Asia Pacific (APAC) countries continue to “stagnate” in their rankings in 2023, only minimally above the global average, with most well below, according to two anti-corruption due diligence tools, TRACE’s 2023 Bribery Risk Matrix (TRACE Matrix) and Transparency International’s 2023 Corruption Perceptions Index (TI CPI). While the two ranking systems share the same view of the least and most risky countries, the TRACE Matrix presents a slightly more positive view overall, ranking most Asia Pacific counties as moderate risk. In contrast, the TI CPI ranks most as being high risk. When considered together, the two systems allow for a more complete and accurate view of the risks and opportunities offered in the APAC region based on their different methodologies and factors.
TRACE considers just a quarter of the countries in the region to be high to very high risk, but two thirds are at least moderate risk. However, for the TI CPI, the average score of APAC countries was above the global average score (45 versus 43, as for the past four years), with more than half perceived as high to very high, hence TI’s description of the region’s scores as stagnating. The 2023 TRACE Matrix publication packet is available at https://www.traceinternational.org/trace-matrix, and the 2023 TI CPI is available at https://www.transparency.org/en/cpi/2023.
Although these tools offer a good starting point for assessing risk, they are not a substitute for adequate risk-based due diligence on counterparties in the region. Notably, many international bribery cases involve companies headquartered or conducting business operations in jurisdictions with very low-risk rankings. This is probably because their anti-corruption efforts support the investigation and prosecution of bribery. Countries with no track record of meaningful enforcement against their own companies for overseas bribery should be closely reviewed for bribery and corruption risks. These bribery risk tools should also be supplemented with other publicly available reports on money laundering and bank secrecy risks, as these are also indirect indicators of bribery and corruption risk.Continue Reading Asia Pacific 2023 Anti-Corruption Rankings: Transparency International’s CPI and the TRACE Bribery Risk Matrix