There is no shortage of studies highlighting the most corrupt places in the world to do business. Typically, though, most U.S. companies have little to no presence in the countries with the poorest marks—places like Somalia, North Korea, and Turkmenistan.   

Jaclyn Jaeger is a freelance contributor to Compliance Week after working for the company for 15 years. She writes on a wide variety of topics, including ethics and compliance, risk management, legal,...