Crime and Corruption | Page 8

service, information, or goods that, by law, and by right,
should not have been provided or divulged. (c) That the withholding or
the provision of said service, information, or goods are in the power of
the withholder or the provider to withhold or to provide AND That the
withholding or the provision of said service, information, or goods
constitute an integral and substantial part of the authority or the
function of the withholder or the provider. (d) That the service,
information, or goods that are provided or divulged are provided or
divulged against a benefit or the promise of a benefit from the recipient
and as a result of the receipt of this specific benefit or the promise to
receive such benefit. (e) That the service, information, or goods that are
withheld are withheld because no benefit was provided or promised by
the recipient.

There is also what the World Bank calls "State Capture" defined thus:
"The actions of individuals, groups, or firms, both in the public and
private sectors, to influence the formation of laws, regulations, decrees,
and other government policies to their own advantage as a result of the
illicit and non-transparent provision of private benefits to public
officials." We can classify corrupt and venal behaviours according to
their outcomes: (a) Income Supplement - Corrupt actions whose sole
outcome is the supplementing of the income of the provider without
affecting the "real world" in any manner. (b) Acceleration or
Facilitation Fees - Corrupt practices whose sole outcome is to

accelerate or facilitate decision making, the provision of goods and
services or the divulging of information. (c) Decision Altering Fees -
Bribes and promises of bribes which alter decisions or affect them, or
which affect the formation of policies, laws, regulations, or decrees
beneficial to the bribing entity or person. (d) Information Altering Fees
- Backhanders and bribes that subvert the flow of true and complete
information within a society or an economic unit (for instance, by
selling professional diplomas, certificates, or permits). (e) Reallocation
Fees - Benefits paid (mainly to politicians and political decision makers)
in order to affect the allocation of economic resources and material
wealth or the rights thereto. Concessions, licenses, permits, assets
privatized, tenders awarded are all subject to reallocation fees. To
eradicate corruption, one must tackle both giver and taker. History
shows that all effective programs shared these common elements: (a)
The persecution of corrupt, high-profile, public figures, multinationals,
and institutions (domestic and foreign). This demonstrates that no one
is above the law and that crime does not pay. (b) The conditioning of
international aid, credits, and investments on a monitored reduction in
corruption levels. The structural roots of corruption should be tackled
rather than merely its symptoms. (c) The institution of incentives to
avoid corruption, such as a higher pay, the fostering of civic pride,
"good behaviour" bonuses, alternative income and pension plans, and
so on. (d) In many new countries (in Asia, Africa, and Eastern Europe)
the very concepts of "private" versus "public" property are fuzzy and
impermissible behaviours are not clearly demarcated. Massive
investments in education of the public and of state officials are required.
(e) Liberalization and deregulation of the economy. Abolition of red
tape, licensing, protectionism, capital controls, monopolies,
discretionary, non-public, procurement. Greater access to information
and a public debate intended to foster a "stakeholder society". (f)
Strengthening of institutions: the police, the customs, the courts, the
government, its agencies, the tax authorities - under time limited
foreign management and supervision. Awareness to corruption and
graft is growing - though it mostly results in lip service. The Global
Coalition for Africa adopted anti-corruption guidelines in 1999. The
otherwise opaque Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum is
now championing transparency and good governance. The UN is

promoting its pet convention against corruption. The G-8 asked its
Lyon Group of senior experts on transnational crime to recommend
ways to fight corruption related to large money flows and money
laundering. The USA and the Netherlands hosted global forums on
corruption - as will South Korea next year. The OSCE is rumored to
respond with its own initiative, in collaboration with the US
Congressional Helsinki Commission. The southeastern Europe Stability
Pact sports its own Stability Pact Anti-corruption Initiative (SPAI). It
held its first conference in September 2001 in Croatia. More than 1200
delegates participated in the 10th International Anti-Corruption
Conference in Prague last year. The conference was attended by the
Czech prime minister, the Mexican president, and the head of the
Interpol. The most potent remedy against corruption is sunshine - free,
accessible, and available information disseminated and probed by an
active opposition, uncompromised press, and assertive civic
organizations and NGO's. In the absence of these, the fight against
official avarice and criminality is doomed to failure. With them, it
stands a chance. Corruption