सार्वजनिक जीवन में स्वीकृत मूल्यों के विरुद्ध आचरण को भ्रष्ट आचरण समझा जाता है। आम जन जीवन में इसे आर्थिक अपराधों से जोड़ा जाता है।

==इन्हे भी देखें==
*पारदर्शिता
*सूचना का अधिकार अधिनियम, 2005

== वाह्य सूत्र==
*[http://www.cvc.nic.in/hindi/hindimain.htm केन्द्रीय सतर्कता आयोग, भारत]

*[http://cic.gov.in/ केन्द्रीय सूचना आयोग, भारत]

*[http://www.anticorruptionbureaufight.com/ एन्टी-करप्शन ब्यूरो]

*[http://www.vakilno1.com/bareacts/PreventionofCorruptionAct/PreventionofCorruptionAct.htm भ्रष्टाचार निवारण अधिनियम, १९८८] (अंग्रेजी में)

*[http://www.iiclam.org/pdf/PREVENTION_OF_CORRUPTION_ACT_1988.pdf THE PREVENTION OF CORRUPTION ACT, 1988]

*[http://www.transparency.org ट्रान्स्पैरेन्सी इन्टरनेशनल (Transparency International)]

*[http://www.karmayog.org/anticorruption/ '''कर्मयोग''' की भ्रष्टाचार विरोधी कडियाँ]

*[http://www.parivartan.com/Home.asp परिवर्तन: भ्रष्टाचार के विरुद्ध संघर्षरत] 

thumb|450px|World map of the [[Corruption Perceptions Index by Transparency International, which measures "the degree to which corruption is perceived to exist among public officials and politicians". High numbers (green) indicate relatively less corruption, whereas lower numbers (red) indicate relatively more corruption.]]

'''Political corruption''' is the use of governmental powers by government officials for illegitimate private gain. Misuse of government power for other purposes, such as repression of political opponents and general police brutality, is not considered political corruption. Neither are illegal acts by private persons or corporations not directly involved with the government. An illegal act by an officeholder constitutes political corruption only if the act is directly related to their official duties.

All forms of graft, and trafficking, it is not restricted to these organized crime activities. In some nations, corruption is so common that it is expected when ordinary businesses or citizens interact with government officials. The end point of political corruption is a kleptocracy, literally "rule by thieves".

The activities that constitute illegal corruption differ depending on the country or jurisdiction. Certain political funding practices that are legal in one place may be illegal in another. In some countries, government officials have broad or poorly defined powers, and the line between what is legal and illegal can be difficult to draw.

Bribery around the world is estimated at about $1 trillion (£494bn), and the burden of corruption falls disproportionately on the bottom billion people living in extreme poverty.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6288400.stm African corruption 'on the wane'], 10 July 2007, BBC News</ref>

==Effects==
===Effects on politics, administration, and institutions===
thumb|300px|Detail from ''Corrupt Legislation'' (1896) by [[Elihu Vedder. Library of Congress Thomas Jefferson Building, Washington, D.C.]]
Corruption poses a serious development challenge. In the political realm, it undermines democracy and good governance by flouting or even subverting formal processes. Corruption in elections and in legislative bodies reduces accountability and distorts representation in policymaking; corruption in the judiciary compromises the rule of law; and corruption in public administration results in the unfair provision of services. More generally, corruption erodes the institutional capacity of government as procedures are disregarded, resources are siphoned off, and public offices are bought and sold. At the same time, corruption undermines the legitimacy of government and such democratic values as trust and tolerance. ''(See: Good governance)''

===Economic effects===
Corruption also undermines economic development by generating considerable distortions and inefficiency. In the private sector, corruption increases the cost of business through the price of illicit payments themselves, the management cost of negotiating with officials, and the risk of breached agreements or detection. Although some claim corruption reduces costs by cutting red tape, the availability of bribes can also induce officials to contrive new rules and delays. Openly removing costly and lengthy regulations are better than covertly allowing them to be bypassed by using bribes. Where corruption inflates the cost of business, it also distorts the playing field, shielding firms with connections from competition and thereby sustaining inefficient firms. 

