PR98776

ANNAPOLIS, Md., Nov. 15, 2022 /PRNewswire=KYODO JBN/ --

TRACE [

https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=3707764-1&h=1798229952&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.traceinternational.org%2F&a=TRACE

], a non-profit international business association dedicated to anti-bribery,

compliance and good governance, has released the 2022 Bribery Risk Matrix [

https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=3707764-1&h=2977589041&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.traceinternational.org%2Ftrace-matrix&a=Bribery+Risk+Matrix

], which measures business bribery risk in 194 jurisdictions. According to this

year's data, North Korea, Turkmenistan, Equatorial Guinea, Syria and Venezuela

present the highest commercial bribery risk, while Norway, New Zealand, Sweden,

Switzerland and Denmark present the lowest.

Other notable findings:

    - The United States ranked 16th and scored 19 out of 100. The enforcement

      environment hasn't improved since a slump during the Trump

      administration, and the free press environment continues to decline.

    - Ukraine ranked 103rd and scored 52 out of 100. While governmental anti

      bribery enforcement declined in the lead-up to Russia's invasion, Ukraine

      has made significant strides in e-government services, and in reducing

      state ownership of the economy and red tape. [Please note most of the

      data used in the 2022 Matrix was gathered prior to Russia's invasion of

      Ukraine.]

    - Germany, Austria and Poland experienced backsliding in areas TRACE

      considers to be key factors in the business bribery risk environment.

    - Hong Kong's rank and score worsened again, continuing a trend that began

      in 2020.

Originally published in 2014 to meet a need in the business community for more

reliable information about bribery risk worldwide, the TRACE Matrix addresses

the likelihood of encountering bribe demands when doing business in a given

jurisdiction.

"While there have been encouraging signs of decreasing tolerance for

corruption, the problem remains grave and widespread," TRACE President

Alexandra Wrage said. "In this climate, it is critical that the business

community bolsters its efforts to tame the illicit economic incentives that

threaten to undermine order and good governance. With this year's edition of

the Bribery Risk Matrix, TRACE continues to provide companies with the

information they need to assess and manage bribery risk in the markets where

they operate."

The TRACE Matrix helps companies examine the conditions that underpin business

bribery risk: (1) the nature and extent of government interaction with the

private sector; (2) societal attitudes toward bribery and the government's

ability to enforce anti-bribery laws; (3) governmental transparency; and (4)

civil society's ability to monitor and expose corruption.

The TRACE Matrix is publicly available at TRACEinternational.org/trace-matrix [

https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=3707764-1&h=41054829&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.traceinternational.org%2Ftrace-matrix&a=TRACEinternational.org%2Ftrace-matrix

]. Access the Matrix Data Browser at matrixbrowser.TRACEinternational.org [

https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=3707764-1&h=3960992707&u=https%3A%2F%2Fmatrixbrowser.traceinternational.org%2F&a=matrixbrowser.TRACEinternational.org

].

SOURCE  TRACE

CONTACT: Giavanna O'Connell, goconnell@traceinternational.org