Kleptocracy

Kleptocracy literally meaning Rule of Thieves is an authoritarian and economically  variable ideology used to describe a form of government in which power is held primarily by criminals, corrupt officials, self-interested post-party oligarchs and such. Kleptocracy is often found in countries that collapsed after being Marxist–Leninist One-Party States and transitioned rather unsuccessfully, an infamous case is  Russia.

Liberal democracies can also suffer from this, they can develop shadowy kleptocracies that influence the government through legitimate means such as lobbying, or illegal means such as bribery to gain the favor of government officials. This phenomenon is called corruption.

Foundations
The mechanisms of the state government are devoted almost entirely to taxing the resources and the population of the country, by means of taxes, diversion of funds, etc. The leaders of the system enlarge great personal fortunes, especially the highest position of head of state (like the president or prime minister), along with those closest to them such as ministers, governors, mayors and personal advisers. The money is laundered or diverted to secret bank accounts, usually in tax havens, as a cover for embezzlement or theft.

The economies of kleptocratic regimes tend to decline constantly, as the systematic corruption engendered by the government means that the economy is subordinate to the interests of the kleptocrats.

Historically, the socio-political environment associated with the colonial system - the domination of colonized countries, where their economies are very vulnerable as they depend on a small number of raw materials - has been particularly prone to the creation of the last kleptocracies: Africa, Latin America and also Post-Soviet states are the most prone regions.

The stealthy nature of corruption makes it difficult to combat, as there is often very little information about the identity of the corrupt.

[[File:ML.png]] Soviet Union [[File:Brezhnev.png]]
"Main Article: Marxism-Leninism" WIP

[[File:Yeltsin.png]] Boris Yeltsin

 * [[File:Yeltsin.png]] Boris Yeltsin was a Russian and Soviet politician who served as the first president of [[File:Cball-Russia.png]] Russian Federation from 1991 to 1999. Yeltsin was a member of the Communist Party of [[File:Cball-USSR.png]] the Soviet Union from 1961 to 1990 and was a supporter of [[File:Liberalsoc.png]] the perestroika [[File:Reform.png]] reforms of Soviet leader [[File:Gorb.png]] Mikhail Gorbachev. In 1987 he was the first person to resign from the party's governing Politburo, which established his popularity as an [[File:Pop.png]] anti-establishment figure.

In 1990, he was elected chair of the Russian Supreme Soviet and in 1991 was elected president of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (RSFSR). On 18 August 1991, a coup against Gorbachev was launched by pro-communist government members opposed to perestroika. Gorbachev was held in Crimea while Yeltsin raced to the White House of Russia which was surrounded by the military, but the troops defected in the face of mass popular demonstrations and Gorbachev was rescued. Although restored to his position as General Secretary, Gorbachev had lost his support to Yeltsin due to aforementioned events. Taking advantage of the situation, Yeltsin began taking over what remained of the Soviet government, ministry by ministry, and on 6 November 1991, Yeltsin issued a decree banning all Communist Party activities on Russian soil.

On 17 December, in a meeting with Yeltsin, Gorbachev agreed to dissolve the Soviet Union and 8 days later resigned and handed the functions of his office to Yeltsin. On 26 December, the Council of the Republics, the upper house of the Supreme Soviet, voted the Soviet Union out of existence, thereby ending the world's oldest, largest, and most powerful Communist state.

Just days after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, President Boris Yeltsin of the Russian Federation with the help of economic advisors such as Anatoly Chubais and Acting Prime Minister  Yegor Gaidar initiated a program of radical economic reform that came to be known as “economic shock therapy, ” which consisted of rapid privatization of most public assets, complete dismantlement of the welfare state, and removal of all tariffs and regulations. The results were the emergence of a new elite commonly referred to as “the oligarchs” consisting of former communist officials who became rich through buying up privatized former state-owned industries. Corruption grew rampant and violent crime became increasingly common. Throughout the 1990s, Russia's GDP fell by 50%, vast sectors of the economy were wiped out, inequality and unemployment grew dramatically, and the standard of living fell. Hyperinflation, caused by the Central Bank of Russia's loose monetary policy, wiped out many people's personal savings, and tens of millions of Russian citizens were plunged into deep poverty.

In 1993, President Yeltsin marked a coup d'état: first, he ordered the execution of members and supporters of the Supreme Soviet of the Russian Federation who challenged his authority. Then he abolished the post of vice president, thereby ousting Alexander Rutskoy, who challenged his authority. Then, with US support, he quickly enacted a new Russian Constitution, not entirely legitimate, by a referendum, which expanded the powers of the president and paved the way for the election of people totally loyal to Yeltsin and the oligarchs to the new parliament, called the "State Duma".

In December 1994, Yeltsin ordered the military invasion of Chechnya in an attempt to restore Moscow's control over the republic and resource-rich region. The invasion was met with international outcry as the First Chechen War resulted in tens of thousands of civilian casualties and hundreds of thousands more displayed.

Boris Yeltsin despite being massively unpopular with the Russian public made the run for a second term in the 1996 Russian presidential election which he won to the dismay of the majority. It is generally believed that Yeltsin won said election through US interference from the Clinton Administration which wanted to prevent a return to socialist rule. After his victory, Yeltsin orchestrated all sorts of techniques to prolong his own rule. The de facto leadership of the country was exercised by Yeltsin's friends and relatives, as well as dodgy oligarchs like Boris Berezovsky and Roman Abramovich.

[[File:Putin.png]] Vladimir Putin
The late 1990s saw the rise of the of future leader and dictator of Russia,   Vladimir Putin. Within merely two years, 1997-1998, Vladimir Putin had become one of the most prominent politicians of the Russian Federation. On 25 July 1998, Yeltsin appointed Putin director of the Federal Security Service (FSB), the primary intelligence and security organization of the Russian Federation and the successor to the KGB. In 1998, he virtually privatized power in the country, ousting Boris Nemtsov and other liberals from all positions in the struggle for power. A year later Putin was appointed Acting Prime Minister of the Government of the Russian Federation by President Yeltsin. By ingratiating himself with Russia's top leadership, Putin managed to gain the position of Director of the FSB, which gave him access to the voluminous archives of compromising evidence he used against Nemtsov, presumably Yeltsin's real successor, in order to oust him.

