JiscMail Logo
Email discussion lists for the UK Education and Research communities

Help for EAST-WEST-RESEARCH Archives


EAST-WEST-RESEARCH Archives

EAST-WEST-RESEARCH Archives


EAST-WEST-RESEARCH@JISCMAIL.AC.UK


View:

Message:

[

First

|

Previous

|

Next

|

Last

]

By Topic:

[

First

|

Previous

|

Next

|

Last

]

By Author:

[

First

|

Previous

|

Next

|

Last

]

Font:

Proportional Font

LISTSERV Archives

LISTSERV Archives

EAST-WEST-RESEARCH Home

EAST-WEST-RESEARCH Home

EAST-WEST-RESEARCH  January 2004

EAST-WEST-RESEARCH January 2004

Options

Subscribe or Unsubscribe

Subscribe or Unsubscribe

Log In

Log In

Get Password

Get Password

Subject:

Kickback Culture is a Way of Life

From:

Andrew Jameson <[log in to unmask]>

Reply-To:

Andrew Jameson <[log in to unmask]>

Date:

Wed, 28 Jan 2004 18:05:41 -0000

Content-Type:

text/plain

Parts/Attachments:

Parts/Attachments

text/plain (85 lines)

Johnson's Russia List
#8037
28 January 2004
[log in to unmask]
A CDI Project
www.cdi.org

#13
Moscow Times
January 28, 2004
Kickback Culture Is a Way of Life
By Patrick Gill
Special to The Moscow Times

Greasing palms is an unavoidable element of business life in Russia that
shows no sign of disappearing, Muscovites and expatriates say.

Bribes are still an essential tool in business and everyday life, despite
the government's pledges to combat corruption and clamp down on kickbacks,
they say. Most businesspeople say paying inducements is as necessary as
ever, mainly because the time-honored culture of bribery still goes to the
top of state organizations and much of the private sector.

Although no figures are available for how many bribes change hands each
year, some estimates put the volume of bribery on a par with the federal
budget.

A 2002 survey carried out by corruption watchdog Transparency International
rated Moscow as the country's most corrupt business region. In 2001 the
Prosecutor General's Office said 50 percent of all illegal income came from
bribing officials.

Doing business with private companies and state organizations appears
equally likely to involve sweeteners.

"For sure, bribery at Moscow customs is still rife from top to bottom,"
said a British expatriate in the logistics business. "It can be a simple
matter of $50 to get your customs entry processed quickly, or you can be
talking thousands of dollars for importing cargoes without the importer
having to pay import tax and duty [at about a combined 25 percent of the
cargo's value]," he said. "Even if you pay to avoid paying full import
duty, you still get official paperwork that proves to the tax authorities
that the cargo has been imported legally."

He said he believes 50 percent of all cargo coming to Moscow by air, road
or rail enters in this manner, which would mean millions of dollars in
unpaid taxes entering the gray economy.

"This situation has not changed at all, despite customs authorities
claiming that they have clamped down on this type of tax evasion," he said.
"The scam goes right to the top of customs, each shift is on the take and a
percentage of what they make goes to the top, so it's not in anyone's
interest at customs to stop it. For a shipment worth $100,000, the combined
tax and duty would be in the region of $25,000. You can pay customs
something like $5,000 and your cargo is cleared, including supporting
documentation to prove it's been imported legally. The $5,000 would then be
split between the customs officers responsible."

Many businesspeople said the request for bribes, whether from officials or
businesspeople, is generally direct.

"Davaite reshim problemu po-drugomu" (Let's solve the problem another way)
has long been a common phrase in everyday life.

Much of the blame for the widespread culture of kickbacks is due to the
country's huge bureaucracy and weak legal system, said a Russian lawyer at
a U.S. law firm in Moscow, who said he had had to bribe the army to avoid
being conscripted.

Small-business owners continue to rate bribery as one of the main factors
stifling their growth. A common scam occurs when entrepreneurs apply to
banks for credit to start up a new business, said one man who tried to do
just that in the Volga region. The bank agreed to give him a loan, he said,
with the proviso that it was secured by the local administration. The
administration agreed to the deal, but with the stipulation that 20 percent
of the loan be paid to a senior official.

Most expatriates seem to join Russians in taking a resigned approach to the
issue of paying sweeteners.

"Bribery is certainly negative for the development of Russia," said one
expatriate, "but on the other hand you can easily solve problems this way."

