The week was officially opened at the Croatian Employers Association and included the presentation of the findings of a student survey on the perception of corruption and how to combat it. The survey was conducted from June 1 to October 1 by students from 38 higher education institutions in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Slovenia.
Student confidence in institutions low
The survey shows that 66% of students have very little confidence in public sector institutions, down from 70% last year, and over 40% would never accept a job offer in a company that has been marked as corrupt.
Almost 60% believe moral values are not important in a corporate environment, 43% think the level of corruption is the same as three years ago while 45% think it is higher.
They cited inefficient criminal prosecution and individual opportunistic behaviour as the main cause of corruption, and 77% would report corrupt behaviour.
Over 80% cited criminal prosecution as the most effective anti-corruption method, 77% cited fines and 72% believe a lot can be done by raising awareness.
HUP director general Damir Zoric said at the opening it was important to raise fraud awareness and contribute to the improvement of the institutional framework which would help to prevent all financial wrongdoings in the future.
Vedrana Jelusic Kasic of Deloitte Croatia said she was pleased this year's International Fraud Awareness Week saw the participation of representatives of the private sector, the finance and justice ministries, the central bank, the Croatian Banking Association, the HANFA regulator, the International Chamber of Commerce Croatia, the Zagreb Stock Exchange, the World Bank, the European Banking Association, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and students.
Only together can we raise awareness of the damage of fraud for all of society, she said, adding that only economies which functioned on transparent principles and respect for the code of ethics could be successful in the long term.
New anti-corruption strategy being drawn up
Assistant Justice Minister Ivan Crncec said Croatia was drawing up a 2021-30 anti-corruption strategy, adding that major improvements had been achieved in Croatia's legislative and institutional anti-corruption framework as part of the 2015-20 strategy.
Ante Bilus of the Finance Ministry Anti-Money Laundering Office said Croatia had en effective money laundering and terrorist financing prevention system thanks to the engagement of the authorities and the private sector.
He said that in the past five years the Office stopped HRK 257.4 million worth of transactions due to suspicion of money laundering.