Corruption in Italy is a major problem. In Transparency International's annual surveys, Italy has consistently been regarded as one of the most corrupt countries in the Eurozone.[1][2] Political corruption remains a major problem particularly in Lombardy,[3][4][5]Campania and Sicily where corruption perception is at a high level.[6][7] Political parties are ranked the most corrupt institution in Italy, closely followed by public officials and Parliament, according to Transparency International. But in the 2013 Global Corruption Barometer report, Italy is in 17th position in front of the United Kingdom (18th), Switzerland (21st) and the United States (22nd).[8]
Regarding business and corruption, foreign investments and economic growth are hindered by organized crime and corruption.[9] Business executives from World Economic ForumGlobal Competitiveness Report 2013–2014 consider corruption one of the problems for doing business in Italy.[10] Procurement process, mainly in water, roads and railway projects, in Italy is affected by corruption.[11]
According to Transparency International's Global Corruption Barometer 2013, 89% of surveyed households consider political parties to be corrupt or extremely corrupt—ranking as the most corrupt institution in Italy. Furthermore, 64% of the surveyed households believe that the level of corruption has increased and 61% of surveyed households find government efforts in the fight against corruption to be ineffective[12]
Italian culture has been described as being characterized by "an ambiguous attitude to graft".[13] A 2015 Al Jazeera report noted that clientelism and graft have long been cornerstones of the country's political establishment,[14] and a Forbes contributor wrote in 2016 about "the deep-seated nature of unsavoury elements in both private and public sectors" in Italy.[1] "Many Italians", maintained a 2010 report, have accepted corruption and poor governance as part of their lives.[15] However, a 2015 report challenged this generally accepted view, arguing that "corruption in Italy does not seem to be a cultural issue" and that Italians consistently believe corrupt practices are less acceptable than other European nations.[16]
The Mafia plays a key role in both public and private corruption. Arising "out of business deals", as Forbes put it, the Mafia historically "acted as a guarantor for contracts, when the judiciary was viewed as weak. Until relatively recent history, almost every deal in the country was enforced by a 'man of honor.'"[1]
One source has described the web of corruption involving politics, business, and the Mafia as "an unholy triangle," adding that it could alternatively be seen as a rectangle, with the Catholic Church being a fourth major participant in the web of corruption, owing to links between the Mafia and Vatican Bank and to "complex money laundering systems" involving banks that manage church funds.[17]
After a 1968 earthquake in Sicily, most of the funds appropriated to replace housing went to "needless construction projects," a fact that underscored the scale of Italian corruption and the influence of the Mafia. Similarly, the 2009 L'Aquila earthquake, in which over 300 people died, was described as a "stark reminder to Italians of the risks they take by tolerating a corrupt political system.” Franco Barberi, head of an Italian committee assessing earthquake risks, alleged that anywhere where corruption had not undermined safety measures, a similar earthquake would have resulted in no fatalities.[15]
Former Prime Minister Bettino Craxi greeted by a salvo of coins as a sign of loathing by protesters in Rome on 30 April 1993 during the Mani pulite investigation
A 1992–94 corruption scandal called Tangentopoli ("Bribe City"), uncovered by the so-called Mani pulite ("Clean hands") investigation, "rocked Italy to its core" and brought down the First Republic. But the probes "fizzled out" and the bribery just got worse.[13][17]
The political impact of Mani Pulite remains the worst scandal of all modern Italy. The public outrage over the corruption led to "the sudden extinction" of five different political factions that had controlled Italy's government since 1946.[16] A new political establishment took their place, but corruption resumed.[16]
