The U.S. has a tradition of litigation, which forces all these issues into the public. Do you think there's less influence-peddling in say France or Italy? In places where the decision-makers can't get sued over every little action, you don't even need to have a lobbyist make a law.
Take something like bribing officials in developing countries to get contracts. European companies are far more likely to engage in such behavior than American ones. What do you think that says about their behavior at home?