The U.K. finally modernized its anti-bribery laws this week when Parliament approved long-awaited new legislation. The Bribery Bill had to be rushed through before Parliament shut down ahead of a General Election on May 6, but lawyers say there were no last-minute amendments of any note. However, some uncertainty remains about when the most important […]
Anti-Bribery
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Judge Puts U.K. Plea Deals in Doubt
The U.K. Serious Fraud Office’s strategy for tackling financial crime has been thrown into doubt after a senior judge criticized the plea deal that the agency reached with a company guilty of paying bribes. In his judgment on the case, Lord Justice Thomas, the U.K.’s deputy head of criminal justice, said the SFO “had no […]
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Campaigners Lose Bid to Block BAE Plea
Two anti-corruption groups have lost their court battle to delay approval of a controversial plea bargain between the U.K. Serious Fraud Office and arms company BAE Systems. The defeat for protest groups Corner House and Campaign Against Arms Trade clears the way for BAE to plead guilty to charges it agreed upon with the SFO […]
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British Court Blocks BAE Plea Deal
Two anti-corruption groups have convinced a British court to delay final approval of a controversial plea bargain between the U.K. Serious Fraud Office and arms company BAE Systems, complicating closure of what had already been a much-criticized prosecution. The ruling, issued March 2, means that BAE cannot plead guilty to the charges it agreed with […]
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Bribery Campaigners Try to Wreck BAE Plea
Two anti-corruption groups have started legal action aimed at wrecking a controversial plea bargain reached between the U.K.’s Serious Fraud Office and arms company BAE Systems. The SFO had spent years investigating suspicions that BAE used bribery and corruption to secure deals worth billions of pounds in several countries, but ten days ago it unveiled […]
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BAE Agrees to $450m Settlement; Gets Off Lightly?
British arms company BAE Systems has finally closed the book on a long-running investigation into alleged bribery and corruption, with an agreement to pay fines in the U.K. and United States totaling nearly $450 million. The U.K. Serious Fraud Office claimed the settlement as “a groundbreaking global agreement” and a “pragmatic end,” but the deal […]
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SFO Charges BAE Agent Over Arms Deals
The U.K. Serious Fraud Office’s investigation into suspected bribery and corruption involving arms company BAE Systems has finally led to someone being charged with a criminal offense. An Austrian aristocrat, Count Alfons Mensdorff-Pouilly, was charged in connection with defense contracts between BAE and certain countries in Eastern and Central Europe. Mensdorff-Pouilly is a former BAE […]
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U.K. Court Accepts First Bribery Plea Bargain
A British court has decided to accept a plea bargain agreed upon by the Serious Fraud Office and corrupt construction company Mabey & Johnson, making the bridge-builder the first U.K. company to be convicted of foreign bribery. The ruling ends a case in which the SFO used new U.S.-style plea bargaining powers for the first […]
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U.K Attempts ‘Sea Change’ in Corruption Enforcement
New guidance from the U.K.’s Serious Fraud Office aimed at encouraging companies to self-report cases of overseas corruption represent a “sea change” in the agency’s approach to tackling corporate crime, according to a briefing from law firm Fulbright & Jaworski. The guidance adopts several clear themes from the U.S Department of Justice, including the involvement […]
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UK’s Proposed Bribery Law Targets Foreign Companies
The UK government has published long-awaited draft legislation that will create new criminal offenses to combat bribery, including measures aimed at foreign companies. The draft Bribery Bill, if enacted, would bring the UK into line with its international obligations to deal with companies that bribe overseas officials. The country has a woeful record in this […]
