Berlin-based Transparency International said only four of 47 countries — the U.S., U.K., Switzerland and Israel, making up 16.5% of global exports — were actively enforcing legislation against foreign bribery in 2019.
That's down from seven countries, making up 27% of exports, that were conducting active enforcement in 2018.
“Our research shows that many countries are barely investigating foreign bribery,” said Gillian Dell, the lead author of the Transparency report.
Germany, the world's third-largest exporter and also signatory to the convention, only conducts “moderate enforcement,” as do other major exporters like France, Italy and Spain.
“G-20 countries and other major economies have a responsibility to enforce the rules.”Transparency's recommendations include ending secrecy in ownership of companies, which makes investigating foreign bribery difficult, and exploring increased liability of parent companies for the actions of their foreign subsidiaries.