Is Formula One's Hospitality A Bribe?
The United Kingdom is set to impose 'The Bribery Act', which will come into effect from April. Not suprisingly, the Formula One fraternity, which is famous for it's culture of corporate hospitality, is worried about the new anti-curroption law that could put off potential sponsors.
A lawyer for Team Lotus, the outfit owned by Air Asia mogul Tony Fenandes, was quoted in an interview saying that the new law might affect F1's corporate hospitality. Why he said this? Very simple, all UK based F1 teams are now examining the impact of the new law, and the breach of this law could carry a maximum jail term of 10 years.
Reports from Courtenay-stamp of Team Lotus said that, one possible infraction relevant to F1 is the bribery of a foreign public official, while another is the failure of a company to prevent the payment of bribes. The provision to sponsors by teams of tickets and entertainment packages could therefore be seen as a 'currency of bribery'.
"The sponsor may feel a little bit nervous about what they are doing in this area and cut back to the extent that they do not want to take people to races because it is deemed inappropriate," said Courtenay- Stamp.
"It will mean that much larger corporations will enter these kind of agreements with a lot more thought and caution, and that will affect teams with a UK sponsor base," he added.
Credit: The F1 Times (www.thef1times.com)
No comments:
Post a Comment