If you’ve been following the news, four executives of Rio Tinto, a mining and exploration company, recently admitted to a court in the Chinese city of Shanghai that they took bribes totalling over 10 Million Yuan (BBC). Not long after, they each received prison sentences of between 7 and 14 years in addition to large fines and confiscation of their personal assets. Liu Caikui received seven years, Ge Minqiang received eight years, Stern Hu received ten years, and Wang Yong, accused of receiving the largest bribe, of almost 9M, received 14 years (CNN).
This should send a very strong message to foreign companies wanting to do business in the new China. Play by the rules (and definitely respect “face” [HBR]), or do the time.