They WILL be asking you to pay bribes. What will you do?

With a recent rash of blue chip corporate names making the front pages for allegations of bribery and FCPA violations, the subject of avoiding corruption in international business surfaces once again.  

Corruption, especially in emerging and frontier markets, is an issue that needs to be tackled head on and not swept under the rug.  It is there, question is how to avoid it and mitigate the risks. At Fluent in Foreign we have devised an entire training methodology of dealing with corruption abroad. Together with a major law firm, we have developed a series of practical compliance measures, which help companies not only to avoid legal troubles, but equally as importantly to stay out of the publicity limelight.  We help our clients to preserve their market values and corporate reputations.  In today’s post we reprint a chapter on corruption from the Fluent In Foreign Business book 

Chapter 13

Corruption

They WILL be asking you to pay bribes. What will you do?

Several years ago, I had to travel to Kiev from Moscow unexpectedly, and had not secured an entry visa in advance. My Ukrainian clients petitioned the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and arranged for a visa to be processed at the airport upon my arrival. I was met at the gate by an airline representative and escorted to a Consul’s desk for visa processing. It took about 15 minutes to complete the necessary paperwork under the watchful eye of the immigration officer on duty.

As I handed him the completed application, he asked me for the $157 visa fee. I handed him $160 in eight $20.00 bills. He carefully looked at the money, looked at me in a meaningful manner, stamped my passport, and said, “I won’t hold you up.” It took me a few moments to grasp the meaning of his words, but as I realized  (READ MORE)

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