Overview

The risk of serious damage to businesses as a result of corruption has increased significantly in recent years.

Globalisation has not only opened up opportunities for businesses but also exposed them to greater risks of corruption, whether due to the range of countries or market sectors they are operating in or third parties and agents they work with. In addition, emerging market organisations investing or operating in the UK may bring their businesses practices with them.

Recently there has been a dramatic increase in the number of corporate bribery and corruption investigations involving high profile companies such as Aon, AMEC plc, Balfour Beatty plc, BAE, Mabey & Johnson and Innospec. Until the advent of the Bribery Act 2010, the UK prosecution authorities had been much less pro-active than their US counterparts, who have frequently investigated and prosecuted offences under the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

With the introduction of the new Bribery Act, seemingly innocent gifts, benefits or payments, where linked to improper performance of a work related function, may be a criminal offence. The penalties under the Act are potentially severe, with up to 10 years imprisonment for individuals and unlimited fines for corporate entities. One thing is clear: the UK business community will now be forced to take anti-corruption measures very seriously.

Contents:

• Introduction
• Overview
• Develop a clear set of principles
• Lead from the top
• Perform a risk assessment to identify risk areas
• Develop clear risk management policies
• Implement a set of procedures
• Implement staff training
• Manage and monitor compliance
• Deal with potentially corrupt practices

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