Editing Kleptocracy

{{short description|Form of government}}
{{about|the term for systematic corruption and thievery by the state or state-sanctioned corruption|a state with ties to or aid from organized crime syndicates|Mafia state}}
{{use mdy dates|date=December 2018}}
[[File:Corrupt-Legislation-Vedder-Highsmith-detail-1.jpeg|thumb|upright=1.2|Detail from ''Corrupt Legislation'', painting by [[Elihu Vedder]] (1896)]]
{{Political corruption sidebar}}
{{Forms of government}}
'''Kleptocracy''' (from [[Ancient Greek|Greek]] {{lang|grc|κλέπτης}} {{Transliteration|grc|kléptēs}}, "thief", or {{lang|grc|κλέπτω}} {{Transliteration|grc|kléptō}}, "I steal", and {{lang|grc|-κρατία}} {{Transliteration|grc|-kratía}} from {{lang|grc|κράτος}} {{Transliteration|grc|krátos}}, "power, rule"), also referred to as '''thievocracy''',<ref>{{cite news |title=The Trauma of Ascending to Presidency Through the Backdoor |url=https://www.modernghana.com/news/445915/the-trauma-of-ascending-to-presidency-through.html |access-date=24 April 2021 |work=Modern Ghana |language=en}}</ref><ref name="autogenerated1">{{cite thesis |last1=Matsilele |first1=Trust |title=The political role of the diaspora media in the mediation of the Zimbabwean crisis : a case study of The Zimbabwean – 2008 to 2010 |date=December 2013 |url=http://scholar.sun.ac.za/handle/10019.1/85723 |access-date=24 April 2021 |publisher=Stellenbosch: [[Stellenbosch University]] |type=Thesis |language=en-ZA}}</ref> is a [[government]] whose [[Corruption|corrupt]] leaders (kleptocrats) use [[Power (social and political)|political power]] to expropriate the wealth of the people and land they govern, typically by [[embezzlement|embezzling]] or [[Misappropriation|misappropriating]] government funds at the expense of the wider population.<ref name=dictionary>{{citation|title=kleptocracy|date=n.d.|work=Dictionary.com Unabridged|access-date=November 1, 2016|url=http://www.dictionary.com/browse/kleptocracy}}</ref><ref name="auto">"Kleptocracy". ''The Oxford English Dictionary''. Oxford University Press. 1st ed. 1909.</ref> One feature of political-based socioeconomic thievery is that there is often no public announcement explaining or apologizing for misappropriations, nor any legal charges or punishment levied against the offenders.<ref>[https://www.zimbabwesituation.com/old/dec21_2008.html/  "Zanu thievocracy knows no boundaries"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200219032735/https://www.zimbabwesituation.com/old/dec21_2008.html |date=February 19, 2020 }},''The Zimbabwean'', December 20, 2008</ref>

Kleptocracy is different from [[plutocracy]] (rule by the richest) and [[oligarchy]] (rule by a small elite). In a kleptocracy, corrupt politicians enrich themselves secretly outside the [[rule of law]], through [[kickbacks]], [[bribes]], and special favors from lobbyists and corporations, or they simply direct state funds to themselves [[Cronyism|and their associates]]. According to the ''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]'', the first use in English occurs in the publication ''Indicator'' of 1819: "Titular ornaments, common to Spanish kleptocracy."

==Characteristics==
{{more citations needed section|date = August 2024}}
Kleptocratic rulers often treat their country's [[treasury]] as a source of personal wealth, spending funds on [[luxury good]]s and extravagances as they see fit. Many kleptocratic rulers secretly transfer public funds into [[numbered bank account|hidden personal accounts]] in foreign countries to provide for themselves if removed from power.<ref name=divideandrule>{{cite journal | last1=Acemoglu | first1=Daron | last2=Verdier | first2=Thierry | last3=Robinson | first3=James A. | title=Kleptocracy and Divide-and-Rule: A Model of Personal Rule | journal=[[Journal of the European Economic Association]] | publisher=Oxford University Press (OUP) | volume=2 | issue=2–3 | date=2004-05-01 | issn=1542-4766 | doi=10.1162/154247604323067916 | pages=162–192 | ssrn=476093 | s2cid=7846928 | url=https://economics.mit.edu/files/4462 |type= Paper presented as the Marshall Lecture at the [[European Economic Association]]'s annual meetings in Stockholm, August 24, 2003 | access-date=November 15, 2017 | archive-date=May 24, 2012 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120524035024/https://economics.mit.edu/files/4462 | url-status=dead | hdl=1721.1/63819 | hdl-access=free }}</ref><ref name="autogenerated1"/>

