in the UK Summary: Corruption will remain a profitable crime in developing countries as long as counterparts in rich countries are willing to hide stolen resources. Working to improve governance in poor countries will only address part of the issues. To disrupt the mechanisms that enable illicit outflows, the UK Department for International Development is funding the City of London Police, the Metropolitan Police and the Crown Prosecution Service to increase investigations on money laundered by senior political figures in the UK. In 4 years, millions of pounds have been frozen and repatriated - indicating a shift in thinking in what counts as development work in a world with global patterns of corruption. Details: Bergen: Chr. Michelson Institute, Anti- Corruption Resource Centre, 2011. 13p. Source: Internet Resource: U$ Practice Insight, 2011:5: Accessed August 25, 2015 at; http://www.u4.no/publications/making-development-assistance-work-at-home-dfid-s-approach-to-clamping-down-on-international-bribery-and-money-laundering-in-the-uk/ Year: 2011 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.u4.no/publications/making-development-assistance-work-at-home-dfid-s-approach-to-clamping-down-on-international-bribery-and-money-laundering-in-the-uk/ Shelf Number: 136581 Keywords: Asset ForfeituresBriberyCorruptionMoney LaunderingOrganized Crime |
Author: Global Financial Integrity Title: Illicit Financial Flows: The Most Damaging Economic Condition Facing the Developing World Summary: The book features five condensed and updated quantitative country studies on illicit financial flows (IFFs) from India, Mexico, Russia, the Philippines, and Brazil by GFI Chief Economist Dr. Dev Kar, as well as chapters written by GFI President Raymond Baker and Managing Director Tom Cardamone. Dr. Thomas Pogge, Leitner Professor of Philosophy and International Affairs at Yale University, writes on the human rights impact of illicit financial flows. The relationship between illicit flows and development is considered by Erik Solheim, the chair of the OECD's Development Assistance Committee. Details: Washington, DC: Global Financial Integrity, 2015. 192p. Source: Internet Resource: accessed October 28, 2015 at: http://www.gfintegrity.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Ford-Book-Final.pdf Year: 2015 Country: International URL: http://www.gfintegrity.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Ford-Book-Final.pdf Shelf Number: 137168 Keywords: BriberyDeveloping CountriesFinancial CrimesMoney LaunderingTax Evasion |
Author: Warren, Rob Title: Insight into awareness and impact of the Bribery Act 2010 Summary: The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) and Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) commissioned a survey of 500 small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs); 95% of these were exporting goods. The purpose of the survey was to find: -the awareness of the Bribery Act 2010 among SMEs that export, or plan to export goods and/or services -their use of guidance and advice on bribery prevention procedures (including who supplied the advice and how much it cost) -the extent to which SMEs had put in place anti-bribery procedures and how much they cost -how the Act had affected their exports and operational behaviour overseas -any specific concerns or problems they had experienced as a result of the Act or MoJ guidance Details: London: HM Government, 2015. 69p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 16, 2015 at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/440661/insight-into-awareness-and-impact-of-the-bribery-act-2010.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United Kingdom URL: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/440661/insight-into-awareness-and-impact-of-the-bribery-act-2010.pdf Shelf Number: 137305 Keywords: BriberyCrimes Against BusinessesFinancial Crimes |
Author: Sundstrom, Aksel Title: Understanding Illegality and Corruption in Forest Management: A Literature Review Summary: This review synthesizes the literature studying illegality and government corruption in forest mangement. After discussing the theoretical connections between different types of corruption and illegal forest-related activities it describes the major trends in previous studies, examining cross-national patterns as well as local in-depth studies. Both theory and available empirical findings pro-vide a straightforward suggestion: Bribery is indeed a "door opener" for illegal activities to take place in forest management. It then discusses the implications for conservation, focusing first on international protection schemes such as the REDD+ and second on efforts to reduce illegality and bribery in forest management. Key aspects to consider in the discussion on how to design monitoring institutions of forest regulations are how to involve actors without the incentive to engage in bribery and how to make use of new technologies that may publicize illegal behavior in distant localities. The review concludes by discussing avenues for future research. Details: Goteborg: University of Gothenburg, QOG The Quality of Government Institute, 2016. 39p. Source: Internet Resource: Working Paper Series 2016:1: Accessed February 2, 2016 at: http://qog.pol.gu.se/digitalAssets/1558/1558576_2016_1_sundstrom.pdf Year: 2016 Country: United States URL: http://qog.pol.gu.se/digitalAssets/1558/1558576_2016_1_sundstrom.pdf Shelf Number: 137736 Keywords: BriberyCorruptionDeforestationsForest ManagementForestsIllegal LoggingOffenses Against the Environment |
