Business integrity can be undermined from within a company, as a result of pressures from outside or through collusion between staff and third parties. Bribery and corruption can be active or passive. Active bribery and corruption involve offering or seeking money, pledges or benefits in exchange for favours. Passive bribery and corruption involve a person accepting gifts, money, pledges or benefits in exchange for which the person who accepts misuses his position by favouring the giver. Enticement is when something is corruptly offered.
Extortion is when something is corruptly demanded.
Rather than attempt to define every kind of corruption to which Shell companies might be exposed, this primer focuses on certain generic forms of corruption which can undermine Shell businesses. Bribery Bribery involves paying money or giving a benefit to someone in business or government in order to obtain commercial advantage. An obvious example is a tenderer who offers money to a company employee to get business from that company. Bribery is a betrayal of trust in which the damage inflicted generally goes well beyond the material value of the bribe. Bribery can damage a company's reputation and undermine its licence to operate.