Kleptocracy, alternatively cleptocracy or kleptarchy, (from - kleptēs, "thief"κλ?πτη?, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, on Perseus and κρ?το? - kratos, "power, rule",κρ?το?, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, on Perseus hence "rule by thieves") is a form of political and government corruption where the government exists to increase the personal wealth and political power of its officials and the ruling class at the expense of the wider population, often without pretense of honest service. This type of government corruption is often achieved by the embezzlement of state funds.