You are here: Home / Archives for bribery

UK bribery law escalates business risk of regional companies – Business Intelligence Middle East

April 28, 2010 By 1 Comment

The UK Bribery Act, enacted in the United Kingdom on 8 April 2010, is one of the most significant issues to affect businesses and increases the risk of doing business for regional companies.

The law applies not only to British nationals and UK companies but to any commercial organisations even if they carry on only “part of a business” in the UK.

Under the new rules, companies with UK operations will be criminally liable for bribery and corruption in their business, supply chain or sales channels irrespective of where the bribery offences take place.

The bribe does not need to be directed at a government official, the provision is triggered even if the bribe relates to business activities amongst private entities.

The law creates a new strict liability offence for any commercial organization which has a “close connection” with the UK for failing to prevent bribery, with the defense of showing that it has adequate (anti-bribery) procedures in place.

This is without any requirement for the prosecuting authority to show that any directors or partners were directly involved in the crime.

The maximum jail term for bribery is now 10 years and companies convicted will also face unlimited fines.

Although some of its features are similar to the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), this law is likely to have a bigger impact on regional businesses.

It uses UK standards of what constitutes bribery and disregards local custom and practice, unless the practice is permitted by written law. Unlike the FCPA, it also makes no allowances for small facilitation payments consistent with local culture.

via UK bribery law escalates business risk of regional companies – Business Intelligence Middle East – bi-me.com – News, analysis, reports.

Related articles by Zemanta
LinkedInPinterestEvernoteWordPressBlogger PostEmailShare
Filed Under: From The News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Changes Coming: FCPA, Bribery Bill and OECD-Part III | Thomas Fox – JDSupra

April 26, 2010 By Leave a Comment

At its April 7, 2010 meeting the United States Sentencing Commission approved amendments to its Sentencing Guidelines. The next day on April 8, 2010, the UK Bribery Bill received Royal Assent. These two events follow the December 9, 2009 release by the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development’s (OECD) Recommendation for Further Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials, when the OECD marked the tenth anniversary of the entry into force of the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention.

These three releases, which comprise of two changes in the legal schemes by two of the world’s largest economic players and the proposal of one of the largest Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO) dedicated to ending corruption across the globe portend significant changes in how companies will be structured and transact business going forward in the new decade. This is the third and final of three postings which have discussed the changes that companies, with any US or UK presence, will be required to implement. In the initial post we considered the changes to the US Sentencing Guidelines; we then discussed the changes required by the UK Bribery Bill; and in this third and final post in this series, we will end with the recommendations regarding facilitation payments as found in the OECD’s Recommendation for Further Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials.

via Changes Coming: FCPA, Bribery Bill and OECD-Part III | Thomas Fox – JDSupra.

LinkedInPinterestEvernoteWordPressBlogger PostEmailShare
Filed Under: From The News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

SEC, DOJ Join Bribery Investigation Involving Hewlett-Packard – Law Blog – WSJ

April 16, 2010 By Leave a Comment

It’s not exactly like the Justice Department or Securities & Exchange Commission to stand by and watch European regulators conduct a sizable bribery investigation of a high-profile U.S. company. It’s like asking a child to stand still after a pinata’s been smashed open.

So we weren’t exactly surprised to find out that on Thursday that, mere hours after we’d written up news of the European bribery investigation of Hewlett-Packard, word broke that U.S. authorities were also looking into the matter, focusing chiefly on whether H-P violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Click here for the WSJ story, from David Crawford and Dionne Searcey.

German prosecutors have centered their inquiry into the suspected bribes on one current and two former H-P senior executives, according to German court records and people familiar with the probe. Those under investigation include a former head of H-P’s sales operations in Russia and the former Soviet Union.

via SEC, DOJ Join Bribery Investigation Involving Hewlett-Packard – Law Blog – WSJ.

LinkedInPinterestEvernoteWordPressBlogger PostEmailShare
Filed Under: From The News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

Changes Coming: US Sentencing Guidelines, UK Bribery Bill and the OECD on Facilitation Payments | Thomas Fox – JDSupra

April 15, 2010 By Leave a Comment

At its April 7, 2010 meeting the United States Sentencing Commission approved amendments to its Sentencing Guidelines. The next day on April 8, 2010, the UK Bribery Bill received Royal Assent. These two events follow the December 9, 2009 release by the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development’s (OECD) Recommendation for Further Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials, when the OECD marked the tenth anniversary of the entry into force of the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention.

