SEC: Qualcomm hired relatives of Chinese officials to seal biz deals

Qualcomm has coughed up some cash after it was accused of bribing Chinese officials by giving their relatives plum jobs. The California chip designer today settled out of court with US financial watchdog the SEC for $7.5m. The deal ends an embarrassing investigation into claims the company broke the Foreign Corrupt Practices …

[Anonymous Coward]

I'm shocked.

HR are tools of senior management and senior management can't be trusted.

Who would have thought it...

[BigFire]

Unfortunately for American companies, some of the rules ARE different abroad and bribes are part of the expense.

[Triggerfish]

Yep do some business in parts of the world, have money aside for the possibility of bribes and protection as part of it.

[allthecoolshortnamesweretaken]

"I know this is a pain, but I think we’re operating under a different paradigm here than a normal ‘hire’/‘no hire’ decision tree."

Bah. That is almost touchy-feely-stuff. What happened to shouting "You're not looking at the big picture!"?

[David Roberts]

So they bribed the SEC

To accept their bribery in China?

Normal cost of doing business, and apparently legal as well!

[Ed_UK]

Foreign Corrupt Practices Act

When I worked at a US-based telecoms company, there was mandatory training in what was permitted and what wasn't. Curiously, the main 'takeaways' from the course were:

1. You must not bribe any government official

2. Any 'sweeteners' paid must be properly accounted for in the books. E.g. in Saudi, where backhanders are a normal part of doing business.

I expected to hear that any bribes of any kind (given or received) were verboten, but I didn't spot it.

Then there was the stuff about non-finanacial gifts and corporate hospitality and avoiding conflicts of interest (real or apparent). Should I declare my calendar from a supplier?

[Anonymous Coward]

Corporate back handers

Whats new about this?

We need Bruce Lee back to sort these people.

"You dishonour me, you dishonour your family and you dishonour shao lin tem pow"

In terms of the corporate language used I urge El Reg to regard this important advice from Mr Lee...

"Its like a finger pointing the way to the moon, do not focus on the finger or you miss all the heavenly glory"

[GeorgeTyrebyter]

Truly repellent. These scumtards will not hire highly-qualified American IT and STEM, but they will sweep the Chinese gutters for the ratpoop, and hire that. Nauseating. When you find Chinese working here, they are routinely incompetent, and now we see why.