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Corruption in International Business

Issues

Corruption of any form is against the law in many countries. Thus, any form of corruption is

deemed an illegal act under any law, and anyone who is found guilty will be in trouble.

However, based on many arguments, people view corruption from different angles. According to

some people, corruption is not a bad thing, while according to others, corruption is a bad thing.

The people who argue that corruption is not a bad thing state that if ethical grounds are used,

corruption can be used to benefit people economically. They give examples such as it leads to

resource utilization that would otherwise be left idle and useless. However, due to the negative

effects of corruption that result from bribery, the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act forbids

government officials from taking bribes from businesses to get assistance or retaining them.

Hence, the main problem here is corruption in international businesses, and anyone who is found

going against this act will be found guilty and punishable by the law.

Recommendations

Under the foreign corrupt practices act, any U.S. citizen, a company that operates on U.S.

soil, a resident, or an issuer is under this act and will be held accountable if they go against it.

The U.S. citizens, companies that operate on U.S. soil, and residents are referred to as domestics

concerns under the act. Hence, domestic concerns and issuers are denied the right to make

transactions, authorize transactions, and accept to receive transactions. Hence, if an official

participates in taking or issuing bribes, they will be held guilty. Domestics concerns and issuers

who are found guilty may be punished in two ways; getting incarcerated for five years or paying

a fine of $100,000 to $2 million. Also, the act states that corporates should keep an accurate
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record of all financial transactions and maintain a system of internal accounting control. The act

also forbids consultants or agents from being given money to convince them to give funds to

foreign officials for illegal purposes. However, victims charged with this act can be spared if

they prove that the funds were not for bribery purposes.

Application

A U.S. citizen or a resident who operates a business in the U.S. is affected by this act. Any

corporate organization is also under the act. Hence, if they take any action that goes against the

act, they may be charged guilty unless they prove their actions. The parties mentioned above

must refuse to make bribery transactions of any kind, refuse to make payments, receive

payments, or authorize payments that are deemed as bribers to avoid meeting the elements of the

act. Also, to avoid meeting the elements of this act, the parties must always write down all

financial truncations in an accounting book. Consequently, they should maintain internal

accounting control to avoid being found guilty by this act.

Conclusion

The court will find any corporate, issuer, citizen, and resident who have business accountable

if they operate in the U.S. because they meet the elements of the act. Also, if the party is proven

to allow transactions, receive transactions, or issue transactions that are in the form of bribery,

they will be charged guilty by the court because it is stated in the act. However, when they prove

that the transaction was legal, the court may consider this and find them with no offense. The

court will also see the books of account to verify all the transactions made. If they notice illegal

transactions, they will view it as bribery, which is against the act. Thus, the court may find the

party involved guilty if they do not believe the argument made concerning the transaction.
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