Construction bosses most likely to bribe, says survey

Construction bosses are more likely to bribe public officials and influence power with money than any other business sector, according to a new survey.

The 2008 Bribe Payers Survey broke down which sectors internationally were most likely to bribe public officials, and which were most likely to engage in “state capture”, or paying money to distort public policy. Construction and public works contractors came out top both times.

Real estate and property development was the next most corrupt sector when it came to bribing public officials, but oil and gas companies are the next most likely to indulge in state capture. The banking and finance sector was found to be one of the least likely sectors to bribe public officials.

The findings came from a survey of 2,742 business executives in 26 countries carried out by anti-corruption group Transparency International.

Russia was named the most corrupt country to engage in overseas business, out of 22 surveyed. The UK was named the fifth-cleanest country out of those surveyed, on a par with Germany and Japan. Belgium was labelled the least corrupt.