In the dark about Bribery?

Corruption and ethics lawyers at international law firm Taylor Wessing have today launched a brand new website to help companies prepare for the implementation of the Bribery Act. Despite delays it is expected the Act will come into force in spring 2011 and companies must be prepared.  The Act will reform the criminal law to provide a new, modern and comprehensive scheme of bribery offences.

The Bribery Act will enable courts and prosecutors to respond more effectively to bribery, whether it occurs in the UK or abroad.  It introduces a new strict liability offence where a commercial organisation fails to prevent bribery.  The only defence will be to show that the organisation had in place adequate procedures designed to prevent such bribery. The offence will carry an unlimited fine and senior officers may be liable to 10 years in prison.

The Government has delayed its publication of final guidance on these procedures, but this is expected only to be a temporary delay, giving companies some breathing space to act now and identify what they need to do.  Last week Justice Secretary Ken Clarke confirmed that work is in progress on the final guidance and that it will be published alongside joint prosecution guidance issued by the Director of the Serious Fraud Office and the Director of Public Prosecutions.

This far-reaching piece of legislation will affect every business that operates or is registered in the UK and applies to bribery in both the private and the public sectors. The Act’s provisions are more extensive than equivalent laws elsewhere including the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). 

www.taylorwessing.com/bribery is a single source of information and guidance for businesses seeking to understand the new obligations they will face under the Bribery Act. It provides an interactive guide to the Act, answers frequently asked questions and will shortly include guidance on sector specific issues relating to the Act. 

If you’re on Twitter you can follow Taylor Wessing’s corruption and ethics lawyers at @TWBribery for up to the minute developments and commentary on the Act.

Lawyers David de Ferrars, Mark Fraser, Alison Geary, Rowena Kay, Sean Nesbitt, Heidi Wales

Notes to editors

For more information please contact Helen Needham

Tel:     + 44 (0) 20 7300 4156