Bribery Act

The Ministry of Justice has announced that the government has postponed the implementation of a new Bribery Act until April 2011, to allow for further consultation on how companies can prepare.

Despite the delay in the Act’s implementation however many academics are saying that businesses should still be preparing early to avoid being caught out. Even with the implementation of the Act being delayed the Serious Fraud Office is announcing new cases and prosecutions using the existing legislation.

The Act applies to any corporate entity or partnership (wherever it may be incorporated, registered or conduct its activities) as long as any business, or any part of its business, is conducted in the UK. Some of the main aspects to be aware of include:

- It covers the activities of those businesses mentioned above, wherever in the world those activities occur

- It applies to both the bribe taker and the bribe maker

- It punishes not only bribery, but also the failure to prevent bribery

- A company can be held liable for the ‘corrupt’ actions of any person that ‘performs services’ on its behalf. Whether an act was corrupt or not is judged on the basis of what is acceptable practice in the UK, not on the local customs of a foreign market (where such action may be common business practice).

- Individuals found guilty of bribery can get up to ten years in prison and large fine.

Companies can only defend against a charge of failing to prevent bribery if they can prove that they have "adequate procedures" in place.

Geoff Kew

Published on 06/09/2010