Protect your business, comply with laws and effectively address bribery and corruption.
This collection of resources proposes steps to take when instances of bribery or corruption occur, or when there are near misses. Develop your business’ understanding of what has occurred and promote a culture of action, self-reporting, remedy and organisational learning.
The Bribery Prevention Network held a side event at the Africa Down Under Conference on critical legislative, judicial and policy updates in the anti-bribery and corruption space that will have implications for Australian businesses operating at home and in Africa.
The session highlighted practical tools and resources for Australian business to prevent, detect and address bribery and corruption and promote a culture of compliance.
In 2011, two subsidiaries of the Reserve Bank of Australia plead guilty to charges of bribing foreign officials in relation to a Malaysian bank during the period of 1999-2004 and were fined over A$22 million. Four employees, including the CEO and CFO of Securency, pleaded guilty to charges of conspiring to bribe and/or false accounting, each receiving between 6-24 months imprisonment.
In 2015 Standard Bank PLC entered into a deferred prosecution agreement with the Serious Fraud Office in the United Kingdom to pay penalties of over US$25 million and US$7 million of compensation in connection with its role in an equity raising in Tanzania. The case highlights the risks of using agents to help win government contracts.
United States (US) authorities investigate and prosecute foreign bribery that takes place outside of the US, including where US citizens are involved, where payments are in US dollars and where companies are 'issuers' in US capital markets. This policy sets out the US Department of Justice's policy for giving significant discounts in penalty and circumstances in which authorities may not prosecute. Scroll down to view.
Authorities in the United Kingdom (UK) can investigate and prosecute foreign bribery that took place outside of the UK. This includes where UK citizens are involved, if some of the conduct occurred in the UK or for foreign companies that 'carry out business or part of a business', or are listed in the UK. This portal puts you in touch with the correct authorities in the UK if you wish to report foreign bribery. An A-Z of company cases is included.
Exporters need to be aware of the risks of bribery and corruption in international transactions and requirements to comply with laws in multiple jurisdictions. Bribery committed outside Australia can be captured under Australian laws and have serious consequences. Export Finance Australia provides useful links to assist exporters in understanding their obligations to comply with relevant laws against bribery and corruption.
This case study of the AWB class action examines allegations that can be made when a company does not report suspected corruption. Bribery and corruption allegations can have serious consequences for companies, including fines, loss of business and reputation, loss of licenses and inability to recover payments. For listed companies, those potential consequences may be material enough to need to be reported to the ASX.
As Australia's corporate, markets and financial services regulator, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) is cable of receiving reports of misconduct. This resource outlines how ASIC assesses reports of misconduct, what it does with such reports, how it communicates with a person who makes a misconduct report, and other issues including confidentiality and whistleblowing. It also includes a link on how to report misconduct to ASIC.
The United Kingdom's Serious Fraud Office provides an index of publicly listed enforcement actions, including matters related to foreign bribery. Access brief overviews of bribery-related cases that include the nature of the investigation, date of the investigation announcement, status of the case and associated case press releases. Cases are classified under criminal investigations, proceeds of crime, and deferred prosecution agreements.
A useful and simply laid out tool that offers suppliers guidance on developing a site-based grievance mechanism for their workers. This resource applies the United Nations Guiding Principles effectiveness criteria for grievance mechanisms to clearly illustrate good practice in implementing such mechanisms, that align with universally accepted standards. Although tailored to the retail industry, this resource is useful for other sectors with complex supply chains.
This practical guide offers support to businesses in the resource development industry to design and implement site-level grievance mechanisms. It includes solutions to common challenges, including, building community awareness of and trust in site-level grievance mechanisms, creating organisational buy-in to make these mechanisms effective, and growing an internal culture to support the resolution of grievances.
This easy to read resource explains the importance of operational-level grievance mechanisms for businesses and offers good practice guidance on effective grievance management. While specific to the mining and metals sector, this guidance is applicable to other sectors. The use of case studies, a glossary and infographics makes this resource an excellent entry point to learning about effective operational-level grievance mechanisms.
Part of a comprehensive toolbox on human rights duties developed for the Federal Institute of Sustainable Development (Belgium), this resource offers an accessible introduction to operational-level grievance mechanisms. Learn how such mechanisms can support your business to identify potential human rights risks and impacts stemming from your business operations. This resource includes extensive links to useful grievance frameworks and mechanisms. Published in English, French and Dutch.
The United States (US) Department of Justice has an extensive track record of enforcing foreign bribery matters, including against companies that are not registered in the US. This site shows the Department of Justice's foreign bribery enforcement track record.
Suspected bribery of foreign public officials can be reported to the Australian Federal Police (AFP). This fact sheet tells you how. Companies that discover foreign bribery and do not report to the AFP may face increased liability for maintaining a corporate culture that tolerates bribery. Companies that report their own conduct can receive discounted penalties (and may not be prosecuted at all).