Legislation: Venezuela has signed and ratified three important international anti-corruption conventions: the UN Convention against Corruption (UNCAC), the OAS Inter-American Convention Against Corruption and the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime. The country has an anti-corruption law, but observers generally agree that its enforcement is very weak. The Anti-Corruption Law of 2003 (in Spanish) criminalises passive and active corruption (Art. 60, 61), extortion (Art. 63, 67) and money laundering. Furthermore, it establishes citizens' right to information and obligates the state to publish and make publicly available an account of public goods and expenses three times annually. However, the government does not publish expenditures in a detailed and timely fashion, and according to international observes, such information is difficult to obtain. The law requires public employees to present a sworn declaration of personal assets within 30 days of assuming a post as well as 30 days after leaving it. The law also allows for the extradition of corrupt officials, prohibits them from holding public office in the future and includes a prohibition on officials having secret foreign bank accounts. The Anti-Corruption Law also seeks to maximise penalties. For example, public officials found guilty in smaller corruption charges can receive sanctions ranging from 90 days suspension from office to removal from their position. Public officials found guilty of bribing or receiving commissions from foreign company representatives can be sentenced to between 10 and 20 years in prison. According to the OAS Inter-American Convention against Corruption Third Round Implementation Report 2010, the country's anti-corruption framework has a number of deficiencies, including absence of measures dealing with transnational bribery and embezzlement, as well as weak mechanisms of prevention of bribery of domestic and foreign government officials. Access the Lexadin World Law Guide for a collection of legislation in Venezuela. 

Government Strategies: In principle, fighting corruption is a high priority for the Chávez administration, which is reflected in many of Chávez's speeches, by the creation of a solid legal framework and several public agencies mandated to deal with corruption. At the moment, the Ministry of Economy and Finance/SENIAT is running a 'Zero Tax Evasion' (in Spanish) campaign aimed at increasing Venezuelan tax revenues and reducing tax evasion and a 'Zero Contraband' (in Spanish) campaign intended to strengthen the Venezuelan customs system. However, apart from these initiatives and the creation of anti-corruption legislation and entities, the government's will towards genuinely curbing corruption has been questioned by several international observers and the political opposition. Moreover, the centralisation of power that occurred under Chavez's government has eliminated important checks and balances in the state system and thus enhanced Venezuela's overall vulnerability to corruption.

Anti-Corruption Agencies: Three public agencies mandated to deal with corruption have been established under a public umbrella organisation called Poder Ciudadano (in Spanish), headed by the Moral Council of the Republic. These agencies are the Public Prosecutor, the Comptroller General and the Human Rights Ombudsman, which are all described in more detail below. Poder Ciudadano was created under the 1999 Constitution as the central political branch to coordinate the fight against corruption. The Organic Law of Poder Ciudadano (in Spanish) provides Poder Ciudadano (through its sub-agencies) with the authority to educate against, prevent, investigate and sanction 'acts against public ethics and moral', including corruption and non-transparency. Furthermore, the law establishes that the Poder Ciudadano and its sub-agencies are independent from other public agencies and that they enjoy functional, financial and administrative autonomy. However, Chávez has tried to interfere in the affairs of Poder Ciudadano by impeding the formulation of effective and clear responses to complaints about corruption submitted by civic organisations and political opposition parties. Also, Global Integrity 2009 reports that in practice the Venezuelan anti-corruption agencies are commonly influenced by political or personal incentives, including professional partnerships, personal loyalties, and abuses of power.

General Public Prosecutor's Office: As one of the organs under Poder Ciudadano, the Fiscal General de la República (in Spanish) heads the Public Ministry, which is the central entity created to execute legal action under the state. Its main tasks are to handle criminal cases, including corruption. It also provides contact information for its representatives in each state to whom crimes can be reported to and who provide for the protection of victims of crime. Its website has several public services, including free hotlines for crime victims who need protection as well as a reporting mechanism to which criminal transgressions and corruption can be reported (see the 'Whistle-Blowing' section below). According to the US Department of State 2010, the independence of the Prosecutor General and its ability to conduct impartial investigations has been questioned by critics and civic groups. Similarly, according to the report, the office is allegedly not free from corruption.

Comptroller General of the Republic: The Contraloría General de la República (in Spanish), as part of Poder Ciudadano, serves as a watchdog agency by controlling the revenues of and expenses incurred by the government. Although the agency is intended to be politically independent, observers cite that the staff are often appointed on the basis of cronyism and political clientelism. According to Global Integrity 2009, the Comptroller General's activity is in practice not protected from political interference, and the office is influenced by political and personal loyalties. Moreover, appointments to the Comptroller General are usually based on political considerations, and individuals appointed often have clear party loyalties. It is also indicated in the report that the office cannot compel the government to reveal sensitive information. The Comptroller General may sometimes lack powers to carry out its mandate, which may limit the office's effectiveness. Nevertheless, according to Global Integrity 2009, the government tends to act on the Comptroller General's reports. According to the US Department of State 2010, during 2010, the office administratively disqualified over 50 civil servants, including eight National Assembly candidates, as a result of allegations of misuse of public funds. However, at the same time, the media reported that seven current or former high-level government officials whom President Chavez had selected as candidates for the National Assembly had pending accusations of corruption in the Comptroller General's Office that had not been investigated, prosecuted, or sanctioned.

