Bric. We all know what it stands for: Brazil, Russia, India and China. And what they represent: the fastest growing economies of the world, more or less. Certainly the ones with the biggest potential.
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The term, coined by Goldman Sachs 10 years ago, has become Brics with the addition of South Africa, and the countries now see themselves as something of a powerhouse, able to influence political opinion, with their own seat at meetings such as the Group of 20.
They share one other characteristic too: corruption. Consider the evidence. Carlos Lupi, the labour minister for Brazil, resigned on Sunday, the sixth member of Dilma Rousseff's government to step down amid corruption allegations.
"Given the political and personal persecution by the media with which I have had to deal for the past several months; and considering the release of the Ethics Committee findings … I decided to submit my resignation irrevocably," Mr Lupi said in a statement.
Last week the ethics committee of the president's office recommended that Mr Lupi resign.
"I depart with my conscience at ease, with my personal honesty intact, knowing that the truth will always win out," Mr Lupi said in the statement. Allegations against Mr Lupi include flying in an airplane belonging to a group that later obtained government contracts from his ministry. Doubtless he has departed in a comfortable seat with plenty of legroom.
Russia? Well the news is slightly better, but only just. Last week, Transparency International produced its annual corruption index. Russia had improved its position, jumping from 154th place to 143rd place. (First was New Zealand).
Russia's neighbours on the list are Azerbaijan, Belarus, the Comoros, Mauritania, Nigeria, East Timor, Togo and Uganda. Not a great set of bedfellows.
India. Surely there can't be any corruption in India? Anna Hazare brought the attention of the world to the endemic corruption in his country by going on a hunger strike until the politicians acted. The government has come up with an anti-corruption bill, but Mr Hazare says he'll go back on strike on December 23 unless the bill is made law.
China? Very poor, I'm afraid, although it did better than India. Web users in China were not impressed by the country's showing, arguing that it, rather than North Korea, should have finished last. Some speculated that Chinese authorities must have paid a bribe to end up halfway up the list.
This leaves South Africa. Jackie Selebi, a former president of Interpol and a senior member of South Africa's ruling party, turned up to prison in a wheelchair this week to begin a 15-year sentence for accepting bribes from a drug dealer.
Critics of the government say that corruption is becoming a major problem and that the African National Congress, the ruling party, is not doing enough to stamp it out.
South Africa slipped 10 places in the transparency index in the year of joining the Brics club and has just passed a bill to let any government agency apply for protection of any information "valuable" to the state. It also criminalises the possession and distribution of state secrets.
If the bill becomes law, it will make it harder to put corrupt officials behind bars. Mr Selebi was perhaps unlucky. A year later and he'd still be wheeling his chair down the Jacaranda-lined avenues of Johannesburg.
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