UK: New Borders; New Approach

Abstract

Until ten years ago, the UK’s approach to bribery and corruption, including at its borders, was fragmented, limited in scope and unsuccessful in tackling bribery across borders. This article focuses on the changes which the Bribery Act 2010 has brought about over the last decade which has elevated the UK’s anti-bribery regime to one which is highly regarded. One might expect the natural consequence of the Bribery Act’s international reach to be a dramatic increase in the number of prosecutions (particularly in relation to bribing public officials) – however that has not proved to be the case. This article shows that the Bribery Act has instead brought about a fundamental change of approach by lawmakers and businesses alike – which is not evident from the raw statistics. The Bribery Act’s power lies in the combination of its international reach and the obligations it places on commercial organizations to prevent bribery which have caused UK corporates (including those incorporated elsewhere but who carry on a business, or part of a business, in the UK) to significantly tighten their anti-bribery internal policies and procedures. The shift in focus from the individual to the corporate has also been reflected in the approach of UK law enforcement through their use of Deferred Prosecution Agreements which has resulted in corporate offenders being punished with unprecedented fines. The paper ends by asking whether Brexit and the re-establishment of a large number of hard borders with EU countries will lead to an increase in the number of prosecutions for bribing customs officials after all. Bribery Act 2010, bribery and corruption, corporate offence, commercial organization, failure to prevent, extra-territorial reach, strict liability, Deferred Prosecution Agreement