Bribery and corruption
According to www.transparency.org, with a score of 79 out of 100, Germany is ranked 13th out of 176 according to the corruption perceptions index (CPI)
The construction sector and public contracting, in conjunction with undue political party influence, represent particular areas of continued concern and the German government has sought to reduce both domestic and foreign corruption. Strict anti-corruption laws apply to domestic economic activity and these are rigorously enforced. Germany ratified the 1998 OECD Anti-Bribery Convention in February 1999, thereby criminalising bribery of foreign public officials by German citizens and firms abroad.
The necessary tax reform legislation ending the tax write-off of bribes in Germany and abroad became law in March 1999. Germany has signed the UN Anti-Corruption Convention but has not yet ratified it. The country participates in the relevant EU anti-corruption measures and Germany has increased the penalties for bribery of German officials, for corrupt practices between companies, and for price-fixing by companies competing for public contracts. It has also strengthened anti-corruption provisions applying to support extended by the official export credit agency and tightened the rules for public tenders.
Most State governments and local authorities have contact points for whistle-blowing and provisions for rotating personnel in areas prone to corruption. Government officials are forbidden from accepting gifts linked to their jobs. Some individual States maintain their own registers and pressure is growing to reintroduce such legislation at a Federal level. Transparency Deutschland, the German Chapter of Transparency International, sees a national corruption register as one of its main goals in Germany, closely followed by Freedom of Information legislation at Federal and State level, and a speedy ratification of the UN Anti-Corruption Convention placing bribery of parliamentarians on the same level as bribery of public officials. The German government has successfully prosecuted hundreds of domestic corruption cases over the years with numbers rising significantly over the last two years. To date, charges have been filed in only one case involving the bribery of foreign government officials since the 1999 changes in German law were enacted to comply with the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention.