Baltic Journal of Economic Studies 165 Vol. 10 No. 2, 2024 This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution CC BY 4.0 1 Zaporizhzhia National University, Ukraine (corresponding author) E-mail: almak17@ukr.net ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0042-165X DOI: https://doi.org/10.30525/2256-0742/2024-10-2-165-176 MEANS OF INTERNATIONAL LAW TO ELIMINATE CORRUPTION THREATS TO NATIONAL SECURITY Oleksii Makarenkov1 Abstract. The subject of the article is the means of international law to eliminate corruption threats to national security. The research methodology involved the use of logical, historical and legal, systemic, natural law, formal and dogmatic, hermeneutical, economic and legal (analysis, comparison), axiological, statistical and economic methods. The purpose of the article is to reveal the means of international law to eliminate corruption threats to national security. Carrying out the study made it possible to draw the following conclusions. It was found that most countries of the world have implemented international anti-corruption norms into their national legal frameworks and have the support of international organisations specialising in the fight against corruption. The resources of foreign legal doctrine become an important source of support for domestic scientists to convince of the correctness of their scientific conclusions regarding successful anti-corruption measures. An extensive system of international anti-corruption assistance allows to minimise the costs of own relevant infrastructure. On this basis and against the background of access to powerful anti-corruption resources at the European and world level, there is essentially sabotage of anti-corruption policy in Ukraine, which has critically affected the security of the Ukrainian nation. It was emphasised that military threats from the outside are an exceptional danger for corrupt countries. At the same time, even the stabilising effect of microcorruption becomes dangerous for them in today's unstable development environment. All the positive effects of corruption in the form of improved communication through small gifts that comply with legal customs disappear when top corruption spreads in a country. Then this level of corruption multiplies a series of official crimes, treason and other crimes that destroy the foundations of national security. Already after the point of no return – the beginning of military aggression from outside against the background of prolonged high-level corruption inside the country – external support for anti-corruption reforms becomes a condition for the survival of the nation, the reduction of human losses in the war, and so forth. The need to neutralise these two challenges to national security becomes urgent after years of procrastination on accountability and other dimensions of integrity in public positions. In these cases, the national legal standard falls under the critical conditions of ultra-fast transformation, according to the successful anti-corruption models of countries that saved their nation from war and high-level corruption. It is noted that the standards set for Ukraine are quite close. These are EU standards, which are achieved through the adoption and implementation of those legal norms that reflect the current state of ensuring human opportunities. It is stressed that the specification of anti-corruption norms and the structural units of their implementation in legal reality are nativemorphic. They always differ in the degree of unification within the contexts common to nations, namely, legal traditions, mentality, historical conditions, economy, etc. Transnational anti-corruption assistance in the mutual enrichment of some nations through the possibility of using the experience of other nations. The author concludes that knowledge about the practices of building virtuous relations is the capital of the nation that possesses it. Conscious disregard of this knowledge by the recipient should be remedied by charging a fee for it. It is proposed to establish an International Organisation for Integrity Development, which would include the top 20 countries in terms of corruption and rule of law perception indices. Keywords: corruption, European Union, international law, national security, NATO, OECD, UN, war. JEL Classification: K33, F42, F55, O52, R13, K40, O19 Baltic Journal of Economic Studies 166 Vol. 10 No. 2, 2024 1. Introduction The inertia of social movement is limited by the potential of its existing legal rules and by the duration of the productive working life of its members. The temporal limits of both factors determine the inescapable logic of action: the renewal of legal rules and the succession of labour productivity for each generation. People make their own history, but they don't make it as they wish, under circumstances which they have not chosen themselves, but which are directly given to them and transferred from the past (Der achtzehnte Brumaire des Louis Bonaparte) (Marx, 1972, p. 115). The history of nations reflects universally binding rules that have become a condition for their good and evil actions. The core of these rules is the nature of law. It is learnt and applied by the nation gradually and/or in leaps (progressing or declining) and not simultaneously. If there is a correlation of these processes with the changes that occur in the nation, then the nation shows signs of openness to progress and vice versa. The backward movement reflects the loss of a sense of change in the nature of man and his relationship with others. The energy of the many adds a destructive dynamic to this loss. The power of one person, who does not feel and therefore does not understand the novelty of nature's relations and legal rules, does not lead to collapse. Even if wrong public decisions are made by one person, they are implemented by the majority. The counterproductive energy of the majority brings moments of crisis in social relations much faster. Crisis of this type of misunderstanding is the essence of different variants of deformation of legal consciousness (Makarenkov, 2015, pp. 35, 75-76). The legal nature of this consciousness is that people deny the universality of rules. At the same time, their desire to act contrary to the rules inevitably leads to destruction and deepens the crisis. All other dimensions of human consciousness that do not affect the logic of development are their own