Russia admits to 'barefaced' corruption

MOSCOW - Barefaced corruption is rampant on Russia's western border, costing the state hundreds of millions of US dollars, the Russian prime minister admitted Feb 20.

"It takes our western colleagues six minutes to clear a vehicle at the same border crossing points where we take six hours. What's the problem? Bribery, corruption - insolent, barefaced," Russian news agency Interfax quoted Victor Zubkov as saying.

"At talks with neighboring western countries we keep hearing justified criticism because of numerous traffic jams at our border checkpoints," the premier said.

"The new management of the federal customs service is applying measures - replacing managers, opening criminal cases. But the prosecution and other law enforcement bodies keep delaying judgements."

Zubkov underlined that border corruption causes economic losses of hundreds of millions dollars, adding that investigation materials on more than 300 such cases have been amassed.

"The picture with the handling of shipments in our ports is similar. Containers could be detained there for days unless a bribe is received. There can be no talk about the development of business if such rules prevail," the head of government said.

Lines of vehicles waiting to be cleared for entry into Russia began to form on the eastern borders of Finland,Estonia and Latvia in summer 2006. In August and November of that year more than 500 vehicles were queued up at Narva, the only road checkpoint in northeastern Estonia, which translated into a wait of more than a week, and truckers staged protests then.

Queues developed even after President Vladimir Putin demanded more efficient work from the customs and Russian officers started to check incoming vehicles more thoroughly. Growing freight flows and outdated border facilities aggravated the problem.

The Estonian and Finnish press have also pointed out that the long waiting lines have become a source of easy money for dishonest Russian customs officials. At the same time Latvian customs officers too have taken advantage of the situation in their own interests. The Latvian police detained a large group of customs officials last year on suspicion of corruption.

The border jams have attracted the attention of both the international press and the European Union. The European Parliament passed a critical resolution last year and the issue was raised at several high-level EU-Russia meetings, but Moscow has not been able to solve the problem.