Bribery in Ukraine

In Ukraine, there are many modern laws that we adapted from the West after the independence. The only problem is that no one makes sure that the law is followed correctly, least of all the representative teams of police and courts.

Therefore, in Ukraine there is a fairly accurate fine for each violation of the law. Many Ukrainians argue that you do not have to follow the law until you will get discovered, and once you are discovered you may buy yourself out of this quandary.

The traffic police are notorious for excusing traffic offenses under specified rates. If you pay, you avoid getting into trouble. There are quite precise charges for everything from speeding to if you happen to hit somebody. Everyone is aware of the prices, resulting from the current rate of inflation.

The "true", according to the traffic police, set fines are about half but they require protocol and courts. Bribes to officials are present in all instances, not only the traffic police. You need a work permit and you need a legal address which costs this and that.

Many Ukrainians believe that they live a simpler life by breaking the law than to follow it. If he has money in the wallet, he can continue to drive, for example, under the influence of alcohol when he wants to. He has, after all, budgeted to pay for it now and then.

The tragedy of all this is that it has gone so far that it is almost impossible to be law-abiding. Because someone has to get paid somewhere, otherwise the system will not work! – We often hear people say that you cannot do successful business in an honest way in Ukraine. It is impossible to keep pace with those who bribe their way out!

I know a company that imports goods to Ukraine from the EU. Since they are a western company, they want to do everything legally. They neither notice if the goods are at lower values, nor if they have "their guy" in the duty that looks away when their truck drives past. Recently, they had every single paper in order at the border, which in itself is a tremendous success because it is almost impossible to understand all the import directives. Normally, there will always be some reason to put a "fine" somewhere.

The Customs officers were upset, there was not a single comma to remark. Nothing! The western firm was pleased, but it was not that easy. When everything was ready and the goods arrived at the warehouse there was a visit by a “government anti-corruption and bribery-inspector ". He was sent on to make sure that everything went the right way and that there had not been any bribes to the authorities during the import. In order to unload the cargo, they needed his stamp and signature. The inspector sat down to go through all the papers but found nothing. It was late, and he said that he would go home and come back tomorrow morning to continue.

- But you have not found any problems, exclaimed the importer. What is the problem? - Do you know that I am legally entitled to delay the unloading of your goods to seven days, said the "anti-corruption and bribery-inspector" and smiled evilly. Then, the importer realized that the battle was lost. No goods would ever be released, unless someone received something first. The inspector got the amount of dollars he asked for and put his stamp on all documents to confirm that no corruption had occurred!