Russia: Corruption Prevention during the Financial Crisis
Editor's Note: Larisa Smirnova is a consultant at the World Bank and is currently working with the Transparency indicator team. She previously worked with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Russia and Japan.
Experts at Troika Dialogue Group, a Russian investment company, estimate that the financial crisis may naturally decrease corruption in the country due to… lower oil prices! As the Russian economy is largely dependent on oil exports, lower oil prices means less money and therefore… less bribes?
Among fears that government anti-crisis money may become another easy prey for corruption, Russia adopted a new anti-corruption law in December 2008. After heated debates, financial disclosure requirements were extended to family members of government officials. However, the content of the declarations is confirmed to be not just publicly unavailable but constituting a "state secret".
The conclusions of a recent paper, Disclosure by Politicians, which compared financial disclosure procedures in 175 countries, suggest that Russia’s corruption prevention measures might not be the most effective ones. Analysis showed that family members’ disclosure does not correlate with lower perceived corruption. Publicity of disclosure, on the contrary, appears to be the crucial imperative for political accountability.
Posted by Larisa Smirnova on February 9, 2009 in Corruption, Eastern Europe | Permalink
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