Private corruption is a growing problem in EU member States which marginally also involves local businesses in Trentino.
This is what emerges from the study conducted in the province of Trento on a sample of about 2,000 businesses, which was presented on 24 April at the Faculty of Law of the University of Trento.
According to the findings (projections based on the results obtained from the sample), 10% of entrepreneurs in the province of Trento believe that gifts, favours or payments are often offered to companies to secure future business.
12% think that purchase managers often or very often purchase from friends or relatives. 10% of interviewed entrepreneurs report that it frequently happens that purchase managers receive gifts, favours or payments from other companies to complete a purchase or an order.
Finally, about 9% of the interviewed report that intermediary companies often submit less competitive bids to obtain part of the earnings.
In addition to data on private corruption in Trentino there are data on the consequences of corruption. About 43% of the interviewees believe that the involvement of an employee in a corruption case rarely has consequences on his or her career, while 42% believe that this involvement rarely has a negative impact on the image of the company in question. 60% believe that individuals involved in acts of bribery are rarely discovered.
To conclude, it seems that there is no system of penalties: 57% of the interviewees believe that individuals involved in corruption cases are not actually punished.
The barometer also investigated other aspects, like conflict of interest, which cannot be fully considered corruption but which harm free market anyway. 26% of businesses in the services sector report that conflict of interest in Trentino has a negative impact on free competition. 33% of the interviewees in the hotels and restaurants sector share the same view, as 20% of those of the industrial sector and in retail and wholesale trade.
'PCB – The Private Corruption Barometer', a European system to measure private corruption, was presented by Andrea Di Nicola, Giuseppe Espa (respectively, coordinator and vice coordinator of eCrime), and Fabrizio Costantino (researcher). The findings were discussed by business representatives, law enforcement authorities, academics, who also examined the new frontiers of corruption prevention and fight against corruption.
More details on the project’s partners and the EU funding are available in the press release
For further information on the project please visit the website of e-Crime