Sun has admitted that it might have broken anti-bribery laws with its actions in an unspecified location outside the United States.

The outfit said that Oracle knew about before inking its $7.4 billion takeover deal and it is not clear what Sun's admission will mean for the company. The confession comes in a regulatory filing that it found "potential violations" of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which prohibits US companies and companies whose stock is traded in the US from bribing foreign government officials.

Sun has been short on details but said that it "took remedial action" and alerted the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission, both of which are investigating. It could be bad news for Sun, even if it did come clean. The Justice Department and the  Securities and Exchange Commission have been quick to throw huge fines at outfits caught bribing officials.

This is a bit of a problem because in some countries bribery is almost the only way to carry out any business. (Bosnia for example. sub.ed.)