*******

Top of Message | Previous Page | Permalink

JiscMail Tools


RSS Feeds and Sharing


Advanced Options


Archives

April 2024
March 2024
February 2024
January 2024
December 2023
November 2023
September 2023
August 2023
July 2023
June 2023
May 2023
April 2023
March 2023
February 2023
January 2023
December 2022
November 2022
October 2022
September 2022
August 2022
July 2022
June 2022
May 2022
April 2022
March 2022
February 2022
January 2022
December 2021
November 2021
October 2021
September 2021
August 2021
July 2021
June 2021
May 2021
April 2021
March 2021
February 2021
January 2021
December 2020
November 2020
October 2020
September 2020
August 2020
July 2020
June 2020
May 2020
April 2020
March 2020
February 2020
January 2020
December 2019
November 2019
October 2019
September 2019
August 2019
July 2019
June 2019
May 2019
April 2019
March 2019
February 2019
January 2019
December 2018
November 2018
October 2018
September 2018
August 2018
July 2018
June 2018
May 2018
April 2018
March 2018
February 2018
January 2018
December 2017
November 2017
October 2017
September 2017
August 2017
July 2017
June 2017
May 2017
April 2017
March 2017
February 2017
January 2017
December 2016
November 2016
October 2016
September 2016
August 2016
July 2016
June 2016
May 2016
April 2016
March 2016
February 2016
January 2016
December 2015
November 2015
October 2015
September 2015
August 2015
July 2015
June 2015
May 2015
April 2015
March 2015
February 2015
January 2015
December 2014
November 2014
October 2014
September 2014
August 2014
July 2014
June 2014
May 2014
April 2014
March 2014
February 2014
January 2014
December 2013
November 2013
October 2013
September 2013
August 2013
July 2013
June 2013
May 2013
April 2013
March 2013
February 2013
January 2013
December 2012
November 2012
October 2012
September 2012
August 2012
July 2012
June 2012
May 2012
April 2012
March 2012
February 2012
January 2012
December 2011
November 2011
October 2011
September 2011
August 2011
July 2011
June 2011
May 2011
April 2011
March 2011
February 2011
January 2011
December 2010
November 2010
October 2010
September 2010
August 2010
July 2010
June 2010
May 2010
April 2010
March 2010
February 2010
January 2010
December 2009
November 2009
October 2009
September 2009
August 2009
July 2009
June 2009
May 2009
April 2009
March 2009
February 2009
January 2009
December 2008
November 2008
October 2008
September 2008
August 2008
July 2008
June 2008
May 2008
April 2008
March 2008
February 2008
January 2008
December 2007
November 2007
October 2007
September 2007
August 2007
July 2007
June 2007
May 2007
April 2007
March 2007
February 2007
January 2007
December 2006
November 2006
October 2006
September 2006
August 2006
July 2006
June 2006
May 2006
April 2006
March 2006
February 2006
January 2006
December 2005
November 2005
October 2005
September 2005
August 2005
July 2005
June 2005
May 2005
April 2005
March 2005
February 2005
January 2005
December 2004
November 2004
October 2004
September 2004
August 2004
July 2004
June 2004
May 2004
April 2004
March 2004
February 2004
January 2004
December 2003
November 2003
October 2003
September 2003
August 2003
July 2003
June 2003
May 2003
April 2003
March 2003
February 2003
January 2003
December 2002
November 2002
October 2002
September 2002
August 2002
July 2002
June 2002
May 2002
April 2002
March 2002
February 2002
January 2002
December 2001
November 2001
October 2001
September 2001
August 2001
July 2001
June 2001
May 2001
April 2001
March 2001
February 2001
January 2001
December 2000
November 2000
October 2000
September 2000
August 2000
July 2000
June 2000
May 2000
April 2000
March 2000
February 2000
January 2000
December 1999
November 1999
October 1999
September 1999
August 1999
July 1999
June 1999
May 1999
April 1999
March 1999
February 1999
January 1999
December 1998
November 1998
October 1998
September 1998


JiscMail is a Jisc service.

View our service policies at https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/policyandsecurity/ and Jisc's privacy policy at https://www.jisc.ac.uk/website/privacy-notice

For help and support help@jisc.ac.uk

Secured by F-Secure Anti-Virus CataList Email List Search Powered by the LISTSERV Email List Manager