According to L.K. Samuels, one reason governmental bodies subscribe to theft-prone policies is to lay the groundwork for the socialization of labor and property, thus permitting kleptocrats to make a populace "subservient to an institutionalized authority."<ref>Samuels, L.K. (2019) ''Killing History: The False Left-Right Political Spectrum,'' Freeland Press, p. 484.{{full citation needed|date = August 2024}}</ref> Journalist [[Paul Greenberg (journalist)|Paul Greenberg]], in writing in 1989 against the idea of the United States sending substantial foreign aid to [[Poland]], argued that the country was emerging from "40 years of a Communist thievocracy that has obliterated not only economic progress but also the idea of a modern economy."<ref>Greenberg, Paul (November 12, 1989) "Invasion: Here Come the Debtors," Congressional Record: Extensions of Remarks, p. 31757,{{full citation needed|date = August 2024}} as reported in the ''Washington Times'', Nov. 20, 1989.{{full citation needed|date = August 2024}}</ref>{{full citation needed|date = August 2024}}

== Financial system ==

Contemporary studies have identified 21st-century kleptocracy as a global [[financial system]] based on [[money laundering]], which "depends on the services of the world's largest banks and expert financial professionals".<ref>{{cite book |last=Sharman |first=J. C. |date=2017 |title=The Despot's Guide to Wealth Management: On the International Campaign against Grand Corruption  |location=Ithaca, New York|publisher=Cornell University Press |isbn=9781501705519 |page=1}}</ref> The [[International Monetary Fund]] has suggested it could be a consensus of estimates, that money laundering made up 2–5 percent of the global economy in 1998.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Cooley |first1=Alexander |last2=Sharman |first2=J. C. |date=September 2017 |title=Transnational Corruption and the Globalized Individual |journal=Perspectives on Politics |volume=15 |issue=3 |pages=732–753 |doi=10.1017/S1537592717000937 |hdl=10072/386929 |s2cid=148724584 |issn=1537-5927|hdl-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.journalofdemocracy.org/january-2018|title=January 2018|publisher=Journal of Democracy|access-date=2018-07-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180926114440/https://www.journalofdemocracy.org/january-2018|archive-date=September 26, 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=February 10, 1998 |url=https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2015/09/28/04/53/sp021098 |title=Money Laundering: the Importance of International Countermeasures |first=Michel |last=Camdessus |publisher=IMF |access-date=2018-07-19 }}</ref> Kleptocrats engage in [[money laundering]] to obscure the corrupt origins of their wealth and safeguard it from domestic threats such as economic instability and predatory kleptocratic rivals. They are then able to secure this wealth in assets and investments within more stable [[jurisdiction]]s, where it can then be stored for personal use, returned to the country of origin to support the kleptocrat's domestic activities, or deployed elsewhere to protect and project the regime's interests overseas.<ref>{{Cite journal |first1=Christopher |last1=Walker |first2=Melissa |last2=Aten |date=January 15, 2018 |url=https://www.ned.org/the-rise-of-kleptocracy-a-challenge-for-democracy-by-christopher-walker-and-melissa-aten-in-the-journal-of-democracy/ |title=The Rise of Kleptocracy: A Challenge for Democracy |journal=Journal of Democracy |publisher=National Endowment for Democracy |volume=29 |number=1 |pages=20–24 |access-date=2018-07-19 |doi=10.1353/jod.2018.0001|s2cid=201780159 }}</ref>

