Commonwealth Greater Birmingham
Commonwealth Chamber of Commerce Contact: Jamila Davis T: 0845 6036650
Protect your firm against bribery
Warren Buffett famously said: “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you'll do things differently.” That’s something which applies to all
businesses, and certainly those that are doing – or want to do – business with other countries. And there are many pitfalls which
could tarnish a firm’s reputation when it comes to exporting. In the first of a two-part series, Graham Welland, chief executive of Stratford-based global risk and compliance specialist GWCI, takes look at some of the issues involved.
There are troublemakers everywhere. The disgruntled ex-employee, the rival CEO or maybe just some local obsessive who has bizarrely decided to pick on your company. If one of them contaminates your brand, your
reputation may never recover. Reputation aside, what if you’ve accidentally
chosen to work with an organisation engaged in criminal activity? Might you also attract criminal culpability? The answer is ‘yes’, quite possibly, and in several countries around the world. Upset the UK or the US and no bank will do
business with you. You could end up in more trouble than you ever thought possible. It could even pursue long after it has crushed your business. The UK’s Bribery Act 2010 is arguably the most
aggressive anti-corruption legislation in the world. It introduced a strict liability offence for companies and partnerships of failing to prevent bribery. You have to be on guard against corrupt
practices wherever your money or trade goes, as these new corporate criminal offences place the burden of proof on you. There is no presumption of innocence for
charges under the Bribery Act. Instead, the law works the other way round. If there is a
theoretical case to answer, you are guilty unless you can successfully defend yourself. The Bribery Act created four prime offences:
• Two general offences covering the offering promising or giving of an advantage, and requesting, agreeing to receive or accepting of an advantage;
• A discrete offence of bribery of a foreign public official;
• A new offence of failure by a commercial organisation to prevent a bribe being paid to obtain or retain business or a business advantage The impact of the Bribery Act cannot be
underestimated. To date, there have not been many prosecutions but the number of cases is growing steadily. The Bribery Act is extra-territorial: a company
can commit an offence if an employee, subsidiary, distributor, agent or service provider bribes another person anywhere in the world to obtain
Inaugural expo is a success
Businesses were given a glimpse of potential trading opportunities with Commonwealth countries at the first expo held by the Greater Birmingham Commonwealth Chamber of Commerce. Around 400 delegates and 24 exhibitors were present at the Commonwealth Expo, which took
place at Aston University’s Conference Aston. Exhibitors included High Commissions from Cyprus, Mauritius, South Africa, Jamaica, Bangladesh, India and Malta. A packed seminar programme featured members of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games
team who gave an overview of procurement opportunities for the sporting showpiece, entrepreneur Louis Barnett on his exporting success and a Department for International Trade workshop. The Chamber’s international director Mandy Haque said: “I was delighted to see the amount of
interest generated by our very first Commonwealth Expo. “Some great connections were made to support our businesses’ growth in new markets. “The seminars were well attended and really opened delegates’ eyes to the opportunities and possibilities that exist in Commonwealth countries.”
Commonwealth Chamber president Keith Stokes- Smith visits the Air India stand at the expo
March 2020 CHAMBERLINK 45
or retain business or a business advantage. Additionally, a foreign subsidiary of a UK
company can cause the parent company to become liable when the subsidiary commits an act of bribery in the context of performing services for the UK parent. Even if the foreign child company isn’t acting
on the UK parent company’s behalf, the UK parent might still be liable for the actions of its subsidiary in other ways. There are false accounting offences. The Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 has a nasty bite. To defend yourself, you will have to
demonstrate that you had adequate procedures in place to prevent bribery. To avoid corporate liability for bribery, companies must make sure that they have strong, up-to-date and effective anti-bribery policies and systems.
• In part two, Graham Welland looks at US compliance laws.
‘You have to be on guard against corrupt practices wherever your money or trade goes’
Commonwealth Chamber Patron
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