At the initiative of the United Nations, December 9 is declared the International Anti-Corruption Day. On this day in 2003, the United Nations Convention against Corruption (adopted earlier by the UN General Assembly on 1 November 2003) was opened for signature at the High-level Political Conference in Merida, Mexico. Russia was among the first countries to sign the Convention.
The document binds signatory states to declare bribery, embezzlement of budget funds and laundering of the corruption proceeds a criminal offence. According to one of the provisions of the Convention, it is necessary to return the funds to the country from which they were received as a result of corruption.
Corruption is a complex social, economic and political phenomenon that somehow affects all countries, regardless of their level of development. It slows down the economic development of society and undermines the foundations of the state.