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Assessing the Corruption Prevention Measures and the Bribery Criminalisations in the Finnish Anti-Corruption Framework

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Assessing the Corruption Prevention Measures and the Bribery Criminalisations in the Finnish Anti-Corruption Framework European Journal of Crime, Criminal Law and Criminal Justice 19 (2011) 319–362 brill.nl/eccl Assessing the Corruption Prevention Measures and the Bribery Criminalisations in the Finnish Anti-Corruption Framework J. Peurala* Department of Criminal Law and Procedure, Helsinki University, Finland 1. Introduction Looking at the 20th century, the corruption issue came to light after the major corruption scandals in the 1970s, only to disappear during the 1980s. But it was only the calm before the storm – the 1990s saw a wave of corruption scandals all over the world; Italy, France, Belgium, Japan, South Korea, Indonesia, India, Brazil, Mexico and Nigeria were all onstage. This wave, with the accelerating globalisation e.g., growing global competition among firms, along with other factors, such as the collapse of communism and the aftermath of the end of the Cold War, was the turning point.1 It was difficult to accept bribes as an ‘overhead expense’ in business anymore.2 Corruption was no longer regarded as a phenomenon which * The author works at the Police College of Finland in Tampere. Acknowledgements: The author wishes to thank Professor Raimo Lahti, Senior Researcher Vesa Muttilainen and researcher Terhi Kankaanranta for their cooperation, as well as the Police College of Finland for providing the facili- ties during this study. The author also thanks the Director of International Affairs at the Ministry of Justice of Finland, Matti Joutsen, for his comments about the manuscript. Johanna Peurala is grateful to the Olga and Kaarle Oskari Laitinen Foundation, the Finnish Cultural Foundation and the Scandinavian Research Council for Criminology for their financial support. 1) However, there have been corruption scandals, in the modern sense, since at least the 19th Century. See e.g. the ‘muckrackers’ discussion in U.S. and the Teapot Dome scandal in the 1920s in U.S. politics. 2) See M. Johnston, Syndromes of Corruption – Wealth, Power and Democracy (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005) p. 5. The sums involved in only one form of corruption alone – bribery – are © Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2011 DOI: 10.1163/157181711X587792 Peurala / European Journal of Crime, 320 Criminal Law and Criminal Justice 19 (2011) 319–362 each country should deal with on its own, but instead, global efforts were seen to be needed.3 Although Finland has traditionally been regarded as one of the least corrupted countries in the world, Finnish media has highlighted corruption scandals since the 1970s. Indeed, according to the booklet published by the Finland Ministry of Justice, corruption does exist in Finland, although there is relatively little visible corruption.4 It is argued that there is almost no petty corruption / street corruption in Finland. Ordinary Finns in Finland do not come across demands for bribes in their day-to-day interaction with public officials.5 But the situation regarding the institutionalised corruption, e.g., the old boys’ networks and ‘habits of the country’ in Finland, has been subject to very few studies, and thus their prevalence remains unknown and the implications of those remain revealed mainly by the media.6 Finland has succeeded more than any other country when it comes to the Transparency International (TI) corruption perception index.7 Finland has always been near the top or at the top of the Corruption Perception Index (CPI).8 Finland has long emphasised the incorruptibility of its civil servants and the transparency of its governance. Since Finnish public officials do not consider corruption a major problem in Finland, it has not been high on the political agenda. The Finnish corruption relating to legislation and its implementation has also been regarded huge. The World Bank estimates that, annually, worldwide bribery amounts to about 1 trillion dollars. D. Kaufmann, Six Questions on the Cost of Corruption with World Bank Institute Global Governance http://go.worldbank.org/KQH743GKF1 (accessed 1 March 2011). The corruption phenomenon is also seen as a scapegoat to many recent events. It is perceived that the current 2011 national revolts in the Arab countries are to some extent backlashes to institutionalised corruption in those countries. O. Korhonen. Interview in Yle (National TV channel of Finland) TV news 24.2.2011 at 20.30. Also Corruption is perceived to be a major cause to the Asia Crisis in 1997. See C. Sandgren, ‘Combating Corruption: The Misunderstood Role of Law’, 39 Int’l Law (2005) p. 718. 3) For more controversy, it is argued that the adoption of anti-corruption conventions has had a questionable impact on reducing corruption. M. Bryane, ‘Issues in Anti-Corruption Law: Drafting implementing regulations for anti-corruption conventions in Central Europe and the former Soviet Union’, 36 J. Legis. 2010 p. 272. 4) M. Joutsen and J. Keränen, Corruption and the prevention of corruption in Finland (Ministry of Justice, 2009) p. 22. 5) M. Joutsen and J. Keränen, loc. cit., p. 1. 6) E.g. the case, relating to an ex-minister’s birthday party is currently under consideration of charges. For discussion, how to buy the power and the politicians in Finland, see P. Koikkalainen and E. Riepula, Näin valta ostetaan (Vantaa: Hansaprint Oy, 2009). At the other end, Finland is seen to have a corruption-free politics. See D.C. Zook, ‘The Curious Case of Finland’s Clean Politics’, 20 Journal of Democracy (2009) pp. 157–168. 7) The index has been updated yearly since 1995. 8) See chapter 3.1 in this study..
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