What Is Bribery & Corruption?
Bribery is offering or accepting compensation in order to influence the behaviour of the recipient, while corruption is the more broad unethical conduct by an authority figure. The two often go hand in hand, and many countries have anti-bribery and anti-corruption laws in place. The UK Bribery Act of 2010 is the strictest and most comprehensive anti-bribery and corruption act in the world as it impacts anyone connected to the UK, though many other countries are implementing their own versions. Organisations must protect themselves with thorough anti-bribery and corruption policies.
Doing business globally has opened up organisations to new rewards, but also new risks. Anti-bribery and corruption policies are put in place to increase the ethics and compliance of an organisation. Legislation such as the UK Bribery Act, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), and Sapin II speak to the threats that today’s companies are facing: massive fines and even imprisonment.
Fortunately, organisations can establish anti-bribery and corruption programmes and proactively work to educate their teams to prevent corruption. These programmes can increase compliance, reduce the likelihood of misconduct and avoid prosecution for missteps.