The British government has begun to provide specific guidance on how companies can avoid prosecution under the country’s tough new anti-bribery laws, but it will be little comfort to compliance executives—especially those at U.S. companies, still unclear when they might face prosecution.
Britain passed its Bribery Act earlier this year, stung by criticism that the nation was not taking bribery and corruption seriously. The law established a string of new offenses, including a new corporate offense of failing to prevent bribery. And unlike the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the law also criminalizes bribes paid to businesses as well as public officials, with no exception for small “facilitation payments.”
