Latin American nations recently dominated the list for having the worst cases of corruption worldwide. As a matter of fact, Transparency International named three cases in the region on their 2015 "Unmask the Corrupt" campaign.

The winners of the online competition were announced last week by the organization, which focuses on researching government corruption. There were 383 submissions but only nine cases were nominated in December.

The nominees were chosen based on the public's vote and on their comprehensive impression on human rights. Another criterion was the need to underscore the less perceptible side of grand corruption, which includes laws permitting unspecified companies and those who facilitate corrupt deals.

So, here are the three most corrupt cases that were on top of Transparency International's survey.

1. Petrobras (Brazil)

The Brazilian oil company ranked first in Latin America and the second worldwide. Petrobras was recently under fire due to a decade-long bribery and money-laundering controversies, which resulted to an extensive investigation helmed by the country's National Congress.

The scandal has cost the company at least to $5.3 billion. In addition, the investigation also brought President Dilma Rousseff at the center of impeachment calls after it was revealed that she chaired the oil company's board of directors during the reported scandal year.

The aftermath of the controversy also struck almost one percent of Brazil's annual GDP or about $27 billion. And Rousseff's former treasure was sentenced to 15 years of imprisonment due to corruption and money laundering charges.

2. Former President Ricardo Martinelli (Panama)

Martinelli, who left Panama to avoid pending prosecution for illegal wiretaps and misused of over $1 billion government funds, also followed Petrobras on the corruption list. The case came after Martinelli reportedly spied over 150 citizens during his five-year presidential term.

Aside from Martinelli, six former ministers and vice-ministers under his term were also under investigation for stealing and misusing of public funds. Meanwhile, Martinelli underwent a heart surgery on Monday at a hospital in Miami, Florida, where he currently resides.

3. Senator Felix Bautista (Dominican Republic)

Following Petrobras and Martinelli is Dominican senator Felix Baustista, who managed to avoid prosecution despite the reported illegal misused of state funds. And even though he was accused of misspending about $525 million during his tenure as the director of the Engineering Supervisors of State Public Works Office, Bautista remains in office.

Meanwhile, Venezuela and Haiti have been named as the most corrupt countries in Latin America. The ranking were based on the Global Corruption Perceptions Index and the Global Corruption Barometer, which score the perceived levels of corruption by experts and the public's opinion respectively.