Corruption also generates economic distortions in the public sector by diverting public investment into capital projects where bribes and kickbacks are more plentiful. Officials may increase the technical complexity of public sector projects to conceal or pave way for such dealings, thus further distorting investment. Corruption also lowers compliance with construction, environmental, or other regulations, reduces the quality of government services and infrastructure, and increases budgetary pressures on government.

Economists argue that one of the factors behind the differing rent extraction with the resulting Swiss bank accounts). In Nigeria, for example, more than $400 billion was stolen from the treasury by Nigeria's leaders between 1960 and 1999.<ref>[http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/frontpage/nigerias-corruption-busters.html Nigeria's corruption busters]</ref> University of Massachusetts researchers estimated that from 1970 to 1996, capital flight from 30 sub-Saharan countries totaled $187bn, exceeding those nations' external debts.<ref>http://www.newstatesman.com/Economy/200503140015</ref> (The results, expressed in retarded or suppressed development, have been modeled in theory by economist Mancur Olson.) In the case of Africa, one of the factors for this behavior was political instability, and the fact that new governments often confiscated previous government's corruptly-obtained assets. This encouraged officials to stash their wealth abroad, out of reach of any future expropriation. In contrast, corrupt administrations in Asia like Suharto's have often taken a cut on everything (requiring bribes), but otherwise provided more of the conditions for development, through infrastructure investment, law and order, etc.

===Environmental and social effects===
Corruption facilitates environmental destruction. Although even the corrupt countries may formally have legislation to protect the environment, it cannot be enforced if the officials can be easily bribed. The same applies to social rights such as worker protection, unionization and prevention of child labor. Violation of these laws and rights enables corrupt countries to gain an illegitimate economic advantage in the international market.

As the Nobel Prize-winning economist Amartya Sen has observed that "there is no such thing as an apolitical food problem." While drought and other naturally occurring events may trigger famine conditions, it is government action or inaction that determines its severity, and often even whether or not a famine will occur. Governments with strong tendencies towards kleptocracy can undermine food security even when harvests are good. The 20th century is full of many examples of governments undermining the food security of their own nations – sometimes intentionally.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7111296.stm Ukraine remembers famine horror]</ref>

==Types of abuse== 
===Bribery===

Bribery requires two participants: one to give the bribe, and one to take it. In some countries the culture of corruption extends to every aspect of public life, making it extremely difficult for individuals to stay in business without resorting to bribes. Bribes may be demanded in order for an official to do something he is already paid to do. They may also be demanded in order to bypass laws and regulations. In some developing nations, up to half of the population have paid bribes during the past 12 months.<ref></ref>

===Graft===

While bribery includes an intent to influence or be influenced by another for personal gain, which is often difficult to prove, graft only requires that the official gains something of value, not part of his official pay, when doing his work. Large "gifts" qualify as graft, and most countries have laws against it. (For example, any gift over $200 value made to the President of the United States is considered to be a gift to the Office of the Presidency and not to the President himself. The outgoing President must buy it if he wants to take it with him.) Another example of graft is a politician using his knowledge of zoning to purchase land which he knows is planned for development, before this is publicly known, and then selling it at a significant profit. This is comparable to insider trading in business.

===Extortion and robbery===

While bribes may be demanded in order to do something, payment may also be demanded by corrupt officials who otherwise threaten to make illegitimate use of state force in order to inflict harm. This is similar to extortion by organized crime groups. Illegitimate use of state force can also be used for outright armed robbery. This mostly occurs in unstable states which lack proper control of the military and the police. Less open forms of corruption are preferred in more stable states.

Government officials, especially if involved in illegal activities, are also liable to extortion, both by senior corrupt officials or other criminals. These develop over time into complicated networks of corruption, where law enforcement merely serves as a way to discredit and destroy. The anti-corruption effort is not immune to corruption either: there are examples of cases where officials of an anti-corruption bureau have extorted sums from corrupt officials.

