According to a new report by BRIBEline, a bribe reporting hotline founded by TRACE International, 85 percent of all bribe requests within Mexico come from an individual associated with the government.

“Mexico is an extremely important player in the world economy. With respect to the United States alone, Mexico is its third largest goods trading partner,” TRACE President Alexandra Wrage said. “Knowing the pressure points of doing business in Mexico is a critical first step in tailoring an effective anti-bribery compliance program. The BRIBEline Mexico Report gives concrete information about the people who are requesting bribes in Mexico, how frequently such requests are made and what the bribe seekers hope to achieve.”

The largest percentage of overall bribe solicitations, 45 percent, comes from the police, according to the BRIBEline study. Bribe demands from federal officials come in at 12 percent overall.

“The BRIBEline Mexico results present two compliance challenges,” Wrage said. “First, frequent demands for small amounts of cash are very difficult to track and properly record on a company’s books and records. Second, training employees and third party agents who are conducting business in Mexico to properly respond to extortionate demands for cash, which are often made by a police officer, is no easy task either.”

The full BRIBEline report is available at www.bribeline.org.