Letter sent to the "The Economist", on 29 September 2015, by Guy Villax

Dear Sirs,
Your Leader (Dirty Secrets, September 26^th 2015) is spot on:  fines alone won’t stop the Fifas, the GSKs, the Ranbaxys, the Volkswagens, the Libor scandals…  Profits from unscrupulous practices net of penalties still have positive NPVs.  Such unacceptable corporate behaviour will only cease when CEOs go to jail.  Yet in Europe our Regulators seem to be asleep at the wheel…  soccer and diesel cars are small in the US but really big in Europe, and yet the American authorities are the ones that take action.  How much longer will Europe allow non-compliance to be a competitive advantage ?  

Letter published by the "The Economist" on 10 October 2015

Such unacceptable corporate behaviour will only cease when chief executives go to jail. Yet in Europe our regulators are asleep at the wheel. Football and diesel cars are small in America and big in Europe, but it is the American authorities who have taken action in those two scandals. How much longer will Europe allow non-compliance to be a competitive advantage?

GUY VILLAX
Chief executive
Hovione
Loures, Portugal