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New Survey Reports on Corruption in the Asia Pacific Region
Transparency International, a German nonprofit that tracks global corruption and perceptions of corruption, has published People and Corruption: Asia Pacific – Global Corruption Barometer. In what the organization calls “the most extensive survey of its kind,” the group spent a year and a half interviewing over 21,000 people living in the Asia Pacific region as a litmus test for corruption in the area. The 38-page report found considerable differences in bribery rates between surveyed countries; for example, while Japan weighed in at 0.2%, a staggering 69% of people surveyed in India indicated they had paid a bribe in the past year in exchange for public services. People across the surveyed region agreed that police were the most corrupt part of public services. While Australians expressed the “most positive” outlook on corruption, people in Malaysia and Vietnam felt the least positive overall, and people in China “were most likely to think the level of corruption had increased recently.” The report outlines three key recommendations, encouraging governments to “make good on promises,” “stop[] bribery in public services,” and “encourag[e] more people to report corruption.”
Marubeni Corporation Resolves US FCPA Enforcement Action for $54.6 Million
On January 17, 2012, the U.S. Department of Justice announced an FCPA enforcement action against Japanese trading company, Marubeni Corporation. The action calls for Marubeni to pay $54.6 million and engage a compliance consultant for a two-year period, in compliance with the deferred prosecution agreement between the company and the DOJ. As described in the DOJ Press Release, Marubeni acted as an agent for a joint venture among four companies bidding to construct a liquefied natural gas plant in Nigeria. Each participant in the joint venture has settled their own FCPA enforcement action, including the Japanese construction company JGC Corporation, which settled in April 2011 for $218 million.
Score Card: Bridgestone Corp. Pleads Guilty to FCPA and Sherman Act Violations
Japanese giant Bridgestone Corp. pleads guilty to FCPA and Sherman Act violations, paying $28 million fine.