The July issue of the Bloomberg Law Report - Risk & Compliance features Steven Beharrell's article on the U.K.'s new anti-bribery statute
July, 2010
Steven Beharrell writes on Anti-Corruption and the implementation of the UK's Strict New Bribery Act.
Exceprt
...High-profile cases against executives from Hewlett Packard2, Avon3, Daimler4, and BAE5 have made headlines in recent months. Jaw-dropping settlements of $560 million and $800 million by Halliburton and Siemens for their respective breaches of the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) have emphasized that enforcement authorities worldwide are taking corruption very seriously...
...Self-reporting in the UK (as in the US) is encouraged with a view to achieving a civil rather than criminal remedy – particularly advisable, since the Judiciary has demonstrated in two recent cases - involving Innospec6 and DePuy7 (Johnson & Johnson), an unwillingness to follow the Serious Fraud Office's (SFO's) recommendation for leniency where there has been cooperation. This may discourage some self reporting and is currently believed to be the subject of behind the scenes negotiation between the Judiciary, the Ministry and the SFO to reach a common position...
...Above all else, the issue of bribery and corruption in international business must now be taken most seriously. Over 100 countries have ratified the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and UN Conventions and countries as diverse as Brazil, China, Russia and Indonesia are bringing actions in respect to offenses in their jurisdictions, often relying on information from a range of international agencies or other prosecutions. Increasing international cooperation combined with the use of the full panoply of criminal procedures previously used against organized crime is exposing business to liabilities which were unforeseen only a few years ago. This is now one of the prime risks faced by international business which must move actively to reinforce their position.
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