One target of the 1992 through 1994 corruption probes was Gianstefano Frigerio[it], then a Christian Democrat MP. During 1992–94, he was the defendant in four trials; one case fell afoul of the statute of limitations, but in the remaining three cases he was found guilty. He managed to have his six-year prison sentence reduced, then turned into a community service sentence, wherein his public service in the Parliament had been deemed acceptable community service.[16] He was then re-elected to parliament in 2001, and arrested again in 2014 for participation in the massive corruption scheme surrounding the Expo in Milan.[16]
It is widely believed that two judges, Paolo Borsellino and Giovanni Falcone, were murdered in 1992 because of their efforts to punish corrupt ties between Mafia and politicians.[17]
On Transparency International's 2022 Corruption Perceptions Index, Italy scored 56 on a scale from 0 ("highly corrupt") to 100 ("very clean"). When ranked by score, Italy ranked 41st among the 180 countries in the Index, where the country ranked first is perceived to have the most honest public sector. [18] For comparison, the best score was 90 (ranked 1), the worst score was 12 (ranked 180), and the average score was 43.[19]
In 2012, 65% of Italians told Transparency International that they thought corruption had intensified during the previous three years.[20] In April 2016, Italian Supreme Court judge Piercamillo Davigo, who had prosecuted widespread political corruption in the 1990s, also expressed the view that corruption had grown worse since then. "The politicians haven't stopped stealing, they've stopped being ashamed of it," he said. "Now they blatantly claim a right to do what they used to do secretly."[1]
Nicola Gratteri[it], an anti-mafia prosecutor, shared Davigo's view that the level of political corruption had heightened. Gratteri noted that twenty years prior, it was common practice for mob bosses to ask politicians for favors, but in recent years the politicians have sought the aid of mob bosses in return for public contracts.[21]
A 2013 report in The Guardian identified "organised crime and corruption" as one of six problems currently facing Italy. The Mafia, once confined largely to the south, now operated nationwide, and had spread beyond drug trafficking and prostitution to transport, public health, and other industries.[20]
Since 2000, Italy has experienced perceived corruption levels on par with Post-Soviet, Eastern European transition nations.[16]
Italian public officials routinely have close ties to organized crime and to businesses.[22] Italian citizens consider political parties and parliament itself to be the nation's two most corrupt institutions.[2]
Corruption is common in Italy's public services sector. Doing business in Italy is complicated by inefficient government bureaucracies and burdensome rules, and almost half of Italians believe that the issuance of business permits involves bribes and abuse of power.[22] Because of corruption, it takes almost six years to complete a major public-works project in Italy, and such projects cost four times as much as elsewhere in Europe.[15]
On 3 May 1999, the Italian Parliament passed a bill that for the first time gave to the public administrations the faculty of recruiting their human resources by a competitive examination (Italian: concorso per soli titoli) exclusively based on the previous background of the candidates in terms of academic titles and working CVs, without the provision of any written nor oral test.[23][24]
In 2002, the Berlusconi government "virtually abolished the crime of false accounting", a move that caused a growth in corruption and Mafia crime.[13]
As of 2012, Filippo Penati, a PD politician, was being investigated for corruption, specifically bribery. So was PdL party member Marco Mario Milanese[it], whose fellow party members in parliament managed to prevent his arrest.[17]
Industry Minister Federica Guidi resigned in March 2016 when evidence emerged that she sought to help her boyfriend's business by helping to pass a certain budget amendment. Her boyfriend, Gianluca Gemelli, faced charges of corruption and influence peddling in the so-called Basilicata case.[25]
Silvio Berlusconi, billionaire, media mogul, and prime minister of Italy for three periods (1994-5, 2001–6, and 2008–11), was frequently accused of corruption. His firms have been charged with such crimes as bribery and false invoicing, and Berlusconi himself has widely been rumored to have Mafia ties. In 2011, the U.S. State Department named Berlusconi as participating in the "commercial sexual exploitation of a Moroccan child".
