What is the difference between bribery and extortion?

Bribery and extortion are both types of white collar crimes that involve the use of money or goods to gain an advantage or secure an action from another party. The key difference between the two lies in who the parties involved are. Bribery is when an individual or company offers a bribe to someone in a position of authority to gain an advantage. Examples of bribery include a company providing money to a government official in exchange for a more favorable ruling, or paying a public official for special favors. Extortion differs from bribery in that it involves an individual or business attempting to gain an advantage over another by threatening to harm them, or by blackmailing them by threatening to reveal sensitive information. Unlike bribery, the payment is not necessarily given freely, but is instead received through coercion or pressure. One example of extortion is a company threatening to publicly reveal the mistakes of a competitor unless they are paid a certain amount of money. Overall, bribery and extortion both involve the use of money or goods to influence another’s actions, but bribery involves offering money or goods willingly while extortion involves threatening or blackmailing the other party.

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What is the difference between bribery and extortion?

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