[Vnbiz] Intel Vietnam refuses to pay bribes

Wed Aug 15 11:02:12 PDT 2007

Dear anh Hoanh,
You can't have it both ways claiming to be a heavy-dosed corporate lawyer 
and saying that FCPA is not your expertise.
When a lawyer doesn't know some part of the law, he does research (or get 
the paralegal to do it for him).
How many cases were successfully prosecuted?  You may also want to find 
out  about FCPA's exceptions.
I am saying that FCPA is not a good law, it is great.  But I think we need 
to be careful to match principle with action if we wish to avoid being 
perceived as hypocrites.
"Our lawyer told me so or our accountant told me" so are not legal 
defense.
Companies' main goal is to maximize profits.  Being careful not to run 
afoul of the law does not deviate from that goal if being caught and 
prosecuted hurt the bottom line.  Otherwise, if the penalty is light, 
companies will make the conscious decision to brake law and pay the fines. 
 Its ethical when defined as rules and standards, but not moral principles 
or values.
HPP

"Tran Dinh Hoanh" <tdhoanh at gmail.com> 
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08/15/2007 12:09 PM
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Re: [Vnbiz] Intel Vietnam refuses to pay bribes

[ Vietnam Business Forum ]

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
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