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A mafia expert has named 'the most corrupt country in the world'

Italian investigative journalist and writer Roberto Saviano. Picture:
Italian investigative journalist and writer Roberto Saviano. Picture:
Sean Gallup/Getty Images

The UK is the most corrupt country in the world, according to journalist Roberto Saviano, who is an expert in the Italian Mafia.

The 36 year old, who has written bestselling exposés about the Italian crime syndicate's dealings, told an audience at Hay-on-Wye earlier this year:

If I asked you what is the most corrupt place on Earth you might tell me well it’s Afghanistan, maybe Greece, Nigeria, the South of Italy and I will tell you it’s the UK.

It’s not the bureaucracy, it’s not the police, it’s not the politics but what is corrupt is the financial capital. 90 per cent of the owners of capital in London have their headquarters offshore.

Jersey and the Cayman’s are the access gates to criminal capital in Europe and the UK is the country that allows it. That is why it is important why it is so crucial for me to be here today and to talk to you because I want to tell you , this is about you, this is about your life, this is about your government.

The UK ranked tenth in the global Corruptions Perceptions Index 2015 by Transparency International with a score of 81/100.

The report stressed that no single country in the world is corruption-free.

In order to oppose corruption in Europe, the report recommended the following:

Laws need real teeth. There’s anti-corruption legislation on the statute books everywhere – albeit patchy and with room for improvement – but what’s missing is implementation and enforcement. In country after country the result is the same: the corrupt operate with impunity. Governments need to tackle political corruption and financial sector reform urgently – and this can’t happen until laws and regulations are properly enforced, and there’s a truly independent media and civil society to speak out when they’re not. Only then will we be able to prevent corruption.

More: Ahead of London's anti-corruption summit, corruption around the world in 6 maps and charts

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