Corruption in Slovakia
Corruption in Slovakia is a serious and ongoing problem.
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Extent
Transparency International’s Global Corruption Barometer 2013 indicates that corruption remains a serious problem in Slovakia. High-profile corruption cases have plagued the country, including the “Gorilla” case that surfaced at the end of 2011. In this case, secret wiretap recordings between 2005 and 2006 were leaked to the internet, bringing to light millions of Euros in bribes paid by a private equity firm to Slovakian government officials in exchange for privatisation and procurement deals.[1]
According to Global Corruption Barometer 2013, political parties rank as the third most corrupt institution in Slovakia, after the judiciary and public servants, and 56% of surveyed households believe the level of corruption in the country has “increased a lot” in the past two years. In order to combat corruption in the country, Slovakia has initiated several corruption reforms in recent years, including the creation of a central contract registry and publishing online all government contracts.[2]
Transparency International's 2017 Corruption Perception Index ranks the country 54th place out of 180 countries.[3] In August 2019, the Council of Europe’s Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) urged Slovakia to make more progress on the effectiveness of its legal framework and policies to stop corruption among employees with top executive positions and the police force.[4]
Areas
Business
Corruption is ranked as the second most problematic factor for doing business in Slovakia, according to the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report 2013-2014, after inefficient government bureaucracy. Surveyed business executives report that public funds are often diverted to companies, individuals or groups due to corruption, and the lack of ethical behaviour by companies in their interactions with public officials, politicians and other companies represents a serious business disadvantage for the country.[5]
Companies consider the occurrence of irregular payments and bribes to be fairly common in connection with imports and exports, public utilities, annual tax payment, and awarding of public contracts and licences or obtaining favourable judicial decisions.[6]
See also
References
- "Slovakia Corruption Profile-Political Climate". Business Anti-Corruption Portal. Retrieved 17 December 2013.
- "Slovakia Corruption Profile-Political Climate". Business Anti-Corruption Portal. Retrieved 17 December 2013.
- "Corruption Perception Index 2017".
- Patricolo, Claudia (2019-08-22). "GRECO urges Slovakia to strengthen fight against corruption". Emerging Europe | News, Intelligence, Community. Retrieved 2019-08-27.
- "Slovakia Corruption Profile-Business and Corruption". Business Anti-Corruption Portal. Retrieved 17 December 2013.
- "Slovakia Corruption Profile-Business and Corruption". Business Anti-Corruption Portal. Retrieved 17 December 2013.