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Bosses who ignore bribery and corruption face 10 years in jail under new laws (take note Shell)

Daily Telegraph

Bosses who turn a blind eye to bribery and corruption face up to 10 years in jail under new laws to be announced today. 

The Law Commission will also recommend a new offence of bribing foreign Government workers.

The Commission will say the UK’s bribery laws need to be overhauled because they currently comprise “several overlapping, but distinct, corruption offences”, one of which dates back to Magna Carta.

Instead, they will be replaced with two general offences of bribery – one concerned with giving bribes and one concerned with taking them.

Under the new proposals, it will be an offence if a company fails to prevent bribery by one of his employees or agents. Bribing foreign officials will also be able to be punished by the courts in the UK.

Serious breaches of the new law will be treated the same as fraud, which can lead to a jail term of up to 10 years.

Jeremy Horder, one of the Commissioners, said: “We have found a workable and fair solution that will bring the law up to date. Our recommendations will make the law fit for purpose when a great deal of trade takes place in a global market.

“It has never been more important for the modern law to deter people from acting on the temptation to resort to bribery to secure business, both nationally and internationally.”

The plans will remove the outmoded distinctions between the public and private sectors. For the first time, there will be a single set of laws capable of dealing with both sectors.

The Law Commission was set up by Parliament in 1965 to keep the law of England and Wales under review, and to recommend reform where it is needed.

Campaigners welcomed the change, which will for the first time ensure that the UK is fully compliant with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s 1997 Anti-Bribery Convention.

Britain’s international reputation took a battering two years ago when then-Prime Minister Tony Blair called off a Serious Fraud Office inquiry into BAE Systems’ multi-billion pound arms deal with Saudi Arabia.

Announcing the decision, Lord Goldsmith, the then Attorney General said that “continuation of the investigation would cause serious damage to UK/Saudi security, intelligence and diplomatic cooperation, which is likely to have seriously negative consequences for the UK public interest in terms of both national security and our highest priority foreign policy objectives in the Middle East.”

John Drysdale, chairman of campaigners Transparency International, said the change was “well overdue”.

He said: “The draft anti-corruption bill proposed by the Commission is a good foundation for the enactment of new legislation that will be easily understood and enforceable in the UK courts.

“There is no room for further dithering. If the UK is to restore its international reputation the Government must act swiftly.”

Employers’ groups also welcomed the change. Gary Campkin, head of the CBI’s international group, said: “We recognise that there needs to be an updated, modern and clear law against bribery.

“The [proposals] are clearly defined and focus on criminalising inappropriate conduct, without penalising legitimate activity. This is a major step forward.”

SOURCE ARTICLE

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