TYPES OF BRIBERY

Common Forms of Bribery

bribe

  [brahyb]  Show IPA noun, verb, bribed, brib·ing.

noun

1.

money or any other valuable consideration given or promised with a view to  corrupting the behavior of a person, especially in that person's performance as  an athlete, public official, etc.: The motorist offered the arresting officer a bribe  to let him go.

2.

anything given or serving to persuade or induce: The children were given candy  as a bribe to be good.

verb (used with object)

3.

to give or promise a bribe to: They bribed the reporter to forget about what he  had seen.

4.

to influence or corrupt by a bribe: The judge was too honest to be bribed.

verb (used without object)

5.

to give a bribe; practice bribery.

Origin: 
1350–1400; Middle English  < Middle French:  remnant of food givenas alms, said to be < an expressive base *bri ( m ) b-  denotingsomething small

Bribery is a white collar crime in which money, a favor or something else of value is promised to, given to, or taken from an individual or corporation in an attempt to sway his or its views, opinions, or decisions.

For example, if an electoral candidate offered bottles of liquor in exchange for votes, it would be considered a bribe, and therefore, a crime.

Bribery is a crime in which one party offers another party a gift in exchange for preferential treatment in their legal or professional duties. While bribery can take many forms, those facing bribery charges of any type should take these accusations seriously, as conviction can come with strict penalties. The standard fine can be up to three times the value of the bribe in question and some cases can also result in lengthy jail sentences.

If you have been accused of bribery, it is of the utmost importance that you get an attorney who can protect your legal rights and interests.

Types of Bribery

Bribes can take many forms and can occur in many different fields. Some of the more common instances of bribery include:

Bribery of Witnesses in Court

Bribery of a Public Official

Bribery of Doctors

Bribery of Foreign Officials

A bribery charge can reach a felony level, where the punishments are the most severe. However, an experienced attorney may be able to have the charges against you decreased in severity or in some instances, may be able to have the charges dismissed altogether.

Bribery by / of a Public Official

Any public official (anyone acting on behalf of the United States, such as a senator, witness, or juror) who demands, receives, or accepts a bribe in exchange for orchestrating an illegal change in his duties will be fined not more than three times the value of the incentive and/or imprisoned for no more than 15 years. The public official may also be prohibited from holding any political or government office in the United States.

Bribery by / of a Witness

Conversely, anyone who offers a bribe to a public official will be fined and/or imprisoned for no more than two years.
Any witness who demands, receives, or accepts a bribe in exchange for altered testimony faces a fine of three times the value of the bribe and/or up to 15 years in prison, while anyone who bribes a witness faces a fine and/or up to two years in prison.

Bribery of a Foreign Official

In 1977, The U.S. Congress passed The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which made it illegal for an American corporation to bribe a foreign government official with money or gifts in hopes of landing or maintaining important business contacts. According to the act, all publicly traded companies must keep records of all business transactions—even if the companies do not trade internationally—to ensure that this act is not being violated.

However, in the act, there are loopholes of which many U.S. corporations take advantage. For example, the act permits “grease payments”, which are incentives paid—without penalty—to foreign officials to help expedite the completion of paperwork and to ensure the receipt of licenses or permits.

Bank Bribery

According to the Bank Bribery Amendments Act of 1985, 1) the solicitation of an employee, director, etc. in any capacity in exchange for business and 2) the acceptance of anything (including meals, entertainment, and accommodations during travel) but a legitimate salary, wages and fees from anyone in connection with the bank’s business are prohibited. If any representative of a bank accepts a bribe, he will be fined three times the value of the incentive, or he will be imprisoned for not more than thirty years. However, if the value of the bribe is less than $1,000, the representative will be fined but sentenced to not more than one year in jail.

If a bank official is offered a bribe, he must disclose all information to the bank so that the situation may be addressed appropriately.

