The number of investigations by Poland’s Central Anticorruption Bureau (CBA), the government office tasked with fighting corruption in both public and private sectors, rose 43 percent last year. As a result of these investigations 1,704 charges were made against 581 suspects.

Source: Central Anticorruption Bureau

Approximately 57 percent of its investigations involved economic activity (like public orders, privatization and financial aid), with the rest targeting financial declarations.

High-profile arrests made by the CBA last year included the mayor of Sopot and several Polish soccer players and officials. A number of midlevel local authorities charged with improving ties with business, such as the head of Łódź City Hall’s economic department, were also detained.

Poland ranked 49 out of 180 in Transparency International’s “Corruption Perceptions Index 2009.” According to a recent poll by CBOS, 87 percent of Poles think that corruption is a big problem in the country. However, that was down from 93 percent in 2006.