The most corrupt people are the doctors in the hospitals, the tax-agents, and the clerks in the town-planning according to data announced today by the Association “Transparency without borders” in Athens.

6000 people were used in the research and 27.6% of them say someone has tried to bribe them. In comparison with 2007, in 2008 the corruption has increased with 1.2%. Governmental institutions have a bigger corruption problem than private firms.

The participants in the survey had to answer the question: “Has it ever happened to you or to a family member to be asked for a bribe in any governmental institution or a private firm, in order to be attended to faster?” One out of three or 28% answered positive, where 20.3% of them were asked for a bribe in a governmental institution and 10.6% in a private firm.

All together 13.5% were asked for a bribe during 2008, which shows that the corruption cases have increased with 1.3% compared to last year. The difference is that during 2007, 2/3^rds of the cases were connected to governmental institutions and during 2008 the corruption in the private sectors has increased. There, the most popular bribing cases are among doctors, lawyers, bank employees, driving instructors, and the freelance contractors.

Here is some more detailed data: in public hospitals the most corrupt doctors want “douceur” for surgeries, for check-ups or for giving birth and the average amount is between ?50 and ?6000, where mostly the paid amount is ?869. In the private hospitals the amounts start from ?60 and get to ?80 000, where mostly the paid amount is ?4 543.

In the public sector the most corrupt employees after the doctors are the tax-agents and the clerks working in town-planning. In order for one to get a document, which allows building in the city, he/she has to pay ?2 169 but the asked amount could reach ?15 000. In the tax company, in order to start or close a firm, and also about any question about receiving inheritances, you need to pay around ?2 362 but the “douceur” can reach up to ?30 000.

The overall amount according to the calculations of the Association “Transparency without borders,” which during 2008 went for “douceurs” is around ?749 million, which is ?100 million more than in 2007.

The research also shows data about the tendencies and the positions of the public regarding the “corruption” phenomenon. Here comes the optimistic message of the research, which is based on the conclusion that 80% of the surveyed approve the actions, which support corruption or are tolerant towards it.

Mr. Kostas Bakouris, who presented the research noted: “I’m afraid that we will become boring once again but I have to repeat myself that it is very important to be voted for an ethic code and to train employees from the public administration. For one more time, the Association “Transparency without borders” needs to stress that there are regulations, which support this transparency but there are applied selectively.”

The results of the research give the opportunity to see how serious the corruption consequences are in the health field, in the financial institutions, in the environmental organizations and in the public organizations as a whole.