===Patronage===

Patronage refers to favoring supporters, for example with government employment. This may be legitimate, as when a newly elected government changes the top officials in the administration in order to effectively implement its policy. It can be seen as corruption if this means that incompetent persons, as a payment for supporting the regime, are selected before more able ones. In nondemocracies many government officials are often selected for loyalty rather than ability. They may be almost exclusively selected from a particular group (for example, Sunni Arabs in Saddam Hussein's Iraq, the nomenklatura in the Soviet Union, or  the Junkers in Imperial Germany) that support the regime in return for such favors.

===Nepotism and cronyism===

Favoring relatives (nepotism) or personal friends (cronyism) is a form of illegitimate private gain. This may be combined with bribery, for example demanding that a business should employ a relative of an official controlling regulations affecting the business. The most extreme example is when the entire state is inherited, as in North Korea or Syria. A milder form of cronyism is an "old boy network", where appointees to official positions are selected only from a closed and exclusive social network, such as the alumni of particular universities, instead of appointing the most competent candidate.

Nepotism is widely accepted and expected in many cultures.

The complement of cronyism, seeking to harm enemies, also becomes corruption when official powers are illegitimately used as means to this end. For example, trumped-up charges are often brought up against journalists or writers who bring up politically sensitive issues.

===Embezzlement===

Embezzlement is outright theft of entrusted funds. It is a misappropriation of property.

===Kickbacks===
A kickback is an official's share of misappropriated funds allocated from his or her organization to an organization involved in corrupt bidding.  For example, suppose that a politician is in charge of choosing how to spend some public funds.  He can give a contract to a company that isn't the best bidder, or allocate more than they deserve.  In this case, the company benefits, and in exchange for betraying the public, the official receives a kickback payment, which is a portion of the sum the company received. This sum itself may be all or a portion of the difference between the actual (inflated) payment to the company and the (lower) market-based price that would have been paid had the bidding been competitive. Kickbacks are not limited to government officials; any situation in which people are entrusted to spend funds that do not belong to them are susceptible to this kind of corruption. ''(See: Bid rigging, Bidding, Anti-competitive practices)''

=== Involvement in organized crime ===
An illustrative example of official involvement in organized crime can be found from 1920s and 1930s local gang ringleader. The relationship kept the flow of profits from the gang's gambling dens, prostitution, and protection rackets undisturbed.

The United States accused Manuel Noriega's government in Panama of being a "narcokleptocracy", a corrupt government profiting on illegal drug trade. Later the U.S. invaded Panama and captured Noriega.

