Overview

After months of speculation and media attention, the Bribery Act has arrived, having come into force on 1 July 2011. Wragge & Co has prepared an essential checklist so that organisations can check whether they have in place adequate procedures to help mitigate their risks under the Bribery Act. The document also provides answers to frequently asked Bribery Act questions and gives some useful points to consider when assessing risk generally.

With the Act now in force, organisations must ensure that they have implemented procedures to prevent bribery from being committed on their behalf. The consequences of getting this wrong are severe. Organisations prosecuted for the new corporate offence could be hit with an unlimited fine and serious reputational damage.

Directors, senior managers, the company secretary or other similar officers at these organisations also risk facing up to a 10-year prison sentence and/or an unlimited fine for offences under the Act.