Corruption is a cancer, a disease the eats away at society. But what exactly is it? A cancer, yes, good one. But can you define it? Generally, when in the news it is thought of as immoral acts by politicians, taking or doing things they shouldn't be in their positions of power. We drill down a bit into this complex subject, firstly a few definitions below.

Transparency International (TI);

"The abuse of entrusted power for private gain."

The World Bank & International Monetary Fund (IMF);

"abuse of public office for private gain."

The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD);

"active or passive misuse of the powers of Public officials (appointed or elected) for private financial or other benefits."

Professor Daniel Hough states a potential four pronged approach. It will be;

1. deliberate.

2. an abuse of position.

3. an abuse of entrusted power. If they don't have power they can't be corrupt.

4. for private gain. The individual and/or their associated people or entities will benefit.

In a 2008 paper, Andersson and Heywood go for;

“…the misuse of power in the interests of illicit gain.”

There are a bunch of others, but we like the last one here. It is quite broad, but that allows it to cover both government and companies. The nuance comes with types of corruption and on what stages it occurs.

We'll give you a non-exhaustive list. It's pretty self explanatory but you can see how the idea of misuse of power for illicit gain can be applied to many situations.

Bribery - the offering, promising, giving, accepting or soliciting of an advantage as an inducement for an action which is illegal, unethical or a breach of trust.

Cronyism - favouring friends/members of one's group over more qualified unrelated candidates.

Embezzlement - theft by employee from an employer (firm, government, NGO).

Extortion - the practice of obtaining something, especially money, through force or threats.

Influence peddling - Using one's power of decision in government to obtain bribes or favours.

Kleptocracy - A state exploited by a ruler with absolute power for the personal benefit/wealth of the ruling elite.

Lobbying - any attempt by individuals or private interest groups to influence the decisions of government. This comes in both legal and illegal forms, but both are immoral according to us.

Nepotism - hiring family members over other more qualified unrelated candidates.

Patronage - the power to control appointments to government office or the right to privileges.

Etcetera, etcetera...

Anticorruption is pretty much what it sounds like. It refers to activities that oppose or attempt to inhibit corruption. Many actors are involved; government departments/agencies, international charities, corporations and financial institutions. They employ strategies with varying focus on collaboration, prevention, prosecution and education. It is a complex subject due to the many types of corruption, each potentially needing its own approach in relation to investigation, prevention and punishment.

R&C is anticorruption to the bone, we oppose, want to inhibit and eradicate it. Corruption is a hellacious son of a bitch.

Global Witness - Anti-Corruption & Human Rights Campaigners, follow the money.

Transparency International - NGO Combating Global Corruption.

Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) - like it says on the tin - leading the fight!