Mercedes-Benz Group AG (Previously Named Daimler) Became A Full-Blown Corporate Scandal

LANGLEY (USIntelNews.com) – This U.S. Intelligence News report is expected to appeal to Board members, C-Suite executives, corporate compliance personnel, attorneys for whistleblowers and defense attorneys as well as all potential employee whistleblowers, and is addressed to multiple audiences, including lawyers, accountants, public officials, and business executives interested in the debate over the FCPA itself. A series of missteps and just plain bad luck brought the Mercedes-Benz Group AG (Previously Daimler)’s more nefarious dealings to light. In this report, we’ll explore the ethical misconduct scandal at German auto manufacturer Daimler from an internal perspective to try to better understand the individual and organizational factors and pressures that resulted in such a devastating disaster. But Mercedes-Benz Group AG’s misery will spread well beyond the company itself. That the luxury carmaker Mercedes-Benz Group AG, a company admirable for its innovations and one of the world’s most successful automotive companies, could fall so far so fast will undermine confidence in other companies. We would like to remind you that Daimler-Benz AG became the first German company to list on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). Even more disturbing to some was the impression that even after over 1,000 businesses and corporations have garnered praise for withdrawing from Russia, the Mercedes-Benz Group AG (Previously Daimler), and Daimler Truck are still operating in Russia. Both companies are listed in “The List of Shame” as titled by its authors Yale University business professor Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, his colleague Steven Tian and the Yale research team. The list is updated continuously by the Yale team of experts. Daimler officially changed its name to Mercedes-Benz as of Feb 1, 2022 after splitting with its truck subsidiary in a major corporate shakeup. Re-branding under the name reflects the group’s new “strategic focus”, chief executive Ola Källenius said. An image change means a lot more than just a new name Mercedes-Benz Group AG. Creating a unified, dynamic corporate identity can dramatically improve a company’s reputation, but all this is in vain if the company does not act ethically either. A company’s reputation depends more on what the company itself does than on nice pictures or names. If you look like you don’t care, you begin to act like you don’t care, and then you develop the reputation of not caring. If a company suffers from a poor image, it has only itself to blame, but the Daimler scandal, for most of us, is a monster. The Rich TVX News Network says the allegations by the whistleblower complaint ‘weigh heavily’.

In Crimes For The Corporation, The Entity Is, In A Sense, A Perpetrator

Three major statutes that have profoundly affected the prosecution of financial crime: the Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, money laundering, and forfeiture. Along with the U.S. Sentencing Commission’s Guidelines, the laws have become the most potent weapons in the prosecutor’s legal arsenal. Crimes committed for the corporation might include violations of laws or regulations promulgated and enforced by federal agencies such as the SEC, IRS, FBI, the United States Department of Justice Antitrust Division, National Highway Transportation Safety Board, and the Consumer Protection Agency. Crimes committed against a corporation might include theft or destruction of assets, embezzlement of funds, and corruption by vendors. But in crimes for the corporation, the entity is, in a sense, a perpetrator. If caught however, it becomes a victim in the sense of having to pay legal fees, penalties, and damages for the illegal acts of its employees or agents. When the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) was enacted, the emphasis was on preventing corrupt payments to foreign officials. The law’s anti-bribery section prohibits SEC-registered U.S. businesses from certain corrupt practices in dealing with foreign officials. To determine if any bribery payments were made and to prevent companies from hiding them, the law imposes certain record keeping and internal control standards. But such cases can also surface from inside and outside sources. For example, allegations and complaints of criminal conduct may be made by vendors, work associates, stockholders, and even customers.

Are There Any Credible Allegations That Senior Managers At Daimler Were Engaged In Such Activities?

It becomes clearer than ever before that rules and regulations relating to whistleblowing are changing, becoming ever-pervasive and affecting a multitude of industries, even the SEC whistleblower rules are extremely detailed and complex. According to the Rich TVX News Network, a whistleblower has submitted original information to the SEC, and the whistleblower´s attorney certified that he has verified the whistleblower’s identity, has reviewed the form for completeness and accuracy, and has obtained the whistleblower’s non waivable consent to provide the Form TCR to the SEC. The content of these documents has it all. Violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, including at a minimum,15 U.S.C. §§ 78m(b)(2)(A), 78 m(b)(5), and 78ff(a), 15, U.S.C. §§ 78dd-1(a)(1)(A)(i) and (a)(3)(A)(i), as well as violations of 18 U.S.C. 2 and 18 U.S.C. 371. More allegations were listed in the “Facts Pertaining To The Alleged Violations” document provided by the whistleblower. The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 has been characterized as the most extensive application of federal law to the regulation of corporations since the passage of the 1933 and 1934 securities acts. The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, though ostensibly designed to respond to a specific set of circumstances, was made part of a foreign policy that sought to be more ethically systematic. As already mentioned, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act forbids use of interstate commerce or the mail(s) for improper payments to foreign officials, political parties or their officials, candidates for political office, or intermediaries who will make such payments. The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act contains both anti-bribery provisions and accounting standards. No issuer or domestic concern may attempt to influence foreign governments or officials for the purpose of “obtaining or retaining business for or with, or directing business to, any person.” In the next part of this series we will go more into detail what “The Russian Bribery” really means.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in the whistleblower documents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the views of the U.S. Intelligence News, or its management. All the charges are accusations of the whistleblower, according to the SEC Complaint documents, and all defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.