Corruption

1.

CORRUPTION.
1. Warming-up.
Watch a short video about corruption
and answer the questions below.
What kinds of corruption are there?
Has corruption affected your life?
Why do you think people are corrupt?
Which countries have a lot of corruption?
Is bribery a big problem in the country
where you live?
What type of governments do you think
are more likely to be corrupt - democracies or dictatorships? Why?
What are some problems with corruption in the political system of your
country?
2. Vocabulary Preview. Match the words from the left with their meanings
from the right.
1. to incur
2. bribe
3. wage
4. opaque
5. allegedly
6. siphon off
7. fraudulent
8. to fine
9. countermeasure
10. leak
11. trafficking
12. offence
a. to gradually steal money or goods, usually from a business or
government
b. used when something illegal or wrong is said to have been
done, but has not been proved
c. an illegal act; a crime
d. money or a present that you give to someone so that they will
do something for you, usually something dishonest
e. dishonest and illegal
f. an action taken against an unwanted action or situation
g. the origin of secret information that becomes known, or the act
of making it known
h. to experience something, usually something unpleasant, as a
result of actions you have taken
i. the act of buying or selling goods illegally
j. difficult to understand or know about, especially because things
have been intentionally kept secret or made complicated
k. a particular amount of money that is paid, usually every week,
to an employee
l. to charge someone an amount of money as a punishment for
not obeying a rule or law

2.

3. Read the article “5 corruption scandals that shook the world”. Which of
them did you know about?
1. SIEMENS: CORRUPTION MADE IN GERMANY
Did you know that certain bribes paid abroad were technically tax deductible for
German companies until 1999? They could simply categorize them as “useful
expenditures”, as long as those expenses were not incurred in Germany and there
were no foreign state officials involved.
In 2006, however, it became clear that Siemens, one of Germany’s biggest
companies, was taking corporate bribery to a whole new level. For over a decade,
it paid bribes to government officials and civil servants around the world, amounting
to approximately US$1.4 billion. While corrupt decision makers profited, citizens in the
affected countries paid the costs of overpriced necessities such as roads and power
plants.
The company’s transactions eventually caught the interest of authorities in several
countries, including the US and Germany, which launched investigations and
ultimately secured a historic sanction of US$1.6 billion.
2. KADYROV’S CHECHNYA: BIKERS, BOXERS, BRIBES
In Chechnya, everyone earning a wage pays an unofficial tax to an opaque fund
controlled by the head of the republic, Ramzan Kadyrov.
While the fund helped build homes and mosques and provided international aid to
Somalia, it also allegedly paid for Kadyrov’s lavish 35th birthday party and the
celebrities that attended it, a US$2 million boxing session with Mike Tyson and 16
motorbikes that Kadyrov very publicly gifted to a nationalist biker gang.
Some Chechens lose half their income to this fund, which collects US$648 to 864
million a year, roughly the equivalent of two thirds of Chechnya’s budget. Kadyrov is
also said to help himself to that national budget while committing human rights
abuses that have led to sanctions from US authorities.
3. THE RUSSIAN LAUNDROMAT (WITH A
LITTLE HELP FROM MOLDOVA)
According to a recent study, more than
one-fifth of Russia’s population lives in
poverty, while 36 per cent are at risk of
poverty. The Russian Laundromat, a
massive money laundering scheme that
siphoned off somewhere between US$2080 billion in fraudulent funds away from
public services and the citizens who need
them most, could be one of the reasons
why.
To move the money out of Russia, UK-registered shell companies issued fictitious
loans to each other and Russian companies, fronted by Moldovan citizens,
guaranteed them. Once the debtors failed to “pay back” these loans, corrupt
Moldovan judges fined Russian companies and ordered them to transfer funds to

3.

accounts in a Moldovan bank. From there on, the money flowed into Latvia and
other EU banks where it was ultimately cleaned.
4. THE MAGNITSKIY CASE.
Sergei Magnitsky died on Nov. 16, 2009 in a solitary confinement cell of the infamous
Matrosskaya Tishina Prison in Moscow. He was 37. His death rocked U.S.-Russia
relations and sanctions were put in place by Washington, followed by
countermeasures from Moscow.
Magnitsky had been a lawyer and auditor and, while working for the investment
company Hermitage Capital, had uncovered an alleged case of fraud amounting
to several million U.S. dollars. According to his research, Russian civil servants had, in
conjunction with criminals, managed to steal $230 million from the treasury and
transfer it abroad through a very complex web of shell companies. The people
suspected of pulling the strings are still at large. But the search for the missing money
continued by others after Magnitsky’s death, and is ongoing to this day.
5. THE PANAMA PAPERS
Following a huge leak from the Panamanian law firm, Mossack Fonseca, the
Panama Papers exposed the darkest secrets of the financial secrecy industry. The
Panama Papers showed that Mossack Fonseca created 214,000 shell companies for
individuals who wanted to keep their identities hidden. Behind the shell companies
hid at least 140 politicians and public officials, including 12 government leaders and
33 individuals or companies who were blacklisted or on sanction lists by the United
States government for offences like trafficking and terrorism.
Which of these corruption scandals did you hear before? Do you know any
details?
Work in small groups. Choose one case for each group and find more
information about it. Share your group’s opinion as well.
Then present it to the class.
4. Vocabulary Review.
a. The US _______________________ their politicians
for gaining bribes last week.
b. The maximum penalty provided for this
__________________________ is five years in prison.
c. The ___________________ in this company is really
low and not reasonable.
d. This police officer took a ____________________
from the civilian.
e. At times their work is _____________________ and insignificant, but that's not the point.

4.

f. An investigation has been launched into possible child __________________________ .
g. But such information did on occasion _______________________________ out and
become public property and news.
h. The executive was fired for ___________________________ lying to investors.
i. The US sanctions were some kind of __________________________________ to Russian
actions.
j. This control helps to prevent ________________________ trade and money-laundering.
k. Over the years, she __________________________________ hundreds of thousands of
dollars from various accounts.
l. Some decisions should _____________________________ specific legal liability.
5. Discussion Time.
What can you do about corruption in your country?
Do you know of any international organizations that fight against corruption?
Have you ever paid any bribe? What is the largest bribe you have paid?
Can corruption be a good thing in some societies?
Would you accept a free ticket for a football match, a free drink by virtue of
your position?
What would you do if you receive a complaint from a citizen of an attempted
bribery from a police officer?
Do you think corrupt police officers are natural-born criminals? Is corruption
within the police a result of low pay?
Do you think discipline is fair within the police?
Would you revert to bribery if your life was at stake? If your child's or one of
your family members' life was threatened?

5.

TEACHER’S NOTES.
Vocabulary Preview:
1–h
2–d
3–k
4–j
5–b
6–a
7–e
8–l
9–f
10 – g
11 – i
12 – c
Vocabulary Review:
a – fined
b – offence
c – wage
d – bribe
e – opaque
f – trafficking
g – leak
h – allegedly
i – countermeasures
j – fraudulent
k – siphoned off
l – incur
YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=npNF9ByzIsE