Corruption remains so rampant in Spain that seven people on average are arrested for it every day.
A report released by the country’s interior ministry on Thursday revealed that the overall number of people arrested on corruption charges fell from 2,743 in 2014 to 2,442 last year.
Although the figure dipped in 2015, it is more than six times greater than in 2010 when the number stood at 389.
Spanish courts are dealing presently with some 1,100 corruption cases and fresh cases routinely hit the headlines.
The type of corruption that frequently is under-reported is social security fraud (16% of all cases), according to the report, followed by public finance fraud (8%).
Bribery comprised 12.5% of corruption cases and embezzlement 8%.
The National Police and Guardia Civil investigated 6,488 businesses last year, finding 2,057 of them to have evidence of violations, including 847 fictitious companies. In addition, 445 groups and 18,463 individuals were probed for organised crime with a reported 60% of the groups “totally dismantled”.
In total, the report stated that fraud cases added up to nearly €80 million.
Both the socialist and conservative parties are rocked periodically by fraud scandals, but still attract voter support. Last December’s election, however, has thrown the country into turmoil as the right-leaning Popular Party was returned to power but with insufficient numbers to form a majority.
New comers anti-austerity Podemos and left-of-centre Cuidadanos gained many votes for the first time, breaking the stranglehold of the socialists and conservatives.
But more than eight weeks later the situation remains unresolved as it seems no party will agree to play ball with the others.
Spain was recorded as being one of the most corrupt countries in the EU, according to the Corruption Perception Index.
It is saddening to think what Spain could achieve for its people if its leaders could manage to keep their sticky fingers out of the pie.
