Many western companies have cleaned up their act on corruption at home but have yet to curb their bribe-paying in poor nations, the largest survey on illicit corporate payments will show next week.
While such "clear double standards" damage the reputation of international business, the survey also finds that companies from Russia, China, India and Brazil are most prone to paying bribes, both at home and abroad, to get contracts.
These emerging market economies are near the bottom of the "Bribe Payers Index" of 30 leading exporting nations, based on responses from 11,000 business executives in 126 countries, according to David Nussbaum, executive director of Transparency International, the anti-corruption watchdog.
The findings are likely to throw critical light on the recent wave of foreign investments by Russian energy companies and by Chinese state-backed companies in Africa.
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