Vladimir Putin would reach wide international recognition for his actions during the Second Chechen War. In September 1999 a series of explosions that were attributed to the Chechen Mujahideen hit four apartment blocks in the Russian cities of Buynaksk, Moscow and Volgodonsk. The Russian Apartment Bombings gained the Russian government full public for a new full-scale war in Chechnya, which boosted the popularity of now Prime Minister Putin who took a leading role in the war.

Despite the tremendous damage caused by the Second Chechen War, it was clear at this point that Putin was one of Yeltsin’s most loyal followers and his eventual successor. On 31 December 1999, Yeltsin unexpectedly resigned and, according to the Constitution of Russia, Putin became Acting President of the Russian Federation and on the same day signed a presidential decree that shielded the former president and his family from prosecution for corruption charges. Throughout his first presidential term, engaged in a violent “power struggle” with the Russian  oligarchs, eventually reaching a 'grand bargain' with them. This bargain allowed the oligarchs to maintain most of their powers, in exchange for their explicit support for and alignment with Putin's government. One notable Yeltsin-era oligarch who got the short end of the stick was Mikhail Khodorkovsky, former CEO of the oil company Yukos and possibly the richest man in Russia at the time. Khodorkovsky was arrested in 2003 by Russian authorities on charges of fraud and sentenced to nine years in prison. It is widely believed that Vladimir Putin personally embezzled the wealth acquired by Khodorkovsky and Yukos, possibly becoming one of the richest men in the world.

Initially, Vladimir Putin actively supported friendly relations with Western countries and even suggested that then-President  Clinton consider Russia as a possible  NATO member.

In 2008, he moved into the seat of prime minister for 4 years with all his powers, making Dmitry Medvedev the formal president.

In 2012 Putin returned to the presidency through another rigged presidential election, which understandably provoked a deterioration in relations with Western countries. Already in 2014, after the, Russia occupied Crimea and  Donbass, thereby starting a limited war with  Ukraine, which markedly increased the deterioration of relations with the collective West. As a result of these events, Putin divided the ranks of opposition-minded Russians and thus, by sowing panic in the ranks of the enemy, was able to guarantee an extension of his rule for at least another 10 years.

In 2020, Putin adopted a new Constitution of the Russian Federation, further strengthening his power and the power of the oligarchs. According to the new constitution, the president's term was nullified.

In 2022 he launched a full-scale invasion to solve the "Ukrainian question", which he called a 'Special Military Operation' to 'denazify' Ukraine. For this reason, Russia's relations with the West deteriorated much more, and well-known multinational corporations and other Western brands left the Russian market, which had a very bad effect on the Russian economy. The population in poverty in Russia has doubled since then.

[[File:Medvedev.png]] Dmitry Medvedev
Dmitry Medvedev began his official career in 2005, when he was elected deputy prime minister.

In 2007, he was nominated by Putin as interim president of Russia in place of prominent and popular politicians, and a year later, Medvedev won a fraudulent election. Medvedev has in fact been de facto relegated to the role of figure number two, a kind of vizier of Russia, who can have the same powers as the leader, but cannot take his place or claim it in any way. Compared to Putin's policy, Medvedev's policy was more liberal.

After 4 years in power, Medvedev sensationally voluntarily returns the presidency to Putin and resigns as prime minister, a position he held from 2012 until the resignation of his government in January 2020, after which Mikhail Mishustin was elected as Russia's new prime minister.

After his resignation, Medvedev suddenly began to criticize the collective West, and with the launch of the 'Special Military Operation', he officially became an  anti-Western politician, and in fact advocated imposing a host of sanctions on Russia. The once liberal Medvedev, who had promoted respect for the letter and spirit of the law, was suddenly advocating the return of the death penalty and a tightening of various laws.

[[File:Cball-Chechnya.png]] Ramzan Kadyrov [[File:Kadyrov.png]]
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[[File:Lavrov.png]] Sergei Lavrov
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[[File:Cball-Kazakhstan.png]] Kazakhstan [[File:NurOtan.png]]
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[[File:Cball-Ukraine.png]] Ukraine
In Ukraine, Kleptocracy is associated with the rule of two presidents: Leonid Kuchma (1994-2004) and  Viktor Yanukovych (2010-2014).

Kuchmism is a term used to describe the period of rule of President Leonid Kuchma, who was the President of Ukraine from 1994 to 2004. Kuchism was a result of old Soviet-era officials and regional criminal elites merging together and is one of many post-Soviet regimes. The term was coined by the organization "Pora! (black)" (It's time!) in late March 2004.

Some of its main features include:
 * Concentration of power in the hands of a single financial-multiparty corporation.
 * Union of legislative, executive and judicial power as an integral mechanism of control over society and guaranteeing the permanence of the regime with the help of "power structures" not controlled by the public.
 * High levels of corruption and the power of various [[File:Oligarchy.png]] oligarchic clans, but mainly from Dnipropetrovsk (now Dnipro) and Donetsk.

Pavlo Lazarenko, an infamous prime minister (1996-1997) during Kuchma's administration was charged with money laundering and extortion.

During the presidency of Viktor Yanukovych (2010-2014), some forms of Kuchmism can be seen again, however, this time Donetsk elites had more power. Following the Revolution of Dignity (or Euromaidan), on February 21, 2014, he fled the country.

The absolute majority of corrupt politicians in the country have extremely close ties with Russia. High levels of corruption are still visible to this day.

