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Country reports: Europe and Central Asia
would decrease from €1,700 to €1,000. They also agreed that the expenditures of electoral campaigns had to be specified.2 ● The Ministry of Justice set up a committee on 30 May 2008 to ‘renew financing of electoral candidates and political parties as well as legislation related to the oversight of the financing’. The committee is set to draft proposals in order to increase the transparency of political financing as well as to take into account the GRECO recommendations.
Survey findings: prevalence of corruption in Finland According to a survey by Finland’s Central Chamber of Commerce (Keskuskauppakamari) and the Helsinki Region Chamber of Commerce (Helsingin Seudun Kauppakamari), businesspeople in Finland find dealings with other businesspeople more prone to corruption than dealings with the authorities. The report identifies the construction and manufacturing sectors as being particularly problematic. Although the overall percentages were not especially high, it is notable that the private sector appeared to be much more prone to corruption than the public: only 1 per cent of respondents claimed to have faced bribery in dealings with the authorities, yet 8 per cent of business leaders from the construction sector and 5 per cent of business leaders from the manufacturing sector reported experiencing bribery in relations with other companies.3
Although, overall, 3 per cent of business leaders admitted that their company has faced bribery when dealing with other firms in Finland,4 in recent years there have been no notable convictions for business-to-business bribery. A possible explanation for this is that the definition of bribery in the penal code uses the term ‘undue benefit’5 without further clarification as to what this means. The prosecution of bribery offences is therefore difficult. Although business leaders face situations they may perceive to be corrupt, it may be difficult for prosecutors to attain sufficient evidence that this indeed qualifies as ‘undue benefit’. In relation to this, GRECO has called on the government ‘to clarify in an appropriate manner what should be considered “due” and/or “undue” gifts/benefits, both in terms of material and immaterial advantages for all forms of bribery offences’.6
Alleged cases of corruption in the defence sector A recent high-profile case of alleged private sector corruption is that of the Patria group of companies, which focus on aerospace and defence. The Finnish state owns a majority share in Patria.7 The Finnish National Bureau of Investigation (Keskusrikospoliisi) stated in a press release on 14 May 2008 that it had started two pre-trial investigations into suspected bribery in relation to arms sales by the Patria group.8 According
2 Ministry of Justice, ‘Oikeusministeriö Valmistelee Pikaisesti Ensimmäiset Muutokset Vaalirahoituslakiin Kunnallisvaaleihin’, press release, 28 May 2008. 3 Survey, Keskuskauppakamari and Helsingin Seudun Kauppakamari, ‘Yritysten Rikosturvallisuus 2008: Riskit ja niiden hallinta’ (Helsinki: Keskuskauppakamari/Helsingin Seudun Kauppakamari, 2008). The survey consisted of the answers of 1,286 Finnish business leaders. 4 Ibid. 5 This translation of the Finnish/Swedish terms is provided by the GRECO Evaluation Team, which decided that the terms used in the official translation of the law – namely ‘unjustified/unlawful benefit’ – are slightly misleading. GRECO, Evaluation Report on Finland on Incriminations (ETS 173 and 191, GPC 2) (Strasbourg: GRECO, 2007). 6 Ibid. 7 Information provided on the Patria website at www.patria.fi/index.asp?id=AC8B6447C293481BA304C7328C3D4 594&tabletarget=&MENU_1_open=true. 8 Keskusrikospoliisi, ‘Kaksi Esitutkintaa Lahjusepäilyistä Patria-konsernin Yhtiöissä’, press release, 14 May 2008.