Discern corrupt indirect aims (12)
I believe the answer is:
discriminate
'discern' is the definition.
(discriminating is a kind of discerning)
'corrupt indirect aims' is the wordplay.
'corrupt' indicates an anagram.
'indirect'+'aims'='indirectaims'
'indirectaims' with letters rearranged gives 'DISCRIMINATE'.
(Other definitions for discriminate that I've seen before include "Single out" , "Perceive the difference - show prejudice" , "Recognise a distinction" , "Understand the difference (between)" , "Use taste and judgment (or prejudice)" .)