business. For example, a person may inappropriately use the words "racist", "discrimination", "corrupt" and/or other similar words in relation to another person, causing offence and harm. The person who uses such an insult irresponsibly tries to slow down the movement of the integrity of the person to whom he addressed these words. The permanence or isolation of such relations is a private matter for the people who interact in this way. These relations become of public interest when they become widespread, characteristic of a social community and/or affect universal human values, in particular those defined in constitutions and international legal acts. The threat to the development of the nation is even greater when defects dominate the nature of people who have been given a mandate of trust to identify all significant changes in the nature of law, and to reflect these changes in a timely and complete manner in legislation. No less responsibility for the future of the nation rests on the public administration, the courts and the law enforcement agencies, which have indirectly received the same mandate of trust from all other members of the nation through Parliament. The sole purpose of the existence of all these branches of state power is to safeguard the interests of the social community, which is united by common tasks, foundations and methods for solving them. Municipal authorities are also called upon to take care of the public interest, which is the essence of national interests as a component of the complex concept of "national security". Delays in these legislative changes, their incompleteness, as well as distortion of meanings during law enforcement inevitably lead to critical consequences for the nation – its disappearance, quantitative and/or qualitative reduction, etc. The legal nominations of such consequences are corruption, unfair (low or high) wages, war and similar threats to national security. 2. Analysis of Recent Research and Publications In addition to the extensive empirical material of international legal acts, numerous scientific studies on anti-corruption issues were taken into account, in particular the works of the following scholars: Bartole S., who studied the activities of the Venice Commission, constitutional law in Europe, the crisis of the rule of law among member states in the region of Central and Eastern Europe; Carrera F., who studied the weakening of powerful criminal circles that prey on state institutions within the mandate of the UN International Commission of Inquiry in Guatemala in its fight against corruption and impunity; Cerdeira J., Lourenço D. studied the impact of corruption on innovation in foreign and domestic companies in Portugal, the promotion of foreign direct investment as a measure to mitigate the corruption effect; Dokas I., Panagiotidis M., Papadamou S., Spyromitros E. investigated the overall impact of innovation on the relationship between corruption and economic growth and the direction of the causal relationship between these variables; Kingsford Owusu E., Chan A. P. C., DeGraft O.-M., Ameyaw E. E., Osei-Kyei R. examined anti-corruption measures designed to reduce the prevalence of corruption in construction project management; Kohler J. K., Dimancesco D. in their work discussed the manifestations of corruption in the process of pharmaceutical procurement, effective mechanisms for combating corruption, transparency and accountability in this process; Mihr A., Pierobon C. explored the issues that are symbolic of the security paradigm shift that is taking place in Baltic Journal of Economic Studies 167 Vol. 10 No. 2, 2024 the Zeitenwende (change of epochs) in the OSCE region, current research on border changes and political polarisation that characterise Europe's Eastern Neighbourhood and Central Asia; Schlueter W. E. researched soft corruption and its negative consequences for local and national politics; Simone F., Zagaris B. addressed the recovery and return of proceeds of corruption, the impact of a settlement agreement in developed jurisdictions, especially the United States, on the investigation of corruption in another country, and legislation prohibiting foreign bribery; A. Simonyan focused on the potential impact of perceptions of institutional factors on the perception of corruption; E. Spahn covered cooperation and competition between countries participating in the OECD Convention on Law Enforcement Disciplining Transnational Bribe Takers; L. Tacconi and D. Williams analysed the systemic impact of corruption on the environmental and resource management sectors in the extractive industries; Yannett  B.  E., Hecker  S., Berger  P.  R., Rohlik  Ph., Ao  F. studied the procedure for investigating corruption cases in China by the People's Procuratorate, the Public Security Bureau, the Discipline Inspection Commission of the Communist Party of China, the Administrative Supervision Office and the Administration of Industry and Commerce, etc. As can be seen, international anti-corruption legal acts have been adopted and implemented by transnational actors, but their impact on many countries is not sufficiently understood. 3. International Anti-Corruption Norms System (Lex Specialis) After the transformative historical moments of these crises have turned into real threats to national security, the deployment of their destructive power is no longer controlled by the nation that determined these crises. In this regard, it reflects the nature of its constituent parts, in particular, the financial, labour, mental, physiological or other incapacity of a person can only be overcome with external support. The same applies to families, households, labour collectives, territorial communities, and regional social communities. Of course, any crisis of legal consciousness can be strengthened and/or weakened by external actors. “Mit Kleinen tut man kleine Taten, Mit Großen wird der Kleine groß.