Corruption. Why so serious?

Morgan McBride
Jun 26
6 min read

Billions of people currently live in countries plagued with corruption. The harmful components of corruption destroy lives and undermine human rights all around the world.

Generally speaking, corruption is the abuse of a position of power for personal gain, which ultimately erodes the trust of an organization, community, or entire country.

Corruption can involve anyone, including politicians, businesspeople, public servants, and members of the public. Nevertheless, corruption can persist in the shadows, typically with the assistance of professional intermediaries such as bankers, lawyers, real estate agents, accountants, and other professionals.

Corruption erodes trust, weakens democracy, hampers economic development, and further exacerbates inequality, poverty, social division, and the environmental crisis.

“Corruption to the degree and intensity we are now witnessing is an affront. It also brings down economies, ignites wars, exterminates peoples and species, and tears irrevocable scars across the face of the earth. It is an existential threat not just to the democratic principles we claim to revere, but to the very survival of our society.” — On Corruption in America by Sarah Chayes

A wide variety of institutions and entities play a pivotal role in exacerbating corruption throughout society. Data compiled by Transparency International in 2017 found that police and elected represenatives are seen as the most corrupt institutions around the world, with both entities receiving a score of 36%, with “most” or “all” of respondents saying they are corrupt.

The implied power dynamics among the groups depicted below highlight the significance of power in relation to corruption.

For many developing and transition states, one of the most serious problems with corruption is that it can result in reduced aid, as potential donors or lenders either terminate or refuse to provide funds to countries where elites appear to divert most of these resources for personal gain. Unfortunately, it is usually the poorest members of society who suffer most from this.

Another critical consideration relevant to the global corruption problem is its relation to global inequality. Global inequality indicates the disproportionate distribution of resources, opportunities, wealth, and power worldwide.

Corruption often heightens a ‘them’ against ‘us’ dynamic within a society, both in a vertical and horizontal manner. On the one hand, the gap between elites and the general public widens through the theft of the nation’s wealth and resources by corrupt individuals and entities, at the expense of ordinary citizens (i.e., a vertical divide). On the other hand, corruption can exacerbate division among the citizenry, primarily because those unwilling or unable to pay the necessary bribes within their country’s corrupt institutions often grow resentful of those who ultimately pay them (i.e., a horizontal divide).

Interestingly, a significant wave of anti-corruption protests has been sprouting around the world, as public outbursts over systemic corruption and global inequality collide. A Carnegie Endowment Global Protest Tracker indicates that more than 123 significant antigovernment protests occurred worldwide over the past year. Many of these protests derived from anti-corruption motivations — namely, in Albania, Georgia, Guatemala, Haiti, Lebanon, Madagascar, Turkey, Malaysia, and many others.

Although anti-corruption discourse has undergone numerous developments over the past few decades, the burgeoning crisis posed by corruption continues to exert a steady grip on the global economic, political, and cultural future.

Corruption Perceptions Index

The organization Transparency International publishes the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), which ranks countries and territories based on the perceived level of public-sector corruption as reported by experts and business leaders. For most countries represented in the data, the CPI encompasses up to 13 independent sources, including expert assessments and business surveys from trusted institutions.

Each nation’s score ranges from 0 (most corrupt) to 100 (least corrupt). Based on the 2024 CPI report, South Sudan received the lowest score of 8, while Denmark earned the highest score of 90. Interestingly, the following year’s report for 2025 shows South Sudan slightly improving to a score of 9, with Denmark slightly weakening to a score of 89.

Since the Corruption Perceptions Index began in 2012, 32 countries have significantly improved their corruption levels, yet 148 countries have either stayed the same or worsened over nearly 14 years. The annual reporting and analysis of this data provide us all with a valuable snapshot of the progress and regressions in anti-corruption efforts worldwide.

Moldova’s Battle with Corruption

In southeastern Europe, Moldova has a population of over two million people and has been considered one of Europe’s poorest countries. The Global Organized Crime Index states that wealthy individuals with political power commit financial crimes in Moldova, yet such collusion affects its economy and society at large.

Moldova’s post-Soviet transition period began in 1991 and ultimately saw an array of oligarchs amass excessive wealth and power. Furthermore, a fragmented, hybrid regime led political actors to monopolize corrupt courts and institutions to secure their short-term private gains. The corrupt misuse of state institutions intensified the country’s already troubling path towards political and economic development.

An oligarchic network of corrupt individuals causes major strife for Moldova’s government, especially for those outside the elite community. The elite actors steal from the nation's economy and infrastructure, depriving the public of potential economic gains and resources.

In contrast to most instances of government corruption, especially in the Eurasian region, Moldova’s network of corruption stems from the involvement of a non-state actor in widespread corrupt activities. Business magnate Vladimir Plahotniuc has cultivated an immense kleptocratic network comprising government officials, criminal actors, private-sector entities, external enablers, and others who together build an enterprise of corruption. This vertically integrated network means that all bribes and extortions ultimately trickle up the hierarchy, reaching the elite actors.

Vladimir Plahotniuc was being led away by masked Moldovan police officers after being extradited from Greece to Moldova. (BBC News)

Vladimir Plahotniuc quickly gained significant influence in the mid-2000s by owning several major banks and other businesses, thereby giving rise to his oligarchic network. As the wealthiest man in Moldova, Vlad Plahotniuc also served as head of the nation’s Democratic Party. With his notoriety in business and politics, Plahotniuc manipulated Moldovan law enforcement to target individuals and entities in political opposition to him and his network. Moldova’s Anticorruption Prosecutor’s Office claims that Plahotniuc earned 39 million dollars and 3.5 million euros through the intermediaries within his network.

An extensive money laundering scheme between 2010 and 2014 — often referred to as the Russian Laundromat scandal — involved Russian organized criminals and corrupt politicians who moved $20 billion in dirty funds through offshore companies, banks, fake loans, and proxy agents. The banks and companies involved are run by well-known Russian businessmen, many of whom have close relations with Vladimir Putin and the KGB.

The Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project stated that Moldovan judges legitimized the process by certifying the laundered money as “clean money,” thereby enabling the proceeds of fraud to enter the legal market. Additionally, the National Bank of Moldova provided the banks linked to this scheme with nearly $1 billion in emergency loans secured through state guarantees to replace the embezzled funds.

The Laundromat scheme’s system functioned as an illusion of business activity, legitimizing illicit money flowing across Europe.

On April 22nd, 2026, Plahotniuc was officially found guilty of his involvement in the fraud scheme, as he was personally accused of receiving over $40 million from it. According to the prosecutor’s office, Vlad Plahotiuc used the funds to purchase an Embraer Legacy 650 aircraft, make property purchases, make business investments, and pay compensation for other services. He will now be serving 19 years in prison for his involvement in the fraud scheme.

Although some conclusions have been reached in Plahotniuc’s case, other oligarchic actors remain active contributors to Moldova’s illicit system of corruption. Anti-corruption efforts have reinforced some of Moldova’s institutions; however, continued reform will be necessary for the nation’s development towards a stronger democracy.

As a nation teetering on the brink of state fragility due to corruption, among other issues, Moldova’s fight against corruption also strengthens its defenses against political, economic, and cultural fragility.

--------------------

Sources: