It is said that corruption and politics go hand in hand and it’s actually true. Every day we come across news alleging the politicians of frauds, scams and corruptions. Remember, with great powers comes great responsibilities. However, certain individuals pay too much attention to their personal interest rather than interest of the state or country.
Corrupt politicians threaten the economy as well as democracy of a country — the overall confidence of the citizens also takes a beating due to this. The following is the list of top 10 corrupt politicians.
1. Mohamed Suharto
This gentleman was president of Indonesia from the year 1967 till 1998. During his stint as the president of the country he amassed a wealth of approximately $30 billion. This wealth was in the form of real estate, cash, shares as well as expensive fine art. During his 31 year presidency, the value of Indonesia currency fell rapidly and economy went into a bad shape.
2. Ferdinand Marcos
Ferdinand Marcos is another president who was in news for misappropriation and diversion of funds for his personal interest. He was president of Philippines from 1972 to 1986 and made a fortune of roughly $10 billion during this period. Even his cronies and relatives were accused of political mismanagement and rampant corruption.
3. Mobutu Sese Seko
He embezzled funds worth more than $5 billion during his regime as President of Zaire from 1965-77. He was involved in many cases of frauds and scams which hampered the economy of Zaire.
4. Sani Abacha
Sani Abacha, this Nigerian president made a fortune of $5 billion during the years 1993-1998. He had many properties and foreign assets. After his death, the post-Abacha government recovered more than $3 billion from his family and representatives.
5. Slobodan Milosevic
Well, no wonder this list contains another president. Slobodan was president of Serbia for a period of 11 years from 1989 till 2000. He was charged not only with corruption during his political stint but also for war crimes as well as crimes against humanity. He amassed wealth of more than $1 billion during his political career.
6. Jean-Claude Duvalier
Even though he was the president of small country Haiti, the corruption charges levied against him are too big. He was known in the country as well as world over for his lavishing lifestyle during the period 1971-1986. If reports are to be believed, his wedding in the year 1980 cost was worth more than $3 million. It was also alleged he was involved in drug peddling and human trafficking and said to divert funds more than $700 million in his own interest.
7. Alberto Fujimori
He was a controversial figure in the political circles of Peru. He was president of the country from a good ten years from 1990 till 2000 and faced charges of corruptions, violation of human rights as well as authoritarianism. He faced many trials in the court of law and is said to amass wealth of more than $600 million during his presidential career.
8. Pavlo Lazarenko
Even though he was the Prime minister of Ukraine for only a year i.e. 1996-1997, the funds embezzled by him was more than $200 million. He spent widely on lavishing lifestyle. However, later he was convicted and sent to jail in US on charges of wire fraud, money laundering as well as extortion.
9. Arnoldo Alemán
The Aronoldo administration was full of cooperation from top to bottom. At the end of his presidency at 2002, it was alleged that he has amassed wealth of $100 million. His property and foreign accounts were sealed by the court and he was sent to prison for nine months on charges of corruption.
10. Joseph Estrada
Last in the list comes the president of Philippines, Joseph Estrada. He was serving presidential post from 1998 until 2001. He had an acting career spanning more than 30 films before he joined politics. In just three years, he was involved in the scams involving more than $80 million. It is also worthy to note that he was first Philippine president to be impeached and convicted.
