What amounts to venality in one culture (Sweden) is considered no
more than hospitality, or an expression of gratitude, in another
(France, or Italy). Corruption is discussed freely and forgivingly
in one place - but concealed shamefully in another. Corruption, like
other crimes, is probably seriously under-reported and under-
penalized.
Moreover, bribing officials is often the unstated policy of
multinationals, foreign investors, and expatriates. Many of them
believe that it is inevitable if one is to expedite matters or
secure a beneficial outcome. Rich world governments turn a blind
eye, even where laws against such practices are extant and strict.
In his address to the Inter-American Development Bank on March 14,
President Bush promised to "reward nations that root out corruption"
within the framework of the Millennium Challenge Account initiative.
The USA has pioneered global anti-corruption campaigns and is a
signatory to the 1996 IAS Inter-American Convention against
Corruption, the Council of Europe's Criminal Law Convention on
Corruption, and the OECD's 1997 anti-bribery convention. The USA has
had a comprehensive "Foreign Corrupt Practices Act" since 1977.
The Act applies to all American firms, to all firms - including
foreign ones - traded in an American stock exchange, and to bribery
on American territory by foreign and American firms alike.
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