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Extortion is the practice of obtaining benefit (e.g., money or goods) through coercion. In most jurisdictions it is likely to constitute a criminal offence ; the bulk of this article deals with such cases.
The distinction between bribery and extortion that has developed under the Hobbs Act is unnecessary when that Act is used to prosecute corruption in public office. The phrase "under color of official right" which appears in the Act's definition of extortion renders that distinction moot. [82]
Specific acts of corruption include "bribery, extortion, and embezzlement" in a system where "corruption becomes the rule rather than the exception." [ 33 ] Scholars distinguish between centralized and decentralized systemic corruption, depending on which level of state or government corruption takes place; in countries such as the post-Soviet ...
Justice Thomas criticized the majority for taking "another step away from the common-law understanding of extortion that the Hobbs Act adopted", and argued that "[o]nly by blurring the distinction between bribery and extortion could Evans make it seem plausible that an extortionist and a victim can conspire to extort the victim". [32]
Federal prosecutors charged 70 current and former employees of the New York City Housing Authority, the largest public housing agency in North America, on Tuesday with taking bribes in exchange ...
"The Elusive Distinction Between Bribery and Extortion: From the Common Law to the Hobbs Act". UCLA Law Review. 35. University of California at Los Angeles: 815. Joseph Maurice Harary (1985). "Misapplication of the Hobbs Act to Bribery". Columbia Law Review. 85 (6). Columbia Law School: 1340– 1356. doi:10.2307/1122397. JSTOR 1122397.
Likewise, the briber might hold a powerful role and control the transaction; or in other cases, a bribe may be effectively extracted from the person paying it, although this is better known as extortion.
For instance, some political funding practices that are legal in one place may be illegal in another. In some cases, government officials have broad or ill-defined powers, which make it difficult to distinguish between legal and illegal actions. Worldwide, bribery alone is estimated to involve over 1 trillion US dollars annually. [3]