Based on both theoretical underpinning and empirical knowledge, this paper addresses the issue of corruption in customs through the analysis of the conditions necessary for the implementation of successful anti-corruption policies. It aims to provide an intellectual framework, a mode of thinking that could be used in Ukraine and beyond, rather than a model to follow. To reach this objective, the paper addresses a number of areas, starting from exploring the specificity of corruption at borders and particularly in customs. The reflection proceeds by providing counter-arguments to some common ideas on the fight against corruption, exploring the political choices that should serve as a basis for any reflection on anti-corruption policies, and proposing an extensive use of quantification or the ‘reform by numbers’. Drawing upon this analysis, the paper develops four conditions necessary for the design of the anti-corruption instruments in customs that could eventually lead to containing this scourge.