Subjects, levels and elements of corruption: the National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption held an educational program for the Day of Knowledge

By the Knowledge Day, the National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption decided to remind citizens about corruption, identifying the most typical misconceptions regarding this negative phenomenon and the fight against it.

The department presented the relevant information about the elements of corruption and the existing infrastructure in Ukraine on its Facebook page.

The first of the most widespread misconceptions in the National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption is the prevailing opinion that corruption concerns only relations with the public sector. In fact, officials note, corruption exists in government, business, media, and non-governmental organizations. For example, when representatives of another company ask for a kickback for a purchase from a specific manufacturer, this should also be considered corruption.

Indeed, the Law on the Prevention of Corruption (Article 3) defines a fairly wide range of subjects - from the President, as a person authorized to perform the functions of the state, to persons who hold positions related to the performance of organizational and administrative duties.

Hence follows the second myth that corruption exists only at the highest state level. The National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption notes that in general there are two levels of corruption:

1) big corruption is the abuse of officials, embezzlement of budget funds;

2) everyday corruption - daily corruption between employees and citizens (even if a citizen gives a conditional doctor a small amount of money in exchange for a faster service, this is also a corrupt practice).

The National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption also recalled that the broad infrastructure of anti-corruption bodies is by no means Ukrainian know-how. The creation of bodies for the prevention of corruption is stipulated by the UN Convention against Corruption, which Ukraine has signed and is obliged to implement. Anti-corruption bodies operate in more than 50 countries around the world, for example: Austria, USA, Poland, Romania, New Zealand, Malaysia, South Korea, Thailand.

At the same time, the number of anti-corruption bodies is rather modest, officials say. So, according to the decree of the Cabinet of Ministers dated 05.04.2014 No. 85 "Some issues of approval of the maximum number of employees of the apparatus and territorial bodies of central executive bodies, other state bodies", the maximum number of employees of the National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption is limited to 408 employees. In fact, only 274 people work today.

In the National Anti-Corruption Bureau, in accordance with their specialized law, no more than 700 people can work. For comparison, the limiting number of tax employees is given, of which in the central office and in the localities, according to the law, there can be almost 30 thousand.

Separately, attention is drawn to the fact that not only criminal (prison term), but also administrative, disciplinary and civil liability is provided for in Ukraine. That is, the state can oblige a citizen to pay a fine or an employee can receive a reprimand from the management for violating anti-corruption legislation. For example, if an official filed a declaration after the required deadline, this is also a corruption-related violation, which provides for administrative liability in the form of a fine.