Kleptocrats abuse the freedoms found in Western countries by transferring funds out of a kleptocracy and into [[Western world|Western]] jurisdictions for money laundering and asset security. Since 2011, more than $1 trillion has left [[Developing country|developing countries]] annually in illicit financial outflows. A 2016 study found that $12 trillion had been siphoned out of the kleptocracies of [[Russia]], [[China]], and developing economies.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/may/08/offshore-finance-emerging-countries-russia-david-cameron-summit |title=Offshore finance: more than $12tn siphoned out of emerging countries |last=Stewart |first=Heather |date=2016-05-08 |newspaper=The Guardian |access-date=2018-07-19}}</ref> Western [[Professional services|professional services providers]] are taken advantage of by kleptocratic Russians and Chinese, exploiting legal and financial loopholes in the West to facilitate transnational money laundering.<ref>{{Cite news |first1=Alex |last1=Cooley |first2=Jason |last2=Sharman |date=November 14, 2017 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2017/11/14/theres-a-dirty-little-secret-behind-western-condescension-toward-foreign-kleptocrats/|title=Analysis {{!}} How today's despots and kleptocrats hide their stolen wealth|newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=2018-07-19}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |first=Carl |last=Gershman |date=June 30, 2016 |url=http://www.worldaffairsjournal.org/article/unholy-alliance-kleptocratic-authoritarians-and-their-western-enablers|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160702145025/http://www.worldaffairsjournal.org/article/unholy-alliance-kleptocratic-authoritarians-and-their-western-enablers|url-status=usurped|archive-date=July 2, 2016|title=Unholy Alliance: Kleptocratic Authoritarians and their Western Enablers|publisher=World Affairs |access-date=2018-07-19}}</ref> The kleptocratic financial system typically comprises four steps according to one opinion.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/money-laundering/laundrycycle.html|title=The Money-Laundering Cycle|publisher=United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime|access-date=2018-07-19|archive-date=November 3, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191103192532/https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/money-laundering/laundrycycle.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

#First, kleptocrats or those operating on their behalf create [[Shell companies|anonymous shell companies]] to conceal the origins and ownership of the funds. Multiple interlocking networks of anonymous shell companies may be created and [[nominee director]]s appointed to further conceal the kleptocrat as the ultimate [[Beneficial ownership|beneficial owner]] of the funds.<ref>{{cite web |first=Jodi |last=Vittori |date=September 7, 2017 |url=https://www.cfr.org/report/how-anonymous-shell-companies-finance-insurgents-criminals-and-dictators|title=How Anonymous Shell Companies Finance Insurgents, Criminals, and Dictators|publisher=Council on Foreign Relations|access-date=2018-07-19}}</ref>
#Second, kleptocrats violate Western laws when they illegally transfer funds into the Western financial system.
#Third, financial transactions conducted by the kleptocrat in a Western country complete the integration of the funds. Once a kleptocrat has purchased an asset this can then be resold, providing a defensible albeit illegal origin of the funds. This is known as money laundering and is illegal throughout the Western world. Research has shown that the purchase of [[Real estate|luxury real estate]] is a particularly favored method, especially by Chinese and Russian kleptocrats.<ref>{{Cite news |first=Philip |last=Bump |date=January 4, 2018 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/politics/wp/2018/01/04/how-money-laundering-works-in-real-estate/|title=Analysis {{!}} How money laundering works in real estate |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=2018-07-19}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/news-event/shell-company-towers-of-secrecy-real-estate|title=Towers of Secrecy: Piercing the Shell Companies|newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=2018-07-19 |type= Collection of 9 articles from 2015 and 2016}}</ref>
#Fourth, according to a British newspaper,{{which|reason=[[WP:V]]|date=March 2025}} kleptocrats may use their illegally laundered funds to engage in reputation laundering, hiring [[public relations]] firms to present a positive public image and [[lawyer]]s to suppress journalistic scrutiny of their political connections and the origins of their wealth.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2017/sep/05/reputation-laundering-is-lucrative-business-for-london-pr-firms|title='Reputation laundering' is lucrative business for London PR firms|last=Sweney|first=Mark|date=2017-09-05|newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=2018-07-19}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |url=https://www.journalofdemocracy.org/article/rise-kleptocracy-laundering-cash-whitewashing-reputations|title=The Rise of Kleptocracy: Laundering Cash, Whitewashing Reputations |journal=Journal of Democracy |access-date=2018-07-19}}</ref>

In a 2011 forensic study of grand corruption cases, the [[World Bank]] found the United States was the leading victim of illegal incorporation of entities involved in money laundering schemes.<ref name="star.worldbank.org">{{cite web |date=24 October 2011 |url=https://star.worldbank.org/publication/puppet-masters |title=The Puppet Masters |publisher=Stolen Asset Recovery Initiative, The World Bank |access-date=2018-07-19 |archive-date=November 21, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181121013656/https://star.worldbank.org/publication/puppet-masters |url-status=dead }}</ref> The [[United States Department of the Treasury|Department of Treasury]] estimates that $300 billion is laundered annually in the United States in violation of US law.<ref>{{cite news |first=Chuck |last=Grassley |date=March 16, 2018 |url=https://qz.com/1230037/the-peculiarities-of-us-financial-system-make-it-ideal-for-money-laundering/|title=The peculiarities of the US financial system make it ideal for money laundering|work=Quartz|access-date=2018-07-19|author-link=Chuck Grassley }}</ref>

This kleptocratic financial system flourishes in the [[United States]] by illegally abusing the United States' liberal economic structure for two reasons.

