Politicians pledge to tackle corporate corruption

The Prime Minister has outlined new plans to curb corruption in business.

David Cameron set out proposals for sweeping reforms to coincide with the start of an international summit and commentators claim that the measures will eclipse those previously included in the Bribery Act.

At the cornerstone of the proposals are three key changes:

• The creation of a beneficial ownership register
• The creation of a new Anti-Corruption Co-ordination Centre
• Plans for a brand new offence of failure to prevent economic crime

Justice Minister Dominic Raab said: “The Government is finding new ways to tackle economic crime and we are taking a rigorous and robust approach to corporations that fail to prevent bribery or allow the tax evasion on their behalf.

“We now want to carefully consider whether the evidence justifies any further extension of this model to other areas of economic crime, so that large corporations are properly held to account.

“The consultation, published this summer, will explore whether the ‘failure to prevent’ model should be extended to complement existing legal and regulatory frameworks.”

David Green, the director of the Serious Fraud Office (SFO), has also suggested that Section 7 of the Bribery Act should be extended to include a new offence for companies who “fail to prevent acts of economic or financial crime by persons associated with it.”

For advice on the Bribery Act and companies’ obligations under the legislation please contact Claus Andersen or visit.