“ (Goethe, 1948, р. 239) The anti-corruption framework consists of six different constructs, namely: regulatory measures, managerial measures, investigative measures, compliance measures, promotional measures and reactive measures. Each construct has its constituent variables (Owusu, 2019, p. 52). Corruption can be defined as "an illegal activity (bribery, fraud, financial crime, abuse, falsification, favouritism, nepotism, manipulation, etc.) carried out through the abuse of authority or power by public (government) or private (corporate) office holders for private gain and advantage, financial or otherwise". Corruption undermines trust in institutions, increases inequality and fosters undemocratic, populist perspectives. The challenges posed by corruption are not limited to less developed countries with weak institutional frameworks. They are also of concern in several relatively developed countries (Cerdeira, 2022, p. 1). Nations do not exist in ideal conditions modelled on the laboratory conditions of physical science, where equal volumes of ideal gases contain the same number of molecules at the same temperature and pressure. Accordingly, they require a number of qualitatively specified structural units of the anti- corruption infrastructure – norms, subjects of norm implementation and control, both in terms of the adequacy to current challenges of the content of these norms and their proper practical implementation, which is characteristic of their nature. In addition to general morality, appeals to rational, competitive free markets and a level playing field for global business, by 1998 the discourse had expanded to include two additional norms – development economics and respect for local (foreign) law (Spahn, 2013, p. 6). International anti-corruption instruments always reflect a very general framework for integrity in public office within national legal systems. Corruption is related to any abuse of power or improper decision- making process caused by an improper inducement or benefit. This general concept of corruption can be considered in the context of a number of parameters, namely: 1) different forms of misconduct; 2) bribery (active and passive corruption); 3) corruption also exists in the private sector; 4) corruption can be international; 5) certain policy areas can be considered as particularly vulnerable to corruption (EU Communication, 1997, paragraph 4) "Corruption" means requesting, offering, giving or receiving, directly or indirectly, a bribe or any other undue advantage or the promise thereof, which distorts the proper performance of any duty or behaviour required of the recipient of the bribe, undue advantage or promise thereof (CE Civil Law Convention, 1999). Criminal behaviour is no longer the domain of individuals, but of organisations that permeate the various structures of civil society and indeed society as a whole (EU Action plan to combat organized crime, 1997). As well as the provisions of other documents (Table 1). The whole set of the above-mentioned international anti-corruption acts allows Ukraine or any other country to saturate its relevant specialised legislation with ready-made rules. In the European space, such Baltic Journal of Economic Studies 168 Vol. 10 No. 2, 2024 Table 1 Special rules of public international law on the fight against corruption Anti-corruption law of a global scale 1 Action against corruption is a resolution A/RES/51/59, adopted by the UN General Assembly on January 28, 1997 (UN, 1997). United Nations Convention against Corruption of October 31, 2003 (UN, 2003). European level of legislative anti-corruption requirements Anti-corruption regulation of the Council of Europe Anti-corruption regulation of the European Union The Criminal Law Convention on Corruption of January 27, 1999 is an ambitious instrument aimed at the coordinated criminalisation of a large number of corrupt practices. It also provides for additional criminal law measures and improved international cooperation in the prosecution of corruption offences (CE Criminal Law Convention, 1999). Civil Law Convention on Corruption of November 04, 1999 (CE Civil Law Convention, 1999). Additional Protocol to the Criminal Law Convention on Corruption of May 15, 2003 which allowed the broader implementation of the 1996 Programme of Action against Corruption (CE, 2003). Convention against corruption involving public officials of June 25, 1997. drawn up on the basis of Article K.3 (2) (c) of the Treaty on European Union on the fight against corruption involving officials of the European Communities or officials of Member States of the European Union (EU Convention, 1997). Communication from the Commission to the Council, the European Parliament and the European Economic and Social Committee – On a comprehensive EU policy against corruption of May 21, 1997 (EU Communication, 1997). Directive 2013/34/EU of 26 June 2013 on the annual financial statements, consolidated financial statements and related reports of certain types of undertakings (EU Directive, 2013) Anti-corruption legal acts of non-European associations of states Inter-American Convention against Corruption (OAS 1996). ECOWAS Protocol on the Fight against Corruption (ECOWAS 2001). Arab Anti-Corruption Convention (League of Arab States 2010). Charters and other anti-corruption legal acts of international organisations, especially those whose activities are fully or partially aimed at combating corruption Anti-bribery management systems 37001 of International Organization for Standardization is the international anticorruption standard (ISO 37001, 2016). Agreement establishing the Group of States against corruption (Council of Europe 1999). International legal instruments to combat predicate and/or related corruption offences, including money laundering, white-collar crime, terrorism and war crimes, arms trafficking, illegal acts against human beings (so-called "human trafficking"), drug trafficking, and organised crime Action plan to combat organized crime, adopted by the Council on 28 April 1997, # 97/C 251/01. EU (EU, 1997). Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, adopted by the UN 15 November 2000 (UN 2000). International Standards on Combating Money Laundering and the Financing of Terrorism & Proliferation (FATF 2012). National anti-corruption acts that apply to foreign corrupt officials and/or have extraterritorial effect Case of the Portuguese Republic: Decree-Law 98/2015 was published on 2 June 2015, which updated the accounting standardisation system by significantly amending Decree-Law 158/2009, namely by incorporating Directive 2013/34/EU of 26 June 2013 (Decreto-Lei n.º 98/2015) into Portuguese law; Commercial Companies Code of 01 November 1986; etc. For example: the non-financial report should contain sufficient information to understand the evolution, results, position and impact of the organisation's activities, at a minimum, with respect to environmental, social and employee-related issues, equality between women and men, non-discrimination, respect for human rights, and anti-corruption and anti-bribery (Decreto-Lei n.