Bribery Act and International Aspects – Relevant Commercial Organisations

The Bribery Act is wide reaching with its provisions affecting many international companies. How aware of the Act do international companies need to be?

Under the Act a 'relevant commercial organisation' is guilty of an offence if they fail to prevent bribery by any person associated with their organisation who is intending to obtain or retain business or an advantage for that organisation. An organisation will have a defence if they can show that they put "adequate procedures" in place to prevent persons associated with their company from becoming involved in bribery.

The definition of a "relevant commercial organisation" includes companies and partnerships incorporated or formed in the UK, whether they carry on business in the UK or in other countries, and any body corporate or partnership that carries on a business in the UK.

Guidance issued by the Ministry of Justice recommends that a common sense approach is taken when considering if an organisation is carrying out business activities or if they have a business presence in the UK. The guidance also states that organisations that do not have a demonstrable business presence in the UK would not be caught. What qualifies as a demonstrable business presence has not yet been determined and the guidance itself suggests that it will ultimately be the courts that decide on the issue.

Recent statistics issued by Transparency International suggest that Russian and Chinese companies often pay bribes in business. The growing importance of these countries in the international market means that they in particular need to implement procedures to address the anti-bribery legislation in the UK.