Influence peddling
Influence peddling, also called traffic of influence or trading in influence, is the practice of using one's influence in government or connections with authorities to obtain favours or preferential treatment for another, usually in return for payment. Influence peddling per se is not necessarily illegal, as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has often used the modified term "undue influence peddling" to refer to illegal acts of lobbying;[1] however, influence peddling is typically associated with corruption and may therefore delegitimise democratic politics with the general public. It is punishable as a crime in Argentina, Belgium, Bulgaria, Brazil, France, Hungary, Italy, Mexico, Portugal, Romania,[2] Spain, and the United Kingdom.
Known cases
[edit] | This article needs to be updated. (June 2024) |
In December 2008, Rod Blagojevich, the then Governor of Illinois, was accused of influence peddling in attempting to sell the U.S. Senate seat vacated by the then President-elect Barack Obama.[3] Blagojevich was convicted in 2011 and sentenced to 14 years in prison. He was later pardoned by then-President Donald Trump by February 2020. Larry O'Brien, the then mayor of Ottawa, was brought to trial on similar grounds in May 2009. O'Brien was accused of purported influence peddling. On 5 August 2009, both charges were dismissed.[4]
In April 2009, former Newfoundland and Labrador politician Ed Byrne was convicted of influence peddling for his actions in the Constituency Allowance Scandal. He was the first of four politicians convicted in relation to the Scandal and the remaining politicians are on or awaiting trial.[5]
In 2012, Amado Boudou, the then vice president of Argentina, was accused of being a mere straw owner of the printing house Ciccone Calcográfica, a private company that has contracts to print over 120 million new Argentine pesos banknotes, license plates, and other government issues. The scandal became known as Boudougate, as the contracts were awarded by Boudou himself when he was the Economy Minister.[6] In 2018, Boudou was convicted of corruption and sentenced to 5 years and 10 months in prison, as well as being banned from running for office. He was granted parole in 2021, 5 years into his sentence[7]
In the Radia tapes controversy of the late 2000s and early 2010, Nira Radia was under investigation for using her connections with Indian politicians and members of the Indian media to tilt the auction of multi-million dollar licence contracts in favour of certain companies and individuals. No major charges were brought against Radia, and the case did not result in convictions.[8]
In 2014, former French President Nicolas Sarkozy was investigated due to alleged influence peddling. Sarkozy was convicted in March 2021 for corruption and influence peddling. He was sentenced to three years in prison, with two years suspended and one year to be served under house arrest.[9][10]
In April 2015, the Public Prosecutor's Office of Brazil opened an investigation for influence peddling against Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, at the time a former president of Brazil. It was alleged that, between 2011 and 2014, he lobbied for Odebrecht company to gain public procurements in foreign countries while also getting BNDES to finance those projects. Countries where this allegedly took place include Ghana, Angola, Cuba, and the Dominican Republic.[11] Lula was later convicted on separate corruption charges and imprisoned but was released in 2019 after Brazil's Supreme Court annulled his sentences. In 2022, Lula was re-elected as president of Brazil.
On 9 December 2016, the National Assembly impeached Park Geun-hye, the president of South Korea from 2013 to 2017, on charges related to influence peddling by her top aide Choi Soon-sil, and Hwang Kyo-ahn, the then Prime Minister of South Korea, assumed her powers and duties as Acting President as a result. The Constitutional Court of Korea upheld the impeachment by a unanimous 8–0 ruling on 10 March 2017, thereby removing Park from office. On 6 April 2018, South Korean courts sentenced her to 24 years in prison; this was later increased to 25 years, and Park was imprisoned at Seoul Detention Center. In 2018, two separate criminal cases resulted in an increase of seven years in her prison sentence. She was found guilty of illegally taking off-the-book funds from the National Intelligence Service and given a five-year prison sentence, and also found guilty of illegally interfering in the Saenuri Party primaries in the 2016 South Korean legislative election, for which she was sentenced to two more years in prison.[12][13][14][15]
The Biden family has faced allegations of influence peddling related to foreign business dealings.[16][17] In 2025, President Joe Biden issued a pardon for his brother, James Biden, who was under investigation for allegedly leveraging the family's political connections for financial gain. The pardon effectively ended the probe, drawing criticism and raising questions about accountability and ethics in public office.[18]
In March 2025, Bernard Squarcini, former head of France's domestic intelligence agency, was convicted of influence peddling and sentenced to four years in prison. Squarcini was found guilty of leveraging his official position to benefit luxury conglomerate LVMH by accessing confidential police files and conducting unauthorized surveillance on behalf of the company.[19]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Building a Cleaner World Economy". OECD. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
- ^ Semeraro, P. (2000). I delitti di millantato credito e traffico di influenza [The offenses of false claims and traffic of influence] (in Italian). Milan: Giuffrè. ISBN 8814083029.
- ^ Hornick, Ed; Kristi Keck; Brianna Keilar (31 December 2008). "Senate Democrats hope stalling can block Blagojevich's pick". CNN. Archived from the original on 19 October 2010. Retrieved 31 December 2008.
- ^ Butler, Don (6 August 2009). "The Mayor Returns". The Ottawa Citizen. Archived from the original on 15 April 2012. Retrieved 13 May 2011.
- ^ "Former Nfld. cabinet minister pleads guilty to fraud". The Globe and Mail. 17 January 2009. Retrieved 15 May 2025.
- ^ "El caso de la ex imprenta Ciccone". La Nación (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 8 October 2018.
- ^ "Former vice-president Amado Boudou granted parole". Buenos Aires Times. 23 July 2021. Retrieved 17 January 2025.
- ^ "Constitution club of india". web.archive.org. 29 September 2017. Retrieved 15 May 2025.
- ^ "French ex-President Sarkozy held over influence claims". BBC News. 1 July 2014. Retrieved 15 May 2025.
- ^ "Sarkozy: Ex-French president gets jail sentence over campaign funding". 30 September 2021. Retrieved 15 May 2025.
- ^ As suspeitas de tráfico de influência internacional sobre o ex-presidente Lula: O Ministério Público Federal abre uma investigação contra o petista – ele é suspeito de ajudar a Odebrecht em contratos bilionários, 30/04/2015 - Updated 08/05/2015
- ^ Choi, Haejin (20 July 2018). "South Korean court sentences president Park to another eight years in jail". Reuters.
- ^ Sang-Hun, Choe (9 December 2016). "South Korea Enters Period of Uncertainty With President's Impeachment". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 15 May 2025.
- ^ Sang-Hun, Choe (10 March 2017). "South Korea Removes President Park Geun-hye". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 15 May 2025.
- ^ Lee, Joyce. "South Korean court raises ex-president Park's jail term to 25 years". U.S. Archived from the original on 9 June 2023. Retrieved 15 May 2025.
- ^ "The Bidens' Influence Peddling Timeline". United States House Committee on Oversight and Accountability. Retrieved 13 May 2025.
- ^ Racker, Mini; Bennett, Brian (10 May 2023). "Comer Swings and Misses on Allegations of Influence Peddling". TIME. Retrieved 13 May 2025.
- ^ Nelson, Steven; Glebova, Diana; Christenson, Josh (20 January 2025). "Biden pardons his brother James Biden". Retrieved 13 May 2025.
- ^ MSTIMES (9 March 2025). "Conviction of France's Former Intelligence Chief in LVMH Influence Peddling Case". MSMTIMES.COM. Retrieved 13 May 2025.
External links
[edit]- P. Semeraro, Trading in influence and Lobbying in the Spanish criminal Code, p. 297.