º 262/86, parts 1 and 2 of Аrticle 66-B). Policies that encourage foreign direct investment, facilitate access to credit, promote economic stability, or improve the quality of institutions can help reduce the impact of corruption (Cerdeira 2022, pp. 8-9). Case of the USA: the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 (the "FCPA") is a very successful globalisation of the values embodied in this act. When the FCPA was first enacted, the US stood alone in criminalising bribes paid to foreign officials to win business abroad. The anti-corruption norm has been deeply embedded in American culture since the time of colonisation by the British Empire (Spahn 2013, pp. 1, 2; USA 1977). Other thematic legal acts are the Foreign Extortion Prevention Act of 2023 (USA 2023); Securities Act of 1933, Securities Exchange Act of 1934, Trust Indenture Act of 1939, Investment Company Act of 1940, Investment Advisers Act of 1940, Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010, Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012, and so forth (US SEC 1934-2024; Makarenkov 2016, pp. 115-116). For example: the thirteen counts charged Zhao and Binance Holdings Limited, Binance Holdings (IE) Limited and Binance (Services) Holdings Limited (collectively, Binance), the company that operates the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, Binance.com, with engaging in an extensive network of deception, conflicts of interest, concealment of information and willful evasion of the law. Zhao and Binance misled investors about risk controls and distorted trading volumes by actively concealing who operated the platform, the manipulative trading of its affiliated market maker, and even where and with whom investor funds and crypto assets were held (US SEC 2023). Binance pleaded guilty and agreed to pay more than 4 billion USD. The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois approved the previously announced settlement (U.S. Department of Justice 2023; CFTC 2023). Case of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland: Bribery Act on 8th April 2010 (UK 2010). Baltic Journal of Economic Studies 169 Vol. 10 No. 2, 2024 saturation will become a condition for unification of managerial and economic, legislative and law enforcement practices. The anti-corruption standards of any country of the Western legal tradition will allow Ukraine to count on their support for the return of assets acquired in Ukraine through corruption or other illegal means, but then transferred to the jurisdiction of these countries. The expenditure of domestic resources for the implementation of investment projects in the regions of Africa, Asia and/or countries with an Islamic legal tradition requires the obligatory consideration of the state of implementation of the virtuous practices characteristic of these countries, in accordance with the requirements of their national law. Between 1990 and 1996, for example, the unacceptable rate of investment failures, especially in Africa, and the increasing pressure from donors for governance reforms contributed to an increased focus on the problem of corruption among foreign officials (Spahn 2013, p. 7). The Transparency International Bribe Payers Index ranks companies from Russia, China, Indonesia, Argentina, India and South Africa among those perceived as most likely to pay bribes when doing business abroad (De Simone 2014, p. 41). The diversity of approaches to anti-corruption policy is not currently based on a single transnational legal instrument that would reflect the legal traditions common to the countries of the Asian region. It is expected that the Asian Development Bank will initiate the creation of a common anti-corruption law for Asian countries. A significant difference in the legal regulation of integrity issues by the international community, as opposed to a particular nation, is the dynamics of changes in relations in this community, which is accordingly filled with the pace of transformations of all nations that are part of a community, in particular, the EU, the Council of Europe, and so on. Therefore, the evaluation system of virtuous intentions and the content of actions of legal subjects from each country require unification according to legal standards common to the legal system of their transnational community. However, such unity has not been achieved even at the level of interpretations of the scope of basic concepts in the field of fundamental human rights, in particular the absence of restrictions on women's rights in certain jurisdictions of countries with an Islamic legal tradition, corruptly distorted remuneration of qualified workers, etc. The international community should specify the following requirements in public international law: 1) use of digital technologies in the procurement of goods (services, works) for public funds; 2) annual declaration of income by public officials; 3) control, verification of the accuracy of information in the declarations of these persons; 4) procedures for establishing the facts of illicit enrichment, as well as monitoring the lifestyle of the declaring persons and the sources of their income; 5) annual determination of the integrity indicator of a public official; 6) unification of the criteria for qualifying corrupt acts both at the stage of pre-trial investigation and at the stage of administration of justice; 7) justification of public funds 1 Case of Ukraine: the Civil Code of Ukraine, dated 16.01.2003 No. 435-IV, in particular, Articles 202-214 of paragraph 1. "General provisions on transactions" and Articles 215-236 of paragraph 2 "Legal consequences of non-compliance by the parties with the execution of the transaction with the requirements of the law" (The Civil Code of Ukraine 2003). For example: On 14 June 2004, the Industrial and Financial Consortium "Investment and Metallurgical Union" (the "low bidder") entered into a sale and purchase agreement as part of the privatisation of Kryvorizhstal and paid 4,260,000,000 UAH for the shares, which at the time was approximately 608,000,000 EUR. By its Resolution of June 11, 2005, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine declared the agreement of June 14, 2004, invalid and seized the shares of Kryvorizhstal from the applicant company. On