Business is booming in the Middle East, with many foreign investors seeking to take advantage of these rapidly expanding markets.  Doing so, while avoiding entanglement with anti-corruption regulators, requires careful risk assessment and planning.  The first article in this two-part series discussed the high incidence of corruption throughout the region, highlighting which countries and industries are the riskiest, and the legal and cultural diversity that can complicate a company’s assessment of corruption risk.  This, the second article of our two-part series, looks at three specific attributes of doing business in the Middle East that pose their own unique risks:  (1) the dominance over many economic sectors by state-owned entities and royal families; (2) the prevalence of third parties in business transactions in the region; and (3) the culture of gift-giving in Middle Eastern countries.  We draw from the knowledge of a panel of experts, organized by Strafford Publications and including Tom Best, a partner at Steptoe & Johnson in Washington, D.C.; Marc Alain Bohn, counsel at Miller & Chevalier in D.C.; John Vincent Lonsberg, a partner with Baker Botts based in Dubai, U.A.E.; and Daniel P. Chung, of counsel with Gibson Dunn in D.C.