'Daimler agrees to pay $185 million after admitting bribery'

Rebelheart

I can't find an international business/economy forum on Boards so as it's car related maybe somebody here might be able to answer my question on this article here.

The charges against Daimler were investigated by the US Justice Department and Securities and Exchange Commission even though Daimler 'admitted to paying tens of millions of dollars of bribes to foreign government officials in at least 22 countries.'


My questions therefore are:

1) Why is the Justice Department of a single country investigating bribes in 22 countries? What right in international law does that country have to do this?

2) To whom does Daimler pay this penalty?

3) Is this a simple matter of a US government department keeping watch on foreign companies who use bribes to win foreign contracts over US car companies? Are US car companies engaging in similar activity also prosecuted by the US?

4) Is Daimler only paying this because otherwise there will be consequences for its business in the United States? If this is so, is the EU similarly investigating US companies? Are there any other consequences for Daimler if they did not pay this?

Thanks.

L-M

There are a lot of long words in there, we're naught but humble pirates.

robbie99

Rebelheart wrote: »

I can't find an international business/economy forum on Boards so as it's car related maybe somebody here might be able to answer my question on this article here.

The charges against Daimler were investigated by the US Justice Department and Securities and Exchange Commission even though Daimler 'admitted to paying tens of millions of dollars of bribes to foreign government officials in at least 22 countries.'


My questions therefore are:

1) Why is the Justice Department of a single country investigating bribes in 22 countries? What right in international law does that country have to do this?

2) To whom does Daimler pay this penalty?

3) Is this a simple matter of a US government department keeping watch on foreign companies who use bribes to win foreign contracts over US car companies? Are US car companies engaging in similar activity also prosecuted by the US?

4) Is Daimler only paying this because otherwise there will be consequences for its business in the United States? If this is so, is the EU similarly investigating US companies? Are there any other consequences for Daimler if they did not pay this?

Thanks.

If Daimler want to do business in the US then must adhere by US law. The law in question here would be the [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act[/FONT] (FCPA). Lots of good info linked from here... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_Corrupt_Practices_Act

It applies to US companies as much as the foreign companies that fall under its scope. Note that the only foreign companies it applies to are those that have to file accounts in the US. I work for a large multinational and we get regular emails reminding us of our company's "Anti-Corruption Policy" and how it's designed to adhere to the FCPA and other [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]similar [/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]corrupt business practice [/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]laws in other countries[/FONT].