Corruption can take many forms, and can include behaviours like:
- Public servants demanding or taking money or favours in exchange for services,
- Politicians misusing public money or granting public jobs or contracts to their sponsors, friends and families,
- Corporations bribing officials to get lucrative deals
Corruption happens in the shadows, often with the help of professional enablers such as bankers, lawyers, accountants and real estate agents, opaque financial systems and anonymous shell companies that allow corruption schemes to flourish and the corrupt to launder and hide their illicit wealth.
What is the price of corruption?
Political costs
- Freedom of citizens and rule of law
Social costs
- Citizens‘ trust in government and the system, and the public participation in the decision and policy making processes
Environmental costs
- The right to live in a healthy enivornment and to have a sustainable future
Economic costs
- The opportunity for citizens to build and grow wealth