U.K. Getting Serious with "Bribery Bill"

In “U.K. Escalates Anti-Corruption Efforts,” published by The National Law Journal on March 8, Ropes & Gray securities litigation associate Nicholas Berg looks at the increased enforcement activities of E.U. member countries. In particular, the article focuses on the U.K. Serious Fraud Office’s heightened enforcement of existing laws and the “Bribery Bill” pending in the U.K. Parliament.

"U.S. corporations would do well to pay attention to this emerging focus on bribery in the United Kingdom," Berg writes.

The author compares the Bribery Bill to the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. For example, the current version of the bill creates a specific offense of bribing a foreign public official and includes penalties for a corporation's failure to have adequate controls in place to detect and remediate the bribery of foreign officials. He also notes key differences: The Bribery Bill prohibits covered persons and entities from committing bribery of almost any type whether governmental or purely commercial, both inside and outside the United Kingdom.