October 24, 2005, the new competition ended with an auction broadcast live on major TV channels. Mittal Steel Germany GmbH was announced the winner. On October 28, 2005, it entered into a sale and purchase agreement with the Fund and became the new owner of 93.02% of the charter capital of Kryvorizhstal for a price of 24,200,000,000 UAH, which at the time was approximately 3,964,021,752 EUR (ECHR 2018 application no. 10640/05). Acts on combating corruption, integrity and/or business ethics of transnational corporations and other subjects of international law Galp Energia SGPS SA is an integrated energy company, a Portuguese multinational energy corporation present in the entire oil and natural gas value chain, as well as in the marketing of electricity; it is involved in two of the largest oil and natural gas discoveries in recent decades in Brazil and Mozambique (headquartered in Lisbon since 1846). Galp is aware of its corporate responsibility and its management has made it a priority to consolidate the values and principles of loyalty, transparency and integrity. To this end, Galp has adopted the Anti-Corruption Policy and is committed to promoting full compliance with the Code of Ethics and Conduct and with the law, and to pursuing best practices in transparency, in accordance with the 2003 United Nations Convention against Corruption (Principle 10 of UN Global Compact) and the internal Code of Ethics and Conduct, Corruption Prevention Policy, Prevention of Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism Policy, Standard for Related Party's Transactions of the Galp Group, Tax Policy, Standard for Management of Conflicts of Interest, Plan for Prevention of Risks of Corruption and Related Infractions (Galp 1846-2024). (End of Table 1) Baltic Journal of Economic Studies 170 Vol. 10 No. 2, 2024 expenditures in the development and implementation of long-term decisions of public authorities; 8) criteria of integrity of conduct of entrepreneurs, public authorities and other participants in international economic relations; 9) rules for processing relevant accounting and banking information, in particular, within the framework of compliance procedures; 10) compliance with the norms and principles and fulfilment of the norms and objectives in the field of combating money laundering. The stated requirements of international anti- corruption law enable states with weak positions in the field of anti-corruption policy to eliminate the integrity crisis for national security and to ensure the openness of the political-legal system in order to successfully satisfy public interests. For example, according to US anti-corruption law, the local law provision embodies a crucial norm of respect for foreign sovereignty (Spahn 2013, p. 8). The resource of international law is useful in the areas of political activity and public administration, where there are challenges to so-called soft corruption. This is found in the exploitation of political and governmental activities such as campaign finance, lobbying, patronage and the electoral process, as well as potential conflicts of interest where a public official acts on government matters that provide personal rewards (Schluter, 2017, p. 4). 4. International Actors Neutralising Corruption Threats to the Security of Nations The nature of international anti-corruption requirements is expressed not only in the geographical spread of action on the territory of all nations whose states have implemented them in the national legal space. This territorial transnationality requires coercive power from outside the country, which reduces the sovereignty of the public authority of that country. The connection between the two factors is causal: the formal recognition of the anti-corruption norm becomes its actual embodiment in legal reality as a result of the specified external coercive force. Internal coercion is not possible because it is corrupt – it aims at exactly the opposite result in the form of ignoring the rules of integrity and indulging corrupt distortions. A unit increase in corruption reduces GDP by 1.3%. The indirect effect of corruption through the human capital channel is 39.52%, investment 9.44%, innovation 19.88% and the direct effect 31.16% (Dokas, 2023, pp. 1047-1049). The organisational-legal direction of using the resources of international public law to overcome the high level of corruption in any state can be seen in the unity and/or completeness of the practices of implementation, interpretation and application of the integrity standard recognised by the world community, in particular as a result of the work of the following international organisations. 4.1. The Anti-Corruption Potential of the UN and Other Global Institutions to Strengthen National Security with Integrity Resources Established in 1997, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) is the global leader in the fight against illicit drugs, transnational organized crime, terrorism and corruption, working with governments and other stakeholders to rapidly identify emerging trends and threats, develop effective responses, and assist Member States in taking strategic action. UNODC works in all regions of the world to assist Member States in preventing corruption by promoting integrity and good governance, and to assist in the recovery of stolen assets (UN 2004). The next is the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, established by the Commission on Human Rights in resolution 1994/41. This mandate was taken over by the Human Rights Council (General Assembly resolution 60/251) and extended for one year (Human Rights Council decision 2006/102). This mandate provides for the protection of human rights through the promotion of the independence of the judiciary and the free exercise of the legal profession (UN 1994-2024). The International Association of Anti-Corruption Authorities (IAACA) was established to promote the effective implementation of the UN Convention against Corruption and to support anti-corruption authorities (ACAs) worldwide in preventing and combating corruption. This is an independent and non-political anti-corruption organisation with the aim of working towards the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 16.5 to "significantly reduce corruption and bribery in all its forms" by 2030. To date, more than 170 ACAs from various countries and regions have joined the IAACA as members (IAACA 2006-2024). The