Individual Corruption

According to the public perception survey, Global Corruption Barometer 2010 by Transparency International, very few responding households inform that they pay bribes and other irregular fees for public services. Hardly any of the respondents need to pay bribes to the education system, and only small percentages pay bribes to obtain medical services and public utilities, such as telephones, water and electricity. A higher percentage reveal that bribes are needed for birth and marriage certificates and to get permits and licences.

Business Corruption

According to Global Integrity 2008, despite the transparent laws on regulatory requirements for basic health, environmental and safety standards for businesses, there are nevertheless cases where corruption has led to enforcement inconsistencies. In 2004, a fire accident in the nightclub 'Cromañón' caused a death toll of 194 and thousands of injuries. According to The Argentimes 2009, the accident caused a scandal when corruption links between the club owner and several individuals, including the Mayor of Buenos Aires were revealed. After a more than 4-year long trial, the club owner was convicted of bribery and was sentenced to 20 years in prison and the former Mayor was dismissed from his post in 2006 for tolerating and ignoring safety checks at the club.

In a recent survey conducted by the World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness Report 2010-2011, business executives surveyed indicate that the level of government regulation in the country represents a competitive disadvantage. Therefore, companies should note that excessive bureaucracy can possibly be associated with the use of facilitation payments.

Political Corruption

According to Global Integrity 2010, the quality of the civil service in Argentina is seriously affected by political interference and civil servants who act against the government's policies can be punished.

The 1983 to 1994 Yacyretá Dam hydroelectric project on the border of Argentina and Paraguay, partly financed by the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank, is widely known as a 'monument to corruption'. It is a typical mega-project that has proven to be vulnerable to large-scale corruption. Yacyretá Dam was intended to be a clean and cheap source of energy, but large cost overruns have meant that the energy produced is not economic. According to Transparency International Global Corruption Report 2008, the original budget of USD 2.7 billion was inflated to USD 11.5 billion, and corruption is believed to have contributed to driving up the total costs. According to the International Rivers Network: Yacyretá Dam, despite the fact that there was well-documented evidence on engineering and construction companies, as well as politicians embezzling public funds, no one was ever brought to justice.

Frequency

The World Bank & IFC: Doing Business 2011:
- Dealing with a construction permit n Argentina requires a company to go through 28 administrative steps, taking as much as 338 days at a cost of nearly 134% of GNI per capita.

World Economic Forum: The Global Competitiveness Report 2010-2011:
- Business executives give government administrative requirements (permits, regulations, reporting) in Argentina a score of 2.6 on a 7-point scale (1 being 'extremely burdensome' and 7 'not burdensome at all').

Transparency International: Global Corruption Barometer 2010:
- 8.7% of households who had contact with registry and permit services in 2009 report to have paid a bribe.

-3.9% of households who had to obtain public utilities in 2009 report to have paid a bribe.

- 2.6% of households who had contact with medical services in 2009 report to have paid a bribe.

- Only 0.6% of households in 2009 report to have paid a bribe to the education system.

Transparency International: Bribe Payers Index 2008:
- Business executives give the registry and permit services a score of 3.3 on a 5-point scale (1 being 'not at all corrupt' and 5 'extremely corrupt').

- Business executives give the medical services a score of 2.7 on a 5-point scale (1 being 'not at all corrupt' and 5 'extremely corrupt').

- Business executives give utilities services a score of 2.6 on a 5-point scale (1 being 'not at all corrupt' and 5 'extremely corrupt').

The World Bank & IFC: Enterprise Surveys 2006:
- 5.7% of companies expect to give gifts in order to obtain an operating licence.

- 8.9% of the companies surveyed expect to give gifts to get a construction permit.

- The percentage of companies that expect to give gifts to obtain electrical, phone and water connections are quite low, being 2.8%, 2.1% and 0.77% respectively.