Legal definition.
A colloquial term referring to the unlawful acquisition of public money through questionable and improper transactions with public officials.
Graft is the personal gain or advantage earned by an individual at the expense of others as a result of the exploitation of the singular status of or an influential relationship with another who has a position of public trust or confidence . The advantageous gain is accrued without any exchange of legitimate compensatory services.
Behavior that leads to graft includes bribery and dishonest dealings in the performance of public or official acts . Graft usually implies the existence of theft , corruption , fraud and the lack of integrity that is expected in any transaction involving a public official.
Wikipedia.
Graft as understood in American English is a form of political corruption being the unscrupulous use of a politicians authority for personal gain. The term has its origins in the medical procedure where by tissue is removed from one location and attached to another for which it was not originally intended. Similarly political graft occurs when funds intended for public projects are intentionally misdirected in order to maximize the benefits to private interest.
Political graft functions when the public officer is directed to purchase goods or services from a specific private interest at a cost far above regular market rates. The private interest then siphons some of the gratuitous profits to government officials that are able to ensure that future government spending continues in the same fashion so that this lucrative relationship continues. A member of a government may misappropriate directly from government funds but they may also make decisions benefitting their own private economic interests by using inside knowledge of upcoming government decisions to their benefit in a manner similar to insider trading.
Although the conflict between public and private interests is common to all forms of corruption the term graft is specific to the intentional misdirection of official funds . Although not the original usage of the term the graft in the modern context is commonly but mistakenly used as a blanket term for political embezzlement influence peddling or other forms of corruption . While embezzlement and influence peddling are elements sometimes present in graft the relationship is not deterministic.
In Simple Words.
Graft is when a public official or servant for personal reasons misuse the appropriate fund.
A person is liable for legal charges for theft or misappropriation of public funds.
Court will determine that charges of graft against a person are true or false.
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