The Bribery Act 2010

The Bribery Act 2010 came into effect in the UK on 1 July 2010.

This Act deals only with bribery – not other forms of white collar crime.

Your organisation may be liable for failing to prevent a person from bribing on your behalf but only if that person performs services for you in business. It is very unlikely therefore that you will be liable for the actions of someone who simply provides goods to you.

There is a full defence if you can show that you had adequate procedures in place to prevent bribery – something else for the “to do” list!

Hospitality is not prohibited by the Act so you can continue to provide tickets to sporting events, take clients to dinner and offer gifts to clients as a reflection of your good relations, providing that the expenditure is reasonable and proportionate for your business.

Bribery Act 2010
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2010/23/contents & http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bribery_Act_2010

Quick Start Guide to the Bribery Act 2010

http://www.justice.gov.uk/guidance/docs/bribery-act-2010-quick-start-guide.pdf