Business & Economy

Published on Sunday 3 May 2009 19:52

A ZERO tolerance approach is needed to combat growing corporate bribery and corruption. And solicitors must ensure they are familiar with legislation to prevent clients falling foul of the law, the conference will be told, writes Craig Watson.

John Burbidge-King, chief executive of the risk management firm Interchange Solutions, and Alistair Sim, from Marsh, will present a session on managing business risk.

Mr Burbidge-King will outline the potential impact of the draft Bribery Bill, published in March.

The UK's bribery and corruption laws date back 120 years, and the new bill is intended to simplify legislation and replace the complex offences under common law and statute.

It also aims to provide a new, modern and comprehensive scheme of bribery offences that will enable courts and prosecutors to respond more effectively to bribery at home or abroad.

The bill will apply to England, Northern Ireland and Wales, as well as Scottish companies doing business in those parts of the UK.

Mr Burbidge-King explains: "British domiciled companies are likely to be subject to prosecution under UK law, regardless of where in the world the act of bribery takes place.

"The recent Companies Act 2006 further exposes directors of companies to prosecution through an actual or proposed act or omission involving negligence, default, breach of duty or breach of trust by a director of the company.

"The key elements of the Bribery Bill include lower thresholds of prosecution, an offence of bribing a foreign public official and the potential prosecution of those who may be found to have not implemented policies and processes to prevent corruption within an organisation.

"If there is not a clearly understood climate of zero tolerance throughout an organisation, anti-bribery and corruption compliance will be dangerously low on the list of business priorities and it is probable other crimes such as fraud and money laundering may be going on."

Other sessions on business and the economy include: advising clients in financial distress; the risk of fraud, organised crime and money laundering; public procurement for legal services; and, the value of the internet.