Dealing with corruption

We have recently been approached by a huge client in India which looks really promising. One of our distributors has told us his experience in India is that all dealings are done with backhanders and it's all corrupt. Does anyone have any experience with India? Is this the norm or the exception? I wouldn't feel comfortable doing business this way even if it was the norm.

Maybe I am just naive, but I refuse to believe it's this way everywhere. Any relevant experiences would be appreciated.