Some execs see bribing clients to beat recession as OK: poll

A man holding a briefcase in a file photo.

LONDON (Reuters) - A quarter of company officials surveyed across Europe considered it would be acceptable to bribe clients to stay in business and beat the recession, a poll by Ernst & Young said on Wednesday.

The consultancy questioned 2,200 people in major companies in 22 European countries. Half of those surveyed thought one or more types of unethical business behavior was acceptable.

"Making cash payments to win business, and even deliberately misstating financial performance to mask disappointing results were supported by alarmingly large numbers of respondents," said David Stulb, Ernst & Young's global fraud investigation leader said in a statement.

Those who thought it was acceptable to give a cash bribe to keep a client rose to 38 percent in Spain, 43 percent in the Czech Republic and 53 percent in Turkey, Ernst & Young said.

Corporate fraud typically rises in recession as the masking effect of profits evaporates and the survey showed that senior management was more likely to condone unethical behavior than their underlings, the survey showed.

(Reporting by Huw Jones; Editing by Victoria Main)