Business Corruption

According to companies, information on environmental protection requirements is difficult to obtain. Exploitation of natural resources such as oil and gas is controlled largely by the state and by a few large national companies. Particularly in oil and gas investments, Russian officials at both the federal and local levels frequently raise environmental concerns as considerations in the approval process for investments, as pointed out in the US Department of State 2009. According to the report, in some instances, it is difficult to say whether such concerns are genuine. Similarly, according to the Bertelsmann Foundation 2010, environmental concerns are only on the political agenda when they promise to deliver clear material short-term advantages and can be used to put pressure on unwanted investors.

According to Freedom House 2010, the government has forcibly changed the terms of Western oil and gas companies working in Russia.

According to the Prosecutor General Office, compliance with environmental legislation is problematic and illegal resource extraction activities continue.

Companies report that bribery is common when dealing with environmental inspections in Russia. This should be seen in the context of the high levels of corruption in relation to different kinds of government inspections. Thus, Global Integrity 2010 reports that business inspections by government officials to ensure public environmental standards are usually carried out in an arbitrary and ad-hoc manner, and bribes are often extracted from companies in return for favourable treatment or expedited processing.

Political Corruption

Russia has vast amounts of natural resources, notably oil and gas. The oil and gas sector accounts for more than 40% of its export revenues. In the energy sector, the link between state and private companies is strong, as the state has consolidated its ownership and control through its shareholding of extractive companies, such as Gazprom. Private shareholding (also foreign), however, has been allowed.

Corruption in relation to natural resources exists also at a political level in Russia. For instance, according to Reuters, kickbacks paid to senior officials who hold sway over Russia's natural resources are common. The existence of a pervasive political corruption in relation to environment in Russia is also supported by Transparency International's Corruption & the Environment 2006 report. According to this report, in some governments, legislation and regulation exist to facilitate corruption rather than to protect the environment. The report presents Russia as an example of such a government; here the laws in place to protect endangered fish are used in practice by officials to profit from bribes.

Furthermore, there have been reports that corrupt officials largely control illegal hunting and trafficking in endangered and protected species through the issuance of licences and other permits in return for bribes and other illegal benefits, as cited by the US Department of State 2010.