Business
Finance: Global corruption costs billions of dollars
New York, 23 Sept. (AKI) - Massive global corruption resulting from bribery, price-fixing cartels and undue influence on public policy is costing billions of dollars and obstructing sustainable economic growth, according to a new report.
Transparency International said in the past two years companies have had to pay billions of dollars in fines due to corrupt practices.
In its latest report, Global Corruption Report 2009: Corruption and the Private Sector, the cost extends to low staff morale and a loss of trust among customers as well as prospective business partners.
“Fostering a culture of corporate integrity is essential to protect investment, increase commercial success and ensure the stability sought by poor and rich countries alike, particularly as we climb out of an historical crisis,” said Transparency chairman, Huguette Labelle.
The report documents many cases of managers, majority shareholders and other actors inside corporations who abuse their power for personal gain, to the detriment of owners, investors, employees and society at large.
In developing countries alone, the report said companies colluding with corrupt politicians and government officials, had paid bribes estimated to be worth 40 billion dollars annually.
The chairman of Transparency in Pakistan, Syed Adil Gilani said that anticorruption efforts in Pakistan had improved since former president General Pervez Musharraf, issued the National Reconciliation Ordinance in October 2007, soon after ratification of the UN Convention against Corruption.
Almost 90 per cent of the top 200 businesses worldwide have adopted business codes, but fewer than half report that they monitor compliance, the report said.
Many of the countries found at the bottom of TI’s yearly Corruption Perceptions Index – which measures perceived levels of public-sector corruption in over 170 countries – are not only victim to unscrupulous governments but to major firms that are more than willing to enter into corrupt deals with these governments.
These intricate webs, involving more than simple bribes, are possible because companies believe that they can get away with such criminal practices.
“Basing a company or fund’s future on personal relationships and unpredictable systems or simply operating in a dark space without oversight and accountability is a path to guaranteed failure,” said Labelle.
Transparency International said in the past two years companies have had to pay billions of dollars in fines due to corrupt practices.
In its latest report, Global Corruption Report 2009: Corruption and the Private Sector, the cost extends to low staff morale and a loss of trust among customers as well as prospective business partners.
“Fostering a culture of corporate integrity is essential to protect investment, increase commercial success and ensure the stability sought by poor and rich countries alike, particularly as we climb out of an historical crisis,” said Transparency chairman, Huguette Labelle.
The report documents many cases of managers, majority shareholders and other actors inside corporations who abuse their power for personal gain, to the detriment of owners, investors, employees and society at large.
In developing countries alone, the report said companies colluding with corrupt politicians and government officials, had paid bribes estimated to be worth 40 billion dollars annually.
The chairman of Transparency in Pakistan, Syed Adil Gilani said that anticorruption efforts in Pakistan had improved since former president General Pervez Musharraf, issued the National Reconciliation Ordinance in October 2007, soon after ratification of the UN Convention against Corruption.
Almost 90 per cent of the top 200 businesses worldwide have adopted business codes, but fewer than half report that they monitor compliance, the report said.
Many of the countries found at the bottom of TI’s yearly Corruption Perceptions Index – which measures perceived levels of public-sector corruption in over 170 countries – are not only victim to unscrupulous governments but to major firms that are more than willing to enter into corrupt deals with these governments.
These intricate webs, involving more than simple bribes, are possible because companies believe that they can get away with such criminal practices.
“Basing a company or fund’s future on personal relationships and unpredictable systems or simply operating in a dark space without oversight and accountability is a path to guaranteed failure,” said Labelle.
Bookmark whit:
