Transparency International denounces a “stagnation” in the fight against corruption worldwide

It stresses that “world peace is deteriorating and corruption is both a cause and a result of it”

31 Jan. (EUROPA PRESS) –

Transparency International has pointed this Tuesday to “a stagnation of anti-corruption efforts worldwide” and has said that the inability of countries to “address their corruption problems” is accentuating the “new wave of uncertainty” internationally due to of the coronavirus pandemic, the climate crisis and increased security threats.

This year’s Corruption Perception Index (CPI) reveals that 124 countries have maintained stagnant levels compared to the previous year, while 31 have worsened and only 24 have improved, while stressing that “world peace is deteriorating and corruption is the cause and result of it”. “Corruption and conflict feed on and threaten lasting peace,” he explained.

Thus, he has argued that “the conflict creates fertile ground for corruption, with political instability, increased pressure on resources and a weakening of supervisory bodies, which creates opportunities for crimes such as bribery and embezzlement”, while noting that “unsurprisingly, most of the countries at the bottom of the CPI experience or have recently experienced an armed conflict.”

The organization has emphasized that “even in peaceful societies, corruption and impunity can escalate into violence by fueling social tensions,” while “diverting necessary resources to security agencies leaves states unable to protect the public and protect the rule of law.” “Therefore, countries with higher levels of corruption are more likely to show higher levels of organized crime and more security threats,” she added.

“In this complex context, fighting corruption, promoting transparency and strengthening institutions is crucial to avoid more conflicts and maintain peace,” said Transparency International, which has influenced that more than two thirds of the countries (68 percent percent), have obtained less than 50 points, while the global average remains unchanged at 43 out of 100.

The list is headed by Denmark, which replaces Finland in the position. Behind them are Finland, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Ireland, all of which fall, except for the latter. Spain falls one position, to 60. On the opposite side, the list is closed by Somalia. Above are Syria, South Sudan, Venezuela, Yemen, Libya, North Korea, Haiti, Equatorial Guinea and Burundi. In these cases, Somalia, Haiti and Burundi have worsened compared to the previous year, while South Sudan and North Korea have improved.

Transparency International has pointed out that “the events in 2022 have once again shown that countries in which low levels of corruption in the public sector are perceived to be very vulnerable to the undue influence of private interests, both national and international” and has put as For example, the fall of countries such as Australia, Austria, Canada, Luxembourg and the United Kingdom.

“CATASTROPHIC” CONSEQUENCES OF INACTION

In this way, he has indicated that the Russian invasion of Ukraine demonstrated that “inaction in the face of transnational corruption can have catastrophic consequences.” “Not only have advanced economies helped perpetuate corruption elsewhere, but they have enabled the consolidation of kleptocracies that threaten global peace and security,” she said.

“The hubbub that followed to apply sanctions unleashed against Russian kleptocrats is a perfect case study of the problems at the top of the CPI,” he said, before explaining that “although some governments seem to have finally woken up to the problem that have helped create, ending these countries’ complicity in cross-border corruption originating in Russia and elsewhere requires concerted and long-term efforts.”

Thus, he has said that “in many of the countries with a high classification, financial secrecy has been at the center of the business model to attract foreign investment”, a practice that “is also one of the main obstacles to combat corruption global and prevents even the most willing agencies from investigating suspicious wealth.

“Creating and incorporating anonymous legal entities has been extremely easy in Hong Kong, whose decision not to sanction Kremlin-linked Russian elites makes it one of the key financial centers to watch. However, it’s not just Russian kleptocrats abusing this system”, he pointed out, while reiterating that progress in recent years in some advanced economies has been “slow and uneven”.

The NGO recalled that the European Union, which includes many of the countries in the top positions of the CPI, asked its member states in 2018 to open their records to the public, although the decision was annulled by the courts at the end of 2022. , prompting some countries to “immediately” close access to these records, making it difficult to track illicit funds in the bloc.

Likewise, it has highlighted that “most of the large corruption schemes would not be possible if kleptocrats and other unscrupulous actors could not obtain the services of professionals in the financial sector in countries that appear in the countries with the best classification”. “This continues to be a problem even in jurisdictions that are now acting against corporate secrecy,” she said.

“Even in countries where key professions are under anti-laundering obligations, enforcement remains uneven, especially in real estate,” he said. “Compared to others, banks are generally better regulated, although they figure prominently in almost all of the large money-laundering cases revealed,” she lamented.

“For too long, governments have regarded banks as too big to fail. Even when their role in large-scale corruption and money laundering was apparent, as in Denmark and Germany, they were overlooked. Scandals have hit too to public trust in the industry, with banks being named the third most corrupt institution in the 2021 Transparency International-EU Global Corruption Barometer.”

FIGHT IMPUNITY

On the other hand, he has maintained that “another reason why transnational corruption flourishes is the impunity enjoyed by those responsible and their accomplices”, although he has recognized that “many countries at the top of the list seem to have finally seen the need to analyze at least part of the dirty money hidden in their economies”, as has happened in the case of actions against Ruswo oligarchs.

“Kleptocrats and foreign criminals are not the only culprits in cross-border corruption schemes who must bear consequences for their actions,” stressed the NGO, which has pointed out that “countries at the top of the CPI list have a mixed record when taking action against their own companies when they bribe officials abroad.

Transparency International has stressed that “if there were any doubt before, the consequences of the Russian invasion of Ukraine have shown how deeply complicit supposedly ‘clean’ countries are when it comes to allowing corruption and globalized kleptocracy.” “For decades they received illicit assets from Russian political elites and allowed kleptocrats to expand their wealth, power and geopolitical ambitions,” he argued. “Although some progress was made in 2022, it is clearly not enough,” she concluded.