Bosnia seat of corruption

Bosnia seat of corruption, organized crime in Balkans: TI
Agence France Presse -- English - March 16, 2005 Wednesday 7:23 PM GMT

SARAJEVO March 16 - Despite the efforts of the international community Bosnia has become one of the seats of corruption and organized crime in the Balkans, Transparency International (TI) said on Wednesday.

"Despite the efforts of the international community, Bosnia and Kosovo remain the key areas for organized crime and the places of transit for all illegal activities," chairman of the Bosnian branch of TI Boris Divjak said in a written statement.

Divjak's statement followed the publication on Wednesday of Transparency International's Global Index of Perception of Corruption that showed Bosnia falling from 70th to 82nd place on the list of the most corrupt countries.

Divjak said that the international aid for Bosnia worth 5.1 billion dollars (3.8 billion euros) "ended up in private pockets or political parties' budgets...due to a lack of coordinated spending and controls."

"It is thus that Bosnia remains one of a few countries in which not even McDonalds wants to work," he said.