Clifford Chance
Anti-Bribery and Corruption Review - June 2018
21 June 2018
Fighting bribery and corruption continues to be high on the agenda for both legislators and enforcement authorities all over the world, with further measures to encourage the reporting of corruption offences, to stem corruption in public procurement and to impose liability for corruption offences on companies.
Germany has introduced a new law to implement a nation-wide central competition register specifically covering corruption-related offences, while the People’s Republic of China has introduced stricter rules on commercial bribery. The Australian legislator presented a draft Bill that proposes further strengthening of the criminal offence of bribing foreign public officials, while both Russia and Spain have acted to tighten rules on bribery in public procurement.
Italy has adopted new legislation to facilitate whistleblowing and, at the same time, the US and France have both introduced new incentives for companies to disclose corruption offences voluntarily and to cooperate with prosecutors during investigations, while Japan is proposing to implement a similar regime.
The theme of corporate criminal liability is also a focus for governments with new initiatives in Australia, Germany and Poland. Meanwhile, the UK Government’s Anti-Corruption Strategy 2017 – 2022 includes interim freezing orders designed to improve recovery of assets obtained through bribery or corruption.
It remains important for international companies to keep up with these developments in the jurisdictions in which they operate and to keep their compliance programmes up-to-date to address risks to their business.
