Soborno (finanzas)

Un soborno es un pago que compensa parcialmente un pago mayor en otra dirección. El término suele connotar un pago secreto o ilegal, como una forma de soborno negociado en el que se paga secretamente una comisión a la persona que organiza un trato. En general, la remuneración (dinero, bienes o servicios entregados) por un soborno se negocia con antelación. El soborno se diferencia de otros tipos de sobornos en que existe una colusión implícita entre los agentes de ambas partes, en lugar de que una parte extorsione a la otra para obtener el soborno. ^{[ 1 ]} El propósito del soborno suele ser incentivar a la otra parte a cooperar en el plan. ^{[ 2 ]}

El término "kickback" proviene del inglés coloquial y describe la forma en que un receptor de ganancias ilegales "devuelve" una parte de ellas a otra persona por la ayuda prestada para obtenerlas. ^{[ 3 ]}

La forma más común de soborno implica que un proveedor presente una factura fraudulenta o inflada (a menudo por bienes o servicios innecesarios, de calidad inferior, o ambas cosas), con la ayuda de un empleado de la empresa víctima para asegurar el pago. A cambio de su ayuda, la persona recibe algún tipo de pago (efectivo, bienes o servicios). ^{[ 4 ]}

Los "intermediarios de sobornos" son personas que, si bien no reciben el soborno personalmente, ayudan a conectar a la persona o empresa que proporciona los bienes o servicios con personas capaces de facilitar los pagos ilegales. Por ayudar a conectar a las dos partes implicadas, una o ambas pueden realizar un pago a este "intermediario". ^{[ 5 ]}

Los sobornos pueden ser a cambio de reclutamiento . ^{[ 6 ]}

Kickbacks are one of the most common forms of government corruption.^[3] In some cases, the kickback takes the form of a "cut of the action", and can be so well known as to be common knowledge—and even become part of a nation's culture. For example, in Indonesia, former dictator Suharto was publicly known as "Mr. Twenty-Five Percent" because he required that all major contracts throughout the nation provide him with 25 percent of the income before he would approve the contract. Also, in Pakistan, President Asif Ali Zardari was publicly known as "Mr. Ten Percent" for a similar reason; after coming into the government, he started taking 10% of all major contract investments before he would approve the contract.^[1] However, kickbacks differ from other forms of corruption, such as diversion of assets, as in embezzlement, because of the collusion between two parties.^[2]

In Italy, the political scene was realigned dramatically by the Tangentopoli scandals in the 1990s, which uncovered widespread use of kickbacks in the national and local governments.^[7]

Kickback schemes can be pervasive. For example, in the United States, companies providing medical services to Medicare patients were paying doctors to send patients to them, whether or not the patient needed the treatment, diagnosis, or test.^[8] In 1986, the United States Congress passed the stringent Anti-Kickback Enforcement Act to prevent such schemes.^[9] The Anti-Kickback Statute ("AKS") prohibits medical providers and physicians from paying or receiving kickbacks or any financial benefits in return for referrals of patients who are covered under federal healthcare programs such as Medicare, Medicaid and TRICARE.^[10] However, shortly thereafter, the Office of Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services implemented two "safe harbor" exemptions to the Federal Antikickback Statute for "rebates" paid by pharmaceutical companies to Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) to secure preferred placement on drug formularies, and a second "safe harbor" exemption for Group Purchasing Organizations (GPOs). Lawmakers in both U.S. political parties have enabled these legally-exempted kickbacks to continue in the U.S. healthcare space.^[11][12]

• Albrecht, W. Steve; Albrecht, Conan C.; Albrecht, Chad O.; y Zimbelman, Mark F. Examen de fraude. Mason, Ohio: Cengage Learning, 2012.
• Buchbinder, Sharon B. y Shanks, Nancy H. Introducción a la gestión de la atención médica. Boston: Jones & Bartlett, 2007.
• Campos, José Edgardo. Las múltiples caras de la corrupción: seguimiento de las vulnerabilidades a nivel sectorial . Washington, DC: Banco Mundial, 2007.
• Kranacher, Mary-Jo; Riley, Richard; y Wells, Joseph T. Contabilidad forense e investigación de fraudes . Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 2010.