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A kleptocracy (sometimes cleptocracy) (root: klepto+kratein = rule by thieves) is a government that extends the personal wealth and political power of government officials and the ruling class (collectively, kleptocrats) at the expense of the population. A kleptocratic government often goes beyond merely awarding the prime contracts and civil service posts to friends (a common feature of corrupt governments^{[citation needed]}). They also create projects and programs at a policy level which serve the primary purpose of funneling money out of the treasury and into the pockets of the executive with little if any regard for the logic, viability or necessity of those projects.

A kleptocracy is fundamentally premised on the Hobbesian social contract, whereby the people give up some rights to an authoritative body in exchange for basic protections. Basic protections, such as defense, must be funded by resources provided by the masses to the ruling elite, thus providing the core mechanism for transfer of resources from the masses to the ruling elite. Kleptocracies are often dictatorships or some other form of autocratic government, or lapsed democracies that have transformed into oligarchies. Since democracy makes outright thievery for direct personal gain slightly more difficult to sustain in the long term and still keep the current administration in power, more subtlety is employed. Some kleptocracies are a response to jingoism, and frequent bullying in the government place itself.

Kleptocratic governance means that the economy is subordinated to the interests of the kleptocrats. Distributive states that derive their wealth from the extraction of natural resources (e.g., diamonds and oil, in a few prominent cases) can be particularly prone to kleptocracy. Redistributive governments that derive their wealth through taxation of their population have a natural limitation on how far they can extend kleptocratic policies. Their government can be destabilized through extending their grab to their own supporters or driving income producers away from the country or making them withdraw their labor or capital. A number of kleptocracies have enriched themselves via foreign aid, often spent on showy buildings and armaments. In general, a kleptocrat regards the national treasury as his own personal piggy bank.

The creation of a kleptocracy powered by dictatorship typically results in many years of general hardship and suffering for the vast majority of citizens, as civil society and the rule of law disintegrate. In addition, kleptocrats routinely ignore economic and social problems in their quest to amass ever more wealth and power.

The classic case of kleptocracy--in this sense--often given, is the regime of Marshal Mobutu Sese Seko, who ruled the Democratic Republic of the Congo (which he renamed Zaire) from 1965 to 1997. It is said that use of the term kleptocracy gained popularity largely as a description of Mobutu's regime. Another classic case is Nigeria, especially under the rule of General Sani Abacha who was de facto president of Nigeria from 1993 until his death in 1998. He is reputed to have stolen some $3-4 billion. He and his relatives are often mentioned in Nigerian 419 letter scams claiming to offer vast fortunes for 'help' in laundering his stolen 'fortunes,' which in reality do not exist.^[1]

Some observers use the term 'kleptocracy' to disparage political processes that permit corporations to influence political policy. Ralph Nader called the United States a kleptocracy in this sense of the word during the 2000 presidential campaign. Others however refer to this type of corporate influence over a state merely as a plutocracy.

The protection society has against kleptocracy is largely dependent on the effectiveness of the rule of law to prevent political leaders abusing their powers, the free flow of information (necessary to properly identify kleptocrats) and ability of the population to remove corrupt leaders from office. Many such protections are included in legal documents such as a constitution or a bill of rights and are also found in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 17. Many countries have these protections, on paper; in many cases, the rules have not been enforced. The imposition of a government on property rights may not be limited to taxation, licenses, and eminent domain and may extend to outright nationalization of privately held property if left unchecked by the rule of law.

In early 2004, the anti-corruption Germany-based NGO Transparency International released a list of what it believes to be the ten most self-enriching leaders in recent years.^[2]

In order of amount allegedly stolen (in USD), they are

1. Former Indonesian President Suharto ($15 billion – $35 billion)
2. Former Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos ($5 billion – $10 billion)
3. Former Zairian President Mobutu Sese Seko ($5 billion)
4. Former Nigerian President Sani Abacha ($2 billion – $5 billion)
5. Former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milošević ($1 billion)
6. Former Haitian President Jean-Claude Duvalier ($300 million – $800 million)
7. Former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori ($600 million)
8. Former Ukrainian Prime Minister Pavlo Lazarenko ($114 million – $200 million)
9. Former Nicaraguan President Arnoldo Alemán ($100 million)
10. Former Philippine President Joseph Estrada ($78 million – $80 million)

• Dictatorship
• Failed state
• Oligarchy
• Political corruption
• Raubwirtschaft
• Narcokleptocracy