Corruption in Guinea-Bissau

Government mismanagement in Guinea-Bissau, according to Transparency International's 2014 report on the country, has "created an environment conducive to corruption on a grand scale."

"[6] A Transparency International report on Guinea-Bissau notes the systemic instability and mismanagement of the government, as testified to by the fact that none of its presidents has ever completed an entire term in office.

[4] The country has been a drug-trafficking hub since around the turn of the 21st century, and many of its political and military leaders are deeply involved in the drug trade.

[6] Latin American cocaine barons, Der Spiegel has explained, look for corrupt nations in convenient geographic locations, as ideal for trafficking drugs.

[7] Authorities in Guinea-Bissau who seek to curb the drug traffic lack the most basic equipment, such as vehicles and radios, and often have insufficient gasoline supplies.

In addition, it virtually never extradites anyone, as evidenced by the case of murderer and hijacker George Wright, who after his conviction in the U.S. worked for years in Guinea-Bissau as a basketball coach.

This involvement, according to Transparency International, has overhauled patronage systems in Guinea-Bissau, ultimately lessening the state's role in corruption scheme, weakening the government as a whole.

Criminality and brutality among Bissau-Guinean security forces are well documented, as are cases of senior officials bypassing police authority by releasing prisoners and confiscating cocaine.

For example, the military is engaged in leasing airbases and naval yards to drug traffickers, who have also rented islands to build front companies to mask plane movements.

[4] Judicial corruption is a discouragement to business, according to roughly a quarter of companies that responded a World Bank 2006 Enterprise Survey.

[4] A 2001 Amnesty International report suggested that the dismissal of several Supreme Court judges and clerks were related to judicial decisions that displeased the government.

Like other countries in Lusophone Africa, it lacks a formal ethics code, has an inadequate number of external auditors, and has weak quality control.

[4] In 2008, Guinea-Bissau was found to be non-compliant with 34 of the 49 Financial Action Task Force (FATF) statutes, which cover such matters as due diligence and the criminalization of terrorism financing.

[4] In August 2015, President Jose Mario Vaz dismissed Prime Minister Domingos Pereira and the members of his cabinet, accusing them of corruption, nepotism, and obstruction of justice.