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Hewlett-Packard Pleads Guilty To Bribing Officials in Russia, Poland, and Mexico
Charliemopps writes Hewlett-Packard and three subsidiaries pleaded guilty Thursday to paying bribes to foreign officials in Russia, Mexico and Poland and agreed to pay $108 million in criminal and regulatory penalties. For over 10 years Hewlett-Packard kept 2 sets of books to track slush-funds they used to bribe government officials for favorable contracts.
From the article:
According to the Justice Department, HP Poland paid more than $600,000 in cash bribes and gifts, travel and entertainment to the the police agency's director of information and communications technology. HP Poland gave the government official bags filled with hundreds of thousands of dollars of cash, provided the official with HP desktop and laptop computers, mobile devices and other products and took the official on a leisure trip to Las Vegas, which included a private tour flight over the Grand Canyon, the Justice Department said.
The foreign officials probably weren't reporting the income on their taxes, either.
Then we blame the so called "third world" when they "learn" this kind of behavior from us. Remember, we always have the "moral high ground."
So they admitted to doing business in Poland, Russia and Mexico. Big deal.
Pretty much.
When I worked for IBM we tried to do business in Mexico. We didn't fail completely, IBM does have some small operations there, but we were perpetually hamstrung by the fact that company policies defined under the American model prevented us from competing effectively in Mexico. It sounds like someone at HP decided not to be so limited.
It's really sad. The endemic corruption in some of these countries really holds them back. I spent two years living in southeastern Mexico when I was a young adult (as a Mormon missionary), and I really learned to love the country, the people, the food, the language... Mexico is a fantastic nation, rich in natural resources, with many interesting cultures and sub-cultures and (American stereotypes to the contrary) a powerful work ethic. But the endemic corruption and all that it enables (e.g. drug-related violence, election fraud and inefficient business and government) make it impossible for the nation to realize its full potential.
Note to ACs: I usually delete AC replies without reading them. If you want to talk to me, log in.
I'm sure HP does business in the UK, therefore they can be prosecuted under this regardless of where the crimes took place.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bribery_Act_2010
"The penalties for committing a crime under the Act are a maximum of 10 years' imprisonment, along with an unlimited fine, and the potential for the confiscation of property under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, as well as the disqualification of directors under the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986. The Act has a near-universal jurisdiction, allowing for the prosecution of an individual or company with links to the United Kingdom, regardless of where the crime occurred. Described as "the toughest anti-corruption legislation in the world",[1] concerns have been raised that the Act's provisions criminalise behaviour that is acceptable in the global market, and puts British business at a competitive disadvantage."
Apparently none of you have ever tried to do business is Russia, Mexico or Poland. The politicians are corrupt ones. Business just does whatever it can to be free to sell product. And in many countries...this is the result. I consider this a story about Russia and Mexico. Not of HP.
We should learn what we need to know about issues, before we decide what we need to feel about them.
for western companies operating in Russia is to hire "logistics consultants" among locals who do all the actual bribing. It provides a degree of separation - a plausible deniability.
What many in the U.S. don't realize is that what we call bribery is SOP in some countries. Not that it makes it right, or legal, but it may be the only way for a company to do business there. I've witnessed this first hand in a couple places, with local government officials who would just not process paperwork unless you "tip" them.
That's a "Facilitating payment" and is actually OK for US companies to pay. A facilitating payment is payment to make someone do something faster or more efficiently, but the person was obligated to do that thing anyway. Good examples are customs clearance, port expediting payments, etc. The official is obligated to release items from customs if all the paperwork is correct. He isn't obligated to do that in a timely fashion, however. The payment just makes his inevitable action happen faster.
When you pay for an action which may not have happened without payment (like a favorable decision) that is when it becomes bribery.
Even those who arrange and design shrubberies are under considerable economic stress at this period in history.
5) The official might think your bribe is too modest, and post the amount publicly on Facebook to shame you: A Restaurant Tried to Tip-Shame a Football Star