India ranked 19th in foreign bribery index | Russia, China reach bottom

[nrj]

Chinese and Russian firms are the most likely to pay bribes while operating abroad, and the most corrupt sectors are public works contracts and construction, according to Transparency International's latest "Bribe Payers' index".


China and Russia rank bottom, in 27th and 28th place respectively, in the 2011 index released on Wednesday, while the Dutch, Swiss, Belgians, Germans and Japanese get the top scores. Britain and the United States rank eighth and ninth.


But the Berlin-based anti-corruption campaigners said not one of the 28 countries surveyed -- which include all of the G20 -- was perceived as "wholly clean of bribery" and few had made a major improvement since the last bribery index in 2008.


"India's score improved the most, with an increase of 0.7, but it still remains near the bottom of the table. Canada and the United Kingdom saw the most significant deterioration intheir scores with a drop of -0.3," read the report.


The group asked 3,016 business executives in 30 countries -- selected by the value of their foreign direct investments and exports, plus their regional significance -- how often companies based in countries in the survey engaged in bribery.


Transparency urged countries to ratify conventions against bribery under the auspices of the United Nations, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development and the European Union.


"In their meeting in Cannes this week, G20 governments must tackle foreign bribery as a matter of urgency," said Huguette Labelle of Transparency International in a statement.


"It is of particular concern that China and Russia are at the bottom of the index," it said, citing their increasing global presence, especially in oil and gas in Russia's case and China's investments in infrastructure and mining, in particular in Africa.


CORRUPTION KILLS


China's decision this year to expand anti-corruption laws to Chinese firms operating overseas and foreign companies in China was an important step, but there was still a risk of "bottlenecks", said Ran Jianmin of Transparency in China.


New Russian laws outlawing foreign bribery gave rise to hope, Transparency's Russian research head Elena Panfilova said, although she added that there were as yet "no islands of integrity in Russian public and business life".


Russia came joint 154th of 178 nations in Transparency's 2010 index of public-sector corruption and China ranked 78th.


Breaking down the bribery index into 19 business sectors, public works contracts and construction were the most prone to bribery and agriculture and light engineering were the least, but no single sector scored above 7.1 on a 10-point scale.


Mining, oil and gas, real estate, and legal and business services were also very prone to bribery, it said, adding that they were "all characterised by high-value investment and significant government interaction and regulation, both of which provide opportunities and incentives for corruption".


Transparency said it was surprised that the likelihood of bribes being paid from one private firm to another "is almost as high as bribery of public officials across all sectors".


"Bribery can also be disguised through offering clients gifts and corporate hospitality that are inappropriate in value," said the report.


New British legislation this year making bribery between firms an offence, including any company incorporated overseas or carrying out business in the United Kingdom, "sets a new global standard" that should be widely imitated, it said.


It said corruption in public works contracts and construction often compromised safety in public buildings, "which, as witnessed by the many deaths from earthquakes in highly corrupt countries, has a very real impact on human lives".


(Reporting by Stephen Brown; editing by Andrew Roche)

India 'most improved' in bribery index, Russia fares worst | Reuters

 

[nrj]

India 'most improved' in bribery index - Reuters -

India ranked 19th in foreign bribery index | Asian Correspondent

Russian, Chinese firms bribe the most: survey - MarketWatch

Full text of Transparency International's Bribe Payers report - NDTV Profit

 

[Galaxy]

India improves score in global bribery index

India improves score in global bribery index

November 2, 2011

When it comes to companies bribing public officials when doing business overseas, India's score has improved the most in a global index, rights group Transparency International said on Wednesday.​

Nevertheless, India continues to be ranked near the bottom of the global Bribe Payers Index, as there was a high likelihood of Indian companies paying bribes abroad.In a list of 28 countries, India has been ranked 19th, while China and Russia were fared the worst, at 27th and 28th positions, respectively.

The index was based on a survey of 3,000 business executives from developed and developing countries, the anti-corruption group said in a report.

The countries were evaluated on a scale of 0-10 points, with the maximum 10 points corresponding to the view that companies from that country never indulged in bribery abroad and a zero score being equivalent to these companies having always paid bribes.

India's score improved to 7.5 points, up by 0.7 points since the last survey in 2008.

This was the maximum improvement for any country, but India 'still remains near the bottom of the table,' Transparency International said.

It added that the leaders of G-20 nations, during their meeting at Cannes, were expected to recognise the steps taken by countries like India to tackle foreign bribery.

India's score was below the global average of 7.8 points.

In this year's list, the Netherlands and Switzerland have been ranked together on top with 8.8 points each -- indicating that companies from these countries were the least likely to pay a bribe while doing business abroad.
On the other hand, Russia was ranked the worst, with a score of 6.1 points, while China was a notch higher at 27th position, with 6.5 points.

"Bribing public officials when doing business abroad is a regular occurrence," Transparency International said.

"Companies from Russia and China, who invested $120 billion overseas in 2010, are seen as most likely to pay bribes abroad. Companies from the Netherlands and Switzerland
are seen as least likely to bribe," it added.

