Bribery, corruption and facilitation payments continues to be the most significant ethical issue for 80% of the FTSE 350 listed companies that responded to the IBE’s 2013 Corporate Ethics Policies & Programmes: UK & Continental Europe Survey. The Bribery Act did much to focus organisations on the need to communicate, train and support employees in this…
The number of European companies falling victim to fraud has increased in the past year, according to the 2013 Kroll Global Fraud Report. Overall, 71 per cent of companies in Europe were affected by fraud in the past 12 months, slightly above the global average of 70 per cent and significantly up from 63 per…
It has been reported (10th October) that the Home Office will consider encouraging whistleblowing by financial incentives in cases involving fraud, bribery and corruption and enabling whistleblowers to receive a share of financial penalties levied against a company guilty of fraud against the government. Audrey Williams, Partner at global law firm Eversheds comments: “We are…
According to research by the Fraud Investigation and Dispute Services team at Ernst & Young, only half of British businesses vet their suppliers for UK Bribery Act compliance. Its research found that 48% of British firms are failing to vet their suppliers for compliance with the UK Bribery Act, and that only 6% of respondents…
Only 56% of British businesses have heard of the Bribery Act according to research by the FIDS (Fraud, Investigations and Dispute Services) team at Ernst & Young. The research also revealed that larger firms (those with a turnover of more than £50m) are ahead in terms of their awareness of the Bribery Act (76%), while…
There have been a number of recent cases of bribery in relation to tenders and contracts in several countries. Organisations operating in high corruption risk countries, including those from the UK, are keen to have a rigorous framework and independent verification scheme in place to help them demonstrate their commitment to good governance and business…
The government has announced another additional bank holiday, this time to commemorate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. Tuesday 5th June 2012 will be a bank holiday and the late May bank holiday will be moved to Monday 4 June 2012. The Bribery Act 2010 came into force on 1 July 2011. It will create a corporate…
Tough anti-corruption laws which came into force on the 1st July, introduced a new offence of “failure of a commercial organisation to prevent bribery” – leading to a surge in interest in standards that can act as a defence for accused companies. In response to the new legislation, the British Standards Institution (BSI) – the…
The Bribery Act 2010 – unyielding and anti-commercial or the chance for companies to reduce corruption and take responsibility? After much dithering the Bribery Act 2010 (the “Act”) will finally come into force on 1 July 2011. It is difficult to judge the long-term effects of the Act. It is rumoured that the Crown Prosecutions…
One of the UK’s leading academic experts on whistleblowing has warned that too many British companies still don’t have confidential reporting procedures in place, leaving them open to financial or reputational ruin. This stark message, from David Lewis, Professor of Employment Law at Middlesex University, will be given as he launches a cross industry whistleblowing…
New research has suggested that UK businesses are not prepared for the Bribery Act, suggest a new European fraud survey by Ernst & Young’s 2011 European fraud which found that one in seven employees at large UK companies are prepared to secure business in exchange for cash payments. Despite the Bribery Act being due to…