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Kleptocracy (from Ancient Greek κλέπτης , "thief", or κλέπτω , "I steal", and -κρατία from κράτος , "power, rule"), also referred to as thievocracy, is a government whose Corruption leaders (kleptocrats) use political power to expropriate the wealth of the people and land they govern, typically by embezzlement or Misappropriation government funds at the expense of the wider population."Kleptocracy". The Oxford English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. 1st ed. 1909. 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. "Zanu thievocracy knows no boundaries" , The Zimbabwean, December 20, 2008
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. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the first use in English occurs in the publication Indicator of 1819: "Titular ornaments, common to Spanish kleptocracy."
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."Samuels, L.K. (2019) Killing History: The False Left-Right Political Spectrum, Freeland Press, p. 484. 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."Greenberg, Paul (November 12, 1989) "Invasion: Here Come the Debtors," Congressional Record: Extensions of Remarks, p. 31757,as reported in the Washington Times, November 20, 1989.
Kleptocrats abuse the freedoms found in Western countries by transferring funds out of a kleptocracy and into Western world jurisdictions for money laundering and asset security. Since 2011, more than $1 trillion has left 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. Western 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. The kleptocratic financial system typically comprises four steps according to one opinion.
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. The Department of Treasury estimates that $300 billion is laundered annually in the United States in violation of US law.
This kleptocratic financial system flourishes in the United States by illegally abusing the United States' liberal economic structure for two reasons.
Currently, 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. Raymond Baker estimates that law enforcement fails in 99.9% of cases to detect money laundering by kleptocrats and other financial criminals.
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. Jurisdictions connected to the European Union that are particularly favoured by kleptocrats include Cyprus, the Netherlands, and the Netherlands Antilles.
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. The informal oligarchy that results from a kleptocratic elite subverts democracy (or any other political format).
In descending order of amount allegedly stolen (converted to United States dollars), they were:
The political system in Russia has been described as a Mafia state where president Vladimir Putin serves as the "head of the clan".
Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak had $731 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 1MDB scandal.
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. Azerbaijan's leader Ilham Aliyev and his wife Mehriban Aliyeva were described as the "embodiment of nepotism and kleptocracy" in Azerbaijan.
In 2010, The Washington Times estimated that HDZ elites in Croatia led by former prime minister Ivo Sanader had "stolen or siphoned off" about 1 billion USD.
The 2015–2016 protests in Moldova had been organised by a grass-roots citizens' movement, Dignity and Truth, as a response to the disappearance of $1 billion from the Moldovan banks in 2014. Moldova anger grows over banking scandal, BBC News (September 14, 2015) Former Prime Minister Vlad Filat was arrested on October 15, 2015, for involvement in the bank fraud scandal.
In 2016 the Enough Project issued a report claiming that the Democratic Republic of the Congo is run as a violent kleptocracy.
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.
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