Almost 7,500 people have been found guilty on charges of bribery last year, more than half of them for giving or taking less than $150, according to data released by the Russian Supreme Court’s justice department.
Anti-corruption activists say official figures vastly underestimate the prevalence of bribery in a country that ranks low in transparency and high in corruption. Russian prosecutors have cracked down on $27 million in bribes between January and September 2018.
At least 2,167 people were convicted of bribe-taking and 1,552 for bribe-giving, the Supreme Court’s 2018 data released on Sunday states.
Among those found guilty of taking bribes, 446 people were sentenced to real prison terms. Of those who gave out bribes, 250 received prison sentences, the court data shows.
Meanwhile, 3,722 were convicted for petty bribery, which includes bribes up to 10,000 rubles ($155), accounting for more than half of the sentences.
All corruption-related crimes totaled 16,607 convictions in 2018, 1,383 of which resulted in real prison terms.