Convicted of tax fraud in 2012, he was removed from the Italian Senate after the Supreme Court confirmed the verdict the next year, but not imprisoned. In June 2013 he was found guilty of paying a teenage girl for sex, and of abusing his political power, but the verdict was overturned in 2014.[26]
The government procurement system is characterized by a high level of corruption. This is particularly true where infrastructure contracts are concerned. In such cases, the Mafia is very likely to be involved and favoritism will almost inevitably play a part in the awarding of contracts. In recent years, most of the high-profile corruption cases in Italy have involved government procurement. In 2015, one in three public contracts involved irregularities.[22]
Contracts for Expo 2015, a fair in Milan, became the subject of a major anti-corruption investigation in which seven officials were arrested as of April 2015. Venice's mayor and over 30 other public officials were arrested in 2015 for accepting bribes in exchange for building contracts.[22] In the same year, several businessmen were taken into custody on charges of belonging to "a gang involved in kickbacks and dodgy contracts" for high-speed rail lines, Expo 2015, a flood barrier in Venice, and other large-scale projects. Among those who had received kickbacks was Infrastructure and Transport Minister Maurizio Lupi, who was forced to resign.[13]
Judiciary
The Italian courts are slow and inefficient. Almost half of citizens surveyed view the system as corrupt, and many think that bribes and abuse of power are common.[22]
Police
Experts view the Italian police as being relatively free of corruption and respectful of the law. About a third of Italians, however, consider the police to be corrupt.[22]
Land administration
There is a degree of corruption in Italian land administration. Over half of citizens think that officials issuing building permits commit bribery and abuse of power.[22]
Tax system
The tax system lacks transparency and involves considerable bribery. Most firms view the tax rates as problematic.[22]
Customs service
There is a degree of corruption in the customs system.[22]
The Bancopoli scandal of 2005–6 involved stock manipulation and insider trading. Antonio Fazio, head of Italy's central bank, gave unfair advantage to Banca Popolare Italiana (BPI) in its struggle against the Dutch bank ABN AMRO for control of Banca Antonveneta. Fazio and other figures in the banking community were ultimately forced to resign, while the managing director of BPI was arrested and the bank's entire board of directors came under investigation.[27][28]
Fazio was forced to resign and BPI Managing Director, Gianpiero Fiorani, was arrested on a number of charges in connection with the attempted takeover, having been accused of using illegal procedures. Giovanni Consorte, head of the Italian insurance company Unipol, was also forced to resign due to implications that he was connected with the Antonveneta scheme and another attempted takeover of the Italian Banca Nazionale del Lavoro (BNL). Ultimately, ABN AMRO gained control of Antonveneta[29] and the French BNP Paribas attained control of BNL.[30]
In 2006, police investigators revealed that the managers of major Italian football clubs had been colluding with friendly referees to rig games.[31] This sports scandal, called Calciopoli (Italian pronunciation:[kalˈtʃɔːpoli]), involved top professional association football league Serie A and to a lesser extent Serie B. Involving various clubs and numerous executives, both from the same clubs and from the main Italian football bodies (AIA, FIGC, and LNP), as well as some referees and referee assistants, the scandal was uncovered in May 2006, when a number of telephone tappings showed relations between clubs' executives and referee organizations during the football seasons of 2004–05 and 2005–06, being accused of selecting favourable referees. This implicated league champions Juventus and several other clubs, including Fiorentina, Lazio, AC Milan, and Reggina. In July 2006, Juventus was stripped of the 2004–05 Serie A title, which was left unassigned, and was downgraded to last place in the 2005–06 Serie A, as the title was subsequently awarded to Inter Milan, and relegated to Serie B.
Rome
Palazzo Senatorio, seat of the municipality of Rome. It has been a town hall since AD 1144, making it the oldest town hall in the world.