Author: Verite Title: An Exploratory Study on the Role of Corruption in International Labor Migration Summary: In the 2013 white paper, "Corruption and Labor Trafficking in Global Supply Chains," Verite detailed how fraud, corruption, bribery, and other illegal practices are common features of the international recruitment of migrant workers. The myriad official approvals, documents, and associated fees - foreign worker quotas, job order attestations, exit and guest worker visas, medical certifications, police clearances, work permits etc. - required to deploy a migrant worker from one country to another mean the opportunities and incentives for employers and their recruitment agents to bribe civil servants have become a structural feature of the international labor migration process. Since recruitment agents and employers ultimately transfer most, if not all, of the upfront costs of employment to foreign migrant workers, both of these forms of recruitment-related corruption directly contribute to the excessive and illegal fee burdens frequently faced by migrant workers. In this way corruption is a significant contributing element to migrant worker vulnerability to debt bondage, human trafficking, and forced labor. Further, Verite and others have pointed out that the corrupt activities all too common in migrant worker recruitment also create potential legal risk for companies under origin and destination country laws as well as extraterritorial anti-corruption statutes such as the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and the UK Bribery Act (UKBA). Because multinationals can be liable for the acts of their foreign subsidiaries, franchisees, joint venture entities, and even suppliers that use third party employment agencies under a number of legal theories including traditional agency principles, the risk arises where corrupt payments result in a direct or indirect benefit to an employer - an improper advantage - through cheap migrant labor or the avoidance of the upfront costs of employment. Ironically, these many procedures and requirements that are so vulnerable to corruption were often put in place to protect workers and ensure regular process in the highly complex governance of international migration. The governments' responsibilities to protect the labor and human rights for migrants and to regulate a growing, dynamic private recruitment sector are not in question. Nor is the fact that legitimate private labor recruiters can play an important role in connecting workers with much-needed jobs; indeed, good recruiters are seeking to reform and reinvent the system. There is a flurry of efforts underway by governments, unions, civil society organizations, recruiters, employers, and international institutions like the ILO and IOM to reform the systems in place. Yet, even as reform efforts proceed apace, as this report outlines, "pay-to-play" kickback commissions and other corruption payments are all too common in the migration process; understanding the nature and extent of those payments is vital to reforming the process. Indeed, the lack of deep knowledge of the role of corruption in the process is a very real threat to the success of reform efforts. With new policies and procedures being proposed or enacted every month in countries around the world, it is vital that deeper understanding is achieved of the nature and extent of corruption. Corruption occurs for many reasons and eliminating controls and processes because corruption is attached to them is by no means the proper approach. Reform efforts themselves will generate unintended consequences in terms of corruption risk and new costs and threats to migrants. Hence, much humility and patience are called for as a wide range of institutions globally promote new models to protect workers. Details: Amherst, MA: Verite, 2016. 32p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 8, 2016 at: https://www.verite.org/sites/default/files/images/Verite-Report-Intl-Labour-Recruitment_0.pdf Year: 2016 Country: International URL: https://www.verite.org/sites/default/files/images/Verite-Report-Intl-Labour-Recruitment_0.pdf Shelf Number: 138606 Keywords: BriberyCorruptionDebt BondageForced LaborHuman TraffickingMigrant WorkersMigrants |
Author: Financial Services Authority (UK) Title: Anti-bribery and corruption systems and controls in investment banks Summary: 1.1 Introduction 1 This report describes how investment banks and firms carrying on investment banking or similar activities in the UK (collectively referred to here as "firms" are managing bribery and corruption risk in their businesses and sets out the findings of our recent thematic review. We expect regulated firms in all sectors to consider our findings and examples of good and poor practice, as they may also be relevant to firms in other sectors which are subject to our financial crime rules in SYSC 3.2.6R or SYSC 6.1.1R.1 2 We require regulated firms to establish and maintain effective systems and controls to mitigate financial crime risk. Financial crime risk includes the risk of bribery and corruption. (We summarise regulated firms' regulatory responsibilities in this area in Section 2.4.) In addition to these regulatory requirements, bribery, whether committed in the UK or abroad, is a criminal offence under the Bribery Act 2010, which has consolidated and replaced previous anti-bribery and corruption legislation in the UK. We do not enforce, or give guidance on, the Bribery Act. 1.2 Findings 3 We found that, although some investment banks had completed a great deal of work to implement effective anti-bribery and corruption (ABC) controls, most had more work to do. Our key findings are set out below: a) Most firms had not properly taken account of our rules covering bribery and corruption, either before the Bribery Act or after. There are fundamental differences between the two described in this report. For example, our rules require firms to put in place systems and controls to mitigate bribery and corruption risk and we do not need to find evidence of bribery taking place to take action against firms that fail to meet our requirements. b) Nearly half the firms in our sample still did not have an adequate ABC risk assessment, although progress has been made since the implementation of the Bribery Act. c) Management information (MI) on ABC provided to senior management was poor, making it difficult for us to see how firms' senior management could carry out their oversight functions effectively. d) The majority of firms had not yet thought about how to