Corruption in Lithuania describes the prevention and occurrence of

corruption Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense which is undertaken by a person or an organization which is entrusted in a position of authority, in order to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's personal gain. Corruption ...

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

Summary

The

Freedom in the World ''Freedom in the World'' is a yearly survey and report by the U.S.-based non-governmental organization Freedom House that measures the degree of civil liberties and political rights in every nation and significant related and disputed territor ...

2020 report by

Freedom House Freedom House is a non-profit, majority U.S. government funded organization in Washington, D.C., that conducts research and advocacy on democracy, political freedom, and human rights. Freedom House was founded in October 1941, and Wendell Wil ...

notes that corruption remains an issue in Lithuania, but gives high scores for the main related areas: strong and effective safeguards against official corruption (3 out of 4), government openness and transparency (3 out of 4), and an independent judiciary (3 out of 4). The ''European Research Centre for Anti-Corruption and State-Building (ERCAS)'' notes that while Lithuania has a comprehensive anti-corruption legal base established, the law enforcement institutions are weak. In the Public Integrity Index 2019, published by the Centre, Lithuania ranks 30th out of 117 countries. According to the ''Flash Eurobarometer 482: Businesses' attitudes towards corruption in the EU'', published by the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body ...

, only 15% of business executives noted corruption as a problem when doing business. The Lithuanian Map of Corruption 2019 report, published by the STT, notes that the percentage of businesses that paid a

bribe Bribery is the offering, giving, receiving, or soliciting of any item of value to influence the actions of an official, or other person, in charge of a public or legal duty. With regard to governmental operations, essentially, bribery is "Cor ...

has been gradually decreasing over the last decades, with only 9% of business paying it in the last 5 years and 5% in the last 12 months. According to the ''Global Corruption Barometer of the European Union in 2021'' (GCB EU 2021), 48% of Lithuanians think that the government is doing badly in fighting corruption while 42% think it's doing well, nearly matching the EU average of 49% and 43% respectively.

Extent

According to the ''GCB EU 2021'' report, people consider that the most corrupt institutions or individuals are: members of parliament (33%), business executives (27%), local government representatives and mayors (21%), judges and magistrates (21%). The report notes the most common cases of bribery in the last 12 months by service: healthcare institutions (19%), identity documents (6%) and police (4%). ''Lithuanian Map of Corruption 2019'' report, published by STT, provides an overview based on the surveys of population, company executives and public servants. According to the survey of people, the most common forms of corruption are:

nepotism Nepotism is an advantage, privilege, or position that is granted to relatives and friends in an occupation or field. These fields may include but are not limited to, business, politics, academia, entertainment, sports, fitness, religion, an ...

political patronage Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings, popes, and the wealthy have provided to artists su ...

and bribery. The most common cases of corruption were perceived to be in: healthcare institutions, the courts, the parliament, municipalities and political parties. According to a ''Baltijos tyrimai'' poll in 2019, the

police The police are a Law enforcement organization, constituted body of Law enforcement officer, persons empowered by a State (polity), state, with the aim to law enforcement, enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citize ...

were trusted by 69% of people, the Constitutional Court of Lithuania by 62%, and the STT by 55%. However, only 39% of people trusted the prosecutors and 33% trusted the courts. A survey conducted by ''Vilmorus'' in 2020 showed that the most corrupt areas perceived by the respondents were: healthcare (47%), the courts (37%) and the parliament (30%). The same survey notes that Lithuanians regard corruption as the fourth most acute problem in the country. Only 3% of the people surveyed admitted giving a bribe in the previous year.

International rankings

According to

Transparency International Transparency International e.V. (TI) is a German registered association founded in 1993 by former employees of the World Bank. Based in Berlin, its nonprofit and non-governmental purpose is to take action to combat global corruption with civ ...

's 2021 Corruption Perceptions Index, Lithuania ranked 34th among the 180 countries in the Index, where the country ranked first is perceived to have the most honest public sector. The Index scores countries on a scale from 0 ("highly corrupt") to 100 ("highly clean") and then ranks the countries by score. Lithuania's 2021 rank was based on a score of 61. For comparison, the best score was 88 (ranked 1), and the worst score was 11 (ranked 180).

Anti-corruption mechanisms

Special Investigation Service (abbreviated as STT, lt, Specialiųjų tyrimų tarnyba) is the main law enforcement institution in Lithuania to combat corruption. Other law enforcement institutions also play a major role in combating the corruption. In particular, Financial Crime Investigation Service (abbreviated as FNTT, lt, Finansinių nusikaltimų tyrimo tarnyba) investigates

money laundering Money laundering is the process of concealing the origin of money, obtained from illicit activities such as drug trafficking, corruption, embezzlement or gambling, by converting it into a legitimate source. It is a crime in many jurisdictio ...

and major financial fraud activities. National Audit Office of Lithuania ( lt, Valstybės kontrolė) is the supreme audit institution which also supervises the lawfulness and effectiveness of management and use of state funds and resources. In 2019, the Law on Protection of

Whistleblowers A whistleblower (also written as whistle-blower or whistle blower) is a person, often an employee, who reveals information about activity within a private or public organization that is deemed illegal, immoral, illicit, unsafe or fraudulent. Whi ...

entered force, providing legal protection as well as remunerations and other measures for those who report corruption or other infringements.

Lobbying In politics, lobbying, persuasion or interest representation is the act of lawfully attempting to influence the actions, policies, or decisions of government officials, most often legislators or members of regulatory agencies. Lobbying, which ...

in Lithuania is regulated by the Lobbying Act 2001. According to the EU Members' Research Service report from 2016, Lithuania is one of the few EU countries which has the code of conduct and a mandatory register for the lobbyists.

Anti-corruption conventions and organizations

Lithuania participates in: * The Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) (founding state; 1 May 1999) * UN

Convention against Transnational Organized Crime The United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC, also called the Palermo Convention) is a 2000 United Nations-sponsored multilateral treaty against transnational organized crime. History The convention was adopted by a ...

(ratified on 9 May 2002) *

Council of Europe The Council of Europe (CoE; french: Conseil de l'Europe, ) is an international organisation founded in the wake of World War II to uphold human rights, democracy and the rule of law in Europe. Founded in 1949, it has 46 member states, with a p ...

Criminal Law Convention on Corruption (ratified on 8 March 2002) *

Civil Law Convention on Corruption (ratified on 17 January 2003) * United Nations Convention against Corruption (ratified on 21 December 2006) *

International Anti-Corruption Academy The International Anti-Corruption Academy (IACA) is an international intergovernmental organization based in Laxenburg, Austria that teaches government officials and professionals about anti-corruption measures. Membership to the organization is, ...

(IACA) (ratified on 22 March 2013) *

OECD Anti-Bribery Convention The OECD Anti-Bribery Convention (officially Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions) is an anti-corruption convention of the OECD that requires signatory countries to criminalize bri ...

(ratified on 16 May 2017)

References

External links

Transparency International - Country data - Lithuania
{{Europe topic , Corruption in Crime in Lithuania by type