#First, the United States does not have a beneficial ownership registry, and kleptocrats take advantage of this privacy benefit.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://thefactcoalition.org/fact-sheet-anonymous-shell-companies-august-2017|title=FACT Sheet: Anonymous Shell Companies|date=2017-08-16|publisher=FACT Coalition|access-date=2018-07-19}}</ref>
#Second, kleptocrats take advantage of incorporation agents, lawyers, and realtors to unknowingly launder their money.

[[File:Milo Đukanović at the Enthronement of Naruhito (1).jpg|thumb|upright|Montenegro's president [[Milo Đukanović]] was listed among the twenty richest [[World leaders|world leader]]s according to ''[[The Independent]]'' in May 2010, which described the source of his wealth as "mysterious".<ref>{{cite news|last1=David|first1=Usborne|title=Rich and powerful: Obama and the global super-elite|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/politics/rich-and-powerful-obama-and-the-global-super-elite-1976403.html|access-date=19 October 2016|newspaper=[[The Independent]]|date=19 May 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.occrp.org/personoftheyear/2015/ |publisher=[[Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project]] |title=Milo Djukanovic |date=<!--not stated. Do not use the one currently listed – it's plainly wrong--> |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160624110436/https://www.occrp.org/personoftheyear/2015/ |archive-date=2016-06-24}}</ref>]]

Currently,{{when|date=June 2020}} there are only around 1,200 money laundering convictions per year in the United States and money launderers face a less than five percent chance of conviction.<ref name="fatf-gafi.org">{{cite web |date=December 2016 |url=http://www.fatf-gafi.org/countries/u-z/unitedstates/documents/mer-united-states-2016.html |title=United States' measures to combat money laundering and terrorist financing |publisher=[[Financial Action Task Force]] |access-date=2018-07-19}}</ref> [[Raymond W. Baker|Raymond Baker]] estimates that law enforcement fails in 99.9% of cases to detect money laundering by kleptocrats and other financial criminals.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://thefactcoalition.org/countering-international-money-laundering|title=Countering International Money Laundering|date=2017-08-23|work=[[FACT Coalition]]|access-date=2018-07-19}}</ref>

Other Western jurisdictions favoured by kleptocrats include [[South Africa]], the [[United Kingdom]], and British dependencies, especially the [[British Virgin Islands]], the [[Cayman Islands]], [[Guernsey]], and [[Jersey]].<ref>{{cite web |first=Murray |last=Worthy |date=April 29, 2008 |url=https://www.globalwitness.org/en/blog/missing-bigger-picture-russian-money-uks-tax-havens/|title=Missing the bigger picture? Russian money in the UK's tax havens |work=Global Witness|access-date=2018-07-19}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.financialsecrecyindex.com/introduction/fsi-2018-results |title=Financial Secrecy Index – 2018 Results |publisher=Tax Justice Network |access-date=2018-07-19}}</ref> Jurisdictions connected to<!--Not "in" – the prominent example of the Netherlands Antilles was never in it--> the [[European Union]] that are particularly favoured by kleptocrats include [[Cyprus]], the [[Netherlands]], and the [[Netherlands Antilles]].{{update inline|reason=Netherlands Antilles no longer exists|date=March 2025}}<ref>{{Cite news |first=Andrew |last=Rettman |date=October 27, 2017 |url=https://euobserver.com/justice/139688|title=Cyprus defends reputation on Russia money laundering |work=EUobserver|access-date=2018-07-19}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://nltimes.nl/2017/03/21/dutch-banks-accused-aiding-russian-money-laundering-scheme|title=Dutch banks accused of aiding Russian money laundering scheme|date=2017-03-21|work=[[NL Times]]|access-date=2018-07-19}}</ref>

