South Africa best among BRICS in corruption index: TI
December 3, 2014, 7:52 am

The watchdog identified corruption and money laundering as major problems for the BRICS [Image: Transparency International]

Brazil ranked 69^th, India 85^th, China had a ranking of 100 while Russia was 136^th, said the report.

Three BRICS nations South Africa, Brazil and India had held elections this year. While South Africa and Brazil voted the ruling dispensation back into power, India’s ruling Congress party was ousted in the May elections.

The report identified corruption and money laundering as major problems for the BRICS.

“This year has seen questions raised related to a major oil company using secret companies to bribe politicians in Brazil (which scores 43), questions about Indians (38) using bank accounts in Mauritius (54) and Russians (27) doing the same in Cyprus (63),” said the report.

“Grand corruption in big economies not only blocks basic human rights for the poorest but also creates governance problems and instability. Fast-growing economies whose governments refuse to be transparent and tolerate corruption, create a culture of impunity in which corruption thrives,” said José Ugaz, the chair of Transparency International.

With a score of 44 out of 100, South Africa was ranked 67.

Meanwhile, the international watchdog criticised Chinese firms for the drop in China’s rankings while praising the Beijing administration.

“China’s score fell to 36 in 2014 from 40 in 2013, despite the fact the Chinese government launched an anti-corruption campaign targeting corrupt public officials. The government has recognized the need to follow officials who hide ill-gotten gains overseas. This January, leaked documents revealed 22,000 offshore clients from China and Hong Kong, including many of the country’s leaders,” said the report.

“The score matches a poor performance by Chinese companies in Transparency International’s recent report on corporate disclosure practices where all eight Chinese companies scored less than three out of ten,” it added.

India marginally improved its standing from being ranked 94^th in 2013.

“The CPI score for India increased by 2 points in 2014 from its 2013 score, helping India’s rank move up to 85 in 2014 from 94 in 2013,” said the report.

The report noted that in terms of the new government, the CPI possibly captured the anti-corruption mandate on which the new government was elected. “However, the data used for CPI mostly was collected prior to the change of government and therefore this will not reflect directly into any of the CPI sources,” the report said about India.

Denmark retained its position as the least corrupt country in 2014 with a score of 92 while North Korea and Somalia shared the last place, scoring just 8, said Transparency International.

TBP