[Jaepa]

I'm not an apologist for Walmart, kind of the opposite actually, but in a lot of places bribes are not seen as malicious or corrupt just unspoken rules.

A friend of mine from Nepal said something along the lines of "bribes are just a lubricate to an intentionally slow and unorganized bureaucracy". Places like China, India, Vietnam, & Taiwan all have pretty well know backdoor policies of this.

Its a bit old but https://www.forbes.com/sites/richardlevick/2015/01/21/new-da... and https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/14/business/china-ge-siemens... are both good read for this.

I've also known of UN project directors who had to convince governmental ministers that the UN's no bribe policy was not just a bargaining method.

[dreamcompiler]

The FCPA (the law Walmart violated) specifically allows such "lubrication" bribes, where you're basically just paying a lowly government official a small amount to do his/her job a little faster. The forbidden bribes happen when you pay a higher-level official to make a decision in your favor that they otherwise might not have made. Huge difference in the eyes of the law.

[LanceH]

I've worked somewhere that the policy was you don't pay bribes. You hire a local company capable of navigating the nuances of the local permitting process.

[paulajohnson]

And what happens when your consultant bills you for a big but vaguely described fee?

[onetimemanytime]

I am sure that everyone involved knows what it is about. Eventually they will get caught and squeal. The local guys have immunity from local prosecution but FBI is a different story.

Usually a leader's family member or a trusted person will create a consulting business and help you "navigate" local rules and obtain permits. As soon as money is exchanged a phone call is made and you're untouchable. You call it a bribe, they call it their money. Just like their salary, bribes are part of their compensation.

Say, Russia, can close any business, any time they want. It's impossible to comply with all their rules and regs (by design) and even if you could, no court will rule in your favor. So...enter middlemen.