Bribery
Bribery refers to giving or receiving payment, whether monetary or otherwise in order to obtain a benefit. It can apply to the holder of a public office, or an employee, agent or intermediary of a company where that person acts in breach of a duty to the government or company that employs them.
Bribery may be in the form of a monetary payment but it can also extend to offering and receiving gifts and commercial advantage. This can be done before the benefit is procured or retrospectively. The practice can take place where the person who receives the payment is not an employee or official of a company or government but who can still exert influence over these types of position holders by reason of some type of business or other relationship.
2011 Key Development: UK anti-bribery legislation
The provisions of the UK anti-bribery legislation that comes into force in 2011 makes it a criminal offence for Directors who fail to prevent bribery. Fines can also be handed down to businesses found guilty of failing to prevent bribery where it is proven that they did not have adequate procedures in place.
Because the act applies to all businesses, it is vital that company policies reflect prevention schemes such as training, guidelines and close monitoring of spending for areas such as corporate entertainment.
Marker CheckPoint® can assist you with your anti-bribery compliance requirements by identifying the risk areas in your company and the markets in which it operates. We recommend strategies for mitigating exposure and developing and implementing specific guidelines and policies. Training specific to emerging markets is available.
Please contact us for further information
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