[[File:Pacifické shromáždění v Brně za Skutečnou Demokracii TEĎ (03).jpg|thumb|Demonstration banner with text in {{langx|cs|Demokracie místo kleptokracie}} ("[[Democracy]] instead of kleptocracy"); peace rally in [[Brno]] for Real Democracy NOW, {{Interlanguage link|Moravian Square|cs|Moravské náměstí (Brno)}}, [[Brno]], [[Czech Republic]]]]

==Political and corporate kleptomania==
Other forms of a thievery society that can induce a "culture of systematic fraud" have been described as "political and corporate kleptomania".<ref>{{cite book |first=Wazir Johan |last=Karim |year=2020 |title=The Global Nexus: Political Economies, Connectivity, and the Social Sciences |location=London and Hackensack, New Jersey |publisher=World Scientific Publishing |pages=170–171}}{{ISBN?}}</ref> In this case, the plunder and looting enriches not only high government officials, but a narrow class of [[Plutocracy|plutocrats]], who usually represent wealthy individuals and families who have amassed great assets through the usage of political favoritism, special interest legislation, monopolies, special tax breaks, state intervention, subsidies or outright graft. This type of economic system of political spoils is sometimes referred to as [[crony capitalism]].<ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/pdfplus/10.1086/686474/|doi = 10.1086/686474|title = Crony Capitalism|year = 2015|last1 = Rubin|first1 = Paul H.|journal = Supreme Court Economic Review|volume = 23|pages = 105–120|s2cid = 225085891}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2016/05/05/comparing-crony-capitalism-around-the-world |title=Comparing crony capitalism around the world: The Economist's crony-capitalism index |magazine=[[The Economist]] |date=May 5, 2016}}</ref>

==Effects==
The effects of a kleptocratic regime or government on a nation are typically adverse in regards to the welfare of the state's [[economy]], political affairs, and [[civil right]]s. Kleptocratic governance typically ruins prospects of foreign investment and drastically weakens the domestic market and cross-border trade. As kleptocracies often embezzle money from their citizens by misusing funds derived from [[tax payment]]s, or engage heavily in money laundering schemes, they tend to heavily degrade the quality of life for citizens.<ref>{{cite book | title = Bureaucratic-authoritarianism and the Forest Sector in Latin America | first= George M. | last= Guess | publisher = Office for Public Sector Studies, Institute of Latin American Studies, [[University of Texas at Austin]] |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=LptjAAAAMAAJ&q=kleptocracy+degrades+quality+of+life | date = 1984 | page = 5 | access-date = February 12, 2018 }}</ref>

In addition, the money that kleptocrats steal is diverted from funds earmarked for public amenities such as the building of hospitals, schools, roads, parks – having further adverse effects on the quality of life of citizens.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://iipdigital.usembassy.gov/st/english/publication/2008/06/20080601225742srenod6.734866e-02.html|title=Combating Kleptocracy|date=December 6, 2006 |publisher=Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. State Department |access-date=2016-11-15}}</ref> The informal oligarchy that results from a kleptocratic elite subverts democracy (or any other political format).<ref>{{cite web |url=https://2001-2009.state.gov/r/pa/scp/2006/70236.htm|title=National Strategy Against High-Level Corruption: Coordinating International Efforts to Combat Kleptocracy |publisher=[[United States Department of State]] Bureau Public Affairs |access-date=August 8, 2008  <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> }}</ref>

==Examples==
[[File:President_Suharto,_1993.jpg|thumb|[[Suharto]], the former [[President of Indonesia]], was reported to have stolen over $15 billion during his presidency.]]

In early 2004, the German anti-corruption [[non-governmental organization|NGO]] [[Transparency International]] released a list of ten self-enriching leaders in the two decades previous to the report. Transparency International acknowledged that they were "not necessarily the 10 most corrupt leaders" and noted that "very little is known about the amounts actually embezzled".<ref name="Global Corruption Report">{{Cite book|url=https://images.transparencycdn.org/images/2004_GCR_PoliticalCorruption_EN.pdf|title=Global Corruption Report 2004|publisher=[[Pluto Press]] in association with Transparency International|year=2004|isbn=074532231X|editor-last=Hodess|editor-first=Robin|location=Sterling, VA|page=13|editor-last2=Inowlocki|editor-first2=Tania|editor-last3=Rodriguez|editor-first3=Diana|editor-last4=Wolfe|editor-first4=Toby}}</ref>

In descending order of amount allegedly stolen (converted to [[United States dollar]]s), they were:

