CRI celebrates the 2022 International Anti-Corruption Day

The world today is plagued with some of the biggest issues of all time. The plague of corruption is intertwined in most of them, threatening the prosperity and stability of many countries. Corruption negatively impacts several aspects of society and is intertwined with conflict and instability jeopardising social and economic development and undermining democratic institutions and the rule of law.

Corruption fuels conflict and hampers peace by undermining the rule of law, and facilitating the illegal use of resources for armed conflict or illicit substances like drugs.

The United Nations designated 9 December as International Anti-Corruption Day, to raise awareness of corruption and of the role of the United Nations Convention against Corruption in combating and preventing it. The Convention entered into force in December 2005.

The 2022 International Anti-Corruption Day (IACD) looks at driving home the crucial link between anti-corruption and peace, security, and development. Tackling this crime is the right and responsibility of everyone, and this is possible only through cooperation and the involvement of all people and institutions in play, says the United Nations.

The Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), published annually by the non-governmental organisation Transparency International ranked 180 countries “on a scale from 100 (very clean) to 0 (highly corrupt)” based on the situation between 1 May 2020 and 30 April 2021. As per the CPI, Denmark, New Zealand, Finland, Singapore, and Sweden are perceived as the least corrupt nations in the world, ranking consistently high among international financial transparency, while the most apparently corrupt are Syria, Somalia, and South Sudan.

Some staggering stats on corruption

• Here are some interesting statistics from transparency.org to blow your socks off:
• £100 billion of dirty money passes through UK systems and services every year.
• 87,000 land titles in England and Wales are owned by opaque corporate structures that hide the true owners.
• 76% think wealthy individuals often use their influence on Government for their own interests.
• Just 52 people made a sixth of all declared UK political donations between 2001 and 2016.
• £1.27 billion is lost annually to fraud, bribery and corruption in the NHS.

And some more stats for you on the Anti-Corruption Day:

• The annual costs of international corruption is estimated to amount to a staggering $3.6 trillion in the form of bribes and stolen money.
• Corruption often impacts the poorest in societies the most. In Paraguay, the poorest households are forced to pay nearly 13% of their income in bribes – twice as much as the richest households.
• Airbus was fined £3.6 billion in February 2020 by courts in the UK, US and France for slush funds, “success payments” and lavish hospitality.
• £820 million of this fine was paid in the UK. This is more than double the total of fines paid in respect of all criminal conduct in England and Wales in 2018.

And even more statistics on corruption:

• Corruption in the health sector kills an estimated 140,000 children a year.
• Up to 25% of public procurement funds are lost to corruption each year.
• Governments are spending $7.5 trillion a year on providing healthcare globally. But corruption means that $500billion (7%) of that money is lost.
• The World Health Organisation estimates $370billion would be enough to give everyone on the planet access to healthcare.
• Every year, pharmaceutical companies, universities and other research groups conduct around 20,000 clinical trials involving over two million patients worldwide, at an estimated cost of over US$60 billion.
• An estimated US$85 billion in medical research funding is being wasted every year as trials that cost millions to run fail to contribute to medical progress because their results are not reported.

As you can see from these statistics, corruption is a problem worldwide, costing both huge amounts of money and precious lives. Corruption and bribery can impact any organisation and cause severe harm to businesses, including causing financial loss, dire legal consequences, brand damage, damage to an organisation’s reputation and impeding sustainable development. The only way to get beyond this menace is through international collaboration.

Please make use of this opportunity to educate yourself better and your personnel to work towards a more transparent corporate model while seamlessly integrating it into your day-to-day lives. Ethical business always begins from within, and CRI Group™ is more than happy to help you through this. 

Matters surrounding risk management and compliance can be daunting, so why not contact CRI Group™? Our experts have years of experience and have been trained to provide your business with bespoke advice that fits your organisations’ needs. Implement preventative measures in your workplace today and guide your team to an ethical and correct way of working on this Anti-Corruption Day. 

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Who is CRI Group™?

Based in London, CRI Group™ works with companies across the Americas, Europe, Africa, Middle East and Asia-Pacific as a one-stop international Risk Management, Employee Background Screening, Business Intelligence, TPRM, Due Diligence, Compliance Solutions and other professional Investigative Research solutions provider. We have the largest proprietary network of background-screening analysts and investigators across the Middle East and Asia. Our global presence ensures that no matter how international your operations are, we have the network needed to provide you with all you need, wherever you happen to be. CRI Group™ also holds BS 102000:2013 and BS 7858:2012 Certifications, is an HRO certified provider and partner with Oracle.

In 2016, CRI Group™ launched the Anti-Bribery Anti-Corruption (ABAC™) Center of Excellence – an independent certification body that provides education and certification services for individuals and organisations on a wide range of disciplines and ISO standards, including ISO 31000:2018 Risk Management- Guidelines; ISO 37000:2021 Governance of Organisations; ISO 37002:2021 Whistleblowing Management System; ISO 37301:2021 (formerly ISO 19600) Compliance Management system (CMS); Anti-Money Laundering (AML); and ISO 37001:2016 Anti-Bribery Management Systems ABMS. ABAC® offers a complete suite of solutions designed to help organisations mitigate the internal and external risks associated with operating in multi-jurisdiction and multi-cultural environments while assisting in developing frameworks for strategic compliance programs. Contact ABAC™ for more on ISO Certification and training.

CRI® Group’s DueDiligence360™ involves a review of all relevant information pertaining to virtually any business on the planet to ascertain past business dealings, criminal records, executive stability and suspect associations to ensure your organisation is protected from internal threats and outside risks.

CRI® Group’s exclusive 3PRM-Certified™ solution provides Third-Party Risk Management while ensuring compliance with FCPA, UK Bribery Act, Anti-Bribery and Anti-Corruption, and other global, regional and local regulations.

CRI® Group’s EmploySmart™ — a pre-employment background screening process, can boost your fraud prevention efforts and provide a “boots on the ground” approach to extensive background checking.

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Contact CRI Group™ today to learn more about preventing and detecting corruption.