Spain’s property boom may have turned to bust, but part of its legacy is the gangrene of corruption, which flourished in the booming real estate sector. The ‘2009 Global Corruption Report’ by Transparency International (TI) shows that Spain is still stuck in 28th place (out of 180, with 1st place being least corrupt), the same as last year, at the tail end of the EU’s older members, only beating Italy, in 55th place.

Corruption in the real estate sector is one of the ‘principal causes’ behind Spain’s fall from 22nd to 28th place in the last 5 years, said Jesús Lizcano, President of TI in Spain. He also described the measures taken to address the problem as insufficient.