Party of Regions and the parties that formed shortly after its disbandment in 2014, like Opposition Bloc,   Opposition Platform - For Life, Our Land, Revival, and Nashi all classified themselves as  social liberal but were almost always authoritarian, kleptocratic, Russophile and oligarchical in nature. All of these parties were banned after the 2022 invasion, with Platform for Life and Peace surviving as a crippled remnant. However, it lost popular support, and many of its key members had fled Ukraine or were arrested, including former OPFL leader Medvechuk.

===     Poland    ===

[[File:Tusk.png]] Donald Tusk
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[[File:Sasin.png]] Jacek Sasin
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[[File:United_Poland.png]] Zbigniew Ziobro
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[[File:Morawiecki.png]] Mateusz Morawiecki
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[[File:Cball-Taiwan.png]] ROC/Taiwan [[File:RightKMT.png]][[File:Chen_Shui-bian.png]]
"Main Articles: Tridemism and  National Liberalism" Chen helped found the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in 1986 and was elected a member of the Legislative Yuan in 1989, and Mayor of Taipei in 1994. Chen won the 2000 presidential election and pledged "Four Noes and One Without" during his inauguration, which meant that he wouldn't declare Taiwan Independence as long as  the People's Republic of China didn't intend to use military force against the island.
 * [[File:Chen_Shui-bian.png]] Chen Shui-bian-Chen Shui-bian is the former General Secretary of the [[File:DPP-Taiwan.png]] Democratic Progressive Party and served as President of the [[File:Cball-Taiwan.png]] Republic of China (Taiwan) from 2000 to 2008. Chen became involved in politics in 1980 during the martial law period of the Kuomintang, then led by [[File:Chiang-Ching-kuo.png]] Chiang Ching-kuo when he defended the participants of the Kaohsiung Incident in a military court. Even though his client, [[File:Thar.png]] pro-democracy dissident Huang Hsin-Chieh, was found guilty and sentenced to 14 years in prison, Chen became inspired to join the Tangwai movement to push for democracy and end Kuomintang's one-party rule over Taiwan.

Chen Shui-bian wasn't a very popular president due to alleged corruption within his administration and the inability to pass legislation against the opposition KMT, who controlled the Legislative Yuan. In 2004, he won reelection by a narrow margin after surviving a shooting while campaigning the day before the election. Chen's opponents accused him of staging said incident for political purposes.

On November 3, 2006, Chen's wife Wu Shu-Chen, and three other high-ranking officials of the Presidential Office were indicted for corruption of NT$14.8 million (US$450,000) of government funds using faked documents. However, Chen was not indicted, as the constitution of the Republic of China protects the sitting president from prosecution.

After his 2nd term ended in 2008, Chen and his wife were convicted on bribery charges and sentenced to 19 years in Taipei Prison. Chen was granted medical parole in 2015 and was released from prison.

=== China  === "Main Article: Maoism and  Dengism"

Corruption has been (and to a certain extent still is) a significant problem in China since the foundation of the People's Republic in 1949, impacting all aspects of administration, law enforcement, healthcare, and education. Since the Chinese economic reforms began, corruption has been attributed to "organizational involution" caused by the market liberalization reforms initiated by Deng Xiaoping during the 1980s. According to multiple scholars, it was corruption and abuse of power by government officials, rather than a demand for a transition to liberal democracy, that led to the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre. Corruption accelerated to new heights during Jiang Zemin's government (1989-2004). Bribing local officials became an essential part of life for most Chinese citizens to get by and gain access to social services. Entire cities fell under the control of triads and the mafia with government protection. Human trafficking skyrocketed with hundreds of thousands of women and children being kidnapped and forced into sexual slavery and forced labor. People's money and state assets were embezzled by government officials and the ruling class and stacked into overseas bank accounts. The staggering levels of corruption caused most Chinese citizens (and many CPC officials) to lose faith in the Chinese government, causing many to send their kids to study and make connections abroad, should things not work out at home.

Former President Jiang Zemin managed to maintain great influence following his retirement in 2004, through the persecution of Falun Gong and by stacking the new Administration of President  Hu Jintao and Premier  Wen Jiabao with his own cronies, ensuring that both the military, law enforcement, propaganda apparatus, and many local officials remained loyal to himself. While the 2000s saw China experiencing every level of economic growth due to international corporations seeking to exploit China's massive labor market, citizens' faith in the CPC's rule remained low due lack of judicial and political reform. Anti-corruption trials happened from time to time but were more often than not motivated by personal grudges and power struggles between different factions of the CPC than aspirations for real change. Dissatisfaction with corruption and authoritarianism culminated following the government's weak response to the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, eventually leading to the 2011 Chinese democracy protests, inspired by the Arab Spring.

After Xi Jinping became Paramount Leader in 2012, the issue of corruption has been brought to significant attention as hundreds and thousands of corrupt party members and billionaires, many of whom had been Jiang's allies, have been arrested and sentenced to life in prison. This includes former Secretary of the Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission, Zhou Yongkang, former Communist Party Secretary of Chongqing,  Bo Xilai,  Ling Jihua, among countless others. Some of Xi's political enemies have even gone into exile in the west, such as billionaire businessman Guo Wengui.

Many observers view this as a part of a broader power struggle between two different political factions led by Xi Jinping and Jiang Zemin respectively. While Xi Jinping's Anti-Corruption campaign has been viewed in a generally positive light and regained much confidence in the CPC's governance for improving social services, public safety, and reducing graft, it has also been subjected to much criticism. Anti-Corruption trials are frequently abused to crush dissent and the lack of judicial and political reform makes all gains that have been achieved over the past decade easily revertable. Recent scandals and atrocities such as the Henan banking scandal, and the Xuzhou chained woman incident are proof that there's still much to be done before China becomes a country with rule of law.

[[File:Cball-HK-UK.png]][[File:Cball-HongKong.png]] Hong Kong
Kowloon Walled City was a Chinese city enclave from  British Hong Kong. The city appeared as a military character Chinese, but became an enclave after the UK picked up new territories in 1898.

