[Vnbiz] Intel Vietnam refuses to pay bribes

[Tran Dinh Hoanh]

Dear Brother Phong & CACC,

FCPS is not my area of expertise so I can't tell how often it is enforced.
But I have worked on the defense of a FCPS prosecution by the US
government.  Executives of a beer company of the US paid tons of money and
gifts to the generals of a Middle East country to have that country's army
buy their beer.  Later there was a fallout among the US executives and one
of the guys talked to the US government.  A major investigation and
prosecution followed.  I worked on the defense team.

The other thing is that in the US international trade conferences I attended
over the years, US companies usually complain that they cannot compete
overseas because other countries' companies are free to follow "local
customs" (concerning corruption), but US companies cannot do that (But, US
companies also know that the FCPS is supposed to help them compete
internationally by giving them the reputation of clean and ethical business
practices).  So, the FCPS effect on US companies is real.  It is not a
pretext for anything.

Another thing most people don't think about is that US companies rely very
heavily on lawyers in doing business.   And when they have a lawyer around,
the first thing they say when troubles happen is that "Hey, I talked to our
lawyer over that, and he said it was OK."  So the lawyer is ALWAYS the first
scape goat.  Because of that, most US corporate lawyers are very careful in
advising client.  I was one of them.  We always stay on the safe side and
tell the client clearly what is illegal or illegal and tell them to stay
clearly within the limit of the law, and we always put down our advise in
writing, so that later no one can point the finger at us "Hey, my
lawyer said it was OK."  So US lawyers operate most of the time as a big
legal break on his client's aggressiveness.

I was in the heavy-dosed corporate world for some years and realized that
most US corporations are much more ethical than people realize.

Have a great day!

Hoanh



___________

From: Hong-Phong_Pho at ita.doc.gov
To: vnbiz at vietlinks.net
Date: Wed, 15 Aug 2007 11:35:45 -0400
Subject: Re: [Vnbiz] Intel Vietnam refuses to pay bribes

Perhaps anh Hoanh can show how many times the FCPA have been used in court
since its inception.
Its real value is as a tool for U.S. businesses to sidestep "requests" for
"payments".
Here's my own practical approach to thinking about corruption in general:
Companies, people will decide whether or not to engage in corruption based
on their own interests.
They will if the benefits outweight the costs and vice versa.

A set of anti-corruption laws must be in place.
A free and independent press plays the most important role in exposing
corruption.
A fair, competent, and independent court is necessary to prosecute
corruption.
Vietnam has the first element in place, the second element is partially in
place but still weak, and the third element still weaker.

In this context, Intel Vietnam's action is smart and logical:  it is simply
immunizing itself against corruption, witnessed by both the USG and GVN.
This is much easier done for large multinational companies than for small
businessess.





-- 
Tran Dinh Hoanh, Esq., LLB, JD
Washington DC
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