Systemic Corruption Research Articles

Проблемы совершенствования норм об ответственности за коррупционные преступления в судебной системе

The article examines the issues of comparative public danger of corruption crimes committed in the executive, legislative and judicial authorities, and the specificity in the nature and degree of their public danger. It is noted that all branches of government are equivalent, they differ from each other by functional and competence filling, at the same time it is the judiciary that has wide opportunities, which are not available to other branches of government. Therefore, corruption in the judicial system disturbs the normal functioning of all parts of the government bodies’ organization, and therefore is the most dangerous phenomenon. On this basis, it is proposed to introduce amendments to the criminal legislation aimed at strengthening the responsibility of judges for crimes of corruption, primarily for bribery. In particular, the author justifies the need to supplement part 6 of Article 290 of the Criminal Code of the RF with the special qualifying sign «bribe taking by a judge», and offers to include the list of the aggravating circumstances in part 1of Article 63 of the Criminal Code of the RF the paragraph «commitment of a crime by a judge, including a retired judge». It is proposed to establish only imprisonment as the main punishment for the most dangerous crimes of corruption (bribery, giving a bribe), to introduce confiscation of property as an additional punishment (in this connection, a proposal to restore confiscation of property as an additional punishment in the General Part of the Criminal Code is made), and to exclude the possibility of a special procedure for bringing judges to criminal responsibility. According to the author, the qualification boards of judges should be left only with the authority to deal with disciplinary responsibility of judges, the actions of operational and investigative nature should also be applied to judges on a general basis.

EFFECT OF PERCEIVED POLITICAL ENVIRONMENT ON LOAN REPAYMENT PERFORMANCES AND SUSTAINABILITY OF YOUTH REVOLVING FUND IN OROMIA REGIONAL STATE, ETHIOPIA

Ethiopian Youth Revolving Fund (YRF) loan was established with the objective to provide financial and technical assistance to unemployed youths in alleviating their economic and social difficulties by using the fund sustainably. However, the government and Oromia Credit and Saving Share Company (OCSSCo) reports(2017/218-2020/2021) show that loan repayment was not performed as expected for the reasons not yet scientifically studied and justified. The objective of this study was to examine the effect of perceived political environment variables on loan repayment performance and sustainability of YRF in Oromia Regional State, Ethiopia. The study used cross-sectional descriptive and explanatory research design and the data was collected from 328 sample respondents in the selected area. STATA software version 16 was employed and Chi-square (X2) test of association was used to check the significant association among different explanatory variables and their effect on YRF loan repayment performance. The findings showed that variables such as initial time of fund release, perception that money is political kit, information asymmetry about fund, escorted systematic corruption, intervention of third party in fund approval, losses and damages of business due to political instability and strikes have affected loan repayment performance and sustainability of YRF at less than 5% level of significance. Finally, the government and OCSSCo are recommended to create sufficient public awareness to about the fund, provide adequate trainings and guidance and follow-up borrowers’ businesses. Government should also create a system that minimize unnecessary intervention on fund approval, eliminate bias and nepotism, make accountable officials for misconduct. It should be also develop fewer policies and legislative texts to govern the implementation of YRF and create a public- private partnership to implement and manage the fund keeping remote its hands from implementation of the fund but with adequate supervision to ensure the fund’s effectiveness and long-term sustainability.

Towards material anti-oligarchic constitutionalism

Constitutional democracies have allowed for patterns of accumulation of wealth at the top, leading to acute inequality and dangerous oligarchization of power. Moreover, the theoretical tools that liberal constitutionalism offers are inadequate to recognize systemic corruption and structural forms of domination that are enabled by law or its absence. As an alternative, the article proposes a material methodological approach to the study of constitutions. In the first section, it offers a critical analysis of the intellectual foundations of liberal constitutionalism, engaging with the right to property, political representation, and separation of powers. In the second section, it presents the intellectual foundations of plebeian constitutionalism in the works of Machiavelli, Condorcet, and Marx. Finally, it proposes a material approach to assessing constitutions, identifying the shortcomings of contemporary legal frameworks to materialize social rights, as well as new avenues for institutional anti-oligarchic innovation.

