Average Bribe Grows to About $10,000 in Russia - Police
MOSCOW. Aug 10 (Interfax) - The average size of a bribe has risen to 300,000 rubles in Russia, chief of the Interior Ministry's Main Economic Security Department Denis Sugrobov said.
"The average bribe has increased considerably compared to last year, reaching 300,000 rubles," he told reporters on Wednesday.
"Officials in charge of purchases and the placement of orders for state and municipal needs are particularly infected with bribe-taking," he said.
The Main Economic Security Department reported in July 2010 that the average bribe amounted to 44,000 rubles in Russia. The figure was 42,500 rubles in private dealings in October, and 90,000 rubles in corporate affairs.
Meanwhile, Transparency International said the average bribe could be 300,000 rubles in Russia.
"In reality, the figure could be much higher," chief of Transparency International's Russian office Yelena Panfilova told Interfax on Wednesday.
"Three hundred thousand rubles is the average business bribe, not connected with mega projects. It is a bribe that medium-level businesses give to officials. The sphere of state purchases is particularly blighted with bribe-taking," she said.
"The bribe of 300,000 rubles does not stand for the average corruption index. It is the average bribe in crimes investigated by the Main Department for Economic Security," she said.
"In principle it is normal that bribes are becoming larger in size. It is evidence that law enforcement services are getting nearer to large-scale affairs. If they work even more effectively and thoroughly, the average bribe will grow more," Panfilova said.
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