monitor the effectiveness of their ABC controls. Only two firms had either started or carried out specific anti-bribery and corruption internal audits. e) Firms' understanding of bribery and corruption was often very limited. f) There were significant weaknesses in firms' dealings with third parties used to win or retain business, including in relation to compliance approval; due diligence; politically exposed persons (PEP) screening; ensuring and documenting a clear business rationale; risk assessment; and regular review. g) Many firms had recently tightened up their gifts, hospitality and expenses policies by prohibiting facilitation payments, increasing senior management oversight of expenses and introducing or revising limits. But few had processes to produce adequate MI, for example, to ensure gifts and expenses in relation to particular clients/projects were reasonable on a cumulative basis. h) Firms had well-established vetting processes in place when staff were recruited, but bribery and corruption risk had not usually been a factor in identifying high-risk roles which should be subject to enhanced vetting. i) Since the implementation of the Bribery Act, firms had generally provided adequate basic training to staff. But most (i) were still developing training for staff in higher risk roles and (ii) had no processes in place to assess the effectiveness of existing training. Details: London: FSA, 2012. 56p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 26, 2016 at: http://www.fsa.gov.uk/static/pubs/other/anti-bribery-investment-banks.pdf Year: 2012 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.fsa.gov.uk/static/pubs/other/anti-bribery-investment-banks.pdf Shelf Number: 146009 Keywords: Banking IndustryBriberyCorrectionFinancial Crimes |
Author: Huff, Amber Title: Violence and Violence Reduction Efforts in Kenya, Uganda, Ghana and Ivory Coast: Insights and Lessons towards Achieving SDG 16 Summary: The 2011 World Development Report on Conflict, Security and Development states that, ‘repeated cycles of organized criminal violence and civil conflict that threaten development locally and regionally and are responsible for much of the global deficit in meeting the Millennium Development Goals’ (World Bank 2011: 46). As a result, peace and security emerged as a ‘core concern’ in the development of the post-2015 sustainable development agenda (Werner 2015: 348), and a remarkable high-level consensus has emerged on the basic elements of an approach to reduce violence across contexts. These include: (1) the need to create legitimate institutions, often through efforts to craft political settlements; (2) strengthening access to justice; (3) extending economic opportunities and employment, especially for young people; and (4) fostering societal resilience, through institutions as well as by considering the sustainability of interventions (Lind, Mitchell and Rohwerder 2016). Flowing from these ideas, Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16 aims to 'promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels' by meeting targets that range from reduction of violence and related death rates everywhere, to reducing corruption and bribery in all their forms, ending all forms of legal discrimination and developing effective, accountable and transparent institutions (UNDP 2016a). Details: Brighton, UK:: Institute of Development Studies, 2016. 95p. Source: Internet Resource: Addressing and Mitigating Violence, Evidence Report No. 210: Accessed December 2, 2016 at: https://opendocs.ids.ac.uk/opendocs/bitstream/handle/123456789/12656/ER210_ViolenceandViolenceReductionEffortsinKenyaUgandaGhanaandIvoryCoast.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y Year: 2016 Country: Africa URL: https://opendocs.ids.ac.uk/opendocs/bitstream/handle/123456789/12656/ER210_ViolenceandViolenceReductionEffortsinKenyaUgandaGhanaandIvoryCoast.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y Shelf Number: 147957 Keywords: BriberyConflict-Related ViolenceCorruptionHomicidesViolenceViolence PreventionViolent Crime |
Author: Thought Arbitrage Research Institute Title: Understanding the Demand and Supply Equation of Corruption and Fraud: An insight into the Corruption and Fraud by the private sector in India Summary: In one way or another, people all across the globe get impacted by fraud and corruption. This study is an attempt to understand corruption and fraud, its multiple facets, sources, nuances and related complexities. Corruption is commonly understood as the abuse of entrusted power to extract private gain at the costs of society by diversion of legitimate funds. Business is both the cause and victim of corruption. Corruption can take various forms: political or bureaucratic; grand or petty; isolated or systemic and private sector corruption. Corruption thrives in a world of opacity caused by a maze of rules, discretion of governmental authority and the lack of accountability or consequences for actions by an official. When information asymmetry persists among the general public, it results in a low level of awareness and demands for bribes are easily fulfilled. Further high taxation, multiple regulations, layers of authorization, numerous subsidies and other spending decisions of government provides impetus to corruption. Corruption also thrives in conditions of low bureaucratic quality, inadequate public sector wages, low institutional controls, poor leadership standards, vague rules, ineffectual laws, processes and their unimpressive implementation. Corruption includes instances of fraud, fraudulent behavior, receiving bribes or other benefits. Corruption and fraud are intricately linked, as a corrupt environment makes it easier to perpetrate frauds; equally, frauds help generate illicit funds which can be used to win favours by paying bribes or for other quid-pro-quos. Fraud is mostly defined as a wilful act of deception or misrepresentation resulting in an unauthorized benefit to the perpetrator or others. Asset misappropriation, conflict of interest, bribery and extortion, and manipulation of financial statements are common ways for perpetrating fraud. The public procurement system is very prone to fraud with prevailing malpractices of cartel formation accompanied by collusive bidding and rigging. In private sector too, the risk of fraud is pervasive across all enterprises and countries irrespective of their sizes. Details: New Delhi: Thought Arbitrage Research Institute, 2014. 72p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 31, 2017 at: http://tari.co.in/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Understanding-the-demand-supply-equations-of-corruption-fraud-final.pdf Year: 2014 Country: India URL: http://tari.co.in/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Understanding-the-demand-supply-equations-of-corruption-fraud-final.pdf Shelf Number: 140767 Keywords: BriberyBribes Financial Crimes Fraud and Corruption |
