Despite its size, limited infrastructure, and tiny population, there are still incidences of corruption in San Marino. Notable cases include political corruption, judicial inefficiencies, and corruption in the public procurement processes.
Despite its size, limited infrastructure, and tiny population, there are still incidences of corruption in San Marino. Notable cases include political corruption, judicial inefficiencies, and corruption in the public procurement processes.
As a parliamentary democracy, San Marino has been recognized as a country that generally upholds political rights and civil liberties. It also holds regular elections while its government and judiciary exercise their functions without improper interference from external actors or unelected entities. [1]
In terms of political corruption, San Marino is cited for the heavy fines it imposes on defamation. Such penalty created a culture of self-censorship, particularly on the part of journalists, who are hampered in their ability to report and investigate governmental transparency and accountability. Those who are found liable are not allowed to appeal their conviction. [2] This is aggravated by the lack of a code of conduct that would have required members of the Parliament and the judiciary to declare conflicts of interest and declare their assets. [1]
The lack of oversight as well as codes of conduct have led to several corruption problems such as those committed in the public procurement processes. There is a lack of stringent mechanisms that would have ensured transparency and accountability. [1] This aggravates the incidence of corruption as public officials are shielded from public scrutiny. San Marino also does not have an independent anti-corruption body that could have investigated and prosecuted graft and corruption cases. [3]
Corruption problems also persist in the case of the financial sector. The country is identified as a tax haven, with its financial sector facilitating financial crimes, cases of embezzlement, and misuse of funds. For instance, authorities confiscated more than one hundred million euros owned by a Sicilian entrepreneur suspected of being used to fund Sicilian mafia clans. [3]
Through the years, San Marino has adopted several measures to address corruption. By 2022, it has adopted a code of conduct that will govern councilors in the legislature in response to the call for enhanced transparency. [3] A year later, the country introduced changes to its anti-money laundering legislation to address deficiencies identified by the Council of Europe as facilitating financial crimes. [4]
Political corruption is the use of powers by government officials or their network contacts for illegitimate private gain.
The United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) is the only legally binding international anti-corruption multilateral treaty. Negotiated by member states of the United Nations (UN) it has been adopted by the UN General Assembly in October 2003 and entered into force in December 2005. The treaty recognises the importance of both preventive and punitive measures, addresses the cross-border nature of corruption with provisions on international cooperation and on the return of the proceeds of corruption. The UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in Vienna serves as Secretariat for the UNCAC. UNCAC's goal is to reduce various types of corruption that can occur across country borders, such as trading in influence and abuse of power, as well as corruption in the private sector, such as embezzlement and money laundering. Another goal of the UNCAC is to strengthen international law enforcement and judicial cooperation between countries by providing effective legal mechanisms for international asset recovery.
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