Beginning in December 2014, ties between Roman politicians and the Mafia were made public by the municipal judiciary, which provided evidence of the widespread siphoning of public funds from projects involving "the managing of green areas, recycling, social housing and refugee reception centers". Leading officials were shown to have received bribes in exchange for government contracts; former mayor Gianni Alemanno was among those investigated.[14]
In what has come to be called the Mafia Capitale investigation, officials were accused of rigging contracts for the management of migrant centers in Rome. The scheme involved stealing millions of euros from the civic coffers. The city has continued to suffer because of this crime.[22] In mid 2015, several leading government and business figures were arrested in connection with the scandal.[22]
A June 2016 report in The Guardian noted that Rome mayoral candidate Virginia Raggi of the Five Star Movement (M5S) was doing well in polls because of her focus on "the corruption and cronyism of Italy's mainstream parties." In Rome, noted the newspaper, "establishment politicians and officials" were currently "on trial alongside alleged mobsters, charged with conspiring to pocket millions of euros from rigged public contracts." Raggi has accused the political elite of creating "a pit of waste" and of "robb[ing] Rome" with their corruption.[33]
"The level of corruption we are witnessing in Rome", wrote one observer in 2015, "suggests that Italy needs a major change in mentality, a cultural revolution."[14]
Positive view of Italian corruption
In 2001, British author and physician Theodore Dalrymple argued that corruption is actually the "one saving grace" of Italian public administration. Dalrymple explained his view that Italy's government was overburdened with an inefficient bureaucracy that slows down any progress but that corruption and bribery to bypass roadblocks allows for some progress to be made.[34]
Dalrymple further maintained that the open display of corruption on the part of government officials causes Italian citizens to view the government as the 'enemy', an attitude that Dalrymple considered sensible and healthy, as compared with the misguided British belief that the state is purely good. This belief, Dalrymple charged, "has completely eroded the proud and sturdy independence of the British population."[34]
In a May 2015 article for Open Democracy, Andrea Capussela and Vito Intini noted that Italy's anti-corruption efforts are inadequate and are not pursued with any enthusiasm. Since 1994, they explained, Italy has seen a series of laws passed that weakened the government's ability to combat corruption. For example, the statute of limitations was cut in half, procedural rules were made more complicated, and some corruption-related acts were decriminalized. A new anti-corruption law passed in 2012 did not reverse these laws, and is widely considered weak. Capussela and Intini asked explicitly: "why were such laws adopted and never reversed and how could the political élite get away with it?" This state of affairs was especially puzzling, they pointed out, since the struggle against corruption had often been high on the agenda of any rising politician for two decades.[16]
The Italian Anti-Corruption Law of 2012 expanded the definition of corruption and enhanced transparency and disclosure requirements for public-sector workers. It also introduced "white lists" of suppliers, service providers, and construction firms that comply with anti-Mafia laws. In addition, it established the National Anti-Corruption Authority, which has the power to investigate corruption cases, and the National Anti-Corruption Plan.[35] The law banned persons convicted of corruption from running for public office, increased prison sentences for officials convicted of abuse of office or demanding bribes, increased penalties for private-sector corruption, and called for the institution of local anti-corruption plans and for greater transparency in hiring and budgets.[36] The law criminalized influence-trading in both the public and private sectors, protected whistleblowers, and prohibited corrupt officials from holding certain administrative positions. But proper enforcement of the law continues to be complicated by a slow, overburdened judiciary.[22]
There are effective means of investigating police abuse and corruption, but the process is hampered by slow courts. The Code of Conduct of Public Officials includes detailed prescriptions involving transparency, conflicts of interest, and gifts. There are also Rules on Protocol Gifts that forbid gifts to public officials, who are required to report their assets.[22]
Italy is a signatory to the Council of Europe's Civil and Criminal Law Conventions against Corruption, the UNCAC, and the OECD's Anti-Bribery Convention.[22]
Mario Monti, prime minister from 2011 to 2013, sponsored a 2012 anti-corruption law that was described by Transparency International as an insufficient "first step".[20] In 2012, 64% of Italians described government anti-corruption efforts as ineffective.[20] Only 19 percent think such efforts are effective.[2]
The Italian National Anti-Corruption Authority (ANAC) is an independent regulatory body set up in 2009. It is empowered to inspect offices and confiscate documents. In 2016, the ANAC and the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) announced a partnership to fight corruption throughout the EU.[37]
Bribery is the offering, giving, receiving, or soliciting of any item of value to influence the actions of an official, or other person, in charge of a public or legal duty and to incline him to act contrary to his duty and the known rules of honesty and integrity. With regard to governmental operations, essentially, bribery is "Corrupt solicitation, acceptance, or transfer of value in exchange for official action." Bung is British slang for a bribe.
