Bribery Act

It came into force in 2011 and replaced a patchwork of older statutes. It creates four main offences: offering or giving a bribe, requesting or accepting one, bribing a foreign public official, and the corporate offence of failing to prevent bribery. The last is the most discussed. A commercial organisation carrying on business in the UK can be liable for bribes paid by people associated with it anywhere in the world, and its only defence is to show adequate procedures. Unlike the US FCPA, the Act reaches private-sector bribery as well as bribery of officials and has no exception for facilitation payments. Penalties include unlimited fines and, for individuals, imprisonment of up to ten years. The Act has wide reach beyond British borders, so international firms with a UK presence follow it. Its corporate failure-to-prevent offence has been a model for similar duties elsewhere.

A foreign mining group sells equipment in the UK and across Africa. An agent in one country pays an official for a contract. Even though the payment was made abroad by a foreign agent, prosecutors can examine whether the group failed to prevent it. The group is asked to show its risk assessment, due diligence and training.