Corruption in Estonia

This weeks edition of the economist has published an article about corruption in Eastern Europe, in which it singles out Estonia as "probably the cleanest country in the region." It was interesting to read this. I don't have experience about corruption in any other Eastern European countries (except the one time I got fined in Sarajevo for not validating a tram ticket and had to pay a cash fine, which I knew was going straight into the dodgy inspectors pockets) but I would believe that Estonia is not a particularly corrupt place. Real Estate and local government seem to be two areas that are a dodgy as hell, but otherwise most activities seem pretty clean cut. A friend of mine wanted to participate in an auction of a property repossessed by a bank last week, but was prevented from bidding. He was persistent enough to discover that there was one bidder, who was going to buy the property for about half what it was valued at. The solicitor acting for the bank, who should have been seeking the highest price possible, was doing everything possible to prevent my friend placing a bid. Obviously the one bidder was giving the solicitor a kick back. One wonders what the bank would think if they learnt this, and the Economist!