George Sr., CEO and founder of the Bluth Company (an international development firm), builds communities of homes in the United States and around the world. George has been eager to move into the real estate market in Oceana (a country in Asia). However, George has been frustrated by how slowly the permit and approval process has been going for his latest development outside Oceana’s largest city, Sudden Valley.
In an effort to move things along, George schedules several meetings where he does the following: (1) meets with the local government officials in Sudden Valley, offering them each $1,000 to vote for the approval of his development (this payment is illegal under Oceana’s laws) (2) has lunch with the governor of the province and offers him $10,000 to displace residents of a trailer park, clearing a plot of land that George can develop (this payment is illegal under Oceana’s laws) (3) pays several low level permit office workers $10,000 each to quickly approve some pending land use permits (these payments are legal under Oceana’s laws).
Please explain what (if any) laws or norms George Sr. and/or the Bluth Company has violated and the potential penalties. In your answer don’t forget to: identify the legal issues presented by the facts of the question, define any relevant terms, and answer the question by applying legal reasoning (including naming the specific law or legal principle that applies).