The Wall Street Journal reports today on the investigation of the French conglomerate Alston SA for its questionable practices in persuading the decision-makers in developing countries.
According to the article, Alston and its German counterpart are suspected for bribing the officials in Indonesia and Brazil (and many more) which gave them a distinct advantage over their American competitors. The U.S. laws and their enforcement are apparently less lenient, which worsens the position of their companies.
What can be inferred from the article is a state where industry leaders’ bribing practices are a public secret. Into a certain extent it’s a fault of the OECD, which introduced regulations of this matter in mid 90’s. But because the strictness of the enforcement varies from country to country, it puts certain companies into disadvantage.
So why not abolish this regulation when the market is composed of only a handful of monoliths of the comparable — gigantic — size and influence? Just like in cycling, it only harms the good guys.
