The most common reason cited by the Maltese for failing to report corruption is they feel they would lack protection, a new Eurobarometer survey shows.

The finding comes despite the existence of the Protection of the Whistleblower Act introduced in 2013 and intended to provide safety to anyone who wants to raise the alarm on acts of corruption in the workplace.

The survey examined perceptions of corruption across all 28 EU Member States. Just over half of Maltese respondents said they would report a case of corruption if they came across one.

A total of 41 per cent of Maltese cited a lack of protection as being a reason they did not report corruption.

Two whistleblowers who made claims of high-level government corruption have both told this paper in recent months they felt they were in danger.

The Russian whistleblower who linked the Prime Minister’s wife to the Panama company Egrant when she worked at Pilatus Bank told this paper in October that she fled the country out of fear for her life.

Former FIAU official Jonathan Ferris, who says he was prevented from investigating the Egrant case while still an employee of the anti-money-laundering agency, has also said he feels in danger.

The Whistleblower Act is supposed to empower employees in both the private and public sectors to disclose information about improper practices by protecting them from reprisals.

Respondents to the Eurobar-ometer survey were asked to pick three possible reasons from a set of eight as to why they would not report a case of corruption.

Apart from a lack of whistleblower protection, 33 per cent of Maltese said that reporting corruption would be pointless, because those responsible would not be punished.

The third most common reason was that those who reported cases got into trouble with the authorities. This reason for not reporting corruption was cited by 29 per cent of respondents.

The survey shows 79 per cent of Maltese think corruption is widespread, ranking it above the EU average of 68 per cent

According to the survey, 83 per cent of Maltese view corruption as unacceptable, which is above the EU average of 70 per cent.

The survey shows 79 per cent of the Maltese think corruption is widespread, ranking it above the EU average of 68 per cent.

Malta was in line with what the survey termed a “general trend” of a decline in the perception that corruption is widespread. In Malta, the perception of corruption being widespread has fallen four per cent since the last survey, conducted in February-March 2013, in the finals months of the last PN government.

However, 54 per cent of respondents said corruption had inc-reased over the last three years, while 23 per cent believed it had stayed the same. This put Malta in seventh place, above the EU average of 43 per cent, for the number of people thinking corruption had increased.

Only 36 per cent of respondents agreed that government efforts to fight corruption were effective, although this was above the EU average of 30 per cent.

Despite the lack of police action over the Panama Papers scandal, Malta was below the EU average when it came to the perception of high-level corruption cases not being pursued sufficiently.

A total of 54 per cent of respondents agreed that such cases were not pursued, while the EU average stood at 69 per cent.

According to the survey results, Maltese people overall view political parties as being the main sources of corruption. They are followed by officials issuing building permits and officials awarding public tenders.

A recent study found a correlation between the number of ODZ permit approvals and the election cycle.

The majority of respondents (56 per cent) said they were not affected by corruption in their daily lives, while 32 per cent said they were affected, and 12 per cent did not know.

Only 22 per cent of respondents felt there was sufficient transparency and supervision of party financing. At an EU-wide level, 29 per cent felt that there was sufficient supervision.

In summary

83 per cent view corruption as unacceptable.
79 per cent think it is widespread.
54 per cent say corruption has increased over the last three years.
4 per cent fewer than in 2013 think corruption is widespread.
56 per cent say corruption does not affect them.
32 per cent say they are affected by corruption.
54 per cent say high-level corruption cases are not pursued.
22 per cent feel there is sufficient transparency and supervision of party financing

Reasons that people may decide not to report a case of corruption

* Most frequently mentioned item, by percentage of respondents, who could cite up to three reasons.

jacob.borg@timesofmalta.com