Author: Bouzid, Bechir N. Title: Dynamic relationship between corruption and youth unemployment : empirical evidences from a system GMM approach Summary: This paper addresses the causal relationship between corruption and youth unemployment from two different perspectives. The discussion starts by asking how the corruption practices within government institutions that encourage the payment of bribes to access the job opportunities contribute to reducing the efficiency of the resources (labor force) allocations. The resources are diverted from the most productive economic sectors toward those (usually less efficient economic sectors) where self-motivated officials have more discretionary power in selecting the candidates who are less qualified for the job. The challenge is to examine how bribed bureaucrats are more concerned by their own personal interests at the expense of national welfare when positively reacting to the highest bribe payers. Second question addressed is why the resulting mismatching between supply and demand in the labor market tends to sustain its underlying causes (i.e., bribes) by giving more incentive to new agents and economic actors to adopt these practices. Using a system GMM approach that simultaneously account for the dynamic effect between perceived bribery among officials and the youth unemployment rates, the paper finds that, after controlling for various macroeconomic and institutional factors, the development of corruption practices tend to increase the unemployment rate among youth and educated job seekers which in turn contribute to sustain those unlawful practices by forcing the latter to bribe rent seeking government officials in order to secure a job. Details: Washington, DC: World Bank, Compensation and Performance Unit, 2016. 21p. Source: Internet Resource; Policy Research Working Paper no. 7842: Accessed May 8, 2017 at: http://elibrary.worldbank.org/doi/abs/10.1596/1813-9450-7842# Year: 2016 Country: International URL: http://elibrary.worldbank.org/doi/abs/10.1596/1813-9450-7842# Shelf Number: 145384 Keywords: BriberyCorruption Unemployment and Crime Youth Unemployment |
Author: Muchapondwa, Edwin Title: Abalone Conservation in the Presence of Drug Use and Corruption: Implications for Its Management in South Africa Summary: The illegal exploitation of wild abalone in South Africa has been escalating since 1994, despite increased enforcement, leading to collapse in some sections of its range. South Africa banned all wild abalone fishing in 2008 but controversially reopened it in 2010. This paper formulates a poacher's model, taking into account the realities of the abalone terrain in South Africa-the prevalence of bribery, corruption, use of recreational drugs, and the high value of abalone-to explore why poaching has not subsided. The paper suggests two additional measures that might help ameliorate the situation: eliminating the demand side through enforcement targeted on organized crime, and ceding the resource to the local coastal communities. However, local communities need to be empowered to deal with organised crime groups. Complementary measures to bring back community patriotism will also be needed given the tattered social fabric of the local coastal communities. Details: s.l.: Environment for Development, 2012. 24p. Source: Internet Resource: Discussion Paper Series 12-15: Accessed May 19, 2017 at: http://www.rff.org/files/sharepoint/WorkImages/Download/EfD-DP-12-15.pdf Year: 2012 Country: South Africa URL: http://www.rff.org/files/sharepoint/WorkImages/Download/EfD-DP-12-15.pdf Shelf Number: 145632 Keywords: AbaloneBriberyOrganized CrimePoachingWildlife ConservationWildlife Crime |
Author: Schneider, Friedrich Title: Restricting or Abolishing Cash: An Effective Instrument for Fighting the Shadow Economy, Crime and Terrorism? Summary: This paper has four goals: First, the use of cash as a possible driving factor of the shadow economy is investigated. Second, the use of cash in crime, here especially in corruption, is also econometrically investigated. The influence is somewhat larger than on the shadow economy, but it is certainly not a decisive factor for bribery activities. Some figures about organized crime are also shown; the importance of cash is diminishing. Third, some remarks about terrorism are made and here a cash limit doesn't prevent terrorism. Fourth, some remarks are made about the restriction or abolishment of cash on civil liberties, with the result that this will extremely limit them. The conclusion of this paper is that cash has a minor influence on the shadow economy, crime and terrorism, but potentially a major influence on civil liberties. Details: Paper presented at International Cash Conference 2017 - War on Cash: Is there a Future for Cash? 25 - 27 April 2017, Island of Mainau, Germany. 39p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 13, 2017 at: https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/162914/1/Schneider.pdf Year: 2017 Country: International URL: https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/162914/1/Schneider.pdf Shelf Number: 147226 Keywords: BriberyCivil LibertiesCorruptionFinancial CrimesMoney LaunderingOrganized CrimeProceeds of CrimeShadow EconomyTerrorist Financing |
