Bribery 260979 226088239 2008-07-16T19:46:24Z 87.8.234.51 {{wiktionary|bribery}} {{CrimLaw}} {{redirect|Hush money}} '''Bribery''', a form of pecuniary corruption, is an act usually implying money or gift given that alters the behaviour of the recipient in ways not consistent with the duties of that person or in breach of law. Bribery constitutes a crime and is defined by ''[[Black's Law Dictionary]]'' as the [[Offer and acceptance|offering]], [[Gift|giving]], [[Offer and acceptance|receiving]], or [[Solicitation|soliciting]] of any item of value to influence the actions of an official or other person in discharge of a public or [[legal duty]]. The '''bribe''' is the gift bestowed to influence the recipient's conduct. It may be any [[money]], [[Good (accounting)|good]], [[Chose (English law)|right in action]], [[property]], [[Promotion (rank)|preferment]], [[privilege]], [[Remuneration|emolument]], object of value, advantage, or merely a promise or undertaking to induce or influence the action, vote, or influence of a person in an official or public capacity. One must be careful of differing social and cultural norms when examining bribery. Expectations of when a monetary transaction is appropriate can differ from place to place. [[Tipping]], for example, is considered bribery in some societies, while in others the two concepts may be interchangeable. In Spanish, bribes are referred to as "la mordida" (literally, "the bite"), in [[Arab]] countries they are [[Backshish]] or Bakshish. However, Bakshish is more akin to ''tipping'' and is socially permissible. The offence may be divided into two great classes: the one, where a person invested with power is induced by payment to use it unjustly; the other, where power is obtained by purchasing the suffrages of those who can impart it. Likewise, the briber might hold a powerful role and control the transaction; or in other cases, a bribe may be effectively extracted from the person paying it, although this is better known as [[extortion]]. The forms that bribery take are numerous. For example, a motorist might bribe a [[police|police officer]] not to issue a ticket for speeding, a citizen seeking paperwork or utility line connections might bribe a functionary for faster service. In Eugene, Oregon, bribery is an important aspect of the local [[SLUG Queen]] pageant that sets it apart from other pageants. The Slug Queens set the rare example of creating and environment where bribery is both accepted and encouraged. The moment a new queen is crowned, the old queens are open to bribery. Bribery may also take the form of a secret [[commission]], a profit made by an agent, in the course of his employment, without the knowledge of his principal. Euphemisms abound for this (commission, sweetener, back-kick etc.) Bribers and recipients of bribery are likewise numerous although bribers have one common denominator and that is the financial ability to bribe. Bribery around the world is estimated at about $1 trillion (£494bn). <ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6288400.stm African corruption 'on the wane'], 10 July 2007, [[BBC News]]</ref> The burden of corruption falls disproportionately on the bottom billion people living in extreme poverty who cannot afford to pay and who thus receive sub-standard treatment from officials. ===Government=== A grey area may exist when payments to smooth transactions are made. [[United States]] law is particularly strict in limiting the ability of businesses to pay for the awarding of contracts by foreign governments; however, the [[Foreign Corrupt Practices Act]] contains an exception for "grease payments"; very basically, this allows payments to officials in order to obtain the performance of ministerial acts which they are legally required to do, but may delay in the absence of such payment. In some countries, this practice is the norm, often resulting from a developing nation not having the tax structure to pay civil servants an adequate salary. Nevertheless, most economists regard bribery as a bad thing because it encourages [[rent seeking]] behaviour. A state where bribery has become a way of life is a [[kleptocracy]]. ===Tax treatment of Bribe=== The tax status of bribes is an issue for governments since the bribery of government officials impedes the democratic process and may interfere with good government. In some countries, such bribes are considered tax-deductible payments. However, in 1996, in an effort to discourage bribery, the [[OECD Council]] recommended to that member countries cease to allow the tax-deductibility of bribes to foreign officials. This was followed by the signing of the Anti-Bribery Convention. Since that time, the majority of the OECD countries which are signatories of the convention have revised their tax policies according to this recommendation and some have extended the measures to bribes paid to any official, sending the message that bribery will no longer be tolerated in the operations of the government.<ref> “Tax Treatment of Bribes: About”, <u>OECD Centre for Tax Policy and Administration</u>, OECD.org, 17 July 2007 <http://www.oecd.org/about/0,3347,en_2649_34551_1_1_1_1_1,00.html>.