[dandare]

If that is the only way business can be done in Uzbekistan then Telia had no business case in Uzbekistan. It's a no-brainer.

And if you are going to argue with China taking the business, well, let China do the bribery and take the business. The free, open economy will outperform closed corrupted systems in the long run.

[keldaris]

With the minor caveat that the "free, open economy" (which is really neither free nor open, but I digress) contains strong incentives to prioritize growth and short term profits over other considerations. From the perspective of most shareholders, the only thing Telia did wrong was getting caught. I'm sure they'll do better next time.

[muro]

Agreed. Add to that fines for any company / executives involved in US / countries that don't ignore corruption.