Corrupt officials demand bribes for drivers licenses and even hospital admissions
A new study by Transparency International claims Greek households paid an average of $1,830 in bribes last year for public services such as speeding up the issue of driver’s licenses and construction permits, getting admitted to public hospitals or manipulating tax returns, according to a new study by the Berlin-based global corruption watchdog. And these statistics don’t include widespread corruption at the government and corporate level. The figures show only a small part of the corruption in Greece because many people did not admit to paying bribes, the study said. “We only measure so-called small-scale corruption, meaning bribes paid by private individuals to civil servants and in the private sector,” the head of Transparency International Greece, Konstantin Bakouris.