The Festering Rot that is Corruption in the Trump Administration

Despite promises to "drain the swamp" Trump and his administration have been defined by ethics violations and rampant corruption. On the campaign trail Trump repeatedly vowed to end government corruption. Instead he has made it worse in ways that most could not have imagined.

Trump has been tied to shady deals, questionable financial partners, hush money, conspiracy, tax evasion, illegal payments, and conflicts of interest.

Although Trump has disparaged his own government (intelligence services, the Department of Justice, and the FBI) a report at the end of last year concluded that most Americans share the view that the White House is the most corrupt institution in government.

Trump's Corruption may be his Lasting Legacy and his Undoing

The Trump administration can be described as an oligarchy full of kleptocrats or a kakistocracy. Donald Trump is known for shady dealings and now that he is president his corruption has predictably become a defining feature of his presidency. While this should not surprise anyone who has followed Trump, the extent of the corruption is troubling.

Trump has a long history of corrupt business practices. This includes the scam that was Trump University. He has also failed to pay vendors for services rendered. Trump's progression from corruption as a "business man" to presidential corruption was seamless. Within a week of winning the election on November 8th he was hard at work exploring ways that he can profit from the presidency. Even before taking the oath of office he had created an influence peddling scheme whereby he sold access to foreign diplomats in the form of exorbitantly priced bookings at one of his hotels.

What Romanians can Teach Us About Combating Corruption

The way Romanians are tenaciously defending their democracy by standing against corruption is a model for the world. The nation's hard-won anti-corruption gains are now under threat due to a government issued decree.

As January drew to a close, the country’s Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu issued an emergency decree that decriminalizes some forms of corruption. This is but the latest attempt by members of the Romanian government to escape indictment. For days Romanians in 50 towns and cities have been on the streets to show their support for the country's anti-corruption laws. These are the largest demonstrations since the fall of communism almost thee decades ago.

Sustainability Combats the Culture of Corruption

Corruption is an anathema to sustainability. Corruption also makes it that much more difficult to marshal the economic and social capital required to combat climate change. Corruption eats away at the fabric of our economy and whittles away at the public's trust. This is particularly true for social enterprises.

Fraud, bribery, extortion and embezzlement may be rampant but they are antithetical to the new form of capitalism that is beginning to take shape. Although socially responsible business is not new concept, we are developing more sophistication methods that allow us to better articulate the mechanics of an ethical enterprise. We are also creating a wealth of tools that are giving us the ability to measure and assess such efforts. The growth of sustainability, social business and cause marketing is providing a wealth of data that translates into a best practices regime.

Corruption in the Fossil Fuel Industry

Corruption is rife in the oil and gas industry. Fossil fuel graft schemes commonly involve senior oil executives and politicians.Two prominent recent examples are Petrobras in Brazil and Gazprom in Russia.

According to a new report, the extractive sector, which includes fossil fuels, is the most corrupt industry in the world. Of all reported cases of corruption almost 1 in 5 (19 percent) were associated with the extractives sector. Most of these corruption cases involved the paying of bribes by senior executives. This is the finding of an Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) report that analyzed 427 cases of bribery in international business. Public sector employees including senior politicians and Presidents of state companies were most likely to be involved in bribery.