Yes, legal bribes are how most of the Anglo-Saxon world works. For example, if I want certain favours from the current UK government, I can give a friend of mine an interest-free loan for him to donate significant sums of money to the current ruling party (Tories). You get away with this as long as there is no written record and just a discussion on the golf club. Not surprisingly, the government may then award you lucrative contracts or change the law in subtle ways that are in your favour.

Of course, the friend in question will then get endorsed for a lucrative position, a cushy consultancy job or a non-executive board membership.

A less facetious answer: Yes.

Anti-bribery laws authorise the use of bribes under narrow circumstances:

Particularly if the bribe seems to be necessary for safety of life (e.g. although you can clearly see the hospital has empty beds and equipment, the nursing staff assure you that your employee can't be helped and must just die here in the waiting room, sure enough once they have been bribed suitably the employee is given a bed and treatment begins). The bribe must be properly reported, both as a business expense and specifically as a bribe paid.

It is also certainly true that countries with global anti-bribery laws (including the US and UK) definitely don't actually enforce those laws when it comes to arms sales or other government authorised activity that frequently involves corrupt foreign governments. But that's just an ordinary example of "Do as I say, not as I do".

> illegal bribes

>> Are there also legal bribes?

Yes, lobbying. Legal bribery.

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-54922374 from the article "As of 1996, about half of the countries in the OECD allowed companies to deduct bribes paid to foreign officials from their taxes, including Germany, France, Australia, New Zealand and Switzerland. They argued that such practices were routine business expenses in some countries."

one more: https://www.reuters.com/article/swiss-bribes-idUSL8N2HX5BV

Citizens United case legalized bribes in the form of political campaign contributions.

Unlike the other responses, I will provide a more mundane example that's hopefully more relatable: Giving your mailman or deliveryman a can of coke/pepsi as a token of appreciation.

Next time, they're going to be more careful and timely handling your package, and you'll keep asking if they want a drink. It's unfair, because you will get special treatment compared to those who don't, but we're all human and everyone's happier. This is legal bribery.