<!-- this list is based on the 2004 report (above), if you want to add entries with appropriate citations, this is not the place -->
# Former [[Indonesia]]n [[President of Indonesia|President]] [[Suharto]] ($15 billion to $35 billion)
# Former [[Philippines|Philippine]] [[President of the Philippines|President]] [[Ferdinand Marcos]] ($5 billion to $10 billion)
# Former [[Zaire|Zairian]] [[President of Zaire|President]] [[Mobutu Sese Seko]] ($5 billion)
# Former [[Nigeria]]n [[President of Nigeria|Head of State]] [[Sani Abacha]] ($2 billion to $5 billion)
# Former [[Federal Republic of Yugoslavia|Yugoslav]] [[President of Serbia and Montenegro|President]] [[Slobodan Milošević]] ($1 billion)
# Former [[Haiti]]an [[President of Haiti|President]] [[Jean-Claude Duvalier]] ($300 million to $800 million)
# Former [[Peru]]vian [[List of Presidents of Peru|President]] [[Alberto Fujimori]] ($600 million)
# Former [[Ukraine|Ukrainian]] [[Prime Minister of Ukraine|Prime Minister]] [[Pavlo Lazarenko]] ($114 million to $200 million)
# Former [[Nicaragua]]n [[President of Nicaragua|President]] [[Arnoldo Alemán]] ($100 million)
# Former [[Philippines|Philippine]] [[President of Philippines|President]] [[Joseph Estrada]] ($78 million to $80 million)

The [[Politics of Russia|political system in Russia]] has been described as a [[Mafia state]] where president [[Vladimir Putin]] serves as the "head of the clan".<ref>{{Cite book|title=Putin's Kleptocracy: Who Owns Russia?|last=Dawisha|first=Karen|publisher=[[Simon & Schuster]]|year=2014|isbn=978-1476795195}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/dec/01/wikileaks-cables-russia-mafia-kleptocracy |title=WikiLeaks cables condemn Russia as 'mafia state' |author=Luke Harding |date=2010-01-01 |access-date=2022-11-16 |work=The Guardian}}</ref>

Former [[Malaysian Prime Minister]] [[Najib Razak]] had $731&nbsp;million in his personal bank accounts when his ruling party alliance [[Barisan Nasional]] lost the 14th election to opposition party [[Pakatan Harapan]] led by former Prime Minister [[Mahathir Mohamad]], in part because of allegations of participating in the [[1Malaysia Development Berhad scandal|1MDB scandal]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Paddock |first=Richard |date=2016-07-22 |title=Justice Dept. Rejects Account of How Malaysia's Leader Acquired Millions |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/23/world/asia/malaysia-1mdb-najib-razak.html |accessdate=}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Paddock |first=Richard |date=2018-06-14 |title=Mahathir Mohamad, Leading Malaysia Again at 92, Is on a Mission |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/14/world/asia/malaysia-mahathir-mohamad.html |newspaper=[[New York Times]] |accessdate=}}</ref>

Azerbaijan has been described as a kleptocracy for its use of oil revenue to enrich an oligarch class, including that of the ruling Aliyev dynasty.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Crude Intentions: How Oil Corruption Contaminates the World |url=https://academic.oup.com/book/37428/chapter-abstract/331518088?redirectedFrom=fulltext |access-date=2024-01-23 |work=[[Oxford Academic]] |page=132 |quote=During the price boom, Azerbaijan’s annual oil revenues rose from $5.5 billion in 2007 to $23 billion in 2011. Fueled by these riches, Aliyev used government contracts, loans, and other channels to enrich his allies and build a robust and pervasive kleptocracy. These money flows did relatively little to develop the country’s nonoil economy, and after the boom the country faced a major recession as a result.Years before his sons began shopping for jets, Heydarov worked as the head of Azerbaijan’s customs agency, where—according to US diplomats— he built his influence and benefited President Aliyev through such means as creating import monopolies for certain products and allocating them to business people loyal to the regime.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Rankin |first=Jennifer |date=2017-02-01 |title=Council of Europe urged to investigate Azerbaijan bribery allegations |url=https://www.theguardian.com/law/2017/feb/01/council-of-europe-urged-investigate-azerbaijan-bribery-allegations |access-date=2024-01-24 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077 |quote=The parliamentary assembly of the Council of Europe (Pace) has been accused of turning a blind eye to corruption, after allegations that a former senior member was paid €2.39m (£2.06m) to engineer votes to protect the kleptocratic regime of Azerbaijan’s president, Ilham Aliyev.}}</ref>

