TRACE Publishes its 2021 Bribery Risk Matrix

News

When conducting business in foreign countries, the likelihood of bribe demands is the highest in North Korea, Turkmenistan, Eritrea, Venezuela and Somalia, while in Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland and New Zealand chances are low that someone would ask for a kickback, according to TRACE, a globally recognized business association.

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Reported by

Damir Bešlija
November 17th, 2021
Banking Bribery Real Estate
Eritrea, Korea, Democratic People's Republic of, Turkmenistan

Dedicated to anti-bribery, good governance and compliance, TRACE published on Wednesday its 2021 Bribery Risk Matrix, which measures the likelihood of bribery in 194 jurisdictions.

The Matrix was originally developed in 2014 to help the business community get reliable information on the risk of commercial bribery worldwide as well as examine the conditions that allow commercial bribery to flourish.

It collects data from leading public interest and international organizations such as the United Nations, World Bank, V-Dem Institute at the University of Gothenburg and the World Economic Forum.

Over the past five years, the U.S. bribery risk plunged when compared to the global trends, and Uzbekistan, the Gambia, Armenia, Malaysia and Angola showed the greatest trend toward improvement in the factors underlying commercial bribery.

In addition, the data showed that all of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries saw increases in commercial bribery risk from 2020 to 2021.

“Coming out of a record year for U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act fines and penalties, anti-bribery compliance is top of mind for multinational companies,” TRACE President, Alexandra Wrage, said.

“We are pleased to bring another edition of the TRACE Matrix, which companies rely on to identify considerations for managing bribery risk in the markets where they operate,” she added.

The TRACE Matrix helps companies examine the nature and extent of government interaction with the private sector. It also offers insight into the societal attitudes toward bribery and the government's ability to enforce anti-bribery laws, governmental transparency as well as civil society’s ability to monitor and expose corruption.

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