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Disparate laws, low fines
mean corporate bribery often pays: OECD
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 [June 09, 2016]
PARIS (Reuters) - A mixed set of
rules internationally and low fines in some countries mean that bribery
often pays off for companies even when they get caught,
inter-governmental think-tank, the OECD, said on Thursday.
The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development said
punishments for bribery varied widely among the 41 signatories of its
anti-bribery convention, which aims to make laws consistent among
developed countries.
Some countries have a maximum fine as low as $580,000 while others set a
limit as high as $10 million and eight have no upper limit at all, the
Paris-based OECD's 2016 Business and Finance Outlook said.
Using cash-flow simulations, the OECD calculated that 23 countries'
maximum fines were not high enough to offset the financial return on
investments in which bribery is involved.
"Sometimes sanctions are so light that even if people have a 100 percent
chance of getting caught they would still choose to pay the fine and get
the benefit of the act of bribery," OECD Secretary General Angel Gurria
told a conference.
However, higher fines alone would not be enough to deter bribery because
regulations are often poorly enforced. The three countries with the most
punitive fines, which were not identified in the report, had not
successfully prosecuted any company for bribery.
Enforcement data from members of the convention show that 24 states have
not sanctioned a single individual or company for foreign bribery since
it entered into force in 1999.
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OECD Secretary General Angel Gurria speaks during a panel discussion
during the Anti-Corruption Summit London 2016, at Lancaster House in
central London on May 12, 2016. REUTERS/Adrian Dennis
At the other end of the spectrum, Germany and the United States are the most
active enforcers of bribery sanctions on both executives and firms.
(Reporting by Leigh Thomas; Editing by Paul Taylor and Louise Ireland)
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