Kickbacks

In government

Kickbacks are one of the most common forms of government corruption. In some cases, the kickback takes the form of a "cut of the action", and can be so well known as to be common knowledge—and even become part of a nation's culture. For example, in Indonesia, former dictator Suharto was publicly known as "Mr. Twenty-Five Percent" because he required that all major contracts throughout the nation provide him with 25 percent of the income before he would approve the contract. Also, in Pakistan, President Asif Ali Zardari was publicly known as "Mr. Ten Percent" for a similar reason; after coming into the government, he started taking 10% of all major contract investments before he would approve the contract. However, kickbacks differ from other forms of corruption, such as diversion of assets, as in embezzlement, because of the collusion between two parties.