Are defence companies doing enough to prevent corruption? Launch of the Defence Companies Anti-Corruption Index (CI)
11.11.2013.
Transparency International is pleased to announce the launch of our new Defence Companies Anti-Corruption Index (CI).The Index provides a comprehensive analysis of what the 129 biggest defence companies around the world do - and fail to do - to prevent corruption. The study grades companies depending on the level of public evidence of their anti-corruption systems and processes, and includes companies from the largest arms exporting nations like USA, Russia, Germany, France, the UK and China — who between them are responsible for over 90 per cent of the arms sales around the world.
The Index provides a comprehensive analysis of what the 129 biggest defence companies around the world do - and fail to do - to prevent corruption. The study grades companies depending on the level of public evidence of their anti-corruption systems and processes, and includes companies from the largest arms exporting nations like USA, Russia, Germany, France, the UK and China — who between them are responsible for over 90 per cent of the arms sales around the world.
Two thirds of them (85 of 129) have limited or poor disclosure and only 10 of them have good disclosure about how they fight corruption. Nevertheless, there is definite improvement going on among defence companies. Two groups of companies are much more open than the others. Ten of them have good or excellent public disclosure of their ethics and anti-corruption systems. In addition, thirty-four companies were ready to be open to us about what they actually have in place, to disclose additional internal information to us to show what their actual anti-corruption systems were. It is to their credit. Whilst we think that they should disclose such information as well, the opportunity for TI to review internal information nonetheless provides a deep insight into what anti-corruption systems companies actually have in place, and goes beyond what companies describe on their websites.
We believe that having a reputation of zero tolerance for corruption will be a distinguishing asset for a defence company. The purpose of this index is to assist in raising anti-corruption standards across a major sector that is global in nature yet whose business has historically been hidden from public view. We hope the defence industry responds to this Index by using it to change their practices, embed good practice in preventing corruption, and increase transparency in the sector.
