There has long been a tendency to view Poland as inherently corrupt, but as TRACE's Alexandra Wrage says, “I like to view corruption in Poland in terms of an hourglass; there are a lot of low-level grease payments for permits, etc. Then there is another tranche of bribe-takers at the top, and it is the significant payments which take place at this level which are the most enticing for companies because it's the big win, but it's also the riskiest as they are the ones most likely to be exposed. In contrast, there is the more professional mid-level, at least in the business community which is my focus, which seems to be cleaning itself up pretty quickly. By contrast, China would better be represented by an inverted pyramid.”

Constant improvement

That being said, in the past year, Poland's standing in the Corruption Perceptions Index, which is compiled annually by Transparency International, has improved from 49th place to 41st.

“Poland has made extraordinary strides [with regard to corruption] in the last ten years,” Ms Wrage said.

She put this down to growing affluence and indignation: “The more developed a country gets, the more up the scale it goes in terms of affluence and the more invested you are in the system, the more outrage is generated. This is one of the problems with countries with huge levels of corruption – there isn't any outrage,” she said.

Another reason for Poland's recent improvement is what Ms Wrage refers to as “breaking the link.”

Changes in the practice of the Polish police force, which is widely known to have been clamping down on the habit of taking bribes for minor offenses in the last few years, illustrates this point.

“Suddenly, you don't know if the police officer you're in a position to bribe is one of the ones who is trying to clean things up, or even one of the undercover people I've been hearing about. You're therefore less likely to offer and it's possible that the transaction never happens. There is a certain spiral upwards that takes place very quickly when you can break that link.”

Globalization pressures

However, while it is true that the Polish government has been making efforts to combat corruption, as evidenced by the creation of the Central Anticorruption Bureau (CBA), established in 2006, Ms Wrage argues that, in fact, it is influences from outside the country that have achieved the most success in Poland.

“It remains fascinating to me that companies operating here are more afraid of the US government than they are of the Polish government. There should be a matter of some national pride in this. It is the long arm of the US law on this issue, and now, since July 1 the SFO [Serious Fraud Office] and UK law, which is terrifying companies operating in Poland, she said”

“Companies who trade on the US or UK stock exchange will walk away from business here rather than risk a devastating investigation in the US.”

Nevertheless, in the same breath she said that the recent economic slump has “turned things on its head” so that “at the moment, companies are doing business where they can, and just use more anti-corruption training and pool greater resources, such as internal auditing [in countries perceived as corrupt]. However, when the crisis tides over, this situation might well change.”

She added that perhaps the most devastating consequence of corruption in Poland is the dampening effect it has on entrepreneurial spirit, which means there is likely to be much less development in this field.

Educating business

In terms of dealing with corruption, Ms Wrage emphasizes the importance of appropriate training, one of TRACE's primary activities.

“It's not exactly role-playing, but it's pretty close. If an American gets off a plane, he's not used to the situation and so won't know how to deal with it unless previously equipped. Additionally, you need different strategies for low-level people who might be dealing more with customs than for those higher up dealing with government officials,” she said.

“Essentially, you have to help people come up with a hundred different ways of saying no without ever using the word 'no'.”

Ms Wrage admitted that her training preferences are “generational and gender-based, although that's always a bit controversial. My least favorite community of people to train is older businessmen because you have to disabuse them of the idea that it's a sign of business sophistication to know whom to pay, and how much.”

Ms Wrage firmly believes that it will take irritated citizens, rather than government initiatives to ultimately bring an end to corruption in Poland. And despite the country's recent progress in that area, if the many Polish businessmen with whom TRACE works with (who defensively insist on viewing corruption as comparable to tipping) are representative of the country, then it becomes clear that the battle for clean business practices still has a long way to go.

Tara Taylor