UN's experience in targeted anti-corruption work is also reflected in the mandates of commissions that specialise in assisting national authorities in the fight against crime, including corruption. For example, the Comisión Internacional contra la Impunidad en Guatemala (CICIG) was established under the Agreement between the United Nations and the Government of Guatemala. The initial two-year mandate since December 12, 2006 has been extended several times until 2019 (Carrera, 2017, pp. 1-7). On 1 January 2022, the INTERPOL Financial Crime and Anti-Corruption Centre (IFCACC) was established to assist member countries in detecting, preventing, and disrupting the threat posed by Baltic Journal of Economic Studies 171 Vol. 10 No. 2, 2024 financially motivated crimes, such as fraud, and those enabled or facilitated by corruption, money laundering, and the acquisition of assets (INTERPOL 2022-2025). For example, although much of the state apparatus devoted to anti-corruption is focused on the rules that apply to Chinese officials, in recent years resources have also been devoted to investigating private sector actors, including employees and managers of multinational corporations (Yannett, 2013, p. 115). Two global financial institutions – the International Monetary Fund and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank) – are also involved in the fight against corruption. The Integrity Vice Presidency (INT) is an independent unit within the World Bank Group that investigates and pursues sanctions related to allegations of fraud and corruption in projects financed by the World Bank Group. INT supports the World Bank Group's major business units and external stakeholders in mitigating the risks of fraud and corruption through the sharing of investigative findings, advice, prevention and outreach (World Bank 1944-2024). According to the World Bank, companies and individuals pay more than 1 trillion USD in bribes each year (Tacconi, 2020, p. 306). The IMF contributes to countries' anti-corruption policies by providing recommendations, guidelines and thematic events. The relationship between various economic factors such as economic growth, economic development and corruption has been addressed by leading economists (Simonyan, 2023, p. 5). In this regard, relevant areas in the activities of international economic organisations play an important role in the fight against corruption. The mission of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is to promote global prosperity by advising governments on policies that support resilient, inclusive and sustainable growth. For example, the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention of 1998 is one of the most important international instruments for combating bribery (OECD 1960-2024). The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is an intergovernmental body established by the G7 in July 1989 to study and develop measures to combat money laundering. In 2012, the FATF further strengthened the global beneficial ownership rules in the standards to prevent criminals from hiding their illegal activities and dirty money behind secretive corporate structures (FATF 2012-2023, pp. 7-9). The International Organisation for Standardisation has developed an anti-bribery management system that enables organisations to prevent, detect and respond to bribery by adopting an anti-bribery policy and other measures (ISO 37001, 2016). 4.2. The Anti-Corruption Potential of NATO, the Council of Europe and the EU in Strengthening National Security with Integrity Resources The elimination of corruption from the list of real threats to Ukraine's national security includes the establishment of the rule of law as one of the key principles of the development of relations between Ukraine and NATO (NATO 1997, 2016). The effectiveness of troop management, mobility, logistical support, technological dominance in the field of military development, high ability to receive and use intelligence data, as well as other advantages of NATO legal standards prove the expediency of Ukraine borrowing their experience as deeply as possible. The success of this work is a guarantee of the elimination of losses caused by corruption in a crucial area of national security – the defence of the country. The Committee of Experts on the Evaluation of Anti-Money Laundering Measures and the Financing of Terrorism (MONEYVAL) is a monitoring body of the Council of Europe with the task of assessing compliance with the main international standards for combating money laundering and the financing of terrorism and the effectiveness of their implementation, as well as making recommendations to national authorities on necessary improvements to their systems (Council of Europe 2010). The Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) was established by the Council of Europe in 1999 to monitor states' compliance with the organisation's anti-corruption standards (Council of Europe 1999). The economic difficulties of the countries concerned have opened the way to a sharp increase in judicial corruption, caused both by the exorbitant salaries of judges and by the high financial value of many of the issues submitted to judges for decision. This risk of political abuse requires a deeper engagement with national contexts when implementing such a radical measure as vetting the judiciary or one of the other branches of government (Mihr, 2024, pp. 102, 103). For example, according to the Venice Commission, any form of assessment of the qualification of judges or the correctness of their decisions appears to be an exceptional measure (Bartole, 2020, pp. 83, 86, 87). In this context, the historical logic of the decision of the European Council of October 1999 to set up the European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation (Eurojust) can be traced. Its task was to facilitate the proper coordination of national prosecution authorities and to support criminal investigations in cases of organised crime (Eurojust 2022, pp. 7, 16, 63, 68, 84). Europol is the EU agency for law enforcement cooperation. Europol's objectives include combating Baltic Journal of Economic Studies 172 Vol. 10 No. 2, 2024 fraud, organised robbery, swindling and fraud, racketeering and extortion, computer crime and corruption (EU Convention 1995; Bunyan 1995, p. 1). The role of the European Commission for Democracy through Law (Venice Commission) is to provide legal advice on constitutional matters to its member states, and in particular to assist states wishing to bring their legal and institutional structures into line with European standards and international experience in the fields of democracy, human rights and the rule of law. The European Partners against Corruption (EPAC since 2004) and European contact-point network against corruption (EACN since 2008) are independent forums for practitioners, united in the common goal of preventing and combating corruption (EU decision 2008).  