Even when companies play by the rules at home, when operating abroad, it can be a different situation. Particularly when doing business in countries where bribing public officials is endemic, foreign companies may join in, adding to the global problem of corruption.
In 1997, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) created the Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions, committing signatories to make foreign bribery a crime. Thirty-nine countries have signed on to the convention, together accounting for two-thirds of world exports and three-quarters of foreign investment.
