Turragacati Bribery Case

During the time of the scandal, which broke in mid-2005, PBS&J had 4,000 employees in 75 offices in 24 states (Barnett, 2007). A number of high-profile projects were under construction with FDOT, OOCEA, and TxDOT. The funds from these projects were being brought into the firm at a rapid rate; however, PBS&J contained a flimsy internal controls system which facilitated the embezzlement that eventually took place. The major players of the scandal were located in the firm’s Miami office. They were Scott DeLoach, then chief financial officer (CFO); Maria Garcia, an accounting employee who was in charge of the office’s database and bank reconciliations; and Rosario Licata, a bookkeeper who maintained the firm’s benefits bank account (Eubanks, 2016).

Getting an internal auditor into the government office was a great move on their part. We can now move forward in this case as we have established that fraud is taking place. The next steps that could be made it to pay close attention to the employees. Any suspicious behavior, such as a sudden eager to work till late at night, or even noticing bad habits like gambling or drug problems could lead someone to steal. Another way to aid against fraud is to control and intensify the paper trail. Make it difficult to be able to get away with cash without recording it and clearing it with someone

This shows a major breakdown in managerial controls that a low level employee was able to take steal money over the course of a couple of years without ever being suspected. This is a prime example of why internal controls are so vital and why even the government needs to be audited. Ruiz

OECD published Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions and Related Documents to prevent bribery and corruption. The aim of this convention was making the bribery of a foreign public official a crime under their laws (International Monetary Fund, OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions, 2001). This document recommends to member countries that:

Marcus Aurelius and Benjamin Franklin are two men who during their time were dedicated to improving themselves. Though these two men lived in different time periods it can be seen that both men endeavored to cultivate virtues within themselves. The pair share many virtues, while still having personal reasons for desiring to alter their habits and different methods for executing these virtues. Overall, both Aurelius and Franklin knew that they were not perfect and could never achieve perfection. However, they both offer a set of virtues that they lived by to try and better themselves in order to live happier lives and what sets them apart is the way they implemented their virtues.

During the first scenario involving Lieutenant Fuentes, his meteoric rise to the top of his law enforcement agency was described. During his rise to the top, Lieutenant Fuentes made several critical mistakes that ultimately led to his demise. He was able to reach the level of major within a few short years and had a wonderful family. Shortly after his wedding, Lieutenant Fuentes was involved in a serious car crash that resulted in him becoming addicted to pain medications. Upon his return to work, he began engaging in extramarital affairs that eventually led to the demise of his relationship and subsequently he and his wife were divorced.

The main objective of this investigation is to see if funds are being misappropriated and who is misappropriating these funds. In conducting this investigation we needed to take many steps to ensure that the tip that the department received was true. To begin we checked personnel records and company records to gather information (Albrecht, Albrecht, and Zimbelman, 216) on the suspect, Rita Crundwell. Information such as how long has this suspect has worked in the city, what her position is, and what it entails. We also went through the accounts that she is transferring the cities money into and verified that all of these are all legitimate accounts of the city. If we found any errors or accounts that were not legitimate we would note these down and ask Rita about these accounts during the interview.

Bribery weakens competition and diminishes free trade which can affect companies, shareholders, and stakeholders. Jacob Franklin knowingly extended bribes to governments and contractors while knowing it was against company policy. Jacob engaged in bribery even though he knew it was wrong because he was advised that it was common practice at Richard Drilling. “In 1977, President Carter signed the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). The law made it illegal to bribe foreign officials. The maximum punishments for violators were set at $100,000 and 5 years in jail. Companies can be fined millions” (Bredeson, 2012, p.301). Not only was extending the bribe against company policy, it was against law and could cost Jacob and Richardson Drilling money and freedom.

Yes, I think that the payments outlined on pages 12 and 13 should be considered corrupt practices because of the way they were registered in the company’s books -it was in compliance with the FCPA because of the anti-bribery provision and the books and records provision.

“The considerations of practicality and principle discussed … above appear to support the respondents ' case, namely that a bribe or secret commission accepted by an agent is held on trust for his principal. The position is perhaps rather less clear when one examines the decided cases … However, to put it at its lowest, the authorities do not preclude us adopting the respondents ' case in that they do not represent a clear and consistent line of authority to the contrary effect. Indeed, we consider that, taken as a whole, the authorities favour the respondents ' case.” (per Lord Neuberger in FHR European Ventures LLP and others v Cedar Capital Partners LLC [2014] UKSC 45 at [46].

Lastly, Golding also illustrates the organization and professions the workmen who construct the spire accurately. Roger Mason is at the head of the construction for the spire. He is a medieval master builder, someone who was highly skilled and overlooked most of the construction (“Medieval Mason”). They were responsible for designing the plan and then ordering his workmen to complete the jobs. Some professions of the workmen required certain skills, while others require physical strength. An important job in the construction that demanded superb skill was the master stonemason. Stonemasons were part of a guild, and would have to work his way up from an apprentice to a master mason by working on building sites and learning useful stone masonry

Mr. Chong knows about recent cases of corporate bribery in Malaysia and in the retail industry. There had been scandals regarding foreign investors who bribed public officials or financed government programs to obtain business privileges or competitive advantage (Inkpen, 2010). Moreover, there was a recent case of bribery involving a Jextra’s country manager in the Philippines. More likely, this manager also encountered similar ethical dilemmas like Mr. Chong. Some individual factors that may have driven him to act unethically in the Philippines could have been pressure from the company to expand and gain competitive advantage in the region. Alternatively, he might have simply wanted to advance his career as a country manager, lacked of ethics or did not know the local laws regarding bribery. Additionally, he might not have received or requested support from the top management regarding the social and ethical issues raised in the Philippines. Mr. Chong, as an experienced manager, should have anticipated that he would encounter legal and ethical risks in Malaysia.

Under the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011, police and crime commissioners were created, these are bodies that are directly elected and as a result are directly accountable to the people by which they serve in. Police and crime commissioners have a statutory duty to “secure the maintenance of the police force and to secure that the police force is efficient and effective”

It is clear from the case study that Alistair knows the contract is unorthodox. The problem he faces is whether he should overlook the bribe or report it to the board. The board of directors expects Alistair to tell the truth and report the bribe because of: his position as Chief Legal Officer, the board has a very strong ethics policy and they are wary of unethical activities.

This does not set a good example for the employees and can be harmful to the future of the company. Ensuring that bribery stops can solve many of the problems discussed above. Some feasible solutions are being recommended to help the company in both short term and long term. First of all, all employees including managers should be given training and education about bribery, corruption and what’s deemed illegal according to the law. Explicit measures should be suggested on how they can avoid supporting corruption and also where they can report to in case a situation where dishonesty is involved arises.