Author: Carson, Lindsey Title: Mapping Corruption and its Institutional Determinants in Brazil Summary: This paper provides an overview of the status, sources, and forms of corruption in Brazil. While the country outperforms many of its regional and developmental peers on various corruption-related indicators, corruption continues to plague many areas of public life, most notably in regional and state governments, political parties, parliament, and public procurement at all levels of government. After analysing what various metrics reveal about the character and level of corruption in Brazil, we examine how specific scandals have impacted anti-corruption initiatives in the country. We conclude with an overview of the various institutions oriented towards fighting corruption in Brazil, highlighting how systemic failures and deficiencies undermine the performance of accountability mechanisms, particularly at the punishment level. Details: Manchester, UK: International Research Initiative on Brazil and Africa (IRIBA) School of Environment, Education and Development, The University of Manchester, 2014. 49p. Source: Internet Resource: IRIBA Working paper : 08: Accessed September 14, 2017 at: http://www.brazil4africa.org/wp-content/uploads/publications/working_papers/IRIBA_WP08_Mapping_Corruption_and_its_Institutional_Derminants_in_Brazil.pdf Year: 2014 Country: Brazil URL: http://www.brazil4africa.org/wp-content/uploads/publications/working_papers/IRIBA_WP08_Mapping_Corruption_and_its_Institutional_Derminants_in_Brazil.pdf Shelf Number: 147246 Keywords: BriberyCorruption Political Corruption |
Author: Pring, Coralie Title: People and Corruption: Latin America and the Caribbean Summary: This new report from the Global Corruption Barometer series is based on surveys with over 22,000 citizens living in 20 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. We asked about first-hand experiences of bribery in public services and perceptions of the scale of corruption. Our report comes at a time when governments around the world are having to pay greater attention to tackling corruption as the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) - an ambitious set of 17 global goals - calls on governments to "substantially reduce corruption and bribery in all their forms" (Goal 16.5). Details: Berlin: Transparency International, 2017. 36p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 13, 2017 at: https://www.transparency.org/_view/publication/7983 Year: 2017 Country: Latin America URL: https://www.transparency.org/_view/publication/7983 Shelf Number: 148159 Keywords: BriberyCorruption Political Corruption |
Author: Global Witness Title: Catch me if you can: Exxon's complicity in Liberian oil sector corruption and how its Washington lobbyists fight to keep oil deals secret Summary: This is a story of bribery, suspected secret shareholders, and an audacious attempt by oil giant Exxon to bypass US anti-corruption laws. It is a story of how the American company - headed by Rex Tillerson - appears to have turned a blind eye to earlier corruption when buying an oil license in the impoverished West African country of Liberia. Finally, this is a story of how the US can help end corruption by requiring that oil companies report in detail what they pay to governments. Our key findings include evidence that Exxon: Knew its purchase might enrich former Liberian politicians who were likely behind the block Structured the deal in a way it hoped would bypass US anti-corruption laws Knew Liberia's corrupt oil agency had previously bribed officials to approve oil deals, including the very block it wanted to buy But this isn't just a story about Exxon and Liberia. It's also about how Exxon - along with others in the oil industry - has repeatedly attacked the US anti-corruption and oil transparency law that makes it possible for us to uncover deals done in this notoriously corrupt and opaque oil and gas sector. Details: London: Global Witness, 2018. 38p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 29, 2018 at: Accessed March 29, 2018 at: https://www.globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/oil-gas-and-mining/catch-me-if-you-can-exxon-complicit-corrupt-liberian-oil-sector/ Year: 2018 Country: Liberia URL: Shelf Number: 149606 Keywords: BriberyCorruptionOil IndustryWhite Collar Crime |
Author: Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission Title: Perceptions of corruption: Survey of the Victorian community Summary: The Victorian community expects the public sector to operate fairly and honestly, free from misconduct and corruption. The community also expects public sector employees to conduct themselves with integrity and professionalism when using public funds and resources to deliver goods and services to Victorians. This report provides the responses of the Victorian community about their understanding of corruption, their perceptions of corruption and misconduct, attitudes to reporting corruption and misconduct, and attitudes towards preventing corruption. Two-thirds of the Victorian community respondents agreed they knew what behaviour constitutes corruption (65 per cent). Almost two-thirds of community respondents also agreed that corruption happens in Victoria (62 per cent), which was comparable to the other groups surveyed (state and local government employees and Victoria Police). Behaviours associated with obtaining personal financial rewards and bribery were consistently identified as corruption by the majority of community respondents. However, compared with other respondent groups, community respondents were less confident identifying what corruption is. While less than half of the community respondents (44 per cent) identified a government employee using a work credit card to pay for a personal taxi fare of $50 as corrupt conduct, the majority of Victoria Police, state government and local government respondents were clear that this definitely involved corrupt conduct. The majority of community respondents said they would report corruption if they personally observed it (75 per cent), however only a quarter of respondents said they knew how to report corruption (23 per cent) or where to report it (24 per cent). Community respondents stated that concern for fairness and democracy (78 per cent) and the best interests of the community (77 per cent) would prompt them to report corruption. And they were most likely to report serious corruption to IBAC (39 per cent), the Victorian Ombudsman (21 per cent) and Victoria Police (15 per cent). Details: Melbourne: IBAC, 2018. 