50 Examples of Corruption

Corruption refers to the set of negative actions that lead to the deterioration of a person, a situation, or a society through acts considered perverse, illegal, and morally wrong. It is also conceived as the misuse of information, resources, or responsibilities for personal gain or a sinister purpose. For example, a public official who uses public money to buy a luxurious home.

Corruption involves a specific detriment or harm, which can range from something very small to events of major proportions.

• It may be useful to you: Injustice

Causes of corruption

As a personality defect and a way of doing things, corruption can be differentiated according to whether it originates from internal or external causes:

• Internal causes. These are forms of corruption associated with an individual’s actions based on their own set of principles and values. For example: an employer lacking social conscience or a megalomaniac who doesn’t treat his employees with integrity.
• External causes. These are forms of corruption that are common in a society, organizational structure, or company and are considered part of normal business. For example: international bribery or partisan corporatism.

Political corruption

Corruption is often closely associated with the political sphere, because it is there that the power and resources of an organized society are concentrated and managed. Political corruption refers to the dishonest and criminal actions of public officials.

Among the most common acts of political corruption are:

• Illicit enrichment.
• Tax evasion.
• The embezzlement of public resources.
• Influence peddling.
• The frauds.

Examples of corruption

1. A senator who uses his public office to secure a place in a school for his son.
2. A corporation that bribes the government to build in places designated as nature reserves.
3. A motorist who gives a bribe to a traffic police officer to avoid paying a fine.
4. A consumer who buys products that he knows are stolen.
5. A student who forges his parents’ signature to present a document at school.
6. A person who pays an official to expedite a civil procedure.
7. A subject who buys pirated movies.
8. An individual who purchases a computer that was smuggled into the country.
9. A neighbor who leaves garbage outside the containers intended for that purpose.
10. A person who steals electricity from another house to supply his or her own.
11. A citizen who damages the trees in a public park.
12. A person who lies about his or her financial position to receive social assistance.
13. A citizen who evades taxes.
14. A person who does not pick up their pet’s waste on the street.
15. A driver who crashes his car into another’s and flees.
16. A person who takes an item from a supermarket without paying.
17. An individual who runs a red light.
18. A witness who fails to report an illegal act to the authorities.
19. A person who has privileged information from working at the Ministry of Economy and uses it to illicitly enrich himself.
20. A businessman who gives favoritism to a relative with whom he works.
21. A subject who obeys orders from a superior that are harmful or illegal.
22. A person who traffics drugs.
23. A politician who uses government planes to go on vacation.
24. An employer who does not pay his employees’ social security contributions.
25. A person who asks a police friend to resolve a personal matter.
26. An individual who works in the trafficking of contraband goods.
27. A fan who buys a concert ticket on resale.
28. A student who tells a lie to avoid going to class.
29. A person who cheats to win a card game.
30. A candidate who buys votes to win an election.
31. A company that puts false information on its product labels.
32. A person who tells lies about someone to discredit them and thus gain greater popularity for himself.
33. A businessman who speculates on the prices of products and sells them at higher prices without justification.
34. An accountant who tampers with a company’s accounting.
35. An individual who blackmails another person to obtain a favor.
36. A person who pressures another to do something they don’t want to do.
37. A company that overcharges its products to generate more wealth.
38. A person who launders money.
39. An influencerwho buys followers on a social network.
40. A student who copies answers on an exam.
41. A government that controls all the media in its country.
42. An official who sees an illegal maneuver and does not report it.
43. A person who hides the truth from another.
44. A worker who uses personal influence to achieve a promotion.
45. A witness who declares a falsehood under oath in court.
46. A father who convinces his son that stealing is right.
47. A taxpayer who files a fraudulent tax return.
48. An employee who pretends to be sick to get days off from work.
49. A company that pays its employees below the minimum wage.
50. A subject who bribes a colleague to hide information.