The Law and "Mama Mia"

You are Anders Igel, the chief executive of a major, if not the major, telecommunications company of the country. You want to thank the major customers that spend a lot of money on the services you provide. While you are doing that, you will also unroll some new products you are bringing to the marketplace that may be of interest to them. So you have your company buy the house for an evening of watching the number one musical in the country and a buffet supper. The whole shebang will cost you about 200 dollars a head. Or about the cost of a dinner in some hall with speakers and a slide show. You figure this is a fun thing and different for the people who make your company successful. So you book the hall and invite your customers, local VIP’s and your company’s management.

Everything goes off without a hitch, everyone thanks you for the good time and you say to yourself everything went according to plan. Except for one small detail. You never planned the legal defense you are now involved with 18 months later because the government is accusing you of bribery.

I have discovered that what I have taken for granted as a way of doing business is against the law here in Sweden. In a past life I worked for CBS Records, where the above plan was the way we did business. Would America’s Super Bowl be as big if the corporate world wasn’t buying the tickets to thank their loyal customers? In the corporate United States the use of entertainment to attract potential customers is part of every sales strategy. Yet here in Sweden, the prosecutor in the government’s case against Telia Sonera, Crister van der Kwast, said, "It was an attractive invitation to a dinner and a musical, and the intention was to influence the guests, who in many cases were major customers of Telia Sonera." Well, duuh? Of course it was! And your point?

I’m not sure about the influence part as these people are already spending boatloads of money with Telia. Maria Ehrling, former head of Telia Sonera (Sweden), questioned by van der Kwast said the company considered that it had followed standard practice and that the costs of the event "stayed within reasonable frames and norms that we use at Telia Sonera." She continued, "This was a question of giving general information about our products and services together with a buffet and a theatrical performance." Finally, Ehrling offered that the planned cost of the event was reasonable and that the law in the area was unclear. Even the government isn’t sure. Prosecutor van der Kwast admitted that the law was unclear. "This prosecution is intended to find out where the line can be drawn on what is inappropriate," he said. That’s nice of the government, as they spend taxpayer funds and Telia’s money to find out what’s appropriate. The bottom line is that after all this time and money, Telia, if found guilty will be fined. And Ms. Ehrling has lost her prior job.

Look, I’m all for prosecuting people and corporations for boldface bribery. The idea of putting cash in people’s pockets to insure business is wrong. Acceptance of favors for self gain at your company’s expense is wrong. Yet, I’m sure that the exiting government has bent a few rules in its favor. The relaxation of zoning laws to build a house? The allowance of a royal personage to make business profits? So why go through this gyration? If the tickets to “Mama Mia” were to influence a buying decision then the trial might be justified. To me, it’s doubtful that a show and buffet would be enough to sway me to buy an inferior product or service. But to thank me for doing business with you, I'd find it a nice gesture. Like when you buy someone flowers for doing you a good deed. Most people would never consider that you were trying to influence their “friendship” decision. And, if Telia is cleared of the charges, will van der Kwast lose his job?

This may be one of the reasons that the Social Democrats were voted out in this past election. Sweden’s need to be fair and above board in her business practices is admirable. But it needs to be grounded in reality. My thought is that if the government wanted a foreign power to invest in the Swedish economy, tickets to “Mama Mia” for the foreign envoys would be a nice start.