Crackdown on CorruptionAnti-corruption fight claims more victimsOctober 4349 - The struggle against embedded corruption and nepotism initiated by independent President Imran Shahrán has reached new heights, following a thorough crackdown on military and political corruption and the beginning of more comprehensive attempt at fully eliminating the nation's patronage networks. Although President Shahrán ran primarily on an anti-corruption platform, he is certainly not the first public official in Barmenistan to have announced they would push back against the nation's corrupt networks, however all previous anti-corruption efforts have failed miserably. The names of the occasional corrupt businessman or public official would surface from time to time and action would be taken against them, but the overall system of rent-seeking patronage networks has remained intact, until now.
And corruption in Barmenistan is not even hidden or unnoticeable, with even the former ruling family, the House of Nasir, famously
transferring centuries worth of surplus to an offshore account once they were removed from power. Entire sectors of the economy and practically the entire defense industry have been dominated by corrupt networks formed of the family members of legislators, regional governors, military and intelligence officers, and judicial officials, who have held control over Barmenistan's "deep state" for centuries. Known as
béksrmko (literally "son of a notable"), the relatives of corrupt officials are in control of practically every relevant interest group. Moreover, all these patronage networks are deeply interlinked, meaning that if any public official would take action against any such network, they would risk upsetting the entire Old Guard, while these interest groups' co-dependence means that none of them has any incentive in exposing the illicit business practices of another group for fear of being exposed themselves.
What the new President has and previous anti-corruption candidates and public officials lacked is his almost obsessive determination to launch a full frontal attack agains the "deep state", with no regard for his political fortunes or even his personal safety. Since gaining power, Shahrán's single-minded crusade has seen the
elimination or aristocratic privileges, the creation of an independent Central Bank, a policy of forcing the armed forces to divest from non-military economic activities, the
opening of Barmenistan to foreign direct investment, and, most significantly, a drastic
reduction of the nation's defense budget by more than a half. This massive reduction in Barmenistan's defense budget comes at a time when the state remains unable to assert its sovereignty over its entire territory, as the Apostolic Army and various other terrorist organizations control large swaths of Barmenian territory and threaten most major cities. However, the fact that, in spite of having Terra's second largest defense budget (behind only Thallerist Narikaton), the Federal Republic's military has remained outdated and essentially powerless against unpopular and violent militias speaks volumes as to the level of corruption in the armed forces. For example, soon after the President's inauguration the administration uncovered a large-scale kickback scheme within the Ministry of Defense, whereby the ministry paid over two billion BAR to oil contractors, and last year the oversight committee within the same Ministry found that Apostolic Army insurgents had been buying weapons from the Armed Forces, with over 400,000 light arms no longer accounted for. Whether the downsized and reformed military will end up becoming more efficient and transparent is far from certain, and military modernization and foreign investment are in fact believed to be one of the main topics to be discussed during the upcoming visit of the Indralan Crown Prince. Regardless, the new administration's fight against corruption has a long way to go before it can achieve any substantial progress.