What is Corruption?

1.

WHAT IS CORRUPTION?
“Corruption is when a person abuses their official powers or
associated opportunities for the purpose of obtaining an improper
benefit or accepting such benefit or accepting a promise/offer of
such benefit for themselves or others or, respectively,
promising/offering or giving an improper benefit to a person, …, or,
at its request, to other natural persons or legal entities in order to
persuade that person to illegally use the official powers granted to
them or related opportunities,” the Law of Ukraine “On Corruption
Prevention” states.

2.

We have not been given any positive or neutral definition of corruption. And, despite the
understanding of the devastating nature of this phenomenon, in the 2020 Corruption
Perceptions Index rating (CPI), our country ranks 117th out of 180 other countries with 33
points out of 100 possible.
Corruption Perceptions Index 2020

3.

Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) is an index compiled
annually since 1995 by the global organization Transparency
International. The organization itself does not conduct any
surveys, instead relying upon 13 surveys and assessments of
reputable international organizations and think tanks. Ukraine’s
score is based on 9 sources.
The key part of the index is not the rank, but the score. The
minimum score (0 points) would mean that corruption effectively
replaces the government, while the maximum score (100 points)
would mean near complete absence of corruption.
The index only assesses corruption in the public sector.
(445) Corruption Perceptions Index Explained | Transparency International -YouTube

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Among the neighbors, the closest to Ukraine is
Moldova — 34 points and 115th place (+2
points). The European autocracies such as
Belarus (47 points, 63rd place) and Russia (30
points, 129th place) also improved their
indicators compared to last year. Russia remains
the only country that is behind Ukraine among
its neighbors. The indicators of Hungary and
Romania did not change — both countries
scored 44 points each and shared 69th place. At
the same time, last year's leaders of the СРІ
among their neighbors lost their points:
Slovakia — 1 point, Poland — 2 points.
The top ten of the CPI for the year has not
changed, the absolute leaders of the list are New
Zealand and Denmark — they added one point
each and now have 88 out of 100. The only
leading country to lose in the Index was Finland
— minus 1 point. However, with 85 points, as
last year, it ranks 3rd along with Singapore,
Sweden, and Switzerland.
The bottom of the list is occupied by countries
with the long-lasting unstable political situation,
military conflicts, and uneven control of the
government over the territory — Syria (14),
Somalia (12), and South Sudan (12).
Compared to the previous year, the Maldives
gained the most points (+14) (43 points, 75th
place). Armenia also continued its anticorruption progress, and, as last year, improved
its score by 7 points.

6.

Ukraine in the Corruption Perceptions Index 2020
Ukraine's assessment was formed based on 9
different surveys, and in all of them, Ukraine's
indicators either did not change or increased
compared to СРІ-2019.
The largest increase is observed in the data of Global
Insight Country Risk Ratings — by 13 points. This
study examines the risks of people/companies in the
country facing bribery or other corrupt business practices,
from large contracts to day-to-day work.
The CPI can show the actual changes across the
country rather slowly — sometimes it takes several
years. Thus, the score of 2020 indicates the positive
development that has occurred in Ukraine in the last two
years, especially until the spring of 2020, and does not take
into account the resonant events of recent months.

7.

Ukraine's index in 2020 has improved due to launching of the
High Anti-Corruption Court with appropriate jurisdiction
and restart of the National Agency on Corruption Prevention. The
restart of the NACP began with the election of a new head of the
Agency with the participation of the representatives of the
international community.
All these changes were undoubtedly reflected in the Corruption
Perceptions Index of Ukraine. But over the past year, risks have
emerged that could significantly push us back in the fight against
corruption. In particular, the delay in the implementation of fullfledged judicial reform is even more poignant today.

What is Corruption?

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