RIGA - Since the creation of Latvia's Corruption Prevention and Control Bureau in October 2002, the country has seen sweeping changes in control over campaign party finances and intense scrutiny of questionable projects involving public monies.
For Latvia, a country ranked 57th in Transparency International's corruption index of over 100 nations, the establishment of the anticorruption bureau has been nothing short of revolutionary.
Corruption remains a hot topic all across former Soviet states and satellites as the transition from command to market economy coupled with an inherited tradition of corruption from Soviet times, which became apparent as unscrupulous businessmen took advantage of opportunities to "privatize" state assets during economic shock therapy.
The Corruption Prevention and Control Bureau, fully operational since February 2003, has three main pillars of operation: preventing and combating corruption and educating the public.
