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IBM Charged With Bribing Korean, Chinese Officials
angry tapir writes "The US Securities and Exchange Commission has charged IBM with giving hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes to South Korean and Chinese officials starting in the late 1990s, according to court documents. IBM has agreed to pay US$10 million to settle the SEC lawsuit."
"We're sorry we bribed these guys over there. How much do we have to pay you guys to make this problem go away?"
They all do it, IBM just got caught. :-)>
But Republicans want to get rid of this law that makes it illegal for our businesses to bribe foreign officials.
Why shouldn't corporations be able to do publicly what they do privately?
So if anyone wants some +1 Insightfuls, well...let's see if we can work out an "agreement."
What if we called it 'lobbying'?
a fine is just a bribe in reverse...
Politics is Treachery, Religion is Brainwashing
Just maybe, that's the normal way to do business with governments in those parts?
Just sayin', based on my experience living in Latin America. Most of the time government offices are so sluggish (sometimes deliberately so), that you HAVE to grease the wheels if you want things done before you lose serious revenue. Clearing customs, currency exchange (where the government controls it), assorted permits... most new providers are shocked to learn how much these things can take.
This post contains no rudeness or derision of any kind. All arguments are friendly. Terms and exclusions may apply.
Woah, a 10M dollar fine...
Lets see what Wikipedia says about IBM..
Net income US$14.833 billion (2010)
Yeah, that 10M fine will sure show them!
If they really wanted a punishment, they should give IBM's board community service or something. That'd be an interesting way of doing things. Not denying the CEO's paperboy a large tip this week.
Once corruption is legitimized, those conditions become the norm.
Look at all the countries with the lowest standard of living. You'll see that their governments are based upon bribes and favors.
The money is transfered from public works to private individuals and the entire country suffers.
That only works domestically.
Bringing down Wall St and getting rewarded with a bail out is ok but bribing foreigners with a few thousands here and there is full on illegal? Only in Bizzaro land called the US of A.
by TheSpoom (715771) Uncaring Linux user here. I have nothing to add to this but please continue. *munches popcorn*
Isn't this how business is handled in the private sector?
Not where I work. Anyone who accepts a gift from a vendor or customer, and fails to report it promptly, is risking getting fired.
Our CFO noticed our shipping costs had gone up, so did an investigation. She found out that more packages were shipping DHL (high rates, crappy service), because the DHL sales rep was buying pizza for the warehouse staff several times a month. The warehouse manager lost his job, and we no longer use DHL at all.
You're familiar with the expression, "Don't bite the hand that feeds you"? It applies here too. Most of us here on Slashdot have jobs and can feed our families because international business exists and chooses to operate here in the United States. We cannot afford to be unfriendly to businesses that we desperately need to stay here and create jobs. So they bribed some Korean officials? Who gives a flying f**ck, that's how they do business outside the United States. If that helps to keep my job here in the United States then frankly, I couldn't care less what goes on in Korea. Like many government agencies set up to protect the "little guy", the SEC has done more to prevent the best investment opportunities from reaching the middle class over the last seventy seven odd years than just about anyone else. The rich are able to make real investments while the rest of us are basically stuck handing our profits over to mutual fund managers in our 401k's because that is what keeps us "safe" from having losses (and gains) and safe from ever having a real retirement. The only real hope for the little guy is to somehow amass enough wealth to become a High Net Worth Individual at which point the real investment opportunities become available.
There is a fine line between bribery and being extorted.
If that helps to keep my job here in the United States then frankly, I couldn't care less what goes on in Korea.
It is highly unlikely that IBM's goal was or is to keep your - or any other American's - job here in the United States. You cost too much - given currency exchange rates.
Orwell: "In a Time of Universal Deceit, telling the Truth is a Revolutionary Act"
It would be newsworthy if IBM managed to do business in China without bribery. Cash is the lubricant that greases the wheels of business in Brazil, Russia, India and China. And I put it like that because these nations are referred to as "BRIC", though there are many other minor markets where approvals to do anything cannot be had without some lube in the form of a grocery bag full of soft folding cash. There's a reason why the US airlifted many pallets of hundred dollar bills into Iraq, Afganistan, and other current ports of interest, and now cannot account for where they went, to the sum of billions of dollars. When in Rome...
Help stamp out iliturcy.
So they bribed some Korean officials? Who gives a flying f**ck, that's how they do business outside the United States.
So they bribed some US officials to let migrant workers do the job at half the price and fired all their staff? So what!? It's an at will state. Those greedy rich Americans can apply at subsistance wages like I did.
See, it cuts both ways. You allow bribery to thrive to suit a corporation, and they'll turn on you. If you allow bribery justice is never carried out and people suffer - anything from death and injury to virtual slavery. I'm alright screw everyone else is a destructive unenlightened attitude.
These posts express my own personal views, not those of my employer