Learn why International Anti-Corruption Day was established and explore forms and consequences of corruption.
Why was International Anti-Corruption Day created?
The United Nations General Assembly designated December 9 as International Anti-Corruption Day in Resolution 58/4, adopted in 2003.
The day aims to raise awareness, encourage prevention, and highlight the United Nations Convention against Corruption.
What is corruption?
Corruption broadly involves abusing entrusted power for private gain. Specific crimes and definitions depend on the applicable law.
Types and examples
Corruption can take different forms, including:
Bribery
Offering or receiving an improper benefit to influence an official decision or obtain an unfair advantage.
Extortion
Using a position and threats to demand money, favors, or another benefit.
Misappropriation of public funds
Taking public assets that a person was entrusted to manage.
Fraud
Using entrusted property or information unlawfully for private benefit through deception.
Collusion
Secret coordination among officials and suppliers to manipulate bidding or obtain improper benefits.
Lack of ethics
A failure to act honestly or professionally can create serious risks, even when a particular act does not meet a legal definition of corruption.
Influence peddling
Using official connections or status to seek favors or personal benefits.
Consequences of corruption
It can divert public revenue away from services and development.
It can normalize further misconduct.
It can distort public programs and decision-making.
It can hinder sustainable management of the environment and natural resources.
Corruption may be associated with weaker investment and unfair distribution of resources, though outcomes differ across countries.
It can also obstruct development; correlation alone does not explain every country's economic circumstances.
Corruption in business
It may overlap with:
White-collar wrongdoing, when professionals misuse organizational roles for improper gain.
Organized crime, when criminal networks use companies or corporations for activities such as money laundering.
Political corruption, when public power is abused to protect or enable wrongdoing.
Better evidence and internal controls help organizations respond. A trusted ethics hotline and other reporting channelscan let employees raise concerns confidentially and without retaliation.
Shared responsibility
People, companies, and governments all have roles in preventing corruption and promoting integrity.
Prevention can support public services, social trust, environmental protection, and more equitable opportunities.
EthicsGlobal offers compliance software and services to help companies build better controls.
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