The European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) exercises the powers of the European Commission to conduct external administrative investigations with a view to strengthening the fight against fraud, corruption and any other illegal activity (OLAF 1999-2024). The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has become another important supporter of Ukraine's anti-corruption policy (EBRD 1990-2024). There is a negative relationship between the perception of trust in public institutions and the perception of corruption (Simonyan 2023, p. 4). Established between 1973 and 1975, the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe works to address many aspects of poor governance, including corruption and money laundering, and to promote full respect for the rule of law, increase transparency and develop effective legislation as the basis for a functioning state (OSCE 1990). Thus, Ukraine's anti-corruption cooperation with these organisations is determined by different types of motivation: 1) the UN structures cover all member states, primarily in terms of communication and powers of public authorities, as well as in a number of humanitarian areas of state policy; 2) specialisation of anti-corruption work is more specific in all areas of work with the EU and Council of Europe authorities, due to the geographical presence on the European continent, the unity of historical and cultural traditions with other European nations, and the desire to join the rules of identifying the good virtues of its population, which led to economic progress; 3) areas of cooperation within other international organisations – participation in solving law enforcement tasks at the regional and global levels, as well as structural economic tasks to maintain an acceptable investment climate. The focus of all anti-corruption international organisations is not on general issues of fighting corruption, the ways in which it is committed, the involvement of different branches of government, and the financial and other types of economic damage caused by dishonesty. However, the effect of anti- corruption work also needs to be detailed within specific areas of legal relations – military, counterin- telligence, science, education, sports, environment, etc. For example, corruption in the field of environmental protection and resource management has significant negative environmental and economic consequences, which, in turn, can have negative social consequences (Tacconi, 2020, p. 323). The ineffectiveness of the public authorities' interaction with international anti-corruption organisations over the years has resulted in a growing demand for the resources of scientists, journalists and other representatives of integrity in open civil society to implement the recommendations of these organisations in social practice and to force the public authorities to be efficient in this work. The support of civil society anti-corruption investigations by these organisations forces the national public authorities to respond to the facts of corruption in accordance with the strict requirements of criminal law, to punish the use of public funds for private interests, the abuse of public official position, etc. In one country, for example, a coalition of civil society organisations discovered that shell companies were being used to manipulate market prices (Kohler, 2020, p. 5). Countries should also be proactive in sharing information on settlements reached with other potentially affected countries (Zagaris, 2014, p. 70). 5. Conclusions For this reason, most countries in the world have incorporated international anti-corruption standards into their national legal frameworks and are supported by international organisations specialising in the fight against corruption. The resources of foreign legal doctrine become an important source of support for domestic scientists to convince of the correctness of their scientific conclusions regarding successful anti-corruption measures. An extensive system of international anti-corruption assistance allows to minimise the costs of own relevant infrastructure. On this basis, and against the background of access to powerful anti-corruption resources at the European and world level, there is essentially sabotage of anti- corruption policy in Ukraine, which has critically affected the security of the Ukrainian nation. Moreover, Ukraine's ability to neutralise corruption is incomparably high in comparison with countries that performed a similar task even before the creation of all these organisations and now represent a model for borrowing standards in anti-corruption policy. This comparison suggests that the internal motivation of these countries to overcome corruption is high, even in the absence of external support. Military threats from outside are the only danger for corrupt states. In this case, even the stabilising influence of micro-corruption becomes dangerous for Baltic Journal of Economic Studies 173 Vol. 10 No. 2, 2024 them in today's unstable conditions of development. All the positive effects of corruption in the form of improved communication through small, legal gifts disappear when top-level corruption is widespread in the country. Then this level of corruption multiplies a number of official crimes, treason and other crimes that destroy the foundations of national security. After the point of no return – the outbreak of military aggression from outside against the backdrop of ongoing top-level corruption inside the country – external support for anti-corruption reforms becomes a condition for the survival of the nation, reduction of human losses in the war, etc. The need to neutralise both of these challenges to national security has become urgent after years of delay in accountability and other measures of integrity in public office. In these cases, the national legal standard is subject to critical conditions