OECD Enforcement Scores

Transparency International’s latest report about antibribery enforcement in the OECD breaks down this way:

Active Enforcement: Seven countries: Denmark, Germany, Italy, Norway, Switzerland, United Kingdom, and United States

Moderate Enforcement: Nine countries: Argentina, Belgium, Finland, France, Japan, Korea (South), Netherlands, Spain, and Sweden

Little or No Enforcement: 21 countries: Australia, Austria, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Luxembourg, Mexico, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, South Africa, and Turkey

For specifics, the report said the United States has 227 cases (prosecutions and investigations) in the 2011 report, up from 169 in 2010; Germany has 135 cases, up from 117; and Brazil reports eight ongoing investigations, up from four in TI’s last report.

The U.K. made it into the “active enforcement” category. But TI said enforcement there is up in air. The Serious Fraud Office is facing budget cuts and a plan to break the agency up and send its functions to other government departments. (The break-up didn’t happen; see our post here.)

In France, there’s also uncertainty. Although the country is listed in the “moderate enforcement” category, with eight French prosecutions reported last year, “only one resulted in a conviction, while the others have apparently been closed.” And only one new investigation of a major French company was opened.

Canada is cited for a lack of progress, and placed in the “little or no enforcement” category, the only G7 country put there.

Russia passed an overseas antibribery law and last week was invited to join the OECD’s Working Group on Bribery.

Earlier this year, the Chinese Parliament also passed an overseas antibribery law, and one was introduced in the Indian Parliament. Chinese and Indian representatives are attending Working Group meetings as observers but the countries aren’t yet on a schedule to join the OECD Convention.

Click on the map above for TI’s interactive version.