Bribery and Corruption has long been perceived as a major obstacle for socio-economic development; distorting national and international economic relations.
Corruption includes any illegitimate use of office, and may include a range of different types of crime. Bribery is limited to the giving or acceptance of payment of other illegitimate advantages. To cover these and other matters, we have prepared a report on Economic and Business Crime in an International Context (PDF 985kb/24 pages), a review of international law and practice in relation to crimes committed by or on behalf of business. This is part of our Market Foundations initiative.
The scale of the problem of bribery and corruption is significant at both a corporate and governmental level. It creates a major distortion of trade as well as undermining the democratic development of emerging markets.
In 2008, as a response to the Woolf Report on BAE Systems, ICAEW brought together a summary of its actions on the issue of Ethical Behaviour in Business.
UK Bribery Law
The Bribery Act 2010 introduces new criminal offences of:
- bribing another person, or being bribed
- bribing a foreign public official
- commercial organisations failing to prevent bribes being paid on their behalf
- senior officials of bodies corporate or partnerships who consent or connive at the offences
There will be a defence of “adequate procedures” to prevent bribery for corporate entities and their senior officials. Guidance on adequate procedures is being developed by the Ministry of Justice.
Until the Bribery Act is brought into force, the UK legislation is as set out in the following statutes and other law:
- Public Bodies Corrupt Practices Act 1889
- Prevention of Corruption Act 1906
- Prevention of Corruption Act 1916
- Anti-Terrorism Crime and Security Act 2001
- Common law offence of bribery
International Bribery Law and Conventions
Bribery and Corruption links
A comprehensive collection of bulletins, publications and links on bribery, corruption, forensic accounting, fraud, money laundering and transparency from the Library & Information Service.