ethical dilemma

salam. erm, i dunno whether this topic can go under here. but nvm bout that. here goes

**

You are the CEO of a multi-national company and right now the company is doing very bad. the only way to save the company from going bankrupt is by paying an "unofficial payment" to undertake a new project, which will hence turn losses back into profits. without paying it, there is no way the billion dollar project can be secured.

The company operates a branch in India, where it has provided more than 100,000 employment opportunities to those living in poverty. it has significantly helped improve the level of living, so much so that almost none can be seen dying out of hunger today. and that is in India alone. worldwide, the company employs up to 1 million workers. if the company goes bankrupt, ALL employees will be made redundant.


so, will you make the unofficial payment? and why?

a different version (i made it up)


**

You are running a not-for-profit organisation, and for the past year you have been trying to enter a war zone. They are under a siege, thus no medical, water, food supply is allowed in it. people are suffering and dying everyday.

One of the militant checkpoints made the impression that they will allow supplies to go in, only is you are willing to give them "a little token of appreciation"

so, the same question arises. will you give them anything? does ur answer differ to the previous situation?


**


Bribery is considered a money laundering act, and it is illegal worldwide. and i know very well that Islam prohibits bribery. it's common to hear "niat tak menghalalkan cara" but at the end of the day, there must be some kind of kelonggaran to it right? or is there none?

Hmm quite a tough question.. but this is my opinion on the matter.

For the first situation, if you pay the bribe, the profits obtained from the project should be haram since you are getting it 'secara haram'. So in this case I THINK its not permissible in Islam to use that method. You have to really put your best and do'a so that you can get the project. If your niat is for the employees' cause, then other methods must be used, even to consider selling your company to one with no financial problems.

In the second case its a different situation altogether. You are not making money, you are just trying to transport goods into some place which will not benefit you whatsoever. So make sure your niat is correct, and just anggap the so-called 'token of appreciation' as just that, a token of appreciation, or maybe an entrance fee. I think this is like pajak gadai where the haram 'interest' is changed to a halal 'upah jaga barang'...something like that if you get what i mean.

Well this is my opinion and may not be the best of opinions, and it may even be wrong.. but still as I said its an opinion.
Hope this helps.