If a bank robber makes off with millions of dollars, he can expect to feel the full force of the law. So why should big corporations be able to evade justice if caught engaging in corruption or other economic crimes? Is the private sector in effect buying its way out of trouble?

As a number of recent high-profile cases show, this has been happening in too many countries. In 2009 a US multinational and its former subsidiary paid $579m to the US government to settle charges over the bribing of officials in an African country to win a contract. In 2008 a German industrial conglomerate paid €1bn ($1.4bn) in fines to the German and American governments for bribing officials.

For a large multinational, this is probably only a modest part of the cost of doing business. The temptation must be for companies to factor such penalties into their business plans.