Corruption and Public Value in Malaysia

Purpose: This paper explores the interrelated relationship between corruption and public value in Malaysia. It examines the government s creation of public value and why these values become meaningless in the face of systemic corruption pervading the country. This review aims to identify the areas of concern that had nurtured the practice of corruption in Malaysia s public sector and how these areas of concern can be strengthened to rebuild the citizen or rakyat s trust in the integrity of the public sector. Method: Over several decades, the Malaysian governments have launched important initiatives to counter corruption. This paper focuses on only two government initiatives as a reference. The first initiative refers to the three different approaches undertaken by the Mahathir government in the early 1980s. These included- the Clean, Efficient and Trustworthy initiative (1981), which had Leadership by Example (1983) as a central theme. These initiatives were followed by the campaign for the Inculcation of Islamic Values Policy (1985). The second initiative refers to the National Anti-Corruption Plan launched by the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government in 2019, under the Mahathir 2.0 government. The present Perikatan Nasional (PN) government has also adopted this plan. Using the examples of these two Malaysian governments anti-corruption initiatives, this paper examines the values espoused by the government, almost four decades apart, to instill integrity in the public sector. Results: High corruption in the public sector has led to a serious public trust deficit, threatening the country s economic development and social cohesion. Public integrity remains evasive when the interests of a few override those of the larger population. With rampant corruption, the delivery and quality of public services to the citizens become problematic. Conclusion: This paper recommends the way forward in rebuilding trust and public value in Malaysia. Institutional reforms, empowering the public, and encouraging the participation of civil society organizations are some of the measures proposed to overcome the scourge of corruption in Malaysia.

Криминалистика и уголовная политика

The article considers the question of the place and role of criminalistics in the implementation of the criminal policy of the state, examines the systemic relationship of criminalistics and criminal policy and the statements of individual criminologists about the need to form a forensic policy as an integral part of criminal policy are analyzed. The definition of the term «forensic policy» is formulated. The author regards the term as a strategic direction ensuring the implementation of criminal policy by the introduction in practice the most effective, accessible and economical forensic tools and methods to solve and investigate crimes. It is emphasized that at the present stage of development of society, in the conditions of globalization of the economy, challenges in the field of information technologies, environmental problems, interstate relations, the tasks of protecting fundamentally new relations and interests are being actualized. Legislators formulate new elements of crimes against property, in the field of economics, violations of tax legislation, protection of the financial and banking system, information technologies, as well as crimes related to systemic corruption. In this regard, criminology faces the task of timeliness and adequacy of scientific developments of the crime mode, qualitative changes in legislation and forecasting the needs of practice in combating crime. The digitalization of the preliminary investigation should become the most important direction of the implementation of the forensic policy. The author raises the question of the development of a forensic strategy and the formulation of a forensic policy. It is proposed to develop a strategy (concept, program) for the development of criminalistics as an applied science for 5-10 years with the participation of the leading criminalistics departments of the universities of the country. This document will be discussed and adopted at the All-Russian Congress of Criminologists.

On Corruption in America and What Is at Stake by Sarah Chayes

<i>On Corruption in America and What Is at Stake</i> by Sarah Chayes

Factors Influencing Maltese International Sports Performance in the Pan-European and Microstate Contexts: An Empirical Study

Little scholarly attention has so far been given to discerning macro-level factors influencing Maltese underperformance in international sport. Degrees of financial investment, as well as national socio-economic metrics like Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) have previously been linked with international sports performance outcomes in larger countries, so we carried out a three-stage study to explore if and how such relationships scale down from the pan-European to small-state contexts, and what implications they might have for Maltese sport. We used a post-positivist quantitative approach, with statistical analysis of secondary data using ordinary least squares regression and basic comparison of proportions. GDP and population were the strongest predictors of Olympic success at the pan-European level, more so than actual total financial investment. At the small-state level, however, GDP per capita was more predictive than GDP alone, while CPI was the strongest predictor of all. A more fine-grained comparative analysis between Malta and other small states supported the notion that a Maltese underperformance problem does indeed exist. The findings clearly show a disconnect between competitive sports and non-competitive physically active recreation in Maltese policy-making, where a more holistic approach appears warranted. While Malta, like any small state, would meanwhile do well to maximise its GDP per capita and lower systemic corruption in pursuit of better international sports performance, more empirical research is needed to fully understand and eventually control the underperformance problem.