Bribery in Sporting Contests

A sporting official who accepts a bribe in exchange for a promise to “fix” a sporting event is guilty of bribery and may be punished under Title 18 of the United States Code, Sect. 224. For example, if a referee is convicted of “throwing” a major sporting event, he will be fined, imprisoned for up to five years, or both.

Industries Prone to Bribery

Kickbacks are often associated with government fraud. The crime is committed in a variety of settings, however, including the healthcare industry and employee benefit or pension plans.

Examples of Illegal Bribes / Kickbacks

A building contractor might kick back part of what he is paid to the government official responsible for selecting his company for the job.

A pharmaceutical or medical device company might offer free training or other benefits to doctors who prescribe its drug.

A benefit or pension provider might provide cash or another bonus to brokers who convince companies to choose their services over those of another provider.

Punishments for Bribery

Issuing or accepting bribes is a serious crime that may result in heavy fines or several years in prison. Both civil and criminal charges can be levied against those suspected of being involved in kickback schemes.

The Anti-Kickback Act of 1986 prohibits government contractors and subcontractors from issuing or accepting kickbacks. If a contractor or subcontractor forces an employee to kick back part of his or her compensation, the contractor may face a $5000 fine and/or five years in prison. 

Different Forms of Bribery

Bribery, as defined by Black's Law Dictionary, is "The receiving or offering of any undue reward by or to any person whomsoever, whose ordinary profession or business related to the administration of public justice, in order to influence his behavior in office, and to incline him to act contrary to his duty and the known rules of honesty and integrity." Put in other words, bribery is the use of money to induce another with power and official, legal responsibility not to abuse that power, to then use that power in an abusive fashion.

Bribery does not include just money bribes, although money bribes are the most commonly recognized form of bribery. Bribery laws also restrict bribes involving transfers of rank, preferment, privilege, objects of value, or unfair advantages. To display how serious bribery is treated in American bribery laws, consider the following: in Article 2, Section 4 of the Constitution, bribery is cited as one of only two crimes which, when committed, should immediately lead to the impeachment of the offending President, Vice-President, or any other officer of the law to have committed it, either by offering bribes or accepting them. The other crime? Treason.

Today, bribery laws generally bear certain common traits concerning how bribery is to be treated. According to law.jrank.org, these common traits are, first, that bribery laws apply to both those giving bribes and those accepting bribes equally; second, that they apply to anyone working for the Government in any capacity, even a temporary one, including jurors and legislators; third, that bribery can be committed by the briber even if the individual being bribed is unaffected and does not take the bribe; and fourth, that they treat bribery not as a misdemeanor, but as a felony.

Bribery laws in America prevent officials from being influenced by bribes, but they also go so far as to disallow gifts for "official acts" performed by the legal officials in their jobs. Regardless of whether these gifts were given with intent to manipulate, both offering and accepting such gifts falls under the domain of bribery.

A form of bribery laws in America, anti-corruption laws, often deal with campaign contributions, limiting them and directing them towards certain legal forms, such that politicians theoretically will not be bribed by lobbyists or others to change their policies as the lobbyists desire. Violations of these laws, however, are often interpreted as misdemeanors, instead of felonies, and are often construed in a different light than bribery.

Most bribery cases come to light only because of either particularly egregious violations of bribery laws which cannot go ignored or political investigation on the part of political opponents. Despite the harshness of bribery laws, the punishments of those laws have not been enforced in all cases unequivocally, and as a result, America's methods of dealing with bribery are a little more in flux than they might seem at first.

Regardless, however, clear and blatant acts of bribery will undoubtedly go noticed and will be punished to the fullest extent of the law, especially after so many famous instances of political corruption, including Watergate. Indeed, after Watergate, a number of programs sought discovery and prosecution of those who had either made or accepted bribes.

Bribery, as one of the most constant threats to the correct functioning of the American governmental system, remains one of the clearest possible violations of the law that any public official might make, especially now in the times of major companies with plenty of money available for strong bribes.