Corruption - A bribe is a bribe by any other name.

(From Financial Director)

New legislative proposals will have a far-reaching effect on British nationals and companies operating in countries where bribery and corruption are a regular part of doing business. Seven-year jail terms and unlimited fines await anyone convicted under the new law.

There is an old saying - popular in certain parts of the world - that it is not dishonourable to offer a bribe; it is only dishonourable to accept one. However, the Corruption Bill, a draft of which was published in March for consultation, has a more symmetrical approach to ethics. If passed by Parliament in its current form, it would make it illegal for any UK individual or corporation to corruptly receive or confer an advantage.

Moreover, the new legislation would give the UK courts jurisdiction over acts of corruption committed by British individuals and companies anywhere in the world: ie, bribing a Saudi Arabian oil company executive in Saudi Arabia would be an offence. The draft law also goes much further than the comparable US legislation, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act 1977.

This is the first time in English law that the word 'corruption' has been defined. The UK was, in effect, compelled to legislate as a result of being a signatory to the 1997 OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Officials in International Business Transactions but, having enacted some legislation in 2001 - the Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act - the government is now going even further than its treaty obligations require. The proposals follow on from a 1998 Law Commission report and a government white paper, published in June 2000.

PricewaterhouseCoopers' fraud investigations partner, Will Kenyon, makes clear that this proposed law could have serious repercussions for UK businesses that do business "in parts of the world where 'facilitation payments', or even bribes, are part and parcel of commercial life". Kenyon says, "Directing, condoning or even turning a blind eye to corrupt acts committed by overseas subsidiaries or agents is no longer - if it ever was - a wise policy." Conviction of a corruption offence may attract a jail term of up to seven years and an unlimited fine. "The excuse that you are operating in a country where everybody's at it and you won't get far without greasing a few palms is conspicuous by its absence as a defence under the bill," he adds.

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