Corruption Perceptions Index 2025: key trends and Latvia’s position in the international context
In February 2026, Transparency International published its latest Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), one of the most widely used international indicators for assessing corruption risks in the public sector. The index covers more than 180 countries and territories, assigning scores on a scale from 0 to 100, where a higher score means a lower perceived level of corruption.
This indicator is particularly important for financial institutions, the non-banking sector, accountants, legal service providers, and other entities subject to the AML law, as the level of corruption directly correlates with the risks of money laundering, politically exposed persons (PEPs), and public procurement integrity.
Global trends: stagnation and increased institutional risks
The CPI 2025 results show that corruption remains a systemic problem in all regions, with only a small number of countries showing progress. The global average score has fallen to 42 points, and more than two-thirds of countries remain below the 50-point mark. This indicates structural stagnation and insufficient political will to implement reforms.
The analysis highlights that weaker democratic institutions, limited civil society, and insufficient oversight contribute to the risk of corruption and reduce transparency. At the same time, even countries with high scores can serve as hubs for international financial flows, indirectly contributing to corruption in other jurisdictions, including through illicit transfers of funds and complex ownership structures.
From an AML/CFT perspective, this means that jurisdictions with relatively good scores cannot automatically be considered low-risk countries—individual risk assessment and enhanced due diligence (EDD) are necessary, especially for PEPs and public sector contracts.
Europe: relatively high scores, but stagnant progress
European countries continue to dominate the top of the index, but in recent years the region has seen stagnation or even deterioration in results. This also applies to several traditionally strong democracies.
The Baltic states generally maintain a relatively good position, but there are still significant differences between them. Estonia maintains a significantly higher score, while Latvia and Lithuania are in the middle group, with experts pointing to shortcomings in lobbying regulation, political finance transparency, and whistleblower protection.
These factors are directly related to the risk of financial crime, as insufficient political integrity and a lack of transparency often contribute to an ecosystem of corruption and money laundering.
Latvia: situation in 2025 and dynamics compared to the previous year
According to published data, Latvia scored 60 points in the 2025 CPI, which is one point more than in 2024, when the score was 59 points.
Latvia moved up from 38th to 37th place in the ranking, but progress has been limited in the long term — results have not changed significantly in recent years and have remained at a similar level since 2021.
For comparison:
- In 2023, Latvia scored 60 points;
- In 2024, the result dropped to 59 points;
- In 2025, a return to 60 points means stagnation rather than structural improvement.
Experts point out that in Latvia, the result has fluctuated between 55 and 60 points over the last decade. Latvia also continues to lag slightly behind the European Union average of around 64 points, indicating a structurally higher risk of corruption compared to some other EU Member States.
What these results mean in the context of AML/CFT and sanction risk management
The Corruption Perceptions Index is not a direct indicator of financial crime risk, but in practice it is used as an important factor:
1. Customer risk assessment
Jurisdictions with stagnant or average CPI scores are often classified as medium-risk countries where in-depth customer research is required, especially:
- transactions involving public sector contracts;
- transactions with politically exposed persons;
- intermediary and consulting service structures.
2. Public procurement and political influence risks
Transparency International’s analysis indicates that insufficient political financial transparency and lobbying regulations are significant corruption risk factors in the Baltic region.
This means that transactions related to infrastructure projects, construction, energy, or municipal procurement require special attention from the compliance function.
3. Risk of international financial flows
Even countries with relatively good CPI scores can serve as transit jurisdictions for financial flows linked to corrupt funds in other countries.
This is particularly true for cross-border transactions, where risk assessment must take into account not only the customer’s jurisdiction, but also the economic rationale for the transaction and the structure of the beneficiaries.
Outlook: does Latvia have the potential to improve its results?
Latvia has set more ambitious goals in its national plans, but these have not been achieved so far, and experts point to the need for systematic reforms rather than isolated initiatives.
From an institutional perspective, the critical factors that may affect results in the coming years are:
- regulation of political party financing and lobbying;
- effective protection of whistleblowers;
- transparency of public procurement;
- the capacity of law enforcement and supervisory institutions.
These same factors also directly influence the level of financial crime risk and the confidence of international investors.
Conclusions
The CPI 2025 results confirm that the global fight against corruption is stagnating, and progress in Europe is also limited. Latvia remains in the middle of the pack, with a slight improvement compared to the previous year, but the long-term trend is minimal.
For entities subject to the AML/CFT law, this means that the risk of corruption in Latvia and the region remains a significant factor in assessing customer and transaction risk. On a practical level, this requires a consistent risk-based approach, in-depth research, and constant monitoring, especially with regard to the public sector, PEPs, and cross-border financial flows.
More detailed information on Latvia’s Corruption Perceptions Index is available on the website of the association “Society for Openness – Delna”: International Anti-Corruption Organization Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index 2025 Analysis of Latvia’s results
Source: Transparency International, Corruption Perceptions Index 2025

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aml.plus team