The Australian Government is seeking comments on the design features for the first phase of a publicly available beneficial ownership register. The Government has committed to introducing the register as part of its multinational tax integrity package. A ‘beneficial owner’ is a natural person who ultimately owns or controls an entity, legal vehicle, or asset. Continue reading

The deterrent effect of enforcement of foreign bribery laws is the subject of Transparency International’s Exporting Corruption series of reports. The level of foreign bribery law enforcement activity by jurisdiction is an important risk factor for companies that undertake business abroad to consider when conducting a bribery risk assessment. Companies operating internationally often must consider Continue reading

On 3 November 2022, the UK arm of commodities trading and resources company Glencore was sentenced in Southwark Crown Court to pay a total penalty of £281m, after pleading guilty in June to seven counts of bribery and failure to prevent bribery under the Bribery Act 2010 (UK). The penalty, which is the largest sum Continue reading

Preventing bribery requires strong partnerships between government, the private sector and civil society. Australia’s Bribery Prevention Network was recently featured in a side event on multi-stakeholder approaches to corruption prevention as part of the final meeting of the G20 Anti-Corruption Working Group in 2022 under Indonesia’s G20 presidency. Dean Mitchell (KPMG) and Cindy McNair (Allens) Continue reading

The Commonwealth Government has introduced draft legislation into parliament this week to establish the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC). The NACC will have broad jurisdiction to investigate serious or systemic corruption across the Commonwealth public sector. This includes the power to investigate ministers, parliamentarians and their staff, statutory office holders, and employees and contractors of government Continue reading

This September quarterly update from the Bribery Prevention Network highlights some important news and upcoming events for the BPN including the release of a new case study on our new and improved Hub, a recap of our Melbourne launch event, and a number of upcoming speaking engagements for the BPN. Read the full update here. Continue reading