of ultra-fast transformation in accordance with the successful anti-corruption models of countries that have saved their country from war and grand corruption. These standards are quite close to Ukraine. These are EU standards that are achieved through the adoption and implementation of those legal norms that reflect the current state of human rights. The specification of anti-corruption rules and the structural units for their implementation in legal reality are nationomorphic. They are always distinguished by the degree of uniformity within the contexts common to nations, namely: legal traditions (Western, Eastern, Northern, Southern; religious, etc.), mentality, historical conditions, economy, etc. Transnational assistance in the fight against corruption, with the mutual enrichment of some nations through the possibility of using the experience of other nations. It is concluded that knowledge of the practices of building virtuous relationships is the capital of the nation that possesses it. The deliberate disregard of this knowledge by the recipient should be corrected by charging for it. Otherwise, anti- corruption advice will become an ineffective and thankless endless process. The homogeneity of the anti-corruption policy of nations is productive in terms of general standards of law, but the effectiveness of this policy is lost in detail, since each nation (its ethnic groups) is distinct, exists and develops primarily due to its unique characteristics. The personification of dissimilarity is its members in all the diversity of combinations of their vices and virtues, manifestations of human nature under the pressure of external challenges, communication with other subjects of law, etc. In the context of eliminating corruption threats to Ukraine's national security, the role of international law and the community, specific nations and their prominent representatives in strengthening the Ukrainian nation – the virtues of its representatives – is growing. This makes it possible to multiply the legal energy of Ukrainians, i.e., the power of the rule of law – the universal values that form the basis of spiritual, economic and military power. The British practice of the Ministry of Justice providing explanatory notes to parliamentary acts, in particular to laws on anti-corruption and issues of national interest to Ukrainians, should be implemented in Ukraine. The reality of the humanitarian standard declared in the law is a sobering factor for every citizen who seeks to understand his actual legal limits, as well as the compliance with these limits of his nature, life mission and intentions. Otherwise, legal frustration and despair will arise among the citizens, which will become a good basis for the criminal influence of the secret services of other states, which want to do harm. In addition, the excessive number of normative declarations in the country's legislation turns the life of its citizens into an illusion, devalues it essentially. Virtuous citizens hope that they will achieve the right standard set for them during their lifetime and/or the lifetime of their descendants, but in the end such hopes prove to be in vain. Even though they have exerted all the power of their human virtues to achieve such a level of development. National security in this anthropo-dimensional context of the state and legislation is enhanced where and when what is written in the legislation is fully implemented. The substantive direction of enhancing the capacity of transnational anti-corruption is determined through knowledge of the following subjects, namely: 1) definitions such as "integrity", "anti-corruption compliance", "rule of law", "loss of face", "civil society open for development", "inheritance of anti-corruption experience", "persons with internationally recognised authority in the field of combating corruption", "persons with internationally recognised level of integrity", "capitalisation of integrity" and some others; 2) interdisciplinary connections of human virtues, which are reflected in the requirements of the legislation regulating political, economic and other social relations; 3) autobiographies of successful police officers, investigators, prosecutors, lawyers, judges, whistleblowers and other anti-corruption activists, and the patterns of success of their anti- corruption experience. The viability of this knowledge in the national legal space requires its adaptation, in particular, the elaboration of lexemes that constitute the essence of the worldview of the nation's representatives. The process of effective application of anti-corruption concepts should be in line with productive national practices of transforming written legal text into legal reality. The structuring of virtuous socially active behaviour is also differentiated within the nation itself, depending on the nature of the social stratum and/or the functional load of the team to which the anti-corruption norms are addressed. Baltic Journal of Economic Studies 174 Vol. 10 No. 2, 2024 These rules should be studied as part of the general course "Doctrine of Integrity in Legislation and Practice", reflecting the specifics of challenges to the integrity of professionals in a particular sector of the economy. Given the inability of administrative, law enforcement and judicial anti-corruption efforts demonstrated by the war, the only effective anti- corruption tool is educational work supported by the EU and other partners of Ukraine. Administrative, legal and technical excellence in the field of anti-corruption policy of each state inevitably eliminates corruption threats to its security, in particular in the form of a certain set of crimes for which corruption is a predicate offence. Comparison of states and their associations allows to determine their place in the world, the grounds for integration with other states, in particular, the level of human virtues within the EU. The comparability of achievements and losses in the anti-corruption policy of states guides them to effectively use each other's experience, including that summarised in international legal acts. It is advisable to create an International Organisation for Integrity Development, which would include the top 20 countries in terms of corruption and rule of law perception indices. 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Received on: 08th of March, 2024 Accepted on: 16th of May, 2024 Published on: 10th of June, 2024