Demands for Bribes Received by 46% of Bulgarian Companies

Widespread corruption in the administration restricts the options of Bulgarian companies. A total of 46% have received a demand for a bribe by bureaucrats, showed a survey of the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) presented by the chairman of the employers' organisation Tsvetan Simeonov.

According to Simeonov, merely 48% of companies have not been asked for a bribe.

"Always, when things depend on the administration, there are excesses and the more the law allows the bureaucrat to say "yes" or "no" without any clear rules, there are grounds for corruption," commented Simeonov.

Corruption is most widespread in the public procurement sector according to 46% of the surveyed companies. In the opinion of 21% of the surveyed businesses, corruption is greatest in the judicial system.

According to BCCI, the solution is to implement electronic management which will reduce direct contacts and the demands for bribes. Businesses are adamant that they will insist on everything being done electronically, while the administration's power is limited to checking whether the data is correct.

As of Thursday, there is a section for submitting signals of corruption on the website of BCCI.