Ombudsman: The Venezuelan Human Rights Ombudsman (in Spanish, Defensor del Pueblo) forms the third agency that makes up Poder Ciudadano. It is responsible for providing suitable legal instruments for the protection of fundamental rights and for compelling the government to adhere to the constitution and rule of law. According to Global Integrity 2009, although in law the Ombudsman is a politically independent institution, this is not the case in practice. Thus, according to the report, the current Ombudsman was an important member of a pro-Chávez party and became an MP thanks to the support from Chávez and his ruling party. Accordingly, the Ombudsman is a politicised institution, which may be sometimes overly compliant to the demands of the executive. According to Global Integrity 2009, the government usually ignores or only gives superficial attention to the Ombudsman's reports. In 2004, legislation expanded the powers of the Human Rights Ombudsman to include scrutiny of abuse of power and flaws in the provision of services.

E-Governance: E-governance is relatively well-developed in Venezuela and practically all public ministries have web pages providing information on their work. For example, foreign investors may find relevant information on customs and tax regulations on the National Customs and Tax Administration Service (in Spanish, SENIAT - Servicio Nacional Integrado de Administracion Tributaria de Venezuela) website, which is headed by the Ministry of Economy and Finance.

Public Procurement: In 2008, the government approved the Public Procurement Act (in Spanish) and repealed the 2001 Law of Tenders. In law, major procurements require competitive bidding, and strict formal requirements limit the extent of sole sourcing. However, in practice, the provision to ensure competitive bidding is not satisfactorily enforced, according to Global Integrity 2009. Transparency Venezuela has criticised the new public procurement law too for including even more exceptions to the principle of open tender, which has given reason for speculations that open bidding will be more the exception than the rule. The law, for example, does not apply to all contracts made in connection with international agreements of cooperation between Venezuela and other countries. Public tenders are publicised in newspapers and in the website of the contracting institution and of the National Contracting Service. Anyone wanting to participate in public tenders or sell to a Venezuelan governmental agency must be registered in the National Register of Contractors (in Spanish), which is maintained by the Central Office of Statistics and Informatics. The National Register can open sub-registers, normally found in all the ministries and governmental agencies which regularly purchase goods or services. In law, unsuccessful bidders can ask for an official review of the bidding process and challenge the concrete procurement decision in the courts. Nevertheless, according to Global Integrity 2009, the effectiveness of procurement processes could be questioned, as companies guilty of major violations of procurement regulations, including bribery, are not effectively prohibited from participating in future procurement bids. The central government agency providing guidance to bidders and sellers is the National Contracting Service (in Spanish only). However, the best source of assistance to foreign companies with no previous experience in Venezuela may be Licitaciones Venezuela (in Spanish only), which is a private entity that provides practical information on the procurement environment in Venezuela.

Whistle-Blowing: According to Global Integrity 2009, in practice, civil servants who report cases of corruption are not protected from recrimination or other negative consequences. As a signatory to the Inter-American Convention against Corruption, Venezuela has yet to enact a law protecting public sector whistleblowers along the lines set down in the Organisation of American States' model anti-corruption statutes. Furthermore, according to Global Integrity 2009, no law exists protecting private sector whistleblowers. Thus, whistleblowers may be punished through either official or unofficial means. The General Public Prosecutor's Office has a reporting mechanism on its website where it is stated that any person, victim or not, can report any illegal act. On the website, the link Denuncias (in Spanish only) contains information about how to report and to whom. Filing complaints to the General Public Prosecutor's Office cannot be done anonymously. The Human Rights Ombudsman's Office also has a reporting mechanism (in Spanish only) on its website to which complaints can be filed against the office's officials by e-mail and to which human rights violations and public service complaints can be reported.

General Comments on the Public Anti-Corruption Initiatives: Both the executive and legislative branches have shown great interest in fighting corruption through public institutions, which is demonstrated by the creation of a comprehensive legislative framework and several agencies mandated to deal with cases of corruption. However, the effectiveness of the agencies has been deemed very low because of the high degree of executive interference in the agencies' affairs. Furthermore, observers generally agree that the Chávez administration has done little to clarify bureaucratic regulations or to reduce the number of direct contact points between public officials and citizens or companies that are known for increasing the possibility for corrupt behaviour. Despite promises to fight corruption, anti-corruption efforts have been sporadic, and there have only been a few high-profile convictions for corruption and embezzlement during Chávez's time in office. According to the US Department of State 2010 and Global Integrity 2009, the Anti-Corruption Law has not improved government transparency. Moreover, the centralisation of power that occurred under Chavez's government has eliminated important checks and balances in the state system and thus enhanced Venezuela's overall vulnerability to corruption.