John Bray, Control Risks' Director of anti-corruption services outlines key implications of the UK Bribery Act

• Bribery of private individuals and companies - The Act has greater width than the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) in that it covers bribery of private individuals and companies as well as foreign officials.
• Corporate failure to prevent bribery - the Act incorporates an offence of ‘corporate failure to prevent bribery’. This means that corporations will be liable if anyone acting under its authority – including employees, agents and joint venture partners - is found to be involved in corrupt practices and they do not have in place ‘Adequate Procedures’ (see below) to counter corruption.
• Adequate procedures – Organisations will be able to offer a statutory defence to the offence of failing to prevent a bribe if they have in place ‘adequate procedures’ to counter bribery. The UK Ministry of Justice will offer guidance on these procedures after the forthcoming national elections. The key ingredients are expected to include a company code that explicitly forbids bribery, a training programme, integrity due diligence procedures for business partners (especially commercial agents), and regular audits. Merely having a company code will not be sufficient: law enforcement officials will be looking for evidence that such codes are actively implemented.
• International reach – The Bribery Act covers both UK companies and foreign companies incorporated in the UK, even if offences take place in a third country and are unrelated to UK operations.
• Facilitation payments – Unlike the FCPA, the UK Bribery Act covers facilitation payments to speed up routine governmental actions such as customs clearances.
• Prosecutions – International co-operation has been crucial to bringing big corruption cases in recent years, from Siemens to BAE. The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) already has a healthy pipeline of foreign bribery cases, prosecution of which will be greatly enhanced by the Act. Corruption prosecutions will likely increase under the Act.
• Personal liability - Directors and senior executives will be personally criminally liable if their organisation participated in bribery with their consent.
• Unlimited fines - Organisations found guilty of participating in corrupt practices face unlimited fines.

Control Risks has helped clients based across a number of jurisdictions prepare their business for the new legislation. To speak with one of our consultants, please contact enquiries@control-risks.com. To find out more about our anti-corruption services, click here