31 Jan 2011
Bribery Act delay. is the UK soft on international corruption?
Eoin O'Shea, head of the anti-corruption group, Lawrence Graham: "This further delay is hard to understand. There has been more or less constant consultation with industry and many other interested parties for almost four years. The risk for the UK is that it will be viewed as soft on international corruption at a time when most major economies are moving to address this problem.
"The claims that the definitions in the Act are not clear misunderstands the nature of criminal legislation. Law is drafted in general terms so as to and prevent over-complexity avoid creating loopholes. The reality is only serious cases will be prosecuted and companies that are ethical and careful in how they do business have nothing to fear from the Act.
"However, I think there is little realistic prospect of repeal or significant amendment of the key parts of the Act, some of which the UK is required to bring in by its international treaty obligations, notably the OECD Convention."
Eoin is available today on 07718 341 811 or at eoin.oshea@lg-legal.com
(Eoin O'Shea is one of the UK's leading experts on regulation and remediation of international corruption, fraud and economic crime. He is a partner at City law firm Lawrence Graham and head of its anti-corruption group.
He has wide experience of using injunctions and international civil remedies to manage business-critical risks and acted in numerous arbitration and litigation matters for clients in the defence, energy, life-sciences and financial sectors.ª
Eoin is also the author of a new book on the Bribery Act, which will be published later this year.