Don't blame the recession for corruption

As well as the year long sentence, the gentleman in question must also pay a £20,000 fine – itself on top of the £275m fine his company paid after being found guilty of conspiring to fix prices of its tft-lcd screens with other manufacturers. It's surprising when one sees the companies involved in the cartel, especially when one considers that investigations into the lcd industry have resulted in a total of £420m in criminal fines being imposed. The global recession will inevitably entice those of a similar bent to take a bite from the financial carrot of corruption. What's worrying about this case is the fact that the guilty party has served as an executive since January 2006 – long before the term 'credit crunch' had raised its ugly head. We can only hope that this is the end of the matter and that the person in question (and indeed, prison) is not merely a scapegoat.