The Renaissance Society held a seminar on corporate and government corruption last week.

Professor Kojo Yelpaala, of the McGeorge School of Law conveyed to the audience of students, staff and faculty how corporate business influences government policy around the world.

“Corruption is not new,” Yelpaala said. “It has been in existence since the first organized societies.”

Yelpaala drew on references from the ancients Greeks and Romans, as well as the Bible.

Yelpaala said there is not way to tell the difference between a corporate donation and bribe.

“The United States government allows people to speak through their money,” Yelpaala said. He made references to Enron and the alleged “energy crisis,” and that financial activity with IBM has generated suspicion.

Yelpaala told the crowd that the British Parliament passed laws centuries ago to prohibit companies from bribing government officials, and in 1997 the U.S. congress passed the Foreign Corruption Act which made it illegal for corporations to bribe domestic and international government officials.

He said over the next 10 years, the act was altered to make the playing field easier for corporations to compete internationally, and foreign governments are not strong enough to police American corporations who operate in their land.

Yelpaala said many billion-dollar corporations do not pay taxes.

“You and I pay more taxes than they do,” he said.

One audience member said that perhaps the corporations who do not pay taxes would be the best company to buy shares form.