In a new report by Transparency International on global corruption levels in the defense industry, the Czech Republic has been placed in the third tier of countries judged to have an “average” risk for dirty dealings. In all, the study looked at 82 countries and judged there to be CZK 382 trillion in investments gone wrong on a global level. Only two countries, Australia and Germany, were found to have extremely strong anti-corruption mechanism in place, with strict legislative control over defense policies. Seven countries, including Austria, Norway, the U.K. and the United States, made the second tier, with a “good” rating. The other countries in the Czech Republic’s group included France, Greece, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and Argentina.
“Mechanisms in the Czech Republic have been all formally set, similarly as in the neighboring countries, but their efficiency is debatable,” the director of Transparency International in Prague David Ondračka told the website iDnes. The main weakness of the Czech Republic is in the prevention of corruption risks in financial management, Defense Ministry acquisitions and the use of control mechanisms, says Ondračka.