In the city there were crimes, drugs, gambling and prostitution, in which Chinese triads were plentiful, like the 14K and Sun Yee on. In 1960 there were mass buildings, in which developers built new constructions on top of the old ones since the city was extremely populated (50,000 people in 1990). Other things in the city were the increase in small manufacturing and peaceful companies and the increase of "false" medical and dentists. In 1987, the Hong Kong government stated that it would demolish the city, being concluded in 1994. Currently, the place of the city turned into a park with city artefacts preserved.

[[File:Kishi.png]] Nobusuke Kishi
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[[File:NeoShowa.png]] Yoshio Kodama
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[[File:DemocraticPartyKorea.png]]Forced repatriation of North korean defectors
Guilty Origin Two male sailors who defected to South Korea in 2019 were judged as murderers without any trial by the South Korean court, and were forcibly repatriated through Panmunjom against their will. As in the case of the murder of a public official in the West Sea, the government's position on the incident that occurred under the Moon Jae-in government was overturned by the  Yoon Seok-yeol administration.
 * [[File:DPKorea.png]] Moon Jae-in

《True Kleptocracy》 The forced repatriation to North Korea violates not only the Constitution of the Republic of Korea but also the International law agreed upon by the United Nations. The Moon Jae-in government violated Articles 9 and 15 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which prohibits forced eviction of its citizens, in that, according to the South Korean constitution, North Korean seafarers were forcibly returned despite being Korean citizens. It also violated the Convention against Torture by forcibly repatriating North Koreans to North Korea, where inhumane treatment is rampant. Image of the event.

《Rebuttal》 The problem of this case: They were sent back to North without a proper investigation. There are arguments that this forced repatriation was acceptable. However, their reasons(evidence) are scanty: The reason why they were sent back (Evidence they killed 16 people):
 * 1. (No DNA or blood tests were done) There were traces of crime like blood (Unsure if it was fish or human blood)
 * 2. Confession of the defectors.

The problem is that the North Korean defectors were judged as murderers without any investigation, whether they were really murderers or not. This can later be abused. Arguments like Murderers deserve to go back to north/are not, they are also south koreans/are not is not the point of this situation.

[[File:DemocraticPartyKorea.png]]Independent-Investigative agency
Origin The Independent-Investigative Agency act by tried to weaken the role of the original Investigative Agency (A Public Institution that investigates Corruption). It was brought up when Yoon Suk-yeol started investigating the crimes of the current government in 2020.
 * [[File:DemocraticPartyKorea.png]] 더불어민주당(Democratic Party of Korea) and the Independent-Investigative Agency

Supplementary explanation The Independent-Investigative Agency act by has serious problems. The goal of the prosecution reform should be to ensure that the prosecution is no longer the "maid of the regime," but contributes to the human rights of the people through objective and fair investigation. However, there is a high possibility that the Independent Investigative Agency will become a new limb of the president through the president's authority over human resources. It is better not to introduce such an organ. In addition, the Independent Investigative Agency by  is designed to be a slim organization with less than 25 prosecutors and less than 40 investigators. But the range of cases in charge is vast. The prosecution and the police have no jurisdiction, and the agency has no manpower. What kind of organization handles the cases? Furthermore, the role of the agency's authorities should also vary according to the outcome of the adjustment of the prosecution and police investigation. It is also contradictory to push it at the same time.

[[File:DemocraticPartyKorea.png]]LH land speculation

 * [[File:DemocraticPartyKorea.png]] 더불어민주당(Democratic Party of Korea) and the LH land speculation

Origin LH land Speculation is an incident where the Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) employees collectively speculated real estate in areas related to their business plans, such as the 3rd new town (to concentrate land worth of Democratic Party of Korea government's third New Town plan ). Afterwards, as a result of additional disclosures and investigations, the controversy spread to all-round speculation by related public officials and emerged as a key issue in the political world.

Effects
 * The essence of this case is that it goes beyond simple speculation, and is a typical non-transactional type of corruption in which employees of public institutions use undisclosed inside information to gain unfair advantage. In addition, their speculation can be pointed out as a part of the cause of the exponential rise of Korea's house prices.


 * On the other hand, the government [[File:DemocraticPartyKorea.png]] excluding the Investigative Agency's investigation (of the LH speculation) as much as possible rose suspicion that the government [[File:DemocraticPartyKorea.png]] tries to adjust the police and the Investigation authority to prevent them from investigating their corruption. This could also be connected to the Independent-Investigative Agency act of [[File:DemocraticPartyKorea.png]] (Mentioned above)

(Find out about Comfort-woman incident and Public opinion Manipulation Case for more Kleptocracy of . Google translator required)

[[File:Cball-Serbia.png]] Serbia [[File:Milosevic.png]][[File:SNS(Serbia).png]]
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[[File:Cball-France.png]] France [[File:Le_republic.png]]
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[[File:Cball-Italy.png]] Italy [[File:Berlusconi.png]]
Notable Italian example of Kleptocracy is the Berlusconi Presidency where he was found to have abused his position through Bribery, Defamation, and Soliciting minors. Durisng his precidency Berlusconi enacted what in Italy are called "Leggi ad Personam", so he basically created several laws that protected him and his friends from the constant attempt to issue an unbiased trial against him (in the end he pretty much succeded)

[[File:Cball-US.png]] The United States [[File:Plutocrat.png]][[File:Necon.png]][[File:Nixon.png]][[File:Grant.png]]
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[[File:CBall-Mexico.png]] Mexico [[File:PRI.png]]
In Mexico, kleptocracy is followed by Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). PRI was founded by Plutarco Elias Calles in 1929 with the intention of creating a one-party state which lasted from 1929 to 2000. While the party has moved to the right from its original founding values (state atheist protectionist socauth to laicist free-trade authcap), kleptocracy and support of the one-party system remained consistent. PRI made a brief comeback from 2012 to 2018 under Enrique Pena Nieto, but he was not succeeded by another PRI leader, since the electoral system by that point was fairer.

