What is government corruption?

Political or government corruption refers to the abuse of power by the upper tier of government officials to obtain and amass private favors and riches for personal gain. Abuse of power with another intention is not government corruption.

There are two types of government corruption. The first groups acts by government officials abusing their power to extract and accumulate riches from government revenues, the private sector and the economy itself. The second form of corruption refers to the abuse of power and public resources for the sake of power preservation and power extension. Acts such as giving political gifts or spoils and financial enticements are corrupt.