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Date: November 22, 2024 Fri
Time: 11:57 am
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Results for public corruption
4 results foundAuthor: 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 on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Title: Business, Corruption and Crime in Albania: The impact of bribery and other crime on private enterprise Summary: This survey of private businesses in Albania 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 Transportation sectors are those most affected by bribery, followed by businesses in the Construction sector. The public officials with the highest risk of bribery in interactions with businesses are police officers, customs officers, tax/revenues officers, municipal or provincial officers and land registry 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 83.5 per cent of all businesses in Albania) 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 15.7 per cent paid a bribe to a public official. The average prevalence of business bribery in Albania is slightly lower than the share of ordinary citizens (19.3 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 4.6 bribes per year, or about one bribe every eleven weeks. The prevalence of bribery is higher among small (10 to 49 employees) businesses than among businesses of other sizes. Half of all the bribes paid to public officials by businesses in Albania are paid in cash (50 per cent), followed by the giving of food and drink (24.4 per cent) in exchange for an illicit "favour" by the public official and the provision of other goods not produced by the company (22.8 per cent). When bribes are paid in cash, the mean amount paid per bribe is 53,000 Lek, or the equivalent of 904 EUR-PPP. As for which party actually broaches the subject of kickbacks, in 22.7 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 almost two thirds (63.6 per cent) of cases payment is either explicitly (17.1 per cent) or implicitly (38.2 per cent) requested by the public official or paid after a third-party request (8.3 per cent). The most common purposes for paying bribes cited by businesses is to "speed up business-related procedures" (39.1 per cent of all bribes), "making the finalization of a procedure possible" (16.8 per cent), "receiving better treatment" (7.2 per cent), "reducing the cost of a procedure" (6.6 per cent) and "receiving information" (2.8 per cent). At the same time, almost one out of seven (13.5 per cent) bribes paid serve 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. Only 2.2 per cent of the businesses who paid bribes had reported bribery incidents in the 12 months prior to the survey to official authorities in Albania, which suggests that businesses often feel obliged to participate in bribery. This is also reflected in the main reasons cited for not reporting bribery: "giving gifts to public officials is common practice" (36.2 per cent) and "it is pointless to report it as nobody would care" (23.6 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 3.7 per cent the prevalence of business-to-business bribery indicates that the practice does exist in Albania. 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. Less than 0.1 per cent of bribe-paying bribes 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, 5.8 per cent of businesses in Albania fall victim to burglary in a year and such businesses are victimized an average of 1.9 times in that period. The annual prevalence rate for fraud by outsiders (4.8 per cent) in the private sector is also significant, as is the average number of times businesses affected fall victim to this crime (2.8). The prevalence rate of vandalism is 1.6 per cent, with businesses being victimized an average of 1.6 times a year. In addition, the prevalence rate of motor vehicle theft (MVT) is 0.5 per cent of all car owning businesses, with victims suffering an average of 1.6 incidents. Moreover, over the past 12 months 0.5 per cent of all businesses in Albania 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, 49.3 per cent for five crime types) is reported to the police by businesses in Albania. While the majority of business representatives (67.7 per cent) consider that the crime risk for their company has remained stable in comparison to the previous 12 months, around one in twelve (8.6 per cent) think it is on the increase and 19.5 per cent on the decrease. The fear of crime plays an 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 4.4 per cent of the entrepreneurs in Albania state that they did not make a major investment in the previous 12 months due to the fear of crime. Yet while about 88.8 per cent of businesses in Albania use at least one protective security system against crime, only 18.5 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 Albania. 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, 2014. 80p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 6, 2014 at: http://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/statistics/corruption/Albania_Business_Corruption_2013_EN.pdf Year: 2014 Country: Albania URL: http://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/statistics/corruption/Albania_Business_Corruption_2013_EN.pdf Shelf Number: 132258 Keywords: Bribes Crimes Against Businesses Financial CrimesFraudMotor Vehicle TheftPublic Corruption |
Author: New York State. Commission to Investigate Public Corruption Title: Commission to Investigate Public Corruption: Preliminary Report Summary: By Executive Order issued on July 2, 2013, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo established this Commission to investigate public corruption in the State of New York. Governor Cuomo appointed twenty-five Commissioners and three Special Advisors from across our State, including three co-chairs: Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick, Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice, and attorney Milton Williams, Jr. of New York City. To strengthen and expand the Commission's investigatory authority, the Commissioners and senior investigative attorneys were, in accordance with the terms of the Executive Order, deputized by Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman and thereby invested with broad powers to issue subpoenas and compel testimony. Through his Executive Order, the Governor tasked this Commission with investigating the management and affairs of our State Board of Elections; the effectiveness of our campaign finance laws; the weaknesses in our laws relating to lobbying, conflicts of interest, and public ethics; the use of tax-exempt organizations to influence public policy and elections; and the strength and effectiveness of our criminal laws with respect to public corruption and abuses of the public trust. These investigations are guided by the Executive Order's twin propositions that "abuse of office by public officials and misconduct while in office, criminal or otherwise, undermines the trust of the People and diminishes the ability of government to function," and that "the laws, regulations, and procedures involving our electoral process, including the nomination of candidates, and the financing of campaigns and elections, must further the public trust and promote democracy and the accountability of elected officials to the voters and the selection of ethical public servants." The Commission's investigations and fact-finding to date have yielded more than enough information to warrant sounding the alarm for immediate legislative action to help stem the tide of corruption in the New York. Reform of our dysfunctional electoral and political systems must include: a revamped and strengthened campaign finance system that includes a small-donor matching system of public financing to help reduce the impact of massive donations from wealthy and powerful interests; an independent agency for enforcing election and campaign finance laws; more robust disclosure of election spending by independent groups and of possible conflicts of interest by elected officials; and more effective tools for state prosecutors to uncover and prosecute acts of corruption by public officials. Details: Albany, NY: The Commission, 2013. 101p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 4, 2015 at: http://publiccorruption.moreland.ny.gov/sites/default/files/moreland_report_final.pdf Year: 2013 Country: United States URL: http://publiccorruption.moreland.ny.gov/sites/default/files/moreland_report_final.pdf Shelf Number: 135892 Keywords: Political CorruptionPublic Corruption |