Despite claiming to be Anti-Corruption, the party of MORENA under the leadership of Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) has been accused multiple times of corruption. The releasing of El Chapo's Son, coupled with several bribery scandals have lead several to believe that members of the party, and even the President himself are corrupt in some shape or form.

[[File:Cball-Nicaragua.png]] Nicaragua [[File:PLN.png]]
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[[File:Cball-Panama.png]] Panama [[File:Noriega.png]]
Manuel Noriega was former president of Panama in the military era between 1983-1989 and ex-military. He became known for his relationship with the United States, his authoritarianism, militarism, corruption and his relationship with drug trafficking.
 * Corruption: In his government there were numerous scandals of corruption and relations with drug trafficking, especially Cocaine, allying himself with criminal groups such as the Medellín Cartel and drug traffickers Pablo Escobar and Steven Kalish. There was money laundering from trafficking, protections from high drug revenues from trafficking in Miami and the sale of Soviet weapons to Armscor in South Africa.
 * Authoritarianism: His authoritarianism is evident when compared to other dictators like Pinochet and Gaddafi, because of the repression and murder of opponents, such as the murder of the doctor and activist Hugo Spadafora. There were also frauds and annulment of the 1989 election. He also tripled the military forces and used them against the communists, especially in the Panama Canal fearing invasion, as well as funding the Contras in Nicaragua. He was also accused of a sexist stance, because his brother is homosexual.
 * Relationship with the United States: Initially, Noriega had good relations with the United States, especially due to his anti-communism, in which he gave financial assistance to his army and supported the Contras together. Over time, relations deteriorated, especially with regard to drug trafficking, in which a White House official blamed him for the international drug trafficking, in addition to having close relations with enemy countries such as Cuba, Libya, among others. others. In 1988, the US tried to negotiate Noriega's resignation, but it didn't work, causing the US to invade Panama in 1989, with 27,000 troops and 300 aircraft, making it one of the largest US military invasions since Vietnam. He managed to escape the US for a while, but was captured soon after, being tried for drug trafficking, money laundering and extortion, in which he was arrested in 1992, sentenced to 40 years and later extradited in France, dying in 2017 in Panama.

[[File:Cball-Venezuela.png]] Venezuela
"Main Article: Chavismo"

Bolibourgeoisie or Bolichicos are terms describing the oligarchy created by the Venezuelan government of Hugo Chávez. Corruption among the bolibourgeoisie and Chávez-administration sympathizers involves the theft of billions of dollars with the complicity of public officials, with some becoming rich under the guise of socialism. The Bolibourgeoisie kept growing stronger after the death of Hugo Chávez and holds significant power and influence on the administration of Nicolás Maduro.

Throughout his tenure, Hugo Chávez confiscated thousands of properties and businesses to reduce the influence of foreign companies over the country's economy. Venezuela's economy became increasingly state-controlled and was operated by military officers that had their business and government affairs connected.

[[File:Cball-Brazil.png]] Brazil
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[[File:Cball-Peru.png]] Peru [[File:Fujimori.png]][[File:Apra.png]]
"Main Article: Fujimorism" WIP

[[File:Argentina.png]] Argentina [[File:Pron.png]]
"Main Article: Peronism" WIP

[[File:Cball-Tunisia.png]] Tunisia [[File:BenAli.png]]
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[[File:Cball-Lebanon.png]] Lebanon
The young Lebanese Republic was established in 1920 with French support as part of the Sykes-Picot agreement. The country was rocked by Syrian nationalism and sectarian tensions, in 1923, as part of the Newcombe-Paulet agreement, South Lebanon was transferred to the mandate of Palestine, despite demographic realities in the region. When Lebanon declared its independence in 1943, and achieved it for good in 1946, it was already plagued by corruption, the reasons for these are varied, between an exploitative and inefficient colonial administration forced by the French, a confessionalist ruling model that favoured nepotism and fostered sectarian tensions, and a tradition of political dynasties going back to the Ottoman era, Lebanon didn't manage, despite efforts of nationalists of all confessions, Muslims like Saeb Salam or Christians like Camille Chamoun, to shake off its endemic corruption. The legacy of the Ottoman and French rule still curses the country's transparency to this day, the Lebanese bureaucracy is bloated, and it is home to many archaic laws that destroy any attempt at reform. Since 2019 however, people have started massive country-wide protests in light of a fiscal crisis, which the government of Lebanon caused, and in which the bank accounts of the Lebanese people were robbed. The power of the ruling elite now stands in question, the old dynasties are shaken, and it is unclear if they will manage to hold power for another decade.

[[File:Cball-Iraq.png]] Iraq [[File:Hussein.png]][[File:IslamicDawa.png]]
"Main Article: Ba'athism and  Shia Theocracy"


 * [[File:IslamicDawa.png]] Nouri al-Maliki is the secretary-general of the Islamic Dawa Party and was the Prime Minister of [[File:Cball-Iraq.png]] Iraq from 2006 to 2014 and the vice president of Iraq from 2014 to 2015 and 2016 to 2018. Nouri Al-Maliki began his political career as a [[File:Shia.png]] Shia dissident under [[File:Hussein.png]] Saddam Hussein in the late 1970s and rose to prominence after he fled a death sentence into exile in [[File:Cball-Syria.png]] Syria and [[File:Cball-Iran.png]] Iran for 24 years. During his time in, he became a senior leader of the Islamic Dawa Party and coordinated the activities of anti-Saddam guerrillas with the help of the [[File:Hafez al-Assad.png]] Syrian and [[File:Khom.png]] Iranian governments who shared his goal of overthrowing Saddam's dictatorship.