Those ranked below India include Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Argentina, the UAE, Indonesia and Mexico.
On the top of the list, the Netherlands and Switzerland were followed by Belgium, Germany, Japan, Australia, Canada, Singapore, the UK and the US.

Canada and the United Kingdom saw the most significant deterioration in their scores and their country rankings fell by five and three places, respectively.

Canada and Belgium were together ranked at the top of the previous list in 2008.

The 2008 survey comprised 22 countries and ranked India at 19th place with a score 6.8 points.

Transparency International said that addressing foreign bribery was a priority issue for the international community and urged the leaders of G-20 nations to tackle the issue as a matter of urgency.

The group of 20 leading economies (G-20) last year had committed to tackling foreign bribery by launching an anti-corruption action plan.

"The progress report of the working group monitoring the action plan, which G-20 leaders are expected to approve at Thursday's Cannes summit, will recognise steps taken by G-20 countries China, Russia, Indonesia and India in criminalising foreign bribery," it said.

Rediff






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[Armand2REP]

It only has 28 nations on it... wah

 

[The Messiah]

Corruption exists everywhere. Our's is more socially accepted in all levels.

Lobbying is also a form of bribing. The american food and drug agencies have a history of giving the green light to harmful substances.

 

[SHASH2K2]

All Anna haters anna did have a role to play in this improved ratings.

 

[The Messiah]

All Anna haters anna did have a role to play in this improved ratings.

Did you have to pay less bribe say in last few months ?

lokpal wasn't going to check corruption in private companies anyways.

 

[SHASH2K2]

Did you have to pay less bribe say in last few months ?

lokpal wasn't going to check corruption in private companies anyways.

I rarely get into situations where I have to pay bribe . I have a general feeling that now people donto openly ask for bribe. culture needs very long time to change but at least there is awareness among some people and few are questioning. its a good sign and should improve even further.

 

[The Messiah]

I rarely get into situations where I have to pay bribe . I have a general feeling that now people donto openly ask for bribe. culture needs very long time to change but at least there is awareness among some people and few are questioning. its a good sign and should improve even further.

Infact we have to bribe more because they say risk is more

 

[nrj]

Yeah thank you anti-corruption laws/lokpal. Now we've to pay 5000rs instead of 1000rs as a kickback.

 

[pmaitra]

I think the ranking should also include the impact bribing has in the long term.

When Ford and GoodYear bribed some northern cities to dismantle their trolley-buses so that they could sell more cars and tires respectively, it was simply called lobbying. Today US imports a quarter of world's oil. If this in itself did not place the US close to Russia and PRC, US's failure to prosecute these companies and the then government officials, including the elected ones, should.

I cannot prove what I wrote, so it is upto you whether you want to believe me or not.

Lobbying is bribing, to me at least.

 

[SLASH]

Lokpal should only look into the corruption in the government run offices. The private sector should be dealt with by amending or bringing in new laws in the Companies Act.

Corruption in the government pinches us the most because it is our hard earned money that is being siphoned out. Can't wait to see these bloody babus being shown their place.

 

[niharjhatn]

Corruption Perceptions Index by transparency international

Public outcry at corruption, impunity and economic instability sent shockwaves around the world in 2011. Protests in many countries quickly spread to unite people from all parts of society. Their backgrounds may be diverse, but their message is the same: more transparency and accountability is needed from our leaders.

The 2011 Corruption Perceptions Index shows that public frustration is well founded. No region or country in the world is immune to the damages of corruption, the vast majority of the 183 countries and territories assessed score below five on a scale of 0 (highly corrupt) to 10 (very clean.) New Zealand, Denmark and Finland top the list, while North Korea and Somalia are at the bottom.


The Corruption Perceptions Index ranks countries and territories according to their perceived levels of public sector corruption. It is an aggregate indicator that combines different sources of information about corruption, making it possible to compare countries.

The 2011 index draws on assessments and opinion surveys carried out by independent and reputable institutions. These surveys and assessments include questions related to the bribery of public officials, kickbacks in public procurement, embezzlement of public funds, and the effectiveness of public sector anti-corruption efforts. Perceptions are used because corruption is to a great extent a hidden activity that is difficult to measure. Over time, perceptions have proved to be a reliable estimate of corruption.

Corruption Perceptions Index: Transparency International

Interesting attempt at quantifying "corruption".

As the article stated, New Zealand topped the list as least corrupt with a score of 9.5, followed by Denmark and Finland at 9.4, Sweden at 9.3, Singapore at 9.2.

Somalia and North Korea both came last with 1.

India scored an outstanding 3.1, tied with other upstanding members of the international community (Albania, Swaziland, Tonga and Kiribati - yes, it is a country, small string of islands in the pacific and yes I had to check this up )

Humaare pyaare padosi scored 2.5, whilst China scored 3.6.

Your thoughts? Does it accurately depict relative corruption levels? Many on DFI are from other nations.. is corruption more rampant in those countries? Do we as Indians blame corruption too much without considering how widespread it really can be?