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Corruption Really 2000x Greater
Official data on corruption is underreported by 2000 times, reports the Russian Prosecutor’s Investigative Committee. “The proportion of bribery in the total structure of crime fluctuates within half a percent. The quantity of people giving bribes is 2-2.5 times higher than those taking it,” an Investigative Committee spokesman told Interfax.
“This is most of all evidence of the rather high latency (concealment) of corruption crimes,” the spokesman continued. “Specialists estimate that the real numbers of 2000 times greater than the indicators in official statistics.” The spokesman said that statistics were shown at a recent meeting of the Investigative Committee staff showing that there have been an average of 6500-6800 bribery cases on average in the last two years. “Obviously, the real figures should be significantly higher,” he noted.
The Investigative Committee spokesman said that experts estimate the incomes of corrupt Russian officials reach one-third of the country’s federal budget and entrepreneurs spend about $33 billion per year on bribes to civil servants.
www.kommersant.com
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Photo: Mikhail Pochuev