Nouri al-Maliki returned to Iraq after the 2003 US invasion of Iraq and the fall of Saddam and became the deputy leader of the Supreme National Debaathification Commission of the Iraqi Interim Government to o purge former Baath Party officials from the military and government. In 2006 al-Maliki was appointed the first full-term post-war Prime Minister of Iraq by the US and the same year he signed the death warrant of Saddam Hussein. During his eight years in power from 2006 to 2014, allegations of corruption were widespread, with hundreds of billions of dollars allegedly vanishing from government coffers to enrich al-Maliki and his cronies. Iraq also continued to be one of the most dangerous places for journalists in the world and annually scores very low on Reporter Without Border's Press Freedom Index to this day.

Nouri al-Maliki's regime came under much scrutiny for alleged sectarianism with the creation of a Shia-dominated dictatorship and the expense of Kurds and Sunni citizens which has resulted in both Kurdish nationalism and Sunni insurgency, culminating in civil war and the rise of ISIS.

[[File:Cball-Afghanistan.png]] Afghanistan [[File:Ghani.png]]

 * [[File:HamidKarzai.png]] Hamid Karzai was the president of the transitional administration of Afghanistan from 2001 to 2004 and the official president until 2014. During his presidency, the growth of corruption began, there were attempts to create a big tent government and liberalization of the economy. Because of his policy, the discontent of the population grew, which turned into protests, which were harshly suppressed. Despite his democratic nature, he did not hesitate to fire and hire people for key positions.
 * [[File:Ghani.png]] Ashraf Ghani was the fifth and last president of Afghanistan. Under his administration, the policy of his predecessor - Karzai remained unchanged. Corruption took hold in the system, elections began to be falsified, and the influence of the USA began to gradually make Afghanistan the "51st state". Ghani was a modernist and supporter of Ammanullah Khan and Mohammed Daoud. He also wanted to transform Afghanistan from a "tribal society into a technocratic and developed state."

[[File:Cball-South Africa.png]] South Africa [[File:ANC-icon.png]]
WIP

[[File:Thailand.png]] Thailand [[File:Chakri.png]] [[File:Thaksin.png]] [[File:PalangPracharat.png]]
Thaksin Shinawatra: Thaksin was accused of "policy corruption", such as infrastructure and liberalisation policies that, while legal "...abuse the public's interest,..." Supannee Chai-amporn and Sirinthip Arun-rue of the National Institute of Development Administration (NIDA) claimed that policy corruption caused the state to spend 5 to 30 percent more than it otherwise should have spent, costing the state an additional 400 billion baht. Thaksin critics point to more examples of corruption: the Thailand Board of Investment's (BOI) granting tax breaks worth a total of 16.4 billion baht to Shin Satellite for its iPSTAR project in 2003, and the Transport Ministry's decision the same year to abolish the minimum air fare of 3.8 baht per kilometre when Shin Corporation was about to consummate a joint venture with low-cost carrier AirAsia. After the 2006 coup, the military junta-appointed Assets Examination Committee froze Thaksin's assets based on charges of policy corruption.

Phrayut Chan-o-cha: Although Prayut claimed the 2014 coup was needed to combat corruption, some members of his own cabinet and members of the appointed national legislature, including his brother Preecha Chan-o-cha and Minister to the Office of the Prime Minister M.L. Panadda Diskul, have themselves been beset by various corruption scandals. However, the Office of the Public Sector Anti-Corruption Commission concluded that Panadda was not involved in the alleged case. Prayut then prohibited any criticism of his government. In February 2015 he explained, "If people want to do opinion polls, they are free to do so. But if the polls oppose the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), that is not allowed."

[[File:Hochi.png]] Vietnam [[File:Đổi_Mới.png]][[File:NguyễnTấnDũng.png]]

 * [[File:Đổi_Mới.png]] Đinh La Thăng was a former Minister of Transport, former Communist Party Secretary of Ho Chi Minh City, and former member of the Politburo and one of the most disgraced CPV officials for his many scandals.

In 2016, when the US appointed  Democrat politician  Bob Kerrey who had commanded the U.S. Navy SEALS unit that carried out the Thạnh Phong massacre in 1969 during the Vietnam War, as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Fulbright University Vietnam, Đinh La Thăng was the only high-ranking CPV official who publicly supported the selection of Kerrey.

Đinh La Thăng was expelled from his position in the Politburo and arrested in 2017 for his mismanagement during his time as the Chairman of PetroVietnam from 2006 to 2011, which resulted in a loss of 800 billion VND (35.28 million USD) from its investment in Oceanbank. On 22 January 2018, he was sentenced to 13 years in prison.

[[File:Cball-Philippines.png]] The Philippines [[File:Marcos.png]]
WIP

[[File:Cball-Malaysia.png]] Malaysia [[File:Mahathir.png]] [[File:UMNO-klep.png]] [[File:NajibRazak.png]] [[File:SyedSaddiq.png]] [[FIle:LimGuanEng.png]]

 * [[File:Mahathir.png]] Mahathir Mohamad: During Mahathir's era in the 1980s-2000s, several scandals from the BNM Forex Scandal, Perwaja Steel and Bank Bumiputra erupted. RM31.5 billion worth of losses had been incurred by Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) in its foreign exchange (forex) losses between 1992 and 1994. The Bank Bumiputra scandal was one of Malaysia’s biggest financial scandals before 1MDB. The bank lost 1 billion USD in public funds to an elaborate scheme of corruption, false accounting and sham profits. The main mastermind behind this web of deceit was a civil engineer by the name of George Tan, who had fled Singapore after his first bankruptcy in 1972, and ended up in Hong Kong.
 * [[File:NajibRazak.png]] Najib Razak: 1MDB scandal was a large corruption, bribery and money laundering scandal which began in 2009 in Malaysia but became global in scope and was exposed in 2015. It was as described as "one of the world's greatest financial scandals" and declared by the United States Department of Justice as the "largest kleptocracy case to date" in 2016. In 2015, Malaysia's then-Prime Minister Najib Razak was accused of channelling over RM 2.67 billion (approximately US$700 million) into his personal bank accounts from 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), a government-run strategic development company masterminded by Low Taek Jho. The court ruling declared that Najib was found guilty of using the said funds for corporate social responsibility (CSR), contrary to popular belief. Currently, he was appealing to the Federal Court as new evidence for the 1MDB case emerged, which involved the former minister Nor Mohamed Yakcop, former Governor of the Central Bank of Malaysia Zeti Akhtar Aziz and her husband, Tawfiq Ayman . However, his final appeal was rejected and was sentenced to 12 years jail and a fine of RM210 million (45283035 USD).
 * [[File:SyedSaddiq.png]] Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman: In July 2021, he was charged with criminal breach of trust and misappropriation of funds belonging to his former party, BERSATU. For the first charge, Syed Saddiq, the then-BERSATU's youth chief, was charged with criminal breach of trust for withdrawing RM1.12 million via a cheque without BERSATU's supreme council's approval. He was charged with another accusation of misappropriating RM120,000 in BERSATU donation money intended for the 2018 general election. In August 2021, Syed Saddiq had been charged again with two corruption charges of money laundering. According to the charge sheet, the accused transferred RM50,000 from his bank account to his Amanah Saham Bumiputera account on 16 June 2018 and another RM50,000 on 19 June 2018. Saddiq pleaded not guilty to the charges and currently, the case is yet to determine whether he was guilty or otherwise.
 * [[FIle:LimGuanEng.png]] Lim Guan Eng:
 * [[File:UMNO-klep.png]] Khir Toyo:

[[File:Cball-Indonesia.png]] Indonesia [[File:Suharto.png]] [[file:Pusadan.png]]
WIP

[[File:Cball-DRCongo.png]] Democratic Republic of Congo
WIP

Personality
Kleptocracy is immensely shady and will do almost anything to get as much money and power as possible. Unlike the libertarian right ideologies, he openly advocates for an  authoritarian state to preserve his power with minor concessions to the people to keep them satisfied, whether this be appeals to social conservatism or liberal welfare with a lot of red tape. In essence, he is portrayed as offering protection solely if there are huge clauses attached, not unlike a gangster offering protection, hence him being portrayed as a prisoner.

How to Draw
Klept_flag.svg Kleptocracy's design is based on the stereotypical striped prisoner outfit. It is also Brickster's flag flipped 90 degrees.
 * 1) Draw a ball
 * 2) On the ball draw a hat
 * 3) On the ball draw a number of vertical alternating black bars
 * 4) On the hat draw a number of horizontal alternating black bars
 * 5) Add the eyes and you're done!

Friends

 * [[File: Authcap.png]] Authoritarian Capitalism - Wanna drill oil?
 * [[File: Corp.png]] Corporatocracy - My #1 business partner. What do you mean that we can't do business anymore because of [[File: Cball-Ukraine.png]] Ukraine?!?!?!
 * [[File: Strato.png]] Stratocracy - Who's a good boy? You are!
 * [[File:Bankocracy.png]] Bankocracy - Why rob banks when you OWN the banks? So I can rob 'em too!
 * [[File:Krater.png]] Kraterocracy - Taking what's yours. I like the way you work.
 * [[File:Illeg.png]] Illegalism - My secret subordinate who cannot infiltrate systems and steals for me.
 * [[File:Oligarchy.png]] Oligarchy - The only form of government that actually exists! We usually work together!
 * [[File:Auto.png]] Autocracy - The only other form of government that exists! We work great in Belarus.
 * [[File:Banana_Republicanism.png]] Banana Republicanism - My Latin American son that [[File:Necon.png]] Neocon adopted.
 * [[File:Plutocrat.png]] Plutocracy - Most rich people are criminals, and that's based.
 * [[File:PolState.png]] Police Statism - As long as I'm in power, they'll do whatever I say.
 * [[File:Abmon.png]] Absolute Monarchism - Henry VIII was epic ngl.
 * [[File:Mach.png]] Machiavellianism - Corruption is a tool of power. What do you mean I must know how to do good?
 * [[File:Dengf.png]] Dengism - Jiang Zemin was the one of best politicians of the 21st century. And I like making pancakes with Xi.
 * [[File:Juche.png]] Juche - I may not like how you abolished taxes but your "Lazarus group" is really based.

Frenemies

 * [[File: Cap.png]] Capitalism - I'm not a "crony capitalist" or a "criminal"! You're just an old-fashioned dumbass.
 * [[File: Property.png]] Propertarianism - What I own is mine and what you own is also mine, so give me protection money bitch!
 * [[File: ML.png]] Marxism–Leninism - You tried to stop me but you failed. (Thanks for selling me all your stuff moron!)
 * [[File: Mediastocracy flair.png]] Mediacracy - Take this money and promote the kleptocratic cause on RT and Televisa, but if you try to criticize me, I'll have you thrown out of the balcony.
 * [[file:Trumpism.png]] Trumpism - Apparently he's gay for me, but yet he still continues the sanctions here in Russia.
 * [[File:Euras.png]] Fourth Theory - Supports me in Russia for some reason but he hates me everywhere else.
 * [[File:Pop.png]] Populism - Hehe, some people are stupid enough to believe his nonsense. He's not even noticing that he's getting me into power. What a fool. (I still have to fight Zelensky because he does live up to promises and banned my ideological followers).
 * [[File:Ochlo.png]] Ochlocracy - Same as above, you're the one that always wants this "mob rule" thing. So there you have it! You now got the "mob rule" you want! Now stop complaining.
 * [[File: Stalin.png]] Stalinism - You arrested the father of the founder of Russian kleptocracy! But Putin praised you and still, your robbery of a bank in 1907 was based.
 * [[File:Nazi.png]] National Socialism - People keep comparing Putin to you (and Rodzaevsky), and you claim to hate corruption, yet you created a separate brigade for criminals and [[File:Goering.png]] Hermann Göring was hella based. I guess RT can still use you as a strawman.
 * [[File: Necon.png]] Neoconservatism - Hates Putin with his own guts, but ngl this industrial military complex thing sounds epic. Ngl, Dick Cheney is one of The Best modern US Vice Presidents.
 * [[File: Authdem.png]] Authoritarian Democracy - Stop pretending to oppose me when we're often on the same side.
 * [[File:3way.png]] Third Way [[File:Third_Way_-_alt.png]] - Why did you discard The Lisbon Conference deal from 2010 to 2013? Also, I did NOT sabotage The Election!
 * [[File:Hmind.png]] Hive-Mind Collectivism - Collectivism is based but how can I be corrupt if everyone is the same?

Enemies
In general:
 * [[File:Fash.png]] Fascism - This bastard sent his Black Shirts to destroy me, but the mafia won in the end. (Also what the hell kinda brainwashing did you do to your men where they would rather die than betray you? I really need to learn some of those tips.)
 * [[File:Arist.png]] Aristocracy - For fuck's sake, your "honorable" ancestor was probably just a scumbag like me.
 * [[File: Dem.png]] Democracy - Sorry to burst your bubble but this ideology doesn't exist.
 * [[File:Krit.png]] Kritarchy - Bitter internal enemy immune to bribery and my bane of existence.
 * [[File:Libertarian.png]] Libertarianism - This moron thinks monopolies are a bad thing.
 * [[File:Zapa.png]] Neozapatismo - Viva PRI!
 * [[File: Long.png]] Longism - Share the wealth? NEVER!
 * [[File:Ancap-0.png]] Anarcho-Capitalism - What do you mean every government is criminal... only me.
 * [[File:Ike.png]] Eisenhowerism - This moron thought that the military-industrial complex is a bad thing.
 * [[File:Male_State.png]] Male State - I'll designate you as a extremist for attempting radical information warfare against the current government, despite you embrace Russian Nationalism.
 * [[File: Thar.png]] Anti-Authoritarianism - Ah, you want to challenge my rule? You make me laugh.
 * [[File:Navalny.png]] Navalnyism - *bonk* Go to jail, Navalny.
 * [[File:Zelensky.png]] Zelenskyism - Your time to go has come!
 * All [[File:Libright-yellow.png]] Libertarian Right ideologies - dA gUbRmInT iZ a kRiMnUlL oRgAnIzAsHuN aNd TaXaShUn Iz LeGaLiZeD ThEfT - Always has been... *click* Any last words?
 * All [[File: Libleft.png]] Libertarian Left ideologies - They're even worse than LibRights and I'm their worst nightmare.
 * Any ideology that is hard on crime or goes against wealth hoarding.

Literature

 * Nixonland: The Rise of a President and the Fracturing of America by Rick Perlstein
 * The Struggle for Russia by [[File:Yeltsin.png]] Boris Yeltsin
 * Putinism: the Ideology by [[File:Necon.png]] Anne Applebaum

Wikipedia

 * Kleptocracy
 * Anocracy
 * Mafia State
 * Organized Crime
 * Crony Capitalism
 * Nepotism
 * Slush fund
 * Dark money
 * Bolibourgeoisie
 * Pandora Papers
 * Padrino System
 * Spoils System
 * Kowloon Walled City
 * [[File:Grant.png]] Grantism
 * Teapot Dome Scandal
 * [[File:Yeltsin.png]] Yeltsinism
 * [[File:Putin.png]] Putinism
 * Kuchmism (in Ukrainian)
 * Dnipropetrovs'k clan (in Ukrainian)
 * Yanukovych "family" (in Ukrainian)
 * Donetsk clan (in Ukrainian)
 * Corruption in Italy
 * Malaysia Development Berhad scandal
 * Corruption in China
 * Anti-corruption campaign under Xi Jinping
 * [[file:Cball-Philippines.png]] Political dynasties in the Philippines
 * [[file:Amber-Gold.png]] Amber Gold

Political Parties
Historical
 * [[File:Cball-Russia.png]] United Russia [[File:United Russia.png]]
 * [[File:Thailand.png]]Palang Pracharat Party (People's State Power Party) [[File:PalangPracharat.png]]
 * [[File:Cball-Italy.png]] Forza Italia [[File:Berlusconi.png]]
 * [[File:CBall-Mexico.png]] Institutional Revolutionary Party [[File:PRI.png]]
 * [[File:Cball-Peru.png]] Popular Force [[File:Fujimori.png]]
 * [[File:Cball-Turkmenistan.png]] Democratic Party of Turkmenistan [[File:Niyazov.png]]
 * [[File:Cball-Brazil.png]] Brazilian Democratic Movement [[File:MDB(Brazil).png]]
 * [[File:Cball-Finland.png]] Power Belongs to the People
 * Cball-Mexico.png]]
 * [[File:Cball-Honduras.png]] National Party of Honduras [[File:PNH-Honduras.png]]
 * [[File:Cball-US.png]] Stalwart Republicans[[File:Grant.png]]
 * [[File:Cball-Ukraine.png]] Party of Regions [[File:Partyofregions.png]]
 * [[File:Oppobloc.png]] Opposition Bloc
 * [[File:Oppoplatforlife.png]] Opposition Platform — For Life
 * Party of Sharii [[File:Sharii.png]]
 * [[File:Cball-RepublicOfCuba.png]] Progressive Action Party [[File:Batista.png]]
 * [[File:Cball-Ecuador.png]] Ecuatorian Rodoldista Party
 * [[File:Mobutism.png]] Popular Movement of the Revolution

Media

 * [[File:Cball-Russia.png]] RT [[File:RT.png]]
 * [[File:CBall-Mexico.png]] Televisa [[File:PRI.png]]

Articles

 * On kleptocracy
 * The Rise of Kleptocracy: Laundering Cash, Whitewashing Reputations
 * The Origins of Modern Kleptocracy
 * Global Kleptocracy
 * This Is How Kleptocracies Work

Videos

 * Historia Memów - DONALD TUSK [[file:Tusk.png]] by BadzmyPowazni (polish)

Navigation
Kleptokracja