Bribery

Bribery  (fraud,  Statecraft)
Influencing people by illicit gifts, very commonly of money.

Bribery is influencing people by illicit gifts, very commonly of money. In most jurisdictions it is a crime.

Official narrative

Bribery is generally illegal, and distinct from legal payments for good and services rendered.

Concerns

Bribery cannot easily be definitively separated from payment for services rendered. Large "speaking fees" are an established norm in some cultures such as the US.

In 2013, Hillary Clinton was paid $675,000 for 3 speeches to Goldman Sachs.

Arms deals

Bribery is a routine part of (almost?) all large international arms deals, such as Al Yamamah.

Drugs deals

In 2019, US billionaire John Kapoor "was found guilty of running a wide-ranging scheme to bribe doctors nationwide by retaining them to act as speakers at sham events at restaurants ostensibly meant to educate clinicians about its fentanyl spray, Subsys."

 

Related Quotation

Page	Quote	Author	Date
Peter Gøtzsche	“Bribery is routine and involves large amounts of money. Almost every type of person who can affect the interests of the industry has been bribed: doctors, hospital administrators, cabinet ministers, health inspectors, customs officers, tax assessors, drug registration officials, factory inspectors, pricing officials and political parties. In Latin America, posts as ministers of health are avidly sought, as these ministers are almost invariably rich with wealth coming from the drug industry. In the beginning of this chapter, I asked the question whether we are seeing a lone bad apple now and then, or whether pretty much the whole basket is rotten. What we are seeing is organised crime in an industry that is completely rotten.”	Peter Gøtzsche	2013