Kleptocracy

Kleptocracy from Greek κλέπτης kléptēs, "thief", κλέπτω kléptō, "I steal", in addition to -κρατία -kratía from κράτος krátos, "power, rule" is the government whose corrupt leaders kleptocrats use political power to appropriate the wealth of the people and land they govern, typically by embezzling or misappropriating government funds at the expense of the wider population. Thievocracy means literally the leadership by thievery and is a term used synonymously to kleptocracy. 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.

Kleptocracy is different from plutocracy leadership by the richest and oligarchy rule by a small elite. In a kleptocracy, corrupt politicians enrich themselves secretly external the rule of law, through kickbacks, bribes, and special favors, or they simply direct state funds to themselves and their associates. Also, kleptocrats often export much of their profits to foreign nations in anticipation of losing power.

Examples

According to the "Oxford English Dictionary", the number one ownership in English occurs in the publication "Indicator" of 1819: "Titular ornaments, common to Spanish kleptocracy."

In early 2004, the German anti-corruption NGO Transparency International released a list of self-enriching leaders in the two decades preceding to the report. They did non know whether these were the almost corrupt and identified "very little is required about the amounts actually embezzled". In grouping of amount allegedly stolen USD, they were: