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by teruakohatu 384 days ago
It would be unlikely (not impossible) that board members would be briefed about ongoing criminal behaviour, and certainly not something so deep into operations as how the ECU is being programmed.

Can a board member be reasonably responsible for the actions of tens of thousands of employees if they have not explicitly enabled or condoned criminal behaviour?

The person that would benefit the most would be a senior executive who stands to gain a promotion, bonus or land an even better job elsewhere.

A former prime minister of my country was fined over $6 million for being on the board of a company what traded while insolvent. Not a prison sentence but a harsh penalty for someone that was not super rich (as far as I am aware).
2 comments
NunoSempere 383 days ago
> Can a board member be reasonably responsible for the actions of tens of thousands of employees if they have not explicitly enabled or condoned criminal behaviour?

Not sure what the answer is, but if the answer is yes, then that incentivizes them to build the oversight and reporting capabilities to be able to steer away from crime, and to hire noncriminal subordinates &c.

One way this could look in practice is board members having to post a large bond that gets taken away if the commpany is found to commit crimes during their tenure.

Anecdotically, the Real Madrid requires a large bond (57M) posted by the president. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/europe/8076515.stm

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triceratops 384 days ago
They should at least be barred from being board members for a certain period of time.
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s1artibartfast 383 days ago
Why, if they did nothing wrong and had no knowledge of anything illegal?

It is extremely rare to see that kind of prosecution in western countries (US or EU).

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Doxin 383 days ago
Because they should have known. They should have made it their business to know. Looking the other way on purpose should not be a valid legal defense.
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triceratops 383 days ago
> Looking the other way on purpose

Hell even if not on purpose. The point of a board is oversight. If management can commit illegal acts without the board's knowledge, the board has failed. Of course incompetence in a board role shouldn't lead to prison. But it should at least bar someone from future board jobs for a few years.

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triceratops 383 days ago
Pour encourager les autres. If there's illegality going on at a company and the board doesn't know about it, future boards will make sure they are better informed.
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