From combined dispatches
LONDON — Most oil-producing nations are also rife with corruption, and oil companies should provide more information about their operations to help clean up the market, a global watchdog group said in an annual report yesterday.
Angola, Azerbaijan, Chad, Ecuador, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Libya, Nigeria, Russia, Sudan, Venezuela and Yemen scored very low in clean government practices, said Transparency International Chairman Peter Eigen in releasing the “Corruption Perceptions Index” for 2004.
“In these countries, public contracting in the oil sector is plagued by revenues vanishing into the pockets of Western oil executives, middlemen and local officials,” he said.
Mr. Eigen said oil companies could help stamp out corruption by publishing details of the fees, royalties and other payments made to governments and state oil companies.
On Iraq, the report said the postwar reconstruction could be ruined by rampant corruption, and that the future of the country depended on transparency in the oil sector.
“Without strict anti-bribery measures, the reconstruction of Iraq will be wrecked by a wasteful diversion of resources to corrupt elites,” Mr. Eigen said.
Transparency International said 146 countries were surveyed for the report — not just oil producers — and it found that corruption was rampant in 60 nations.
The survey found that 106 scored lower than a 5, with a top score of 10 being the least corrupt. Bangladesh, Haiti, Nigeria, Chad, Burma, Azerbaijan and Paraguay were perceived to be the most corrupt, all scoring lower than 2.
The United States ranks number 17, with a score of 7.5, tied with Belgium and Ireland, better than France but worse than Canada.
The survey calculated that at least $400 billion is lost to corruption every year.
Finland, New Zealand, Denmark, Iceland, Singapore, Sweden and Switzerland were rated the least corrupt, all scoring higher than 9 out of 10 on the index.
Compared with last year’s report, corruption is perceived to have become worse in Bahrain, Belize, Cyprus, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Kuwait, Luxembourg, Mauritius, Oman, Poland, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, and Trinidad and Tobago.
Improved scores were recorded for Austria, Botswana, Czech Republic, El Salvador, France, Gambia, Germany, Jordan, Switzerland, Tanzania, Thailand, Uganda, United Arab Emirates and Uruguay, Transparency International said.
The Berlin-based group, funded by grants from development agencies and foundations around the world, is made up of lawyers, economists, businessmen and academics.
The index is compiled from a series of polls on perceptions of corruption made by independent organizations. This year’s report is based on 18 surveys conducted since 2002.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.