Lockheed bribery scandals

From the late 1950s to the 1970s, officials of U.S. aerospace company Lockheed paid bribes in the process of negotiating the sale of aircraft. The scandal caused considerable political controversy in West Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Japan. In the U.S., the scandal nearly led to Lockheed's downfall, as it was already struggling due to the commercial failure of the L-1011 TriStar airliner.