VOA标准英语2009年-British Arms Manufacturer Faces Bribery Ch

By Selah Hennessy
London
01 October 2009

Britain's Serious Fraud Office announced today it will seek to prosecute¹ the world's No. 2 defense² contractor³ on charges of corruption⁴ in dealings on foreign contracts. BAE Systems is accused of paying out millions of dollars to win arms contracts from a number of countries, including Tanzania, the Czech Republic, Romania and South Africa.

 
A company sign of BAE Systems is seen at a plant building in Guildford, England, 01 Oct 2009
 
Today's announcement comes after an-ongoing investigation⁵ by the Serious Fraud Office into BAE that dates back to the 1990s.

In 2006, the SFO dropped an investigation into allegations that Saudi Arabian officials were bribed⁶ by BAE, after then British Prime Minister Tony Blair said the probe threatened national security.

But now, the SFO says it is ready to bring the arms manufacturer to court.

Chandrashekhar Krishnan, executive director of Britain's anti-corruption agency Transparency International, says in the past Britain has been slow to bring legal action in bribery⁷ cases. But he says today's move marks an important step.

"We are seeing progress. It's probably not as fast as we would like it to be but certainly the direction of travel is positive. Certainly the international regulatory environment is changing - more governments now are cracking down much harder on foreign bribery," he said.

He says the defense industry has particular problems with corruption.

"The industry is traditionally very prone⁸ to keeping things in secrecy," added Krishnan. "Because quite often the arguments that a defense deal is essential on national security grounds then that becomes justification⁹ for shielding it from public scrutiny¹⁰."

For many years BAE has denied wrongdoing. Today the company said it is seeking to resolve the matters under investigation by the SFO.

If found guilty, BAE may face huge charges - but lawyers say the case may be very difficult to prove.

The Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 extended British corruption law to cover bribery of overseas officials. But lawyers say the SFO may find it hard to get a conviction on accusations¹¹ of bribery before that date.

Krishnan says bribery by western companies can be disastrous¹² to developing countries. Often already high levels of corruption are made worse and much-needed finances are channeled in the wrong direction.

"Invariably, the victims of corruption by and large tend to be the poorest and most vulnerable people in the poorest developing countries," he added. "Because of corruption in defense deals, countries either end up getting defense equipment which they don't really need or they get defense equipment which they may legitimately¹³ need but which costs much much more than it should be costing them."

Corruption probes have become increasingly widespread in recent years. The United States has brought 120 similar cases to court.

Last year German industrial group Siemens agreed to pay just over $1.3 billion to settle corruption probes in the United States and Germany.

1 prosecute   

vt.告发；进行；vi.告发，起诉，作检察官

参考例句：

• I am trying my best to prosecute my duties.我正在尽力履行我的职责。
• Is there enough evidence to prosecute?有没有起诉的足够证据？

2 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

3 contractor   

n.订约人，承包人，收缩肌

参考例句：

• The Tokyo contractor was asked to kick $ 6000 back as commission.那个东京的承包商被要求退还6000美元作为佣金。
• The style of house the contractor builds depends partly on the lay of the land.承包商所建房屋的式样，有几分要看地势而定。

4 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

5 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

6 bribed   

v.贿赂( bribe的过去式和过去分词 )；向（某人）行贿，贿赂

参考例句：

• They bribed him with costly presents. 他们用贵重的礼物贿赂他。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• He bribed himself onto the committee. 他暗通关节，钻营投机挤进了委员会。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

7 bribery   

n.贿络行为，行贿，受贿

参考例句：

• FBI found out that the senator committed bribery.美国联邦调查局查明这个参议员有受贿行为。
• He was charged with bribery.他被指控受贿。

8 prone   

adj.(to)易于…的，很可能…的；俯卧的

参考例句：

• Some people are prone to jump to hasty conclusions.有些人往往作出轻率的结论。
• He is prone to lose his temper when people disagree with him.人家一不同意他的意见,他就发脾气。

9 justification   

n.正当的理由；辩解的理由

参考例句：

• There's no justification for dividing the company into smaller units. 没有理由把公司划分成小单位。
• In the young there is a justification for this feeling. 在年轻人中有这种感觉是有理由的。

10 scrutiny   

n.详细检查，仔细观察

参考例句：

• His work looks all right,but it will not bear scrutiny.他的工作似乎很好，但是经不起仔细检查。
• Few wives in their forties can weather such a scrutiny.很少年过四十的妻子经得起这么仔细的观察。

11 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

12 disastrous   

adj.灾难性的，造成灾害的；极坏的，很糟的

参考例句：

• The heavy rainstorm caused a disastrous flood.暴雨成灾。
• Her investment had disastrous consequences.She lost everything she owned.她的投资结果很惨，血本无归。

13 legitimately   

ad.合法地；正当地，合理地

参考例句：

• The radio is legitimately owned by the company. 该电台为这家公司所合法拥有。
• She looked for nothing save what might come legitimately and without the appearance of special favour. 她要的并不是男人们的额外恩赐，而是合法正当地得到的工作。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