Anti-Corruption Laws

A number of countries have either strengthened previous anti-corruption laws or enacted new ones around the world in the last decade. The most notable among them are the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act or FCPA in the United States and the UK Bribery Act of 2010 in the United Kingdom.

There have been several notable prosecutions under these laws in recent years as governments have increased their scrutiny of business practices of companies.

Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA)

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The FCPA applies to:

• US Citizens and residents
• US corporations and organizations
• Foreign companies or nationals acting within the United States

Corrupt payments made through intermediaries are expressly forbidden by the FCPA. The act makes it unlawful to make such a payment to a third party while knowing that all or part of it will go directly or indirectly to a foreign official. An intermediary may include joint venture partners or agents.
The FCPA’s accounting provisions were formulated to be used along with the anti-bribery requirements. These provisions require corporations to:

• Make and keep accurate books and records of the corporation’s transactions

Devise and maintain robust internal accounting controls

To get a better understanding of the FCPA, read more>>

UK Bribery Act, 2010

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The Act makes it a crime to bribe another, be bribed, bribe a foreign official or in the case of commercial organizations, fail to prevent bribery.
The UK Bribery Act 2010 applies to any commercial organization that is:

• A body or partnership incorporated or formed in the UK irrespective of where it carries on a business or
• An incorporated body or partnership which carries on a business or part of a business in the UK irrespective of the place of incorporation or formation.

This means any international company doing business in the UK is covered by this act. Those companies that are only listed and trading on the London Stock Exchange would not be covered by the Act as they are not regarded as “carrying on a business or part of a business in the UK”.

The Act defines a bribe as

"Giving someone a financial or other advantage to encourage that person to perform their functions or activities improperly or to reward that person for having already done so."

Type of offences as per UK Bribery Act 2010:

1. General Bribery Offences
2. Bribery of Foreign Public Officials
3. Failure of Commercial Organizations to Prevent Bribery
4. Prosecution and Penalties
5. Other Provisions About Offences
6. Supplementary and Final Provisions

For a better understanding of the UK Bribery Act and its provisions, read more>>

ComplianceOnline Training on Anti-Corruption Laws

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Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) Webinar
In this Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) webinar training understand the prohibited and exempted actions as per FCAP act, how to find the non compliance issues and how to implement FCPA compliance policies and procedures in your organization.

Preparing for the UK Bribery Act
This training on UK Bribery Act will help you understand its requirements and how it will impact your organization. Learn how to identify areas of risk, proactively mitigate them to avoid significant fines and loss of reputation.

The UN Convention Against Corruption and other international anti-corruption efforts
This webinar will discuss various international efforts to fight corruption and potential pitfalls that US businesses must be aware of when conducting overseas business.

Foreign Corrupt Practices Act - How Your Institution Can Comply
This webinar will discuss the FCPA and potential pitfalls that US businesses must be aware of when conducting overseas business.

Converging Ethics, Governance, and Culture
This webinar will explore the importance for converging corporate ethics, governance, and culture as an essential safeguard to assure organizational performance is legal, ethical, and sustainable.