Greece ranks 69th in corruption among 175 countries surveyed, according to today’s Transparency International report. Corruption is a problem for all economies, requiring leading financial centers in Europe and the U.S. to take steps to stop corruption, Transparency International said. The survey used the Corruption Perception Index which is in its 20th edition. The index is based on expert opinions of public sector corruption. “The 2014 Corruption Perceptions Index shows that economic growth is undermined and efforts to stop corruption fade when leaders and high level officials abuse power to appropriate public funds for personal gain,” said José Ugaz, chairman of Transparency International. Greece scored a 43 in transparency, meaning that it belongs to the “perceived as corrupt” countries. This is an upward turn for Greece since the 2013 score was 40 and in 2012 it was 36. Greece shares the 69th place with Brazil, Bulgaria, Italy, Romania, Senegal and Swaziland. Denmark, the most transparent country in the world and the least corrupt had a 92 score. New Zealand, Finland, Sweden and Norway complete the top five transparent administrations in the world with scores 91, 89, 87 and 86 respectively. North Korea and Somalia are the most corrupt countries in the world, sharing a score of 8. The survey shows that emerging economies show an increase in corruption. China, for example, fell to 36 in 2014 while in 2013 it scored a 40, forcing the government to start an anti-corruption campaign. Denmark, on the other hand, has announced the establishment of a public register including beneficial ownership information for all companies incorporated in Denmark. This way, corrupt public officials will be unable to hide their illicit earnings under another person’s name. Transparency International is running a campaign called “Unmask the Corrupt” urging countries to follow Denmark’s lead and establish similar registers that will show clearly who is the real beneficiary of a company.
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