Combat corruption

You can affect general attitudes with your own example. With the help of the information on this website, companies and individuals can more easily recognise what the shadow economy is and identify economic crimes. This website contains tips and examples of how you can act to protect yourself and the society against the harms caused by the shadow economy and economic crime.

Corruption is the misuse of authority for personal benefit. Corruption has serious consequences for society as well as at the individual level because it slows down economic development, increases economic inequality and environmental destruction and weakens democracy.

Private individuals and businesses

Pay attention to conflicts of interest, meaning situations where the organisation has multiple interests, financial or otherwise, one of which may corrupt the motivation or decision-making ability of the individual or organisation in question.
Avoid dual roles, meaning situations where an individual holds two simultaneous roles; for example, as a participant in a tendering process and as a decision-maker.
Do not give precedence to an individual, company or other party without justification. Also make sure not to favour relatives or help friends and acquaintances in reciprocal and unjustified ways. Cronyism refers to networks that are closed to some extent and whose activities are based on reciprocity and unethical favouritism.

Prevent

undeclared work

Undeclared work is an international phenomenon In the most serious cases, the use of undeclared workers may involve extortionate work discrimination, forced labour and trafficking in human beings when the work is carried out in unlawful conditions.

Report

virtual currencies

While the use of virtual currencies in itself is not a crime, they do not have an official status parallel to that of money. The appreciation of a virtual currency is realised when it is sold or used and, under such circumstances, the appreciation is subject to capital taxation.

Beware of

identity fraud

Identity fraud – i.e. the unlawful use of another person’s name or personal data – was criminalised in September 2015. Identity thefts are typically related to frauds in which the personal data of another person is used to purchase products, to take out a loan or to establish customer or bank accounts.

Recognise

consumer product fraud

Typical irregularities relating to products sold to consumers, or trade in consumer products, include the misuse of country-of-origin labelling, fraud related to alcohol, tobacco and car imports and the so-called subscription traps associated with distance selling.