Russian companies bribe foreign officials
Russian business is worst in the world on bribing public officials abroad, the Transparency International’s Bribe Payers Index 2011 concludes.
According to the index, which was published on Wednesday this week, Russia ranks last among the 28 leading international and regional exporting countries by the likelihood of their firms to bribe abroad. China is the second worst in the rating. Companies from the Netherlands and Switzerland are seen as least likely to bribe, a press release from the Transparency International reads.
The study also concludes that public works, construction companies, as well as the oil and gas industry, are the sectors most prone to international corruption. The index is based on a survey of 3000 business executives.
Compared with the last rating made three years ago, Russia now does slightly better, but still remains on bottom of the list. The country now has a score of 6,1 on a scale between 0 (worst) and 10 (best). China scores 6.5 points, while the Netherlands and Switzerland have a score of 8.8.
-The level of Russian companies’ corruption abroad corresponds with the high level of domestic corruption in Russia, leader of the Transparency International Russia, Yelena Panfilova says to newspaper Vedomosti. In the index measuring corruption in the state sector, Russia is ranked number 154 of 178 countries, she adds.
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The only way for Russia to deal with its companies’ bribery abroad is to establish efficient domestic counter-corruption systems, the organization underlines.
