Corrupt Practices Versus a Sound Business Environment: Learning from the U.S. Experience

Abstract

Abstract International trade growth in the last 50 years has generated huge profits. But it also has produced high levels of corruption among state agency officials and business people. Bribery, for example, has enriched the businesses that paid the bribes and the state agency officials who received them. Corruption in some countries is so entrenched and widespread that it can be fairly characterized as a disease. And this disease is spawned by a cumulus of factors such as poverty, lenient public perceptions about corruption, and weak or nonexistent strategies to eradicate corrupt practices. Romania is one of the countries suffering from this disease, and it badly needs a cure. Fighting endemic corruption is not easy, however. Yet, some countries are advancing in their efforts to eradicate corruption. The U.S., for instance, has achieved some success in dealing with bribery through its Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Recently, the U.K. adopted a similar approach. Romania could learn from these examples. This paper analyzes Romania's current criminal law anti-corruption framework and proposes a new framework based on the U.S. model. This proposal also considers the U.K. Bribery Act in tailoring a framework that will work for Romania.