ATHENS - Petty corruption in the public sector is still costing Greeks millions of euros a year, even though the country's financial crisis has led to a reduction in the size of bribes, an international watchdog said Tuesday.
Bribes, known as the "fakelaki", or little envelope, in Greece, ranged between $130-$40,000 to ensure good care during hospital surgery and between $40-$26,600 for the speeding up of a case, the Transparency International survey for 2011 found.
Hospitals, tax offices and offices issuing construction licenses were deemed the most corrupt.
The nationwide survey discovered smaller bribes, however, were being asked for and paid, reducing the estimated cost to $725 million from $842 million the previous year, the group said.
The survey, conducted for the watchdog by Public Issue, questioned 12,020 people in November and December 2011.
The watchdog said 7.4 per cent of households reported corruption incidents in the public sector last year, marginally up from 7.2 per cent in 2010. The situation was better when dealing with the private sector, with 3.4 per cent of households reporting incidents of corruption in 2011, compared to 4 per cent the previous year.
Prices at tax offices for the arrangement of financial records audits started at $130 and reached $26,600, while the issuing of a construction license cost between $266-$10,650.
However, the group said, "a hopeful message comes from citizens' engagement," with more than a quarter of those asked to pay a bribe in the public sector refusing to pay. In the private sector, the figure stood at 21.6 per cent.