20p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 16, 2018 at: http://www.ibac.vic.gov.au/docs/default-source/default-document-library/perceptions-of-corruption_survey-of-the-victorian-community_april-2018.pdf?sfvrsn=0 Year: 2018 Country: Australia URL: http://www.ibac.vic.gov.au/docs/default-source/default-document-library/perceptions-of-corruption_survey-of-the-victorian-community_april-2018.pdf?sfvrsn=0 Shelf Number: 149812 Keywords: BriberyPolice Corruption Police Ethics Police Misconduct Public Attitudes |
Author: Salcedo-Albaran, Eduardo Title: The Lava Jato Network: Corruption and Money Laundering in Brazil Summary: The "Lava Jato" Operation is an on-going Federal Police investigation executed for dismantling corruption and money laundering schemes that involved Petrobras, the Brazilian State-managed oil company, Electrobras, the Brazilian state-managed nuclear company, among other Brazilian public institutions. From 2014 to mid-2017, this operation has developed 41 phases of investigation involving various public and private companies, politicians, businesspersons, doleiros, and drug traffickers, among other types of agents. Since the initial complaint filed by Hermes Freitas Magnus, who owned the Brazilian company "Dunel", along with Maria Teodora Silva, a series of investigations began, which allowed identifying four large criminal groups led by the currency exchange operators Carlos Habib Chater, Alberto Youssef, Nelma Mitsue Penasso Kodama and Raul Henrique Srour. As a result of these investigations, Brazilian officials discovered that those four criminal organizations operated together between 2005 and 2014 to launder money through alliances between companies and to obtain contracts with Petrobras through bribe payments to public officers of the company, and politicians with the power of keeping the officials on their positions. The evidence gathered and analyzed for this report revealed a major scheme of corruption and money laundering in Brazil, involving more than 220 Brazilian and foreign companies, 170 business persons, and 100 public servants. Considering the institutional impact of the criminal scheme installed initially at Petrobras, and how it engaged on corruption across Latin America and money laundering across the Western Hemisphere and beyond, this document is the centralized analysis of this complex criminal structure, according to the sources listed below. This document has five sections. The first part is this introduction; the second is a description of the methodology and the concepts related to Social Network Analysis and additional protocols of analysis, which is the methodological approach herein applied; the third is a brief presentation of the criminal structure referenced here as "Petrobras Criminal Network", as well as the sources gathered and processed to model the structure; the fourth is an analysis of the characteristics of the criminal structure, which includes a description of the types of nodes/agents, the types of interactions established, and the nodes/agents concentrating direct interactions and the capacity to arbitrate resources across the network; and the fifth part includes conclusions related to the characteristics of the analyzed network. Details: Bogota, Colombia/Sao Paulo, Brazil: Humanitas360 and Vortex Foundation 2018. 106p. Source: Internet Resource: The Global Observatory of Transnational Criminal Networks - Working Paper No. 29. VORTEX Working Paper No. 43; Accessed May 11, 2018 at: http://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/522e46_fcb25fe62d8f4776982f1fc39200e1f2.pdf Year: 2018 Country: Brazil URL: http://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/522e46_fcb25fe62d8f4776982f1fc39200e1f2.pdf Shelf Number: 150158 Keywords: BriberyCorruption and FraudCriminal NetworksFinancial CrimeMoney Laundering |
Author: Kroll Title: Anti-Bribery and Corruption Benchmarking Report - 2018. Converging Third Party Risks: Regulation, Reputation, and Information Summary: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY In today's global, hyper-connected economy, we find anti-bribery and corruption programs in the midst of an evolution that is driven by converging organizational risks and priorities. Regulatory mandates, critical reputational factors, and data security issues are increasingly intertwined as compliance teams strive to protect their organizations from ABC risks. The common thread running through all these risks is the high volume of direct and indirect third parties that partner with and supply services to organizations. Forty-five percent of respondents work with at least 1,000 third parties per year, a six percentage point increase over the 2017 Report. Individually, regulatory, reputational, and data security risks are persistent challenges that compliance and ethics professionals know very well. The convergence of these risks is driving greater collaboration between the organization's compliance and information security teams, which can make for stronger, more compliant anti-bribery and corruption programs. Leadership engagement, always a key and essential contributor to program effectiveness, is especially critical for ensuring enterprise-wide support for compliance efforts. Doing business ethically and maintaining an up-to-date anti-bribery and corruption program is not just about avoiding the pitfalls of reputational or legal risk. Investors are finding that a focus on ethical business dealings can translate