BRIBERY AND FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS

Bribery with respect to financial institutions is a federal offense. This crime involves the following elements:

 

 

• An individual.

 

• The giving or promise of anything of value to any individual.

 

• The intent to influence or reward an officer, director, employee, agent, or attorney of a financial institution.

 

OR

 

 

 

• An officer, director, employee, agent, or attorney of the financial institution.

 

• Corruptly solicits or demands something of value or accepts or agrees to accept something of value.

 

• The intent to influence or reward an individual in connection with a business transaction.

 

The prosecution is not required to prove that the bribe was actually offered, given or promised. The only issue that the prosecution must prove is that the defendant intended to bribe another individual in the financial institution.

 

 

Elements Elaborated

 

 

A corrupt act may be defined as an act done in a voluntary and intentional manner with the purpose of accomplishing an unlawful end or result. The motive for an individual to act in a corrupt fashion may be derived from an expectation of either financial gain or benefit to profit or benefit from another.

 

 

Bribery Example

 

 

Bribery may have occurred if a loan officer solicited something of value for himself or herself in exchange for favorable treatment to the giving individual. The loan officer gave the giving individual the impression that the deal would not go through unless he or she received the item of value.

 

 

Penalties

 

 

If the defendant is convicted of bribery involving a financial institution, the defendant may be fined up three times of the value of the item given or not more than $1,000,000. Further, the defendant may be sentenced to up to 30 years in prison. The defendant may also be fined and sentenced to imprisonment.

 

 

If the value of the bribe did not exceed $100, the defendant may only be fined up to $1000, may only be sentenced up to one year in prison, or both.

Copyright 2012 LexisNexis, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc.