Despite the fact that the law provides criminal penalties for official corruption in Mongolia, the government did not always implement the law effectively and officials sometimes engaged in corrupt practices with impunity, the Human Rights 2009 report says.

Corruption was perceived to be a serious and continuing problem at all levels of the government, and particularly within the police, judiciary, and customs service. Varying degrees of corruption at most levels of government resulted in a blurring of the lines between the public and private sectors. The corruption problem was compounded by ineffective governmental oversight bodies and media that frequently failed to expose corruption.

While Mongolia’s criminal code proscribes the acceptance of bribes by officials and provides for fines or imprisonment of up to five years - it also outlaws offering bribes to government officials - corruption-related arrests and convictions were rare though increasing. Nevertheless, the sentences of a number of officials convicted of accepting bribes were commuted under a blanket amnesty law passed last July, and which President Eldergborj is currently trying to have lifted by preparing a series of draft amendment to change the country’s criminal law.

The IAAC (Independent Agency Against Corruption), which is responsible for investigating corruption cases, declared that nearly all of the most senior officials complied with the requirement to declare their assets and income (and those of relatives, including spouses, parents, children, and live-in siblings). The IAAC is also required to review the asset declarations of public servants, including police officers and members of the military, and this was carried out in practice. Of the approximately 1,050 reports of improprieties received during the year, the IAAC referred more than 660 for criminal investigation.

The reports also states that governmental and parliamentary decision making was not transparent and public legislative hearings rare. Meetings of the standing committees of the parliament were not open to the press or the public. Nevertheless, in December the Human Rights Subcommittee of the State Great Khural held the first public subcommittee hearing since the country’s democratization. General Sessions of the parliament were largely open to the public, although not in all cases.

The far-reaching State Secrets Law is also a deterrent as it inhibited freedom of information and government transparency while also undermining accountability. The law also hindered citizen participation in policy discussions and government oversight.