The government has published its draft Bribery Bill, which introduces a new offence for companies that negligently fail to prevent bribery.
Corporate offence
Companies or partnerships incorporated or carrying on business in England, Wales or Northern Ireland will commit an offence if (i) a person performing services for them (including an employee, agent or subsidiary) bribes another person anywhere in the world, (ii) the bribe is in connection with their business and (iii) another person connected with the organisation who has the responsibility of preventing bribery, negligently fails to prevent the bribe. Where there is no person within the organisation whose responsibilities include preventing bribery, the responsibility is deemed to be held by any senior officer of the organisation.
Unless the bribery is committed by a senior officer, a business can avoid conviction if it can demonstrate that it had adequate systems in place to prevent bribery.
Companies should ensure that systems are put in place to prevent bribery and nominate someone to have responsibility for those systems. The new offence is similar to that outlined in the US Foreign Corrupt Practises Act and so many companies will already have prevention systems in place.
Other changes
The Bill also:
- establishes two general criminal offences of bribery:
(i) promising or offering a bribe; and
(ii) requesting, agreeing to receive or accepting a bribe,
at home or abroad;
- creates a separate offence of bribery of a foreign public official;
- increases the maximum penalty for bribery from seven to 10 years' imprisonment, with an unlimited fine; and
- removes parliamentary privilege in the prosecution of an MP or peer.
The Bill aims to modernise and simplify the law on bribery to allow prosecutors and the courts to deal with it more effectively.
