Howes Percival Bribery
legislation – where are we ten years on?
With July 1, 2021 marking the tenth anniversary of the UK Bribery Act coming into force, Robert Starr, Regulatory Partner at Howes Percival takes a look at what eff ect the Act has had during this time and whether businesses should be doing anything more as we emerge from the COVID pandemic:
T e Act is often described as the gold standard of anti-corruption legislation and, despite the undoubted benefi ts of a tougher stance on corporate off ending, when passed in 2010 it raised many concerns that UK businesses would be disadvantaged when trading on a global stage. Fast forward ten years and the initial fuss has died down but many questions have been raised about its eff ectiveness due to low prosecution rates. T e Act simplifi ed many years of antiquated legislation creating
four off ences: two general off ences of giving or receiving a bribe; bribery of a foreign public offi cial; and, what is often referred to as the
Robert Starr Regulatory Partner Howes Percival
‘corporate off ence’ of failing to prevent bribery. T e latter means that an organisation will be guilty of an off ence following acts of bribery by those performing services on its behalf (such as employees or agents) where it has failed to put in place adequate procedures to prevent the bribery from occurring. Offences under the Act are punishable by imprisonment and unlimited fi nes. T e absence of much prosecution activity means
that little has been learnt from courts and, more accurately, juries over how they will approach the question of adequacy. However, a key takeaway for businesses of any size is that having minimal controls and relying on clearly understood ‘organisational values’ will be insufficient. Procedures should be proportionate and targeted to the greatest areas of risk with an expectation that businesses will have, as a minimum, a policy in place which is clearly communicated to those working for it and that staff are adequately trained. While the level of enforcement may be
perceived as weak, the Act has had a positive eff ect on corporate culture with many organisations increasing their investment in compliance and others introducing measures that they previously did not have. Figures released through a Freedom of Information request last year showed just 99 convictions under the Act but that belies the overall enforcement picture, with fi nancial settlements made under deferred prosecution agreements (a means of addressing cases in lieu of a prosecution)
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ALL THINGS BUSINESS
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