Institutional corruption is the phenomenon in public bodies of placing the protection of reputation above fidelity to the truth, especially in the context of an independent or public inquiry.

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Institutional corruption is differentiated from corruption by the institution’s willingness to frustrate or slow the work of independent formal inquiries,^[1] even after official reports and documentation recognise that such an inquiry is necessary.^[2]

Institutional corruption is not limited to national-scale institutions. It can be as small as a single recommendation of a report rejected^[3] because an institution wishes not to admit meaningful change,^[4] or the misreporting of statistics in the Stafford Hospital scandal.^[5]