into rewarding financial outcomes. By way of example, the publicly traded companies among Ethisphere's 2018 World's Most Ethical Companies ("Honorees") outperformed U.S. Large Cap Indices by 4.88 percent over the last three years, demonstrating that ethics and performance are well-suited companions and valued in the marketplace. Despite the increased focus and engagement of organizational resources on compliance efforts, a staggering 93 percent of respondents believe their ABC risks will remain the same or worsen in 2018. Those who expect greater ABC risks attribute the rise to increased enforcement of existing regulations, followed closely by new regulations. Given these expanding regulatory pressures, a holistic, multidisciplinary approach may hold the key to sustainable improvements in the future. Some key findings from our study include: ABC PROGRAMS: ONGOING CHALLENGES Overall, the results of this year's survey were consistent with those in our last report; namely, that third party risks - particularly reputational issues - were of greatest concern to respondents. In a shift from last year, however, respondents singled out increased enforcement of existing regulations along with the prospect of new regulations as the top reasons why they expect their anti-bribery and corruption risks to grow in 2018. A significant percentage of respondents continue to worry that they are not prepared to address the risks that their third parties present. Indeed, 58 percent of respondents uncovered legal, ethical, or compliance issues with a third party after initial due diligence. Most often, organizations' due diligence practices - such as ongoing and active monitoring - are responsible for bringing these issues to light. However, in a growing number of cases, third parties are self-disclosing infractions, a clear reflection of changing cultural and regulatory trends, including heightened concerns over personal liability. Risk-based segmentation, ongoing monitoring that incorporates regular data refresh, and periodic program evaluations have emerged as best-practice features of effective anti-bribery and corruption programs. OWNERSHIP STRUCTURE RISKS ON THE RISE The most notable year-over-year change in survey responses was the increased concern over opaque ownership structures, which rose this year to become the third most common reason why third parties are failing to meet an organization's standards. However, current mitigation efforts have not translated into confidence for compliance teams: less than a quarter of respondents reported that they are very comfortable with their ability to effectively address the risks associated with beneficial ownership. A global expansion of regulatory mandates that demand attention to ownership is driving much of the greater focus on the matter. Broader societal expectations, however, are also playing a critical role; the potential for significant, long-lasting reputational damage has made the effort to track ownership an imperative. ABC AFTER ONBOARDING: ONGOING MONITORING AND DATA REFRESH In the fast-changing global marketplace, organizations cannot expect that a third party's risk profile and/or ownership will remain static after initial on-boarding due diligence. In fact, regulatory guidance has made ongoing monitoring an expectation for an effective and engaged anti-bribery and corruption program. However, there is no clear mandate as to what monitoring should entail or how often it should be done. To be expected - and consistent with prior data -respondents reported a number of different approaches to monitoring. This year, however, we introduced the topic of third party data refresh into our survey and found many organizations using the practice to one degree or another. Refreshing baseline information on their third-party universe can help ensure organizations are conducting diligence or other monitoring practices corresponding with the actual risk presented by their third parties. With anti-bribery and corruption programs increasingly driven by technology, data integrity is a growing factor in risk mitigation and defense. MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS Virtually the same percentage of respondents reported their organizations had engaged in M and A activity in 2017 as did in the prior year (62 percent and 67 percent, respectively). However, M and A continues to challenge compliance professionals from an anti-bribery and corruption perspective. The data shows that respondents are still not consistently meeting regulatory guidance, which expects organizations to thoroughly understand who they are acquiring. Similar to last year, respondents report collecting less information on the third parties of their transaction targets than on direct third parties. In a more positive development, Kroll experts have noted that some organizations, particularly those looking to be acquired, are turning this exercise into a competitive advantage. "Clean-up" work on their own third-party universe or supply chains can help make target companies more attractive to buyers and accelerate the transaction process. NEW RESOURCES EMERGE AS ABC AND ENTERPRISE RISKS CONVERGE A convergence of risk factors - specifically regulatory, reputational, and data security - is driving home the realization that greater collaboration and support from resources across the enterprise can help anti-bribery and corruption programs better mitigate risks. Increasingly stringent data privacy laws - including the imminent adoption of the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) - are making information - gathering on third parties a minefield. Across all survey respondents, 85 percent described themselves as somewhat or very concerned about data security risks. Meanwhile, mobile technology and applications such as WhatsApp and WeChat are creating internal vulnerabilities. Growing collaboration between compliance and information security/technology teams is proving instrumental in making due diligence efforts compliant and comprehensive. Overall, ABC programs are receiving greater investments from their organizations; however, nearly half of this year's respondents (47 percent) feel they need more resources. Measuring the effectiveness of programs can be the key to ensuring appropriate funding levels. Indeed, the survey data shows a link between program measurement and high levels of leadership engagement, which plays a critical role in anti-bribery and corruption program effectiveness. Beyond regulatory compliance, leaders are aiming to safeguard brands and organizational reputations. Details: New York: 2018. 