These three releases, which comprise of two changes in the legal schemes by two of the world’s largest economic players and the proposal of one of the largest Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO) dedicated to ending corruption across the globe portend significant changes in how companies will be structured and transact business going forward in the new decade. This article will discuss the changes that companies, with any US or UK presence, will be required to implement. The initial post will be on the changes to the US Sentencing Guidelines; we will then consider the changes required by the UK Bribery Bill; and we will end with the recommendation as found in the OECD’s Recommendation for Further Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials.

via Changes Coming: US Sentencing Guidelines, UK Bribery Bill and the OECD on Facilitation Payments | Thomas Fox – JDSupra.

LinkedInPinterestEvernoteWordPressBlogger PostEmailShare
Filed Under: From The News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

H-P Executives Are Investigated for Bribery – WSJ.com

April 14, 2010 By Leave a Comment
PALO ALTO, CA - SEPTEMBER 16: The HP logo is ...
Image by Getty Images via Daylife

German and Russian authorities are investigating whether Hewlett-Packard Co. executives paid millions of dollars in bribes to win a contract in Russia, according to people familiar with the matter.

German prosecutors are looking into the possibility that H-P executives paid about €8 million ($10.9 million) in bribes to win a €35 million contract under which the U.S. company sold computer gear, through a German subsidiary, to the office of the prosecutor general of the Russian Federation. The office handles criminal prosecutions in Russia, including many corruption cases.

Russian investigators raided H-P’s Moscow offices Wednesday in connection with the probe, the people familiar with the matter said. The search was requested by German authorities, according to a statement posted on the Russian prosecutor’s Web site.

An H-P spokesperson said, “This is an investigation of alleged conduct that occurred almost seven years ago, largely by employees no longer with HP. We are cooperating fully with the German and Russian authorities and will continue to conduct our own internal investigation.”

German prosecutors are looking into whether H-P executives funneled the suspected bribes through a network of shell companies and accounts in places including Britain, Austria, Switzerland, the British Virgin Islands, Belize, New Zealand, the Baltic nations of Latvia and Lithuania, and the states of Delaware and Wyoming, according to investigation-related documents submitted to a German court and reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.

via H-P Executives Are Investigated for Bribery – WSJ.com.

Related articles by Zemanta
LinkedInPinterestEvernoteWordPressBlogger PostEmailShare
Filed Under: From The News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

UK Bribery Bill Update | Thomas Fox – JDSupra

April 8, 2010 By

It has been reported that the UK Bribery Bill, introduced in March 2009, made it out of Parliament before the upcoming general election. The Bribery Bill is a significant departure for the UK in the area of foreign anti-corruption. It is significantly stronger than the FCPA. Many internationally focused US companies have offices in the UK or employ UK citizens in their world-wide operations. This legislation could open them to prosecution in the UK under a law similar to, but stronger than, the relevant US legislation.

via UK Bribery Bill Update | Thomas Fox – JDSupra.

LinkedInPinterestEvernoteWordPressBlogger PostEmailShare
Filed Under: From The News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

On Alcoa and Bahrain, the FCPA Investigation Du Jour: – Law Blog – WSJ

April 6, 2010 By

The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Learn it, live it, love it. Because it appears it’s here to stay.

The latest in a growing list of high-profile foreign bribery cases involves metals giant Alcoa and the Persian Gulf state Bahrain. According to this story out Tuesday, written by the WSJ’s Amir Efrati, US and UK prosecutors are investigating a prominent Canadian businessman for money laundering and bribery as part of a two-year investigation centering on Alcoa.

According to the story, the prosecutors have unearthed new documents that they believe show the involvement of Victor Dahdaleh, a longtime agent of Alcoa who helped negotiate contracts with companies in the Middle East and elsewhere.

No charges have been filed against Dahdaleh, a Canadian citizen in his 60s who lives in London. His lawyer declined comment.