==Conditions favorable for corruption==
Some  argue that the following conditions are favorable for corruption:
*Information deficits
** Lack of government transparency.
** Lacking freedom of information legislation. The Indian Right to Information Act 2005 has "already engendered mass movements in the country that is bringing the lethargic, often corrupt bureaucracy to its knees and changing power equations completely."<ref>http://www.asiamedia.ucla.edu/article.asp?parentid=52046</ref>
** Contempt for or negligence of exercising freedom of speech and freedom of the press.
** Weak accounting practices, including lack of timely financial management.
** Lack of measurement of corruption. For example, using regular surveys of households and businesses in order to quantify the degree of perception of corruption in different parts of a nation or in different government institutions may increase awareness of corruption and create pressure to combat it. This will also enable an evaluation of the officials who are fighting corruption and the methods used.
** Tax havens which tax their own citizens and companies but not those from other nations and refuse to disclose information necessary for foreign taxation. This enables large scale political corruption in the foreign nations.<ref>[http://observer.guardian.co.uk/business/story/0,,1994976,00.html Western bankers and lawyers 'rob Africa of $150bn every year]</ref>
* Lacking control over and accountability of the government.
** Democracy absent or dysfunctional. See illiberal democracy.
** Lacking civic society and non-governmental organizations which monitor the government.
** An individual voter may have a rational ignorance regarding politics, especially in nationwide elections, since each vote has little weight.
** Weak rule of law.
** Weak legal profession.
** Weak judicial independence.
** Lacking protection of whistleblowers.
** Lack of benchmarking, that is continual detailed evaluation of procedures and comparison to others who do similar things, in the same government or others, in particular comparison to those who do the best work. The Peruvian organization Ciudadanos al Dia has started to measure and compare transparency, costs, and efficiency in different government departments in Peru. It annually awards the best practices which has received widespread media attention. This has created competition among government agencies in order to improve.<ref>http://psdblog.worldbank.org/psdblog/2006/08/why_benchmarkin.html#more</ref>
*Opportunities and incentives
** Individual officials routinely handle cash, instead of handling payments by giro or on a separate cash desk — illegitimate withdrawals from supervised bank accounts are much more difficult to conceal.
** Public funds are centralized rather than distributed. For example, if $1,000 is embezzled from local agency that has $2,000 funds, it easier to notice than from national agency with $2,000,000 funds. See the principle of subsidiarity.
** Large, unsupervised public investments.
** Sale of state-owned property and privatization.
** Poorly-paid government officials.
** Government licenses needed to conduct business, e.g., import licenses, encourage bribing and kickbacks. 
** Long-time work in the same position may create relationships inside and outside the government which encourage and help conceal corruption and favoritism. Rotating government officials to different positions and geographic areas may help prevent this.
** Costly political campaigns, with expenses exceeding normal sources of political funding.
** Less interaction with officials reduces the opportunities for corruption. For example, using the Internet for sending in required information, like applications and tax forms, and then processing this with automated computer systems. This may also speed up the processing and reduce unintentional human errors. See e-Government.
** A windfall from exporting abundant natural resources may encourage corruption.<ref>http://www.adelaide.edu.au/cies/0320.pdf</ref> ''(See Resource curse)''
** War and other forms of conflict correlate with a breakdown of public security.
*Social conditions
** Self-interested closed cliques and "old boy networks".
** Family-, and clan-centered social structure, with a tradition of nepotism being acceptable.
** A blat system, emerges in a Communist centrally planned economy.
** In societies where personal integrity is rated as less important than other characteristics (by contrast, in societies such as 18th and 19th century England, 20th century Japan and post-war western Germany, where society showed almost obsessive regard for "honor" and personal integrity, corruption was less frequently seen)
** Lacking literacy and education among the population.

===Size of public sector===
It is a controversial issue whether the size of the public sector ''per se'' results in corruption. Extensive and diverse public spending is, in itself, inherently at risk of cronyism, kickbacks and embezzlement. Complicated regulations and arbitrary, unsupervised official conduct exacerbate the problem. This is one argument for privatization and deregulation. Opponents of privatization see the argument as ideological. The argument that corruption necessarily follows from the opportunity is weakened by the existence of countries with low to non-existent corruption but large public sectors, like the Nordic countries.<ref>http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/sachs110</ref> However, these countries score high on the Ease of Doing Business Index, due to good and often simple regulations, and have rule of law firmly established. Therefore, due to their lack of corruption in the first place, they can run large public sectors without inducing political corruption.

Privatization, as in the sale of government-owned property, is particularly at the risk of cronyism. Privatizations in Russia and Latin America were accompanied by large scale corruption during the sale of the state owned companies. Those with political connections unfairly gained large wealth, which has discredited privatization in these regions. While media have reported widely the grand corruption that accompanied the sales, studies have argued that in addition to increased operating efficiency, daily petty corruption is, or would be, larger without privatization, and that corruption is more prevalent in non-privatized sectors. Furthermore, there is evidence to suggest that extralegal and unofficial activities are more prevalent in countries that privatized less.<ref>Privatization in Competitive Sectors: The Record to Date. Sunita Kikeri and John Nellis. World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 2860, June 2002. [http://www.econ.chula.ac.th/about/member/sothitorn/privatization.pdf] Privatization and Corruption. David Martimort and Stéphane Straub. [http://idei.fr/doc/conf/veol/straub_martimort.pdf]</ref>

In the European Union, the principle of subsidiarity is applied: a government service should be provided by the lowest, most local authority that can competently provide it. An effect is that distribution of funds into multiple instances discourages embezzlement, because even small sums missing will be noticed. In contrast, in a centralized authority, even minute proportions of public funds can be large sums of money.