Defense firms shouldn’t take bribes – now that’s news!
This article by the National Defense Magazine brought a smile to my face and should do the same for you. One of the unintended consequences of the US Department of Justice’s limitation regarding bringing new Foreign Corrupt Practices Act cases is that we need to remind one another is that illegality is still illegal. As the article succinctly put it “Legal experts, however, say defense companies would be wise to continue conducting business in an ethical way. Even after the order, bribing foreign officials could still put them in legal hot water.”
What this means is don’t bribe foreign officials to make sales of defense equipment. And what this also means is that the unintended consequence is that the FCPA may not be as moribund as many experts may believe. In some ways, this highlights the fact that illegal actions are less nuance and now are starker. In the past mitigating actions by businesses were important, but based upon the “pause” by the Department of Justice it seems that there will be a more black and white approach, bribe no bribe. Right after the pause was announced it seemed businesses were more likely to believe we are back to the world as it was twenty years ago, but with articles like this, it seems that everyone is still aware that a bribe is still illegal and the FCPA is still around.
There have been many articles on both sides, as in the sky is falling versus no, bribery is bribery. On balance there seems to be a more pragmatic approach, which means that the FCPA deeply rooted in both law and psyche. Let’s see what happens in the next few years as well as continuing to remind everyone that ethics and integrity are still important in a business context.
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