Punish the tempter

last updated 8 January 2015

Lesotho

Western companies may now be banned from bidding on contracts in the Third World if they are found to have bribed local officials. Until recently, African governments have prosecuted only the person who took a bribe, not the company that offered it. But this week the High Court in the tiny nation of Lesotho fined a Canadian company, Acres International, more than $2 million for paying a $400,000 bribe to win a lucrative water-development contract. “There was a total absence of remorse. All that Acres appears to regret is that it was caught,” said Judge Mahapela Lehohla. “Heavy sentences are needed when bribery and corruption has been detected.”