In Russia the highest level of corruption is in taxation, juridical system, in law machinery, in public health services and by property disputes.
Such are the results of a research ‘Character and structure of corruption in Russia’, which has been conducted by the Institute for Public Projects (INOP), Moscow, Russia with the participation of the Institute for Comparative Social Research. Vedomosti daily reports on the research and publishes the full table of results. The research is based on interviews with 36 experts, whose names are not disclosed, but they’re related to branches they’re talking about.
According to the deputy director of INOP Mikhail Rogozhnikov, the corruption is most widespread amidst management and officials of the middle rank. Big business decides issues with the help of relations in the elite. Mr. Rogozhnikov argues that corruption has touched many state-run structures, but ‘one cannot say that kleptocracy rules in Russia, and public servants are guided solely by financial interests’.
The pollees named Gazprom, RZD (Russian Railways) and Transneft. One of the experts made an example of a corruption scheme. ‘By arrangement with the president’s administration one presses through law enforcement and judicial agencies on companies, which have in their ownership interesting deposit occurrence and fields.’ According to the respondents, Transneft annually writes off according to standards 2% of leak, that is 4 mln tons of oil; $1,5-2 bln is stolen. The company gives no comments on these figures.
For large credits the leadership of banks gets fee, argues the leader of the ‘Project of National Development’ Andrei Cherepanov. The scheme works usually in banks with official capital contribution or in large private banks. According to resources in the FSB, the most impudent corruption is in municipalities; it is connected with active sale of lands.
In the research one can find concrete sums of bribes and kickbacks. Thus, a place in the ticket costs $2-5 mln, introduction of a bill costs $250 000, participation in a national project - 30-40% of the whole cost of the project, a line in budget - 3% of the sum of the project, grant or non-withdrawal of a license or, in the opposite, a recall of a license from a business rivals $1-5 mln. To win a civil case costs 10% of the gained sum, a television anchorman will criticize an official for $20 000 per months.
