Russia ranks 121 in a new Corruption Perception Index report published by Transparency International last week, which placed it above Azerbaijan but below such ex-Soviet republics as Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Georgia, and Moldova.
Prosecutor General Yury Chaika said: "In 2005, more than 9,000 bribery and bribe-taking cases were uncovered across the country. In the first nine months of this year, the figure has already reached 9,500."
He said the majority of people convicted in corruption cases were low and mid-ranking officials in government structures.
Chaika said numerous officials violated the law by engaging in commercial activities, some even belonging to companies' boards of directors.
"Public servants sell information, provide illegal privileges to the companies they run, and help them make acquisitions or speed up the documentation process," the prosecutor said.
Chaika also said that violations of anti-monopoly and tax legislation were uncovered in the Federal Customs Service.
"Commercial organizations have been able to control customs bodies," he said, adding that officials at the Russian Customs Service receive financial rewards from legal entities, a practice also rife in other government agencies.
Russia's Interior Minister Rashid Nurgaliyev said the number of corruption cases rose to 35,000 in the past five years. "Bribery and bribe-taking alone have increased 40%," he said.