PECULIARITIES OF NATIONAL LEGISLATION IN THE FIELD OF URBAN PLANNING

In modern conditions of territorial development, rational processes of urbanization are especially important. Lessons of economic activity have shown that the solution of important problems of innovative economic and social development of territories is impossible without the organization of fundamentally new relations in the urban planning system, improvement of methods of territorial management, change of management style, psychology and thinking of territorial development, expansion and deepening democracy, increasing the responsibility of all parts of the management of territories. The basis for regulating the processes of general planning at the national and territorial levels is the regulatory and legal support of the urban planning system. According to the world experience, the main requirements for the regulatory support of general planning processes are the following: informativeness and availability of data for all categories of stakeholders in urban planning; development of the system of public control, monitoring of general planning processes, which provides increase of transparency of town-planning processes; ensuring the preservation of cultural, archaeological, architectural, historical heritage in the urban planning system; reduction of corruption in the urban planning system; ensuring the processes of deregulation of the urban planning system as a leading world experience in the organization of regulatory processes. The formation of settlement systems is a multifactorial process, so the modeling of such systems requires a detailed analysis of the functions they perform and their weight priorities for the population. These tasks should be implemented by introducing innovative solutions into the system of legislative support, which is the task of this article. Therefore, it is advisable to determine the prospects for the development of spatial planning systems in Ukraine in accordance with leading global trends and factors of external and internal influence.

Methodological recommendations on digital rating of enterprises

Introduction. The introduction of tax rating will help to centralize the control over the activities of economic entities by various government agencies. On the other hand, tax rating will avoid subjectivity in the assessment of enterprises by the tax authorities and establish a transparent and understandable work of the tax authorities themselves for taxpayers and society as a whole. The purpose of the paper consists in a thorough study and analysis of international and domestic experience in rating the economic activity of enterprises by tax indicators in Ukraine to develop harmonized and unified guidelines for ranking business entities in the European integration of Ukraine. Results. To determine the company's rating by tax indicators, it is necessary to assess the company's payment of taxes, fees and other tax payments and introduce digital rating of the company's fiscal indicators, which, thanks to two-way communication, will reveal negative phenomena in enterprises and fiscal authorities. When ranking enterprises by tax indicators, it will be possible to avoid the corruption component in the distribution of budget funds, the provision of tax benefits, to identify the most important industries, regions and enterprises that need state aid. Also with the help of this rating and tax indicators, you can calculate the amount by region, region, industry, which large enterprises (unfortunately, the state as well) hide. You can also determine the reduction of gross product due to the large salaries of “predatory” top management. We remind you that Ukraine has a flat scale of taxation of individuals and the main tax revenues under this article are paid by the poor and middle class. That is, in fact, the poor and middle class pay pensions, including to the rich. Comparing the paid taxes and own revenues of the region plus determining the amount of domestic debt with its sources of repayment will significantly strengthen financial and tax discipline both in the center and on the ground. Such measures will significantly improve Ukraine's international image and simplify its entry into the international community. Conclusions. The proposed guidelines for digital rating of tax indicators of enterprises will improve the regulatory framework for determining the rating of the enterprise to obtain a scale of reliability of the enterprise as a business entity, eliminate significant problems of corruption in the fiscal system, improve financial and tax discipline primarily in central authorities, and secondly in industries, oblasts, cities, etc. These recommendations make it possible to establish opportunities for honest enterprises to obtain various privileges from the state and to avoid unreasonable and often ineffective inspections by tax and other authorities.

