Private sector corruption

Private sector corruption is characterised by private enterprises influencing decisions and actions that lead to abuses of entrusted power. The main consequences of such private sector corruption include unfair competition, distortion of markets, inflated prices, tax avoidance, illicit financial flows and devastating impact on the environment and human rights.

Private sector corruption is a major challenge in most countries, including those that perform well on various governance indicators. Some companies with headquarters in best-performing countries on the Corruption Perception Index have been repeatedly implicated in large-scale corruption and money-laundering scandals –evidence that a relatively clean public sector does not translate to a clean private sector.