It all comes down to parenting
December 17, 2008
I just finished reading the US Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) release in fining Siemens AG $1.5 billion for a string of briberies of government officials totaling $1.1 billion. (Read the press release here.) The release said that Siemens was caught “engaging in a systematic practice of paying bribes to foreign government officials to obtain business” and that those dishing out the cash came from all levels inside the Siemens organization.
For those of us conducting ourselves in a fitting manner by actually winning business the hard way (by competing without bribing anyone), on our behalf, this is what really pisses us off. This story, in my opinion, is yet another “too big to fail” situation. But in this case, the $1.5 billion dollar fine is just a cost of doing business which, by the way, gets passed along to customers of Siemens/Nokia. Getting too big is just like our politicians, all of a sudden you think you are above the law or the law does not apply to your title or stature.
Where is the accountability? I am growing tired of the “too big to fail” writing checks to get out of situations or someone writing a check to keep them in business. Where are the criminal charges? Who were the recipients of the bribes? Who is going to prison?
We already have laws on the books to remedy this; we don’t need a global Sarbanes-Oxley. We have corruption laws, extortion laws, fiduciary duty laws, embezzlement laws, conspiracy laws and recent trends in America tell me we have prison space readily available. And, what I mean by prison space is real prison, not Club Fed.
Sit back for a moment and think about all the people who were cheated by this activity. Think through it.
Those that delivered the bribes and those that accepted the bribes, all I can tell say is that your parents failed. Your parents did not provide you with an adequate moral compass and ability to reason right from wrong. Those that refuse to criminally prosecute the culprits — ibid. Fines are not the only answer, putting clowns like this behind bars sends the appropriate message to the “too big to fail” companies and the “too small to have fairness” – the risk is loss of freedom and all your worldly possessions that you so much coveted. I hope it isn’t too late for your children or grandchildren.
Am I the only one ticked off at this type of garbage and all the underlying corruption? Believe me this is not unique to Siemens or telecom, but when is enough is enough?
I would enjoy hearing from you.
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Written by Dave Rusin - Telecom Executive
Posted by admin | Filed Under Dave's Corner, Telecom Blogs, Telecom bloggers, Telecommunications bloggers, Telecommunications blogs
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