|
Oh, no. Not this topic again.
I think that last time we generally agreed that paying money to a sales assistant (not the business itself) to get a watch sooner, was a bribe.
To recap. Different countries have different laws on what value the payment would need to be to be considered a bribe.
Different cultures / countries have different opinions on the morality of paying bribes.
In the UK, paying £5k to a SA would be a bribe, and would be illegal. It is also an offence for a UK-connected person to bribe anywhere in the world. The crime of bribery is described in Section 1 as occurring when a person offers, gives or promises to give a "financial or other advantage" to another individual in exchange for "improperly" performing a "relevant function or activity". Section 2 covers the offence of being bribed, which is defined as requesting, accepting or agreeing to accept such an advantage, in exchange for improperly performing such a function or activity.
Penalties are a maximum of 10 years' imprisonment, along with an unlimited fine, and the potential for the confiscation of property.
Whether or not someone would be prosecuted by the police, or privately prosecuted by their employer, is a matter of opinion. But the possibility exists.
|