The responsibilization paradox: The legal route from deresponsibilization to systemic corruption in the Australian financial sector

AbstractRecent corruption scandals suggest that the legal structures developed to responsibilize corporations might paradoxically enable the systematization of corruption across entire industry sectors. This study uses grounded theory methodology to develop a preliminary theoretical model of the correlations between the law, responsibilization, and the causes of systemic corruption. Through a qualitative examination of documental evidence from the case study of the recent Australian banking scandal, this article conceptualizes a two-way process of ‘legal deresponsibilization’. On the one hand, legal dysfunctions fail to effectively support the situational and cultural goals of responsibilization. On the other hand, the pursuit of such goals transforms the law in ways that can lead to the deresponsibilization of both corporations and the state. The article suggests that structural reforms are needed to correct this process and the underlying systemic imbalances between the legal promotion of financial interests and that of countervailing values of integrity and accountability.

Why money laundering is nurtured in Ethiopia?

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the divers and facilitators of money laundering in Ethiopia. Specifically, it looks at the risk factors that existed in the country’s economic and political system, which provide an appealing environment for money laundering to grow.Design/methodology/approachThis qualitative study relies on primary data generated from interviewees drawn from the National Bank of Ethiopia, Ethiopian Financial Intelligence Center, Ethiopian Customs Commission, selected financial institutions and certain non-financial businesses and professions and law enforcement agencies, as well as secondary data from government reports, media press, statutes and other online and offline sources.FindingsThis study finds that the risk factors for the growth of money laundering in Ethiopia are highly reliant on the country’s economic and political system. Accordingly, the nature of Ethiopia’s economy, which is cash-intensive, loosely regulated economic growth and the raise associated criminality, the development of underground banking activities, scarcity of foreign currency reserves and the existence of societal demand for illicit goods and services are all risk factors for the growth of money laundering. The raise of an elite cartel model type of systematic corruption, limited institutional capacity to prevent and suppress money laundering and the absence of a national identity card system are also identified as risk factors for the rife of money laundering in Ethiopia. Moreover, the geopolitical location of the country, its porous borders, limited cross-border cooperation and information sharing add further fuel to the vulnerability of the country to money laundering and associated predicate offense.Originality/valueTo the best of the author’s knowledge, this paper provides a first-of-its-kind analytical perspective on the risk factors for the raise of money laundering in Ethiopia.

Critical Analysis of Corruption in Iran's Health Care System and Its Control Strategies

Context: according to the corruption perceptions index (CPI) 2018, Iran ranked 148 among 183 countries. This position shows the crucial importance of considering corruption and its negative effect on Iran and its health care system. In this review, we aimed to shed the light on corrupt practices in Iran’s health care system and recommend some practical strategies to combat them. Evidence Acquisition: This is a narrative review based on Vian's conceptual model of corruption in the health sector to evaluate and analyze corruption in Iran's health system. Review of the literature and documents without any time limitation were conducted in several databases including PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Google Scholar, and Farsi sources including Iran Medex, scientific information database )SID(, and Magiran, and also the official websites of the Ministry of Health and news agencies. Results: Unfortunately, to the best of our review, there is less published evidence about the extent and types of corruption in Iran's health system. Based on Vian’s model, reviewed literature revealed that Iran's health system is prone to corruption. This system is monopolistic and self-authorized, low transparent and accountable, and required law enforcement in many areas. Evidence to clarify the situation of citizen voice was not found. Conclusions: Based on this study, evidence shows corruption in financing, service provision, and resource generation of Iran's health system. It could affect not only performance of this system but also its responsiveness and effectiveness. To combat, Iran should apply multiple strategies such as; improving good governance, strengthening legal system over the health system, reducing monopoly and discretion stepwise and manageable, enhancing community participation, and finally updating ethics codes in the health system.

