Although in the 2015 corruption perceptions index, it is countries like Somalia, North Korea and Afghanistan that take the lead for exemplifying the practice of baksheesh at its best, perceptions are always in flux, and this year Brazil is set to see its ranking lowered significantly. Not because of the likely high amount of bribes associated with the Olympics – which one can imagine would range from contractor appointments to the sale of front-row seats.

No, it is a key petrochemical player in the country that managed to rake up a whopping EUR 15 bn in corruption charges, and is now being forced to reinvent itself again, with a bribery scandal that shocks even lovers of the soap operas so popular in this part of the world.