Download the Inspection Guide to measure your level of Litigation Readiness

On July 1st, 2011 the UK Bribery Act – also referred to as the “Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”) on steroids” - has become active. The new Act introduces a commercial offence for corporations that fail to prevent bribes and does not only apply in the public but also in the private sector.

New offences have extra-territorial application and apply not only to UK incorporated companies, but to all companies doing business in the UK.

And the stakes are high; failure of firms to comply with the Bribery Act can result in very serious consequences including unlimited fines, and up to 10 years imprisonment, not to mention of course the legal costs involved and the impact of business disruptions and bad publicity.

“Adequate procedures”
The Act states that “A business can avoid conviction if it can show that it has adequate procedures in place to prevent bribery.” As this is very vague and almost too subjective to be meaningful