Since 2008, reports Efrati, U.S. prosecutors have been investigating whether Pittsburgh-based Alcoa was involved in bribing government officials in the Persian Gulf state of Bahrain in exchange for business in possible violation of the FCPA, according to people familiar with the matter.

Representatives of Alcoa and Alba, a Bahrain government-owned manufacturing company, said they are cooperating with authorities. A spokeswoman for the U.S. Justice Department and a spokesman for the U.K.’s Serious Fraud Office declined to comment.

Prosecutors now have private financial records that they believe show that from 2001 to 2005, a company controlled by Dahdaleh made several million dollars in payments to the personal bank account of a former Alba senior executive.

via On Alcoa and Bahrain, the FCPA Investigation Du Jour: – Law Blog – WSJ.

LinkedInPinterestEvernoteWordPressBlogger PostEmailShare
Filed Under: From The News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Britain’s FCPA Plus – The FCPA Blog

April 5, 2010 By

The U.K. Bribery Bill, introduced in March 2009, is still on track to pass out of Parliament before the upcoming general election, expected to be in June. The Bribery Bill is a major shift in the U.K.’s overseas anti-corruption regime — and it goes even further than the FCPA.

Because so many U.S. companies have offices or operations in the U.K., or employ U.K. citizens in their world-wide operations, this legislation exposes them to new risks of prosecution.

Unlike the FCPA, the Bribery Bill has no exception for facilitation payments. It creates strict liability for the failure of a corporate official to prevent bribery, prohibits bribery not just of government officials but also private citizens, and has criminal penalties of up to 10 years prison per offense (not 5 years as under the FCPA).

via The FCPA Blog – The FCPA Blog.

LinkedInPinterestEvernoteWordPressBlogger PostEmailShare
Filed Under: From The News Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Murky world of corruption in China | BBC News

March 30, 2010 By

Bribery and other forms of corruption are problems often encountered by foreign businesses operating in China.

This can result in companies providing clients with expensive trips abroad, lavish meals and red envelopes stuffed with money.

But not all businesses get drawn into this murky world; some say they abide by the same high standards they observe elsewhere.

And one foreign business advisor said firms that supply good products and services will always do well – even if they refuse to be corrupt.

The use of bribery in the business world in China has come into sharp focus because of the trial involving four executives working for the Anglo-Australian mining firm Rio Tinto.

The four were sentenced in Shanghai to between seven and 14 years in prison for taking bribes and stealing commercial secrets.

But how much of a problem is bribery for foreign firms operating in China?

One British businessman, who did not want to be named, said it was a big problem, particularly in China’s smaller cities.

He told the BBC of one occasion when he was trying to set up a joint venture company with a Chinese partner in Shandong province.

Negotiations had been going on for weeks, without any success, he said. Then, at one meeting, he was asked to step outside for a chat with an official.

“He said all the problems could be overcome – so I asked him how. He said it could be done if I gave him 1m yuan ($146,000: £98,000),” said the businessman.

via BBC News – Murky world of corruption in China.

LinkedInPinterestEvernoteWordPressBlogger PostEmailShare
Filed Under: From The News Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Daimler agrees to settle Justice Department charges of bribing foreign officials – washingtonpost.com

March 24, 2010 By

Daimler has agreed to pay $185 million in fines and penalties to the U.S. government to settle charges that it violated federal bribery laws by paying tens of millions of dollars to officials in at least 22 countries to win lucrative contracts, according to a source familiar with the deal.

The proposed settlement would end a U.S. Justice Department investigation that concluded the German automaker had violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), which prohibits companies from bribing government officials to land business or receive favorable treatment.

In a 76-page filing in federal court on Tuesday, prosecutors said that Daimler made improper payments starting in 1998 to officials in countries that included China, Russia, Egypt, Greece and Nigeria. The charges against Daimler were made in a “criminal information filing” — a document that typically precedes a plea agreement.

via Daimler agrees to settle Justice Department charges of bribing foreign officials – washingtonpost.com.

LinkedInPinterestEvernoteWordPressBlogger PostEmailShare
Filed Under: From The News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
« Older Posts
Newer Posts »