Car and truck manufacturer Daimler AG allegedly earned $1.9 billion in revenue and at least $91.4 million in illegal profits from transactions tainted by bribes... Daimler plans to settle the SEC and Justice Department's allegations by paying $185 million.... So basically they are "paying off" the SEC with a 185 million dollar payment to make this all "go away". Sounds alot like a bribe. I had to study it a bit and I found that the difference between the word "Bribe" and the word "Settle" is that a bribe gets someone to do something. To "Settle" gets someone to STOP doing something. One is illegal...One is not, but they really are the same thing. If a cop pulls a guy over for DUI and the guy offers 300 bucks to the cop to "Settle" it, it sure looks like a bribe to the police officer. http://finance.yahoo.com/news/SEC-s...1.html?x=0&sec=topStories&pos=5&asset=&ccode=
OTH, the SEC might not recognize a bribe. "Here's a Benz." "Thanks anyway, my Pinto is running just fine."
I agree, it's a corrupt and harmful practice. It makes companies think they can do illegal activities because i) mostly they won't get caught ii) if they get caught, they can just pay it off and go free. Overall it's profitable for the company to break the law, and even more profitable for the managers.