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IBM Charged With Bribing Korean, Chinese Officials

Posted by timothy on from the conditions-on-the-ground-called-for-it dept.

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."

17 of 263 comments (clear)

  1. Bribery fines are funny by MartinSchou · · Score: 5, Insightful

    "We're sorry we bribed these guys over there. How much do we have to pay you guys to make this problem go away?"

    1. Re:Bribery fines are funny by phantomfive · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Seriously, doesn't it seem like the US SEC just wanted in on the deal? I'm against bribery because living in a culture of bribery is miserable. If China wants to have a system of bribes necessary to get anything done, let them do so. I don't want the SEC to import that culture over here!

      --
      "First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
    2. Re:Bribery fines are funny by tnk1 · · Score: 4, Interesting

      I know what you mean, but what else can you do other than levy a fine? It looks like from the article that the problem was with subsidiaries in other countries creating slush funds and IBM simply did not have controls in place to prevent that. I don't know if you could convict any US employee of the actual bribes or even for looking the other way. Some of them might have known about it, but good luck proving that. They could prove the company was liable, but they can't throw anyone in jail for it. They could prove IBM did not have sufficient controls, but they couldn't prove that the reason wasn't that their accounting group just plain sucked. Last I checked you can be fired, but it is much, much harder to convict someone for being bad at their job.

    3. Re:Bribery fines are funny by rolfwind · · Score: 4, Informative

      No, they're hypocritical. US Govt uses bribery and extortion all the time.

    4. Re:Bribery fines are funny by rolfwind · · Score: 5, Insightful

      If China wants to have a system of bribes necessary to get anything done, let them do so. I don't want the SEC to import that culture over here!

      What, are you fucking ignorant?

      Haven't you seen how Congress is controlled yet? Via campaign contributions. And you don't think that it's filtered down to the state and local level?

      My town only lets tow truck company with town specific permits pick up cars within limits, they even apply this to the highway which technically is federal and should be illegal, and they only let one company have the permits even though there are many others in the area.

    5. Re:Bribery fines are funny by vertinox · · Score: 4, Informative

      Hanging for bribery? A little harsh don't you think?

      The Chinese don't think so.

      Well.... They shot him rather than hanged, but I suppose its close enough.

      --
      "I am the king of the Romans, and am superior to rules of grammar!"
      -Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor (1368-1437)
    6. Re:Bribery fines are funny by mjwx · · Score: 4, Insightful

      He wasn't hung for bribery,

      He was shot for getting caught.

      --
      Calling someone a "hater" only means you can not rationally rebut their argument.
    7. Re:Bribery fines are funny by thoughtsatthemoment · · Score: 4, Insightful

      It is probably close to impossible to find someone not corrupt in China.

      Isn't that too strong for a billion people. Actually I grew up in China but somehow in my childhood I had problems accepting gifts, as for some reason I didn't want other people's stuff. You might say there is a prevailing culture, but a billion people can develop a lot of varieties.

  2. They just got caught is all. by pro151 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    They all do it, IBM just got caught. :-)>

  3. I have mod points by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    So if anyone wants some +1 Insightfuls, well...let's see if we can work out an "agreement."

  4. Re:Why is this illegal? by Lord_of_the_nerf · · Score: 5, Insightful

    What if we called it 'lobbying'?

  5. the US Gov is jealous by FudRucker · · Score: 4, Insightful

    a fine is just a bribe in reverse...

    --
    Politics is Treachery, Religion is Brainwashing
  6. Maybe ... by arielCo · · Score: 4, Informative

    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.
  7. Proportions? by Haedrian · · Score: 4, Insightful

    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.

  8. Re:Not to get too political... by MickyTheIdiot · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Well... why not. The Supreme Court already made it legal to bribe officials domestically.

  9. Re:Not to get too political... by tnk1 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Well, that does sound shitty, but bribery is pretty much how business is done in certain places. The US intelligence community took some slack a little while ago by providing information that Airbus was bribing officials to get contracts in foreign countries. The criticism was that this information would benefit US businesses who were, apparently, not bribing anyone. Go figure.

    For every bribery deal that gets caught, there are probably ten or more times that number go right through. Having a law that prevents bribery sounds nice and all, but when no one else seems to care, you start to wonder if there's really a point to it. If bribery is simply the cost of doing business, then so be it. Is it our job to keep civil servants of foreign governments honest? Presumably it is not, since no one really likes having the US show up in their country with their occupations and such.

    Corruption is a corrosive influence on any country, and a lot of them suffer from it. However, the changes that are needed to make that happen probably have to begin from within. I'm not against the law in this case, but I can see why some people in government look around at even our Western countries and wonder if everyone is on the same page.

  10. Re:Seize profits and related assets by syousef · · Score: 4, Insightful

    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