Multinational corruption tightrope
It is a shot that London-based liquor giant Diageo Plc would rather gulp and forget in a hurry. Last fortnight, the world's largest spirit maker agreed to pay up more than $16 million to settle charges levelled by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC — the Securities and Exchange Board of India equivalent in the US). The charges included making "hundreds of illicit payments to foreign government officials" in India, Thailand and South Korea.