A World Bank report says fewer Russian companies are paying bribes and it’s mostly businesses led by women that choose to stand up to passing money under the table.

The survey studied the burden of government regulation and corruption in 37 Russian regions from 2008 to 2011.

According to Grigory Kisunko of the World Bank, companies with women at the helm are less prone to solving their ‘problems’ by giving bribes, but have to pay with their time in return as they are more likely to face administrative barriers.

The number of managers, who said that they had to give bribes, decreased during the period. In 2008 every fifth contact with a state institution was corrupt, while in 2011 the figure dropped to one in twelve. In the EU every 20th manager opts for bribing when it comes to winning bids and avoiding administrative barriers.

The size of corrupt rents, on the contrary, has increased.  "Fewer companies reported paying bribes, but those who pay, pay more," Kisunko stressed.

The report says unofficial payoffs in public contracts has grown from 11%in 2011 to 15% now, which means bureaucrats have remained on the take.

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