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Revision as of 11:49, 6 November 2002 by 213.253.40.155 (talk) (brute force merge)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)Kleptocracy is a form of government. It means literally "rule by thieves". It is the end-point of political corruption, where no pretence of honesty remains, and the government of a country exists solely to enrich its rulers and to perpetuate their rule.
The following governments (in alphabetical order by country name) have been accused of being kleptocracies:
- The government of Francois Duvalier in Haiti
- The government of President Suharto in Indonesia
- The government of Sani Abacha in Nigeria
- The government of Ferdinand Marcos in the Philippines
- The government of Nicolae Ceausescu in Romania
- The government of Idi Amin in Uganda
- The government of Mobutu Sese Seko in Zaire
Kleptocrats often use money laundering and anonymous banking as a way of protecting and concealing their wealth.
Cleptocracy (root: Clepto+cracy) means "government of theft". As opposed to a democracy (rule by people) or a theocracy (rule by theology), a cleptocracy is a government for the purpose of enriching its leaders at the expense of the population.