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If you run a large business in Africa there is a very real chance you will need to bride people, including government officials. Also, many African countries ha
by steve19 11y ago
If you run a large business in Africa there is a very real chance you will need to bride people, including government officials. Also, many African countries have captial controls, so getting our money back out requires breaking the spirit of the law (such as importing good and services at heavily inflated prices from a company you own in the West).
So need to be willing to break local laws and also break your home country laws if your country has laws against bribing government officials.
Many people have a moral objection to bribery or a self interest in not ever risking going to to prison (for me it's both).
In my industry every few years the Feds make a couple arrests for bribing government officials in Africa.
- tim333 11y agoOne reason China does ok as they are fairly laid back on that stuff.
- vezycash 11y agoIt's not just because gift giving is an accepted practice in China. It's because they are very flexible. They are VERY willing to offer you a service at any price range you want. American businesses in particular are not so flexible on price and standard. One popular way of stealing funds is awarding of road contrasts. The German company Julius Berger makes solid roads that lasts for at least a decade. Typically, or rationally, Berger should win every road contract. However, the officials do not want a road that would last for ten years because it'll cut their lucrative source of income.