Transparency watchdog welcomes Bribery Bill

Monday, 23 November 2009

Following the introduction of the Bribery Bill into the House of Lords on 19th November,

Chandrashekhar Krishnan, Executive Director of Transparency International UK said:

"Transparency International UK applauds the Government's Bribery Bill and notes that it largely reflects the recommendations of the Joint Parliamentary Committee. That cross-party consensus was achieved during the Committee's excellent work demonstrates that this Bill is above party politics and should receive Royal Assent swiftly this parliamentary session.

"Properly managed companies have nothing to fear from this Bill. So long as its essential provisions are not weakened, the Bribery Act will at last make the UK fully compliant with the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention, helping to restore Britain's international reputation for fighting corruption seriously."

Notes

The OECD Anti-Bribery Convention establishes legally binding standards to criminalise the bribery of foreign public officials in international business transactions and provides for a host of related measures that make this effective. The 30 OECD member countries and eight non-member countires - Argentina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Chile, Estonia, Israel, the Slovak Republic and South Africa - have adopted this Convention.