In 2010, ''[[The Washington Times]]'' estimated that [[Croatian Democratic Union|HDZ]] elites in [[Croatia]] led by former prime minister [[Ivo Sanader]] had "stolen or siphoned off" about 1 billion USD.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Kuhner |first=Jeffrey T. |date=20 September 2010 |title=KUHNER: A modern mafia state |url=https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/sep/30/a-modern-mafia-state/ |work=Washington Times}}</ref>

==Narcokleptocracy==
A '''narcokleptocracy''' is a society in which criminals involved in the trade of [[narcotics]] have undue influence on the governance of a state. For instance, the term was used to describe the regime of [[Manuel Noriega]] in [[Panama]] in a report prepared by a subcommittee of the [[United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations]] chaired by [[Massachusetts]] [[United States Senate|Senator]] [[John Kerry]].<ref>{{cite book |author1=Subcommittee on Terrorism, Narcotics and International Operations|author2=[[United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations|Committee on Foreign Relations]] |author3=[[United States Senate]]|chapter=Panama|title=Drugs, Law Enforcement and Foreign Policy: A Report|series=S. Prt.|volume=100–165|chapter-url=http://nsarchive.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSAEBB113/north06.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161007161802/http://nsarchive.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSAEBB113/north06.pdf|archive-date=October 7, 2016|location=Washington, D.C.|publisher=[[United States Government Publishing Office|United States Government Printing Office]]|date=December 1988|publication-date=1989|page=83|oclc=19806126}}</ref>

In 2020, the [[United States]] charged the president of [[Venezuela]], [[Nicolas Maduro]] with drug trafficking, as well as many officials and head figures of his administration.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/26/nyregion/venezuela-president-drug-trafficking-nicolas-maduro.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200326144009/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/26/nyregion/venezuela-president-drug-trafficking-nicolas-maduro.html |archive-date=2020-03-26 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title = Venezuelan Leader Maduro is Charged in the U.S. With Drug Trafficking|newspaper = The New York Times|date = March 26, 2020|last1 = Rashbaum|first1 = William K.|last2 = Weiser|first2 = Benjamin|last3 = Benner|first3 = Katie}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/nicol-s-maduro-moros-and-14-current-and-former-venezuelan-officials-charged-narco-terrorism|title = Nicolás Maduro Moros and 14 Current and Former Venezuelan Officials Charged with Narco-Terrorism, Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Criminal Charges|date = March 26, 2020}}</ref>
<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/26/nicolas-maduro-us-indictment-venezuela-drug-trafficking-leaders|title = US indicts Nicolás Maduro and other top Venezuelan leaders for drug trafficking|publisher= [[TheGuardian.com]]|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|date = March 26, 2020}}</ref>

==See also==
* {{annotated link|State capture}}
* {{annotated link|Elite capture}}
* {{annotated link|Failed state}}
* {{annotated link|Banana republic}}
* [[Group of States Against Corruption]]
* [[International Anti-Corruption Academy]]
* [[International Anti-Corruption Day]]
* {{annotated link|Kakistocracy}}
* {{annotated link|Kleptocracy Tour}}
* {{annotated link|Kleptopia}}
* {{annotated link|Panama Papers}}
* [[Paradise Papers]]
* {{annotated link|Political corruption}}
* [[United Nations Convention against Corruption]]

==References==
'''Notes'''
{{Reflist}}

'''Further reading'''
* {{cite encyclopedia |last= Machan|first= Tibor |author-link=Tibor R. Machan |editor-first=Ronald |editor-last=Hamowy |editor-link=Ronald Hamowy |encyclopedia=The Encyclopedia of Libertarianism |chapter= Kleptocracy |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=yxNgXs3TkJYC |year=2008 |publisher= [[SAGE Publishing|Sage]]; [[Cato Institute]] |location= Thousand Oaks, CA |doi= 10.4135/9781412965811.n163|isbn= 978-1412965804 |oclc=750831024| lccn = 2008009151 |pages=272–273 |s2cid= 241369017 }}

{{Corruption}}

[[Category:Political corruption]]
[[Category:Pejorative terms for forms of government]]
[[Category:Wealth concentration]]
[[Category:Oligarchy]]