The other day I heard a saying which I think is rather apt for this article:
“You can shear a sheep many times, but you can only skin it once”. Except in this article the “shear” is “fleecing” and the sheep is “Daimler.” Bah, bah, bah. Firstly, the U.S Government did a little shakedown of Daimler to the tune of $185 million. When that succeeded, our friends in Russia decided to check this gold mine for any left over deposits. Word spread of them thar gold in Sindelfingen. Incoming golddiggers! Forexyard (via Reuters) reports that Egyptian authorities are going to investigate the matter in relation to bribery in Egypt.
Yes, in Egypt.
Egypt ranks #111 on the Corruptions Perceptions Index, compiled by Transparency International. #1 (New Zealand) is considered absolutely untouchable. 111 is, well, you decide. Let’s just say that Gambia, Gabon and Senegal are considered as better places to do business. In case you ask: Righteous U.S.A, is on place 19, just a hair less corrupt than Barbados. Absolutely the pits are the new American possessions Iraq (#176) and Afghanistan (#179).
Anyway, an Egyptian cabinet statement said that “Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif has decided to transfer the available information to Public Prosecutor Abdel Meguis Mahmoud on the payment of bribe by carmaker Daimler Mercedes-Benz to employees in several countries, including Egypt,” When the Public Prosecutor receives the documents, it’ll be up to him whether to press charges or not. But I’m sure he’ll plod ahead with it. According to CIA figures, Egypt has a public debt figure of 79.8 percent, and every Euro helps. Even if it falls through the floor.
I wonder if Daimler has done any bribery in the UK? We really could use the money…
Don’t do the crime if you can’t do the time.
Love the couch ad. Reminds me of “The Sofa King”. “Our quality is Sofa King High and our prices are Sofa King Low!”
Twotone
Ah Blagojevitch, the gift that keeps on giving. If the furniture store has that chair it in a yellowish color they could advertise that “this thing is Sofa King golden”.
Why is it when big, sophisticated, global companies, with big legal, quality and compliance offices are caught violating (sometimes routinely, sometimes serially even) anti-corruption, anti-collusion, environmental or product quality, health and safety laws is the enforcement, investigation, prosecution and sentencing/fining of same described as “fleecing”?
Companies displaying such behaviour, and their managemement, should consider themselves lucky that they don’t suffer more.
Btw, I didn’t understand the gratuitous reference to the US on TI’s list … is there some magical number below which it is unacceptible for a governmental entity to practice enforcement?
Given that Gt.Britain comes in one place ahead of the U.S., and the majority of the EU falls far, far down in the list what is the relevance of comparing the U.S. to Barbados? To my eyes, Barbados is doing a good job, rather than the U.S. is not. I thought this comparison unfair and distracting from the topic at hand.
+1 Bribery and corruption is bribery and corruption. The fines are neither fleecing nor shakedowns. Egypt may be hypocritical in pointing fingers, but Egypt’s hypocrisy provides no absolution to Daimler.
[These opinions are my own and not those of my Dearborn employer.]
Some people subscribe to a view of the two dominant types of large organizations in the modern world. This view can be summed up as:
Privately/Investor Owned Company = Good
Government = Bad
When viewed through such a preconception, any time a government fines a company then ipso facto, the government is shaking down the company.
No you got it wrong John. It’s
Foreign Owned Company = Good
US based Company = Bad
If this were a fine against GM they would be saying it was great and GM “got what it deserved”. But because it’s Daimler or Toyota well, they are being persecuted. We all know that foreign companies have our best interests at heart. They promote global peace and goodwill and only emit unicorn farts.
Daimler’s big mistake was not making sure Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif got his cut.
haha yep
The 185 million the treasure fined them is nothing in the US gov’t pocket book. But, it would be better if Daimler wasn’t bribing people. Just the way I see it.