About corruption in the private sector

Abstract

The article considers the problem of corruption in the private sector of Ukraine’s economy. According to the World Research ofEconomic Crimes and Fraud 2020, 47 % of Ukrainian companies have suffered from illegal misappropriation, bribery and corruptionin the last 24 months. Despite the serious damage from corruption to business and the national economy, this problem remains poorlyunderstood in Ukraine.Corruption in the private sector exists in two forms: 1) bribery in the commercial interests of officials and employees of privatesector entities, as well as civil servants or persons providing public services; 2) abuse of power by officials of a legal entity of privatelaw and persons who provide public services in order to obtain illicit benefit for themselves or third parties.For commercial bribery (bribery in commercial intersets) are characterized by the following features: a) commercial interest andeconomic purpose; b) various subjects of “active” and “passive” actions related to bribery; c) illicit benefit as a means to an end; d) thepurpose of bribery to incline a person to certain actions or omissions related to the use of the powers granted in the interests of others;e) intentional criminal acts in the form of providing / receiving illicit benefits in exchange for pre-determined actions or omissions;f) various ways of committing bribery for commercial purposes.Commercial bribery takes the form of an informal business agreement, the content of which is the mutual obligations of the parties,determining the type, amount of illicit gain and the specific conditions of its provision / receipt. The subject of bribery is an illicitbenefit. Subjects of commercial bribery are divided into two types: active (providers of illicit benefits) and passive (recipients of illicitbenefits). The appointment of commercial bribery is the legal or illegal promotion of entrepreneurial activity, or the creation of conditionsor concealment of criminal activity of businessmen. The purposes of commercial bribery are commercial or banking secrecy,insider information, documents, decisions, services, power influence. Commercial bribery is committed within two types ofrelationships: business-business and business-power.Abuse of power by leaders and managers of private firms is carried out for the purpose of theft or misappropriation of companyproperty, or seizure of assets.Corruption in business is used as a tool to gain access to material resources, increase business profitability and gain illegal economicbenefits. Through organized corruption, the control of the market of goods and services, management of shadow financial flows,redistribution of assets and revenues of large, small and medium-sized businesses, the impact on economic policy of state. Corruptionin the private sector is one of the main obstacles to sustainable development and economic growth and poses a threat to Ukraine’snational security.