A search has been launched for the nation's most corrupt person. The newly established Institute of Corruption Technology will confer the Most Corrupt Man of the Year Award later this year. The decision to launch the institute follows a recent survey by a Europe-based international financial monitoring agency, which declared India, along with Nigeria and Pakistan, one of the world's most corrupt countries. Jaspal Bhatti, one of India's leading satirists and the institute's prime mover, said only those 'pursuing the craft of corruption with sincerity and dedication, and with a good record in greed' would be eligible for the award, which carries a citation and a cash prize of US$100,000 (HK$773,000). The money will be donated by an overseas Indian businessman who is suing senior Indian politicians for fraud. Bhatti said eligible people could apply with passport-sized pictures and a list of achievements, such as the number of corruption charges filed against them by the Central Bureau of Investigation. Also included should be details of the money they had secreted away in Swiss banks and the number of out-of-turn allotments of industrial licences they had managed to wheedle. All applications will have to be accompanied by references from at least 10 MPs, several of whom have recently been charged with corruption. The award will be decided by a jury of distinguished corrupt people. In case of a tie, the institute will conduct a 'free but unfair' election.