</ref> ===Medicine=== [[Pharmaceutical corporation]]s may seek to reward [[physician|doctors]] for heavy prescription of their [[medication|drugs]] through gifts. The [[American Medical Association]] has published ethical guidelines for gifts from industry which include the tenet that physicians should not accept gifts if they are given in relation to the physician’s prescribing practices. [http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/article/4001-7922.html] {{Dead link|date=February 2008}} Doubtful cases include grants for traveling to [[medical convention]]s that double as tourist trips. Dentists often receive samples of home dental care products such as toothpaste, which are of negligible value; somewhat ironically, dentists in a television commercial will often state that they get these samples but pay to use the sponsor's product. In countries offering state-subsidized or nationally funded healthcare where medical professionals are underpaid, patients may use bribery to solicit the standard expected level of medical care. For example, in many formerly Communist countries from what used to be the Eastern Block it may be customary to offer expensive gifts to doctors and nurses for the delivery of service at any level of medical care in the non-private health sector. <ref>Lewis, Mauree. (2000). Who is paying for healthcare in Eastern Europe and Central Asia? World Bank Publications.</ref> ===Politics=== [[Politician]]s receive [[campaign contribution]]s and other payoffs from powerful [[corporation]]s or individuals when making choices in the interests of those parties, or in anticipation of favorable [[policy]]. However, such a relationship does not meet the legal standards for bribery without evidence of a [[quid pro quo]]. See also [[influence peddling]] and [[political corruption]]. ===Business=== Employees, managers, or salespeople of a business may offer money or gifts to a potential client in exchange for business. For instance, the service company [[Aramark]] was recently accused of offering gifts to an assistant warden in the [[New Mexico]] Prison System in exchange for a contract allowing Aramark to provide the food services in the state's prisons. More recently, in 2006 German prosecutors conducted a wide-ranging investigation of [[Siemens AG]] to determine if Siemens employees paid bribes in exchange for business. In some cases where the system of law is not well implemented, bribes may be a way for companies to continue their businesses. In the case, for example where custom officials harass a certain firm or production plant, officially stating to check for irregularities, may halt production and stall other normal activities of a firm. The disruption may cause losses to the firm that exceed the amount of money to pay off the official. Bribing the officials is a common way to deal with this issue in countries where there exists no firm system of reporting these semi-illegal activities. The third party, known as the White Glove may be involved to act as a clean middleman. Specialists consultancies such as [[Interchange Solutions Limited]] (UK) have been set up to help multinational companies and SMEs, with a commitment to anti-corruption, to trade more ethically and benefit from compliance with the law. ===Sport=== [[Referee]]s, and scoring judges may be offered money, gifts, or other compensation to guarantee a specific outcome in an athletic competition. A well-known example of this manner of bribery in sport would be the [[2002 Olympic Winter Games figure skating scandal]], where the [[France|French]] judge in the pairs competition voted for the [[Russia]]n skaters in order to secure an advantage for the French skaters in the ice dancing competition. Additionally, bribes may be offered by cities in order to secure athletic franchises, or even competitions, as happened with the [[2002 Winter Olympic bid scandal|2002 Winter Olympics]]. It is common practice for cities to "bid" against each other with stadiums, tax benefits, and licensing deals to secure or keep professional sports franchises. Athletes themselves can be paid to under-perform, generally so that a [[Gambling|gambler]] or gambling [[syndicate]] can secure a [[Sports betting|winning bet]]. A classic example of this is the [[1919 World Series]], better known as the [[Black Sox Scandal]]. Finally, in some sports, elements of the game may be tampered with -- the classic example being from [[horse racing]], where a groom or other person with access to the horses before the race may be bribed to over-feed an animal, or even administer a [[sedative]] to reduce a horse's chances of winning. This is another type of bribery done for financial gain through gambling -- bet against a clear favorite, and ensure that the favorite has an "off day." ==See also== {{Wikisource1911Enc|Bribery}} *[[Conflict of interest]] *[[Bribe Payers Index]] *[[Lobbying]] ==References== * {{1911}} {{reflist}} ==External links== *[http://bribeline.org Report requests for bribes at www.BRIBEline.org] * *[http://www.traceinternational.org TRACE] *[http://www.transparency.org/pressreleases_archive/2004/2004.10.20.cpi.en.html Transparency International] *[http://www.transparency.org/global_priorities/private_sector/business_principles Business Principles for Countering Bribery] *[http://www.oecd.org/department/0,3355,en_2649_34551_1_1_1_1_1,00.html OECD Centre for Tax Policy and Administration: Tax Treatment of Bribes] *[http://blog-pfm.imf.org/pfmblog/2007/12/oecd-celebrates.html OECD Celebrates 10th Anniversary of its Anti-Bribery Convention, Luc Leruth, IMF/FAD] [[Category:Corruption]] [[Category:Corporate crime]] [[Category:Economic problems]] [[ar:رشوة]] [[be-x-old:Хабар]] [[de:Bestechung]] [[et:Altkäemaks]] [[es:Soborno]] [[fr:Pot-de-vin]] [[gd:Brìbearachd]] [[ko:뇌물]] [[he:שוחד]] [[it:Corruzione]] [[lt:Kyšis]] [[ms:Rasuah]] [[ja:賄賂]] [[pl:Łapówka]] [[pt:Suborno]] [[ro:Mită]] [[ru:Взятка]] [[simple:Bribery]] [[sk:Podplácanie]] [[sh:Potkupljivanje]] [[fi:Lahjonta]] [[sv:Muta]] [[ta:கையூட்டு]] [[uk:Хабар]] [[yi:כאבאר]] [[zh:賄賂]]