| Political corruption |
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| Forms and concepts |
| Anti-corruption |
| Corruption by country |
This article discusses the responsibilities of the various agencies involved in combating corruption in New Zealand. New Zealand is regarded as having one of the lowest levels of corruption in the world. [1]
The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) is the lead law enforcement agency for investigating and prosecuting serious financial crime, including bribery [2] and corruption. In 2020, the SFO reported that it had seen a 40 percent increase in cases involving public officials, central and local government, in the past five years. [3]
The Electoral Commission is responsible for the administration of parliamentary elections and promoting compliance with electoral laws, including those around the size and transparency of donations. If they believe the law is being broken, they refer the matter to the Police or Serious Fraud Office. [4] [5]
The Independent Police Conduct Authority is an independent body that considers complaints against New Zealand Police and oversees their conduct. [6] Under section 12 of the Independent Police Conduct Authority Act 1988, "the Authority's functions are to: receive complaints alleging misconduct or neglect of duty by any member of Police or concerning any Police practice, policy or procedure affecting a complainant; and to investigate incidents in which a member of Police (acting in the execution of his or her duty) causes or appears to have caused death or serious bodily harm." [7]
The Ombudsman's role is to ensure citizens receive 'fair play' in their dealings with government entities, and they investigate where required. [8] Over the years the powers of the Office have been extended to include education and hospital boards (from 1968), local government agencies (1975), requests under the Official Information Act (2003) and in 2005, all crown entities. [9]
New Zealand has ratified several important international anti-corruption conventions such as the OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions [10] and the United Nations Convention against Corruption. [11]
New Zealand is regarded as having one of the lowest levels of corruption in the world. [1] Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index scores 180 countries according to the perceived corruption of their public sector on a scale from 0 ("highly corrupt") to 100 ("very clean"). Those countries are then ranked by their score; the country ranked first is perceived to have the most honest public sector. [12] In the 2023 Index, New Zealand earned the third highest score worldwide, 85. The best score was 90 (ranked 1), the average score was 43, and the worst score was 11 (ranked 180). [13] In the Asia Pacific region [Note 1] New Zealand's was the highest score. The average regional score was 45 and the lowest was 17. [14]
Corruption in Armenia has decreased significantly in modern times, but remains an ongoing problem in the country. Despite this, fighting corruption following the 2018 Armenian revolution has recorded significant progress. Armenia is a member of the Council of Europe's Group of States Against Corruption (GRECO) and the OECD's Anti-Corruption Network and Armenia's anti-corruption measures are regularly evaluated within their monitoring mechanisms.
Corruption is perceived as a significant problem in Russia, impacting various aspects of life, including the economy, business, public administration, law enforcement, healthcare, and education. The phenomenon of corruption is strongly established in the historical model of public governance, and attributed to general weakness of rule of law in the country. Transparency International stated in 2022, "Corruption is endemic in Russia" and assigned it the lowest score of any European country in their Corruption Perceptions Index for 2021. It has, under the regime of Vladimir Putin, been variously characterized as a kleptocracy, an oligarchy, and a plutocracy; owing to its crony capitalism economic system.
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 Hungary is combated by the Hungarian police and other agencies.
In Transparency International's 2022 Corruption Perceptions Index, which scored 180 countries on a scale from 0 to 100, Bahrain scored 44. When ranked by score, Bahrain ranked 69th among the 180 countries in the Index, where the country ranked first is perceived to have the most honest public sector. For comparison, the best score was 90, the worst score was 12, and the average score was 43.
Corruption is rife in Papua New Guinea (PNG). According to The Economist, "PNG's governments are notorious for corruption, and ever run the risk of turning the state into a fully-fledged kleptocracy".
Corruption in Albania is a very serious problem. According to Global Corruption Barometer 2013, 66% of respondents indicated that level of corruption has increased in Albania.
Corruption in France describes the prevention and occurrence of corruption in France.
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 can take many forms, and can distort how public policy is made or implemented. This article discusses the responsibilities of the various agencies involved in combating corruption in Australia. While Australia is a wealthy democracy, over the decade since 2012, Australia's ranking in the Corruption Perceptions Index from Transparency International has slipped from 7th place in 2012 to 14th in 2023, where the country ranked first is perceived to have the most honest public sector. Additionally, there is a public perception that corruption in Australia is increasing. All states have broad-based anti-corruption agencies, and a national anti-corruption commission has been operational since July 2023.
Corruption in Lithuania describes the prevention and occurrence of corruption in Lithuania.
Corruption in Denmark is amongst the lowest in the world. According to the 2022 Corruption Perceptions Index from Transparency International, Denmark scored 90 on a scale from 0 to 100. When ranked by score, Denmark held first place among the 180 countries in the Index, where the country ranked first are perceived to have the most honest public sector. For comparison, the worst score was 12 and the average was 43. The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists reported in 2014 that Denmark has consistently been in the top-4 since the publication of the first Corruption Perceptions Index report in 1995.
Corruption in Switzerland describes the prevention and occurrence of corruption in Switzerland.
Corruption in Latvia is examined on this page.
Corruption in the Netherlands is minimal in all major areas—judiciary, police, business, politics—as the country is considered one of the least corrupt within the European Union.
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.
The government in Moldova has in recent years taken several steps to fight corruption, including law enforcement and institutional setups. The prosecution of officials who are involved in corruption has also increased in recent years. However, businesses consider corruption a serious problem for doing business, and the business environment continues to be one of the most challenging in the region.
Corruption in Tajikistan is a widespread phenomenon that is found in all spheres of Tajik society. The situation is essentially similar to that in the other former Soviet republics of Central Asia. Reliable specifics about corruption can be difficult to come by, however, as can hard information about the effectiveness of supposed anti-corruption initiatives.
There is evidence that corruption is a legitimate problem in Israeli politics and many investigations have taken place into allegations of influence peddling and bribery.
Transparency International defines corruption as "the abuse of entrusted power for private gain". Transparency International's 2022 Corruption Perceptions Index scored the United Kingdom at 73 on a scale from 0 to 100. When ranked by score, the United Kingdom ranked 18th 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 12, and the average score was 43. For comparison with regional scores, the highest score among Western European and European Union countries was 90, the average score was 66 and the lowest score was 42. The United Kingdom's score of 73 in 2022 was its lowest ever in the eleven years that the current version of the Index has been published.