Principles of Anti-Corruption Competency Course

Corruption is the abuse of entrusted power for private gain, encompassing unilateral abuses by government officials such as embezzlement and nepotism, as well as abuses linking public and private actors such as bribery, extortion, influence peddling, and fraud. Administrative corruption alters the implementation of policies, such as being able to obtain a driving license even if one does not qualify for it. Political corruption influences the formulation of laws, regulations, and policies, such as revoking licenses and gaining the sole right to operate monopolies. The manipulation of policies, institutions, and rules of procedure in the allocation of resources and financing by political decision makers, who abuse their position to sustain their power, status, and wealth, is a combined definition of administrative and political corruption. The public sector includes the government and its decentralized units, such as the police, military, public roads and transit authorities, primary schools, and healthcare system, which use public funds and provide services based on the motivation to improve citizens' lives rather than to make a profit. Corruption that is apparent up to the highest levels of government, leading to a breakdown of confidence in good governance, the rule of law, and economic stability, is referred to as grand corruption. Petty corruption involves the exchange of small amounts of money or minor favors by those seeking preferential treatment, the employment of friends and relatives in minor positions, etc. Petty corruption usually reflects specific weaknesses within systems, while grand corruption can involve the distortion and manipulation of entire systems to serve private interests. It is not possible to draw clear lines between grand and petty corruption, as petty corruption is facilitated by and often linked to grand corruption. The terms "active" and "passive" corruption are used in two distinct senses, with "active bribery" referring to the party who offers or actually pays the bribe, and "passive" bribery referring to the person who receives the bribe.