Police corruption is a form of police misconduct in which law enforcement officers end up breaking their political contract and abusing their power for personal gain. This type of corruption may involve one or a group of officers. Internal police corruption is a challenge to public trust, cohesion of departmental policies, human rights and legal violations involving serious consequences. Police corruption can take many forms, such as bribery.
Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense which is undertaken by a person or an organization which is entrusted in a position of authority, in order to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's personal gain. Corruption may involve many activities which include bribery, influence peddling and embezzlement and it may also involve practices which are legal in many countries. Political corruption occurs when an office-holder or other governmental employee acts with an official capacity for personal gain. Corruption is most common in kleptocracies, oligarchies, narco-states, and mafia states.
Political corruption in Ghana has been common since independence. Since 2017, Ghana's score on Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index has improved slightly from its low point that year, a score of 40 on a scale from 0 to 100. Ghana's score rose to 43 by 2020 and has remained there until the present, 2023. When ranked by score among the 180 countries in the 2023 Index, Ghana ranked 70th, where the country ranked first is perceived to have the most honest public sector. For comparison with worldwide scores, the best score was 90, the average score was 43, and the worst score was 11. For comparison with regional scores, the average score among sub-Saharan African countries was 33. The highest score in sub-Saharan Africa was 71 and the lowest score was 11.
Corruption in India is an issue which affects economy of central, state, and local government agencies. Corruption is blamed for stunting the economy of India. A study conducted by Transparency International in 2005 recorded that more than 62% of Indians had at some point or another paid a bribe to a public official to get a job done. In 2008, another report showed that about 50% of Indians had first hand experience of paying bribes or using contacts to get services performed by public offices. In Transparency International's 2023 Corruption Perceptions Index, which scored 180 countries on a scale from 0 to 100, India scored 39. When ranked by score, India ranked 93rd among the 180 countries in the Index, where the country ranked first is perceived to have the most honest public sector. For comparison with worldwide scores, the best score was 90, the worst score was 11, and the average score was 43. For comparison with regional scores, the highest score among the countries of the Asia Pacific region was 85, the lowest score was 17, and the average score was 45. Various factors contribute to corruption, including officials siphoning money from government social welfare schemes. Examples include the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act and the National Rural Health Mission. Other areas of corruption include India's trucking industry, which is forced to pay billions of rupees in bribes annually to numerous regulatory and police stops on interstate highways.
Corruption in China post-1949 refers to the abuse of political power for private ends typically by members of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), who hold the majority of power in the country. Corruption is a very significant problem in China, impacting all aspects of administration, law enforcement, healthcare and education. Since the Chinese economic reforms began, corruption has been attributed to "organizational involution" caused by the market liberalization reforms initiated by Deng Xiaoping. Like other socialist economies that have undertaken economic reforms, such as post-Soviet Eastern Europe and Central Asia, reform-era China has experienced increasing levels of corruption.
The Philippines suffers from widespread corruption, which developed during the Spanish colonial period. According to GAN Integrity's Philippines Corruption Report updated May 2020, the Philippines suffers from many incidents of corruption and crime in many aspects of civic life and in various sectors. Such corruption risks are rampant throughout the state's judicial system, police service, public services, land administration, and natural resources.
Crime in Bulgaria is combated by the Bulgarian police and other agencies. The UK Government ranks Bulgaria as a low crime area and crime there has significantly decreased in recent years.
