In the midst of Greece's most serious financial crisis, with salaries and benefits taking nosedives, the country's corruption "industry" is thriving, even increasing, in both the public and private sectors, with staff at hospitals, tax offices and town-planning offices among the worst offenders.

According to a recent survey by the Greek Office of the corruption watchdog, Transparency International, bribes paid to Greek officials last year rose by 50 million euros to 790 million euros, with the bulk of the increase due to illicit transactions in the private sector.

In the state sector, the usual suspects topped the chart. The survey found that hospitals accounted for 33.5 percent of bribes taken, with tax offices and local authority services accounting for 15.7 and 15.9 percent, respectively. Banks and lawyers are next on the list with 10.8 percent and 9 percent of cases.

In the state sector, the average bribe was 1,355 euros and in the private sector 1,671 euros, according to the survey.

The survey also found that the overwhelming majority (98 percent) of Greeks believed the implementation of existing laws is the best way to crack down on graft. A similarly large majority (96 percent) wants to see bribe-takers punished.

According to Costas Bakouris, head of TI's Athens office, the problem is not the lack of legal provisions for curbing corruption but the non-implementation of existing ones, noting that the country's current financial crisis is closely linked to graft.

Last November, Greece was ranked at the bottom of a list of the 27 member states of the European Union on TI's Corruption Perceptions Index for 2008. The index awarded Greece a score of 3.8, where 10 is highly clean and 0 is highly corrupt. The rating was equal to that of Bulgaria and Romania, and below non-EU countries such as Botswana and Tunisia.

While 2009's index has not yet been released, it is said that Greece's rating will sink even further.