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Report published on Australia’s implementation of OECD Anti-Bribery recommendations


Posted on March 21, 2023

The OECD has published a new report on Australia’s progress implementing the OECD Convention on Combatting Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions, which requires member states to criminalise foreign bribery and enforce foreign bribery offences.

Australia submitted the report to the OECD Working Group on Bribery in December 2022 as a follow-up to Australia’s ongoing evaluation under the peer-review monitoring system.

In the past year, Australia has issued new guidance for the private sector including a new fact sheet on identifying customers and beneficial owners that are politically exposed persons (PEPs), a customer type that poses a higher risk of money laundering predicated on foreign bribery, and new guidance for bullion dealers in Australia on PEPs as an attractive target for bribery and corruption.

The report also highlights a public webinar for small to medium enterprises (SMEs) about advice and assistance available to SMEs operating overseas that encounter requests for suspicious payments that may constitute bribes. A recording of the webinar, hosted by the Bribery Prevention Network, is available here.

The report also provides an update on ongoing foreign bribery matters before the courts, including criminal prosecution and proceeds of crime matters involving Australian individuals and companies.

Read the full report here.