Designing a comprehensive model of organizational resilience in the banking industry of Iran

PurposeThis research aims to design a comprehensive resilience model in the banking industry for identifying the dimensions and components that can enhance organizational resilience in the industry, which can contribute to the existing literate as a promising comprehensive model.Design/methodology/approachAfter reviewing the literature and studying the models of organizational resilience, semistructured interviews were conducted with managers and prominent experts in the banking industry. To analyze the interviews, the thematic analysis technique was used with three coding stages. After designing the research model in two main dimensions of micro and macro management in the banking industry, the relation between the main components and subcomponents was identified by using Interpretive Structural Modeling (ISM) and DEMATEL techniques.FindingsThe study findings indicating that proper observation and predicting the bank's problems and making suitable connections with the government are two major indicators of the resilience of the banking network, which can realize through influencing the components of risk management, financial resource management and system corruption. The results of this research can lead to the expansion of theoretical foundations of the past research and the concept of organizational resilience in the field of financial services and especially the banking industry.Originality/valueThis paper provides the components with a more significant impact, which bank managers should consider the relationship among them to enhance organizational resilience for more effectiveness of their decisions.

Modern Criminal-Legal Problems of the Fight Against Corruption in Russia

The fight against corruption is one of the priorities of the State policy of the Russian Federation. There are reasons to note that it is advisable to analyze the regional details of law enforcement activities to counter corruption-related crimes through the legal and organizational ways of implementing the state's law enforcement function. In the article the main objective is to analyze criminal law issues related to the fight against systemic corruption in Russia. In the early 90s of the twentieth century, the country replaced communist ideology with market ideology. To fulfill the objective of the study, the dialectical method of cognition of social and legal phenomena and concepts is used in their development and interdependence. He concludes that human values and moral principles have changed. There have been discussions about systemic corruption in Russia for decades. Endless conversations about corruption have become a convenient screen not only for incompetent officials. Popular with the people, the "disembarkation" of high-ranking officials creates a semblance of "movement," although no real action is taken.

Systemic corruption and institutional multiplicity: Brazilian examples of a complex relationship

Systemic corruption is usually described as a stable self-reinforcing equilibrium that traps individuals by reducing incentives to behave honestly. This article assumes that law enforcement institutions may also be trapped in this equilibrium, leaving no alternative to individuals who want to report corruption. Would the existence of multiple institutions performing accountability functions – what we call institutional multiplicity – reduce the probability that all institutions would be trapped in a systemic corruption environment? We start by hypothesizing that even in contexts of systemic corruption there may be ‘pockets of honesty.’ If this is the case, institutional multiplicity, by increasing the number of accountability institutions available, may create avenues for individuals to report corruption. On the other hand, multiplicity may also increase the risk of ‘façade enforcement’ – that is, the mere appearance of accountability that reinforces a systemic corruption equilibrium. We illustrate these two scenarios with Brazilian examples. We end the article with a discussion of the design of accountability systems in contexts of systemic corruption, arguing that there may be advantages in preserving institutional multiplicity if its deleterious effects are addressed. While based on the Brazilian experience, this article advances theoretical hypotheses that may be useful to other countries.

Klientelizm w procesie wyborczym jako wyraz korupcji politycznej (przykład Ukrainy)

Authors consider political corruption and clientelism in the electoral process as destructive phenomena that violate the normal principle of society and artificially create obstacles within the political system. The understanding of clientelism by different authors as a component of political corruption, the conditions of its existence, as well as the consequences and influence on political power are analysed. Basing on the achievements of foreign scientists, the content and the essence of the concept of “electoral clientelism” is determined, the main reasons and preconditions of this phenomenon emergence are found, the authors’ own definition, summarizing the known scientific approaches, is offered. The devastating impact of clientelism on the electoral process that results in violating the principle of competition between political forces, and further leads to the development of corruption in the power system, is elucidated. Varieties of electoral clientelism in accordance with the tasks set by corrupt subjects of the electoral process in order to gain an advantage over opponents during the voting are found out. Apart from the approach, where electoral clientelism provides material benefits to voters, an approach, where the voters are constantly informed of the clientele character data, basing on which the unfair politicians create a mobilization campaign, is considered. The authors showed their own vision of the connection between electoral clientelism and political corruption manifested in the occupation of political positions by ineffective candidates and further use of their powers for private purposes, which will threaten the long-term prospects of social development. A number of ways to regulate clientelism’s impact on the electoral process, in particular through electronic voting introduction, established compulsory voting, agitation campaign financing control, severe penalties for clientele activity etc., are traced.

