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Russia's procurement corruption costing $33bn a year08 Nov 2010Source: BBC News The official announcement that Russia is losing up to 1 trillion roubles (£20bn, $33bn) each year due to corruption and ineffectiveness in its state purchases system came as a big surprise for many. Not that corruption in Russia has been much of a secret: the anti-corruption campaign group Transparency International ranks it 154th out of 178 states, along with Laos and Cambodia, in its Corruption Perceptions Index. But the 1 trillion roubles figure, which significantly exceeds previous official estimates, is huge even for such a big economy as Russia. It amounts to 20% of Russia's budget for state and local procurement, or more than 10% of the state budget's income for 2010. "Gigantic sums of money are being pocketed by officials and dishonest businessmen," Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said last week. "Deal with them and put them in prison - there is no other way out." But experts warn that imprisonment alone is not the answer, as the whole system of state purchases in Russia needs to be changed. Read more here |
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