The UK courts have successfully issued their first prosecution under the
requirements of the UK Bribery Act 2010. A clerk at Redbridge
Magistrates’ Court recently pleaded guilty to misconduct in public office
and accepting a bribe of £500 for not entering details of a driving
offence onto a court database. A three year prison sentence has been
issued under the Bribery Act with an additional six year prison sentence
for the offence of misconduct in public office. These sentences will run
one after another with a total sentence of 9 years imprisonment imposed.
Not only is it likely that this conviction will encourage prosecutors to
regard the provisions set out by the Bribery Act as a useful instrument
in their fight against corruption within public office, but also the
weight of the sentence imposed by the judge sends a clear message that
anyone engaging in activities such as this will be dealt with severely by
the courts.
In order to ensure employees fully understand and acknowledge the
regulations set out by the UK Bribery Act 2010, organisations should
ensure their policy on the subject is accessible and that it clearly
defines what is considered to be unacceptable behaviour with regards to
the regulations laid out by the Act. Organisations may also want to
consider how they clarify their approach to hospitality to ensure there
are no conflictions in policies and the legal restrictions are clear.
Furthermore, in order to prevent bribery within an organisation, the UK
Ministry of Justice has provided guidance on adequate procedures to
follow.
Firstly, employers should ensure they apply procedures that are
proportionate to the risk faced, which following this recent conviction
is high. Senior Management should adopt a culture of zero tolerance and
lead by example through top level commitment. In addition to this,
employers should ensure risk assessments are carried out to identify the
risk of potential bribery. Undertaking due diligence when entering into
new relationships or markets is also a key measure organisations should
take in order to reduce the risk of bribery.
As mentioned previously, the communication of the organisations policy to
all relevant parties is essential, and organisations should consider
providing employees with the opportunity to ask questions and raise any
concerns that they may have to ensure clarification and understanding.
Lastly, organisations should continually monitor and review their
procedures to ensure changing markets, clients and circumstances do not
increase the risk of bribery over time.