Moldova’s Thirty-Year Search for Independence

Unlike in the Baltics, support for independence in Moldova was relatively low among the political elites and the general population when the Soviet Union collapsed. In the 1990s, the political parties in power pursued an incoherent program, as governments swung between reformist and conservative agendas. Economic crises and systemic corruption depleted citizens’ trust in politicians and state institutions. This low institutional trust has hampered governance at all levels, and primarily in crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

Does Spending More on Healthcare Yields Higher Life Expectancy? A Case Study on Gulf Cooperation Council Countries

This study aims to evaluate the nexus between economic factors and life expectancy in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. Using the data of 115 countries for the year 2019, results revealed that only healthcare expenditure (HE) per capita showed statistically significant direct relation with life expectancy while GDP per capita and percentage of country GDP allocated to healthcare sector did not show any statistically significant effect. Based on panel OLS regression model used in this research, results showed that with the amount of money GCC countries spend on their healthcare systems, four out of the six GCC countries had a life expectancy that was lower than the estimated life expectancy by 3.28 years indicating inefficiency in their healthcare systems. The output also indicates that even though economic factors have an effect on life expectancy to a certain point, other factors such as the quality of the healthcare system staff, education, corruption, pollution, and other non-economic factors also affect life expectancy.

The Practice of Preventing Corruption in Public Authorities in Foreign Countries

Corruption is a global problem of all mankind, which permeates many spheres of life of the state and society. International bodies and organizations that study various aspects of preventing corruption systematically draw attention to the good practices of states, which are effectively used both to prevent and suppress corruption. The methodology used by them for a comparative study of legal and organizational issues of corruption makes it possible to develop universal ways to reduce corruption in the states that use them. The article shows certain topical areas of corruption prevention in some foreign countries, which make it possible to minimize corruption manifestations characteristic of the modern stage of society development. Based on the study and analysis of the experience of preventing corruption in foreign countries, proposals were made to improve the prevention of corruption in the judicial system of Russia.

Combatting corruption and collusion in public procurement: Lessons from Operation Car Wash

This article examines the question of how a nation can combat corruption and collusion and prevent these practices from plaguing and undermining public procurement processes. This matter is especially important to Brazil where Operation Car Wash exposed widespread corruption and collusion affecting public procurement. Although focusing on Brazil, this article reflects on a broader academic and policy debate as to how a nation can escape from a ‘high-corruption’ equilibrium, especially one strengthened by its interaction with supplier collusion. In particular, whether endemic corruption can be combatted through an invigorated law enforcement push, combined with incremental reform, or whether some ‘big bang’ approach, with complete institutional overhaul, is required to establish a new equilibrium. The article notes that the Brazilian experience provides support for the hypothesis that, where corruption is endemic, better laws and law enforcement may be insufficient on their own to break a cycle and to remove the incentives and opportunities for corruption and collusion that exist. However, it also recognizes that, for many jurisdictions, wholesale big bang reform is unlikely to be feasible. It thus proposes a multi-pronged, and self-reinforcing, set of reforms to trigger change, concentrated on weaknesses diagnosed in the system. In particular, it suggests that where corruption affects public procurement, beyond specific adjustments to procurement, competition and anti-corruption laws, procurers, anti-corruption and competition enforcement agencies need to work closely together to coordinate policies, achieve synergies and to combat incentives and opportunities for corruption and collusion within procurement processes. Such reforms must be combined with measures to tackle broader factors contributing to systemic corruption. Although inspired by the Brazilian case study, the diagnosis and proposed reform strategy provides a workable model for use in other jurisdictions.