International implications of corruption in Eastern European prosecution offices: a field report
| Date | 08 March 2022 |
| Pages | 512-521 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JFC-01-2022-0006 |
| Published date | 08 March 2022 |
| Author | Fabian Maximilian Johannes Teichmann,Chiara Wittmann |
International implications of
corruption in Eastern European
prosecution offices: a field report
Fabian Maximilian Johannes Teichmann
Teichmann International AG, St. Gallen, Switzerland, and
Chiara Wittmann
Teichmann International (Schweiz) AG, St. Gallen, Switzerland
Abstract
Purpose –This paper aims to explore the effect of corruption in the EasternEuropean legal system as it
implicatesGerman-speaking jurisdictions in cases of internationalcooperation, especially pertainingto white-
collar crimes and mutual legal assistance.This field report considers how during the course of the career of a
prosecutor, corruption comes into play and creates a culture which prevents the execution of justice in the
native country and in collaboration with the European Union. The invocation of compulsory measures in
criminalcase proceedings is examined carefully.
Design/methodology/approach –The first author is an internationallyactive lawyer and provides an
insight referringto the personal experience of Eastern European prosecutorsand the wider impression he has
gained of the system in which they operate. This is enforced by his teaching at the International Anti-
Corruption Academy in Vienna, where he trains public prosecutors from EasternEurope and through this
collaboration,learns of their experience in the system. Theimpressions gained from real life are supportedby
an extensive understandingof the literature, often showing that a key problem is the lack of open discussion
on the matter.
Findings –German-speaking countries cannot makeinternational proceedings dependent on the findings
from Eastern Europeanprosecutor offices. Although there are highly qualified prosecutorsat work, there is a
systemic corruptionevident which threatens the reliability of investigativeresults. Corruption is evident from
the inception of a prosecutor’scareer to the most senior positions, showing that bribesaccount for an adverse
selectionof prosecutors.
Originality/value –This is a report based on first-hand sources. It elucidatesthe existing literature with
testimony of the currentculture and its tangible influence. The implicationsfor international proceedingsare
paralleled withthe history of possible corruption in a prosecutor’scareer, the juxtaposition of which depicts a
strikingreality. Above all, the cyclical nature of corruption in the legal system is highlighted.
Keywords Eastern Europe, Anti-corruption, German-speaking countries, Public prosecutors,
Systemic corruption
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
Public prosecutors in German-speaking countries encounter Eastern European public
prosecutors in the context of mutual legalassistance and white-collar criminal proceedings,
as these proceedings are efforts of international collaboration. The results of investigations
by these prosecution offices play a crucial role, as they are often the substance of a legal
matter.
Such investigations can cover anything from legal proceedings against money
laundering, the justification of the compulsory measures used or the bribery of foreign
public officials. In internationalcases, these are therefore based on foreign facts. In the past,
JFC
30,2
512
Journalof Financial Crime
Vol.30 No. 2, 2023
pp. 512-521
© Emerald Publishing Limited
1359-0790
DOI 10.1108/JFC-01-2022-0006
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
https://www.emerald.com/insight/1359-0790.htm
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