GROUP OF eight countries are failing to stamp out corruption and bribery, with damaging implications for trade, business and broader international goals, such as tackling poverty, according to Transparency International.

The report, released on the eve of the G8 summit in Tokyo, criticises Japan, Germany and Italy for not ratifying the UN Convention Against Corruption. More broadly, it reproaches Japan, the UK and Canada for “failure to demonstrate enforcement of their foreign bribery laws”.

Japan and Canada have both brought only one minor prosecution each for bribery under an OECD convention while the UK has not prosecuted anyone, the report says. That compares with 103 cases, some of which have resulted in “severe penalties”, brought by the US. The UK is singled out for ending an investigation in 2006 into bribery allegations against BAE Systems involving arms sales.

Christiaan Poortman of Transparency, said some countries had not ratified the UN convention for fear of “being put at a competitive disadvantage”. The beauty of the convention, he said, was that it was global, theoretically creating a level playing field.

Mr Poortman said the scramble for oil and mineral resources, as big developing countries become more voracious, created a “propitious environment for corruption”. He praised the US and Germany for prosecuting some of their biggest companies.

The report is not the only one to find G8 countries are failing to live up to commitments. Environmental group WWF this week released a “climate change scorecard” for G8 members, which found that even the best – the UK, France and Germany – were lagging behind in their reduction of carbon emissions. – (Financial Times service)