28p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 9, 2019 at: https://www.kroll.com/en-us/abc-report Year: 2018 Country: International URL: https://1okg7q3ipr08ql7es2x3ip4634-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Kroll_2018_ABC_Report_Digital.pdf Shelf Number: 154046 Keywords: ABC ProgramsAnti-BriberyBribery Bribes Corruption Crimes Against BusinessesFinancial Crimes FraudGeneral Data Protection RegulationSecurity Risks |
Author: Congressional Research Service Title: Combating Corruption in Latin America: Congressional Considerations Summary: Corruption of public officials in Latin America continues to be a prominent political concern. In the past few years, 11 presidents and former presidents in Latin America have been forced from office, jailed, or are under investigation for corruption. As in previous years, Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index covering 2018 found that the majority of respondents in several Latin American nations believed that corruption was increasing. Several analysts have suggested that heightened awareness of corruption in Latin America may be due to several possible factors: the growing use of social media to reveal violations and mobilize citizens, greater media and investor scrutiny, or, in some cases, judicial and legislative investigations. Moreover, as expectations for good government tend to rise with greater affluence, the expanding middle class in Latin America has sought more integrity from its politicians. U.S. congressional interest in addressing corruption comes at a time of this heightened rejection of corruption in public office across several Latin American and Caribbean countries. Whether or not the perception that corruption is increasing is accurate, it is nevertheless fueling civil society efforts to combat corrupt behavior and demand greater accountability. Voter discontent and outright indignation has focused on bribery and the economic consequences of official corruption, diminished public services, and the link of public corruption to organized crime and criminal impunity. In some countries, rejection of tainted political parties and leaders from across the spectrum has challenged public confidence in governmental legitimacy. In some cases, condemnation of corruption has helped to usher in populist presidents. For example, a populist of the left won Mexico's election and of the right Brazil's in 2018, as winning candidates appealed to end corruption and overcome political paralysis. The 2017 U.S. National Security Strategy characterizes corruption as a threat to the United States because criminals and terrorists may thrive under governments with rampant corruption. Studies indicate that corruption lowers productivity and mars competitiveness in developing economies. When it is systemic, it can spur migration and reduce GDP measurably. The U.S. government has used several policy tools to combat corruption. Among them are sanctions (asset blocking and visa restrictions) against leaders and other public officials to punish and deter corrupt practices, and programming and incentives to adopt anti-corruption best practices. The United States has also provided foreign assistance to some countries to promote clean or "good" government goals. U.S. efforts include assistance to strengthen the rule of law and judicial independence, law enforcement training, programs to institutionalize open and transparent public sector procurement and other clean government practices, and efforts to tap private-sector knowledge to combat corruption. This report examines U.S. strategies to help allies achieve anti-corruption goals, which were once again affirmed at the Summit of the Americas held in Peru in April 2018, with the theme of "Democratic Governance against Corruption." The case studies in the report explore: - Brazil's collaboration with the U.S. Department of Justice and other international partners to expand investigations and use tools such as plea bargaining to secure convictions; - Mexico's efforts to strengthen protections for journalists and to protect investigative journalism generally, and mixed efforts to implement comprehensive reforms approved by Mexico's legislature; and - the experiences of Honduras and Guatemala with multilateral anti-corruption bodies to bolster weak domestic institutions, although leaders investigated by these bodies have tried to shutter them. Some analysts maintain that U.S. funding for "anti-corruption" programming has been too limited, noting that by some definitions, worldwide spending in recent years has not exceeded $115 million annually. Recent congressional support for anti-corruption efforts includes: training of police and justice personnel, backing for the Trump Administration's use of targeted sanctions, and other efforts to condition assistance. Policy debates have also highlighted the importance of combating corruption related to trade and investment. The 116th Congress may consider the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), which would revise the NAFTA trade agreement, and contains a new chapter on anti-corruption measures. Details: Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service, 2019. 48p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 28, 2019 at: https://fas.org/sgp/crs/row/R45733.pdf Year: 2019 Country: Latin America URL: https://fas.org/sgp/crs/row/R45733.pdf Shelf Number: 156054 Keywords: Anti-CorruptionBriberyCorruptionLatin AmericaOrganized CrimePublic OfficialsPublic Services |