There is always a tendency to focus on the financial costs of corruption. Money is syphoned off by greedy individuals who have some power over deals where bribes are either offered or demanded. Generally bribes go to politicians. But payola is not confined to them. At a corporate level, executives may demand kickbacks for choosing a particular supplier.

However, there are two other costs of graft, which in their different ways could be just as significant and possibly even greater. The first is the distortion of the decision-making process. Business or political leaders are assumed to be doing their best to improve the performance of their country or corporation. If, however, their choice among a range of important options is dictated purely by what they themselves can get out of the deal, then clearly they will not necessarily be deciding in the interests of their firm or country. The long-term costs of such corrupt choices can be far-reaching and sometimes, as with projects with major environmental implications, the consequences can be disastrous.

The second cost might seem at first to be less significant but in reality, it can be highly corrosive. This is the issue of reputation and of popular trust that people are sticking to the rules and upholding the law. When major corruption scandals break, ordinary people quite understandably ask themselves if these revelations are not the tip of an iceberg of dishonesty. Worse they not only begin to lose faith in their politicians but the whole political process is besmirched. Can they now be sure that their leaders really are acting in their best interests and making the right choices for their country?

The people of Brazil, South Korea and South Africa have all been asking themselves these questions as national leaders fell before charges of corruption. Undoubtedly the saddest figure is Brazil’s Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva who is just beginning a 12-year sentence for graft. Lula was once a much-loved politician in whom Brazilians placed considerable faith and hope. His successor Dilma Rousseff is herself being impeached for her alleged role in a massive web of corruption that spread throughout the highest levels in Brazil. This extensive dishonesty has clearly caused major damage not just to the reputation but also to the prosperity of this potentially major world economy.

There can be far less sympathy for South Korea’s fallen president Park Geun-hye who has been sentenced to 24 years in jail after she was found guilty of abuse of power and coercion. Yet she too is seen as representative of the long-standing wrongdoings of the country’s dominant Chaebol companies with their backstairs deals and climate of corruption. While taking satisfaction in the downfall of Park and some senior Chaebol executives, ordinary South Koreans will, with justice, be asking themselves if payola really has been uprooted in their country. Their trust in the political process has obviously been shaken.

And then there is South Africa’s ousted president Jacob Zuma who now faces a series of corruption charges. He too is seen as a product of a venal and incompetent African National Congress that has been in unchallenged power for too long.

The tragedy is that the actual damage corrupt leaders inflict on their countries probably far outweighs the amounts they and their cronies pocketed. Much is lost for relatively little gain.