Report links violence, tyranny and corruption
Chronic conflicts and instability are major drivers of corruption, but many countries with the best reputations for stability and clean dealing contribute to global graft by failing to crack down on their companies' behavior abroad, according to a new report out Wednesday.
The report, by Berlin-based Transparency International, ranks Nordic countries Denmark, Finland, Sweden and Norway and the Netherlands and New Zealand as the six most corruption free nations in the world, with Norway and the Netherlands tied for fifth place. The United States' rank, number 16 among 168 countries on the list, is its best showing ever, said Alejandro Salas, regional director for Latin America at Transparency International.
The list is based on opinions in the private sector about public corruption in 168 countries and is now in its 20th year, Salas said.
"It's not about poverty," Salas said. "It doesn't matter if a country is rich or not, but how strong are its institutions."
Venezuela and Iraq are both resource-rich countries but they rank among the 15 worst in terms of corruption. Others in that range are places that are also home to chronic conflict and tyranny: Somalia, North Korea, Afghanistan, Sudan, South Sudan, Angola, Libya, Haiti, Yemen and Syria.
“The ongoing devastating conflicts in these and other countries inevitably mean that any efforts to strengthen institutions and the state have taken a back seat,” said Ghada Zughayar, Transparency International’s director for the Middle East and North Africa. “Yet security will only succeed long-term if governments make a genuine break with cronyism and build trust with citizens.”
Most of the least corrupt countries are members of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). These countries have pledged to enforce anti-corruption practices at home and abroad, but half its members do not do so, according to Transparency International.
The report singles out Sweden, which ranks as the third least corrupt place on earth, as an example. Swedish-Finnish telecommunications firm TeliaSonera faces allegations that it paid millions of dollars in bribes for access to business in Uzbekistan, which ranks near the bottom of the list, at number 153.
The company is pulling its operations out of Central Asia, “but Sweden isn’t the only ‘clean’ country to be linked to dodgy behavior abroad,” according to the report. “As our research shows, half of all OECD countries are violating their international obligations to crack down on bribery by their companies abroad.”
Twenty-nine countries with limited, or little to no enforcement of anti-corruption practices abroad produce 33% of world exports. They include Sweden, France, Belgium, Brazil, Denmark, Israel Russia and Turkey.
The United States, Germany, Switzerland and Britain rank as the countries that do the best job of policing their companies’ behavior abroad.
The United States' overall ranking improved this year because of two high-profile trends, Salas said.
There were a number of large corruption cases prosecuted by federal authorities that resulted in prison terms for state governors and other public officials. Among these was the corruption conviction of former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, who is serving a two-year prison sentence. The USA also played a major role in international corruption probes, such as the FIFA scandal in which nine officials in the international soccer organization were accused in a scheme involving more than $150 million in kickbacks.
"These people were seen as untouchable and the United States was not shy about going after them," Salas said. "That attitude from the U.S. sends a message that impunity doesn't work here."