Corruption in Afghanistan is a widespread and growing problem in Afghan society. Transparency International's 2023 Corruption Perceptions Index ranks the country in 162nd place out of 180 countries. The 180 countries of the Index are scored on a scale from 0 to 100 according to the perceived corruption in the public sector, and then ranked by their score. Afghanistan's 2023 ranking is based on a score of 20. For comparison with worldwide scores, the best score was 90, the average score was 43, and the worst score was 11. For comparison with regional scores, the highest score among the countries of the Asia Pacific region was 85, the average score was 45 and the lowest score was 17. In this region, only North Korea had a lower score than Afghanistan. The Taliban significantly tackled corruption upon taking power in 2021; Afghanistan was ranked in 150th place in the 2022 Corruption Perceptions Index, following a ranking of 174th in 2021.
Corruption in France describes the prevention and occurrence of corruption in France.
Corruption in Bangladesh has been a continuing problem. According to all major ranking institutions, Bangladesh routinely finds itself among the most corrupt countries in the world.
Corruption in Turkey is an issue affecting the accession of Turkey to the European Union. Transparency International's Corruption Perception Index scores 180 countries according to their perceived level of public sector corruption on a scale of 0 to 100. Since the current scale was introduced in 2012, Turkey's score has fallen from its highest score of 50 (2013) to its lowest, current score of 36 (2022). When the 180 countries in the Index were ranked by their score, Turkey ranked 101 in 2022.
Corruption in Sweden has been defined as "the abuse of power" by Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention (Brå). By receiving bribes, bribe takers abuse their position of power, which is consistent with how the National Anti-Corruption Unit of the Swedish Prosecution Authority specifies the term. Although bribes and improper rewards are central in the definition of corruption in Sweden, corruption in the sense of "abuse of power" can also manifest itself in other crimes such as misuse of office, embezzlement, fraud and breach of trust against a principal.
Corruption in the Czech Republic is considered to be widespread by a majority of the Czech public, according to Transparency International’s Global Corruption Barometer 2013.
Corruption in Georgia had been an issue in the post-Soviet decades. Before the 2003 Rose Revolution, according to Foreign Policy, Georgia was among the most corrupt nations in Eurasia. The level of corruption abated dramatically, however, after the revolution. In 2010, Transparency International (TI) said that Georgia was "the best corruption-buster in the world." While low-level corruption had earlier been largely eliminated, Transparency International Georgia since 2020 has also documented dozens of cases of high-level corruption that remain to be prosecuted.
Corruption in Uzbekistan is a serious problem. There are laws in place to prevent corruption, but enforcement in terms of laws regarding corruption is very weak. Low prosecution rates of corrupt officials is another contributing factor to the rampant corruption in Uzbekistan. It is not a criminal offense for a non-public official to influence the discretion of a public official. The judicial system faces severe functional deficits due to limited resources and corruption.
Corruption in Myanmar is among the worst in the world. Owing to failures in regulation and enforcement, corruption flourishes in every sector of government and business. Many foreign businesspeople consider corruption "a serious barrier to investment and trade in Myanmar." A U.N. survey in May 2014 concluded that corruption is the greatest hindrance for business in Myanmar. The ongoing civil war has significantly set back anti-corruption efforts, exacerbating the problem.
Corruption in Bolivia is a major problem that has been called an accepted part of life in the country. It can be found at all levels of Bolivian society. Citizens of the country perceive the judiciary, police and public administration generally as the country's most corrupt. Corruption is also widespread among officials who are supposed to control the illegal drug trade and among those working in and with extractive industries.
Corruption in Ecuador is a serious problem. In 2014, the U.S. Department of State cited Ecuador's corruption as a key human-rights problem. According to Freedom House, "Ecuador has long been racked by corruption", and the weak judicial oversight and investigative resources perpetuate a culture of impunity.
Anti-corruption comprises activities that oppose or inhibit corruption. Just as corruption takes many forms, anti-corruption efforts vary in scope and in strategy. A general distinction between preventive and reactive measures is sometimes drawn. In such framework, investigative authorities and their attempts to unveil corrupt practices would be considered reactive, while education on the negative impact of corruption, or firm-internal compliance programs are classified as the former.
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