There are many Examples of corruption Historical and recent policies, cases that stand out for their importance and how they have influenced society.
Corruption from its moral point of view is as old as the human being and from the political point of view, it is as old as the state. Classical historical sources document cases of influence peddling and bribery in Greece and Rome and in ancient China cases of fraud are documented.
Today organizations like Transparency International Periodically publish an index of the most corrupt countries.
Examples of history corruption
1- The ambassadors of Miletus and Demosthenes
One of the first cases of bribery , Documented by the Roman writer Aulo Gelio In his work"Attic Nights"is the case of The ambassadors of Miletus and Demosthenes . The story goes that the ambassadors of Miletus spoke before the people of Athens asking for help, but Demosthenes was against to offer this aid and considered that the matter raised was not worthy to be discussed as a matter of State.
The ambassadors decided to visit the house of Demosthenes to see that they had failed in their petition and asked him not to speak against their cause. The next day, Demosthenes arrived with a scarf around his neck and neck and said to be sick with angina, reason why he could not participate in the dispute. One of the people shouted to him that he was sick, but from Argentina (derived from"argentum"or silver).
In the book of Exodus we can read about bribery:"You shall not receive a bribe; For a bribe blinds those who see and perverts the words of the righteous"(Exodus 23: 8).
2- The plan of Catilina
During the Roman Republican period (V-I centuries BC), the electoral system facilitated corruption. The chronicler Sallust Tells the story of Catilina, a candidate for consul who could not reach the position he coveted, as he had large debts decided to give a coup against the Republic.
His plan was to fill the post to get rich and thus pay his debts. On the other hand, Sallust himself was not free from sin. At the end of his career he was accused of concussion , That is, to use his office to compel a person to pay a higher contribution than due.
3- Ancient China
At Book of the Odes or Shī Jīng Corruption in ancient China is reflected. To the corrupt the people called them great rats. Public servants who accepted Bribes o Committed crimes of concussion Were publicly punished.
Concerning the concussion in Old China, it is interesting to know that many officials did not receive a salary from the Empire, but had to support themselves and this situation led many to impose unjust debts on citizens.
4- Ancient Egypt
In ancient Egypt corruption was also practiced. The investigator Ahmad Saleh In his study Tebasgate Says that 3,000 years ago, a case of concealment Of theft of goods hidden in the tombs of the pharaohs.
According to the papyri found no one was convicted of this fact as in the course of the investigation it was determined that there were government officials involved. In the old Indian text Artha-shastra , The Pakistani scholar Kautilia recounts 40 ways officials use to steal state money.
5- Middle Ages
In the Middle Ages corruption continued, especially in the Catholic Church. Corruption was one of the causes of the rupture of the Church and the rise of Protestantism.
It is known that Indulgence sale , That is, the sale of the forgiveness of sins, was one of the reasons why Martin Luther wrote his 95 theses. The Catholic Church also practiced the sale of high positions in the clergy. To be a cardinal it was necessary to have money.
6- Tudor Dynasty
During the Tudor Dynasty And religious wars in Europe, thanks to an Act signed by parliament in 1534, Henry VIII became the head of the Anglican Church.
Yet the Catholic Church remained powerful in the reign. One way to weaken the Church was to accuse her of her numerous cases of corruption. Among them is that many monks They did not keep celibacy.
7- Nicolas Fouquet
In France in the XVII Century the figure was highlighted By Nicolas Fouquet. Fouquet attended the successor of Cardinal Richelieu, Cardinal Mazarin, when he was exiled. He kept his artistic collections and informed him of the situation in court during his absence.
When Mazarin returned, Fouquet was appointed Superintendent of Finance. He enriched his personal fortune by stealing the state and then became the king's banker, lending him his own resources.
8- Duke of Lerma
During the Reign of Philip III it is said that The Duke of Lerma , The famous Francisco Gómez de Sandoval y Rojas was one of the richest and most powerful men in Spain.
The Duke was noted for buying properties in Valladolid and then persuading the King with different methods to move the capital from Madrid to Valladolid. Of course all their properties increased in value and this sold them at a good price.
9- María Cristina de Borbón-Dos Sicilias
Another historical example of corruption in Spain is María Cristina de Borbón-Dos Sicilias , Who was regent at the death of her husband until her daughter was an adult. He used his power to abolish the Salic law, which hindered the reign of women.
Thus his daughter received the throne. When it finished its regency, it was dedicated to the businesses and had interests in many industrial projects in Spain. It is said that he devoted himself to price speculation. She was expelled from Spain when she was discovered in 1854.
Actions against corruption
During the founding of the new Latin American republics, in 1813, Simón Bolívar signed a decree punishing the guilty of corruption in the first Republic of Venezuela with the death penalty.
In 1826, corruption was defined in another document as "The violation of the public interest" And a maximum sum of 10 pesos was established. When an official appropriated more than 10 pesos, he was punished with death.
Examples of Recent Corruption
There are more recent examples in history!
In the 70's it starts to work The Ministry of Fisheries In Peru with General Vanini at the head, and in 1976 the General Morales Bermúdez becomes president of that country.
At that time a flourishing and predatory fishery policy prevailed, not oriented towards human consumption. Foreign businessmen along with government officials became the owners of the fishery.
This situation of illicit enrichment of a few and of appropriation of the coast by large companies caused discontent in the population. The murder of the magnate Luis Banchero Rossi, who belonged to much of these businesses, was one of the consequences.
11- The case of Azerbaijan
Nor were the socialist countries exempt from corruption. In the former Soviet Union it is known The case of Azerbaijan . In this Soviet Republic was discovered in 1969 that the public positions were sold to different sums.
For example, to become a judge it was necessary to pay 30 thousand rubles. The interesting thing about this fact is that at that time the common salary of any employee was approximately 100 rubles, meaning that it was very difficult to put this sum together.
Specialists consider that collectives were organized to collect the money and to have"their person of confidence"named in a position.
Pablo Escobar Bought many consciences in his years of activity in Colombia. It came to finance political campaigns and proselytizing activities.
Many do not know that their ties to the politicians allowed him to run for election by a congressional seat, as the second line of the Jairo Ortega paisa by the Liberal Renewal Movement.
13- The infamous decade in Argentina
In the 1930s and 40s in Argentina, which the historian Jose Luis Torres rightly called "The infamous decade" , Lisandro de la Torre brought to trial prominent ministers of the government of Agustín P. Justo.
It was intended to clarify the case of the meat and the refrigerators that supposedly had been acquired, although finally the case was left without solution. Another important case was the sale of the lands of El Palomar, which was done in a fraudulent and unconstitutional way.
Senator Benjamín Villafañe denounced that these lands were distributed among public officials and that their price was deliberately devalued. This political scandal was one of the causes of the resignation of the President of the Republic Roberto M. Ortiz.
12- The scandal of the black
He «Stranger Scandal» Was uncovered in 1935 in Spain. It was shown that businessmen and politicians had agreed to manipulate the results of casino games.
In order not to be prosecuted by law, the owner of the casino paid bribes to officials, including the Minister of the Interior and the General Director of Security.
Many of the officials linked to this corruption case belonged to the Radical Party, which lost its popularity and influence when the case was discovered. Today the word estraperlo in Spain is used as a synonym for fraudulent business.
In 2005 the Government of England requested that the former Prime Minister be investigated Margaret Thatcher By the possible linkage to a scandal of corruption and influence peddling of the republican senator Tom DaLey .
The"Iron Lady"met in 2000 with DeLay who was already under investigation. It is considered that he could receive free vacations in exchange for his mediation in political matters. Tom Delay was convicted in 2010 of money laundering.
During the Alfredo Stroessner , It is considered that this Received bribes Of the Government of Brazil to build The Itaipú Dam. Also thanks to Stroessner and his total agrarian reform, Brazilian"settlers"settled along the border in Paraguayan territory.
The dictator did not submit any of these bills to the Senate. During the Government of Dilma Rousseff documents related to this fact were found in the Archive of the Triple Alliance. Unfortunately the documents were not broadcast.
15- European Commission
In the European Union, the case of The Santer Commission, led by Jacques Santer , The ninth president of the European Commission. The members of this commission were accused of embezzlement of the funds, which they administered from 1995 to 1999.
After the work of the commission ended because of the scandal, the Marin Commission was created. Many of the members of the Santer Commission stayed and were part of the Marin Commission. It was not possible to prove the charges that Santer was accused of.
The Galvin report Was drafted by Robert Galvin, an official European auditor. At the end of 2006 this auditor analyzed the expenses and profits of 160 officials of the European Parliament. The report denounces the hiring of relatives (nepotism) or jobs without participating in contests.
Many of these"officials"belonged to national political parties and were engaged in proselytizing, not in the institutional activity under their charge. The investigation uncovered that these assistants received bonuses for up to 19 times their salary.
16- Asian Countries
In Asian countries, such as China and Singapore, A zero tolerance policy against corruption And many cases of officials who have been punished with the death penalty are known.
China is famous for the case of Liu Zhijun, who served as Minister of Railways in China. During his term the railway network of the Asian nation developed exponentially and it is considered that this official was enriched by agreeing with the contractors of the works. In April of 2013 he was accused of corruption and in July of the same year he was sentenced to death.
The death penalty is equal to or more severe in Singapore. Is famous The case of Teh Cheang Wan , Who was Minister of Development in Singapore. Teh was investigated for corruption in November 1986.
It was determined that this officer accepted two bribes of, 000 in the years 1981-1982. This former minister, who would surely have been sentenced to the maximum penalty, committed suicide. In spite of his suicide, the case was carried to the final consequences without his presence.
17- Wikileaks and Papers of Panama
Many cases of corruption have been uncovered in the last two years. Wikileaks and the papers of Panama will continue to emerge in the future.
It seems that the classical conception that man is pure at birth and corrupted over the years is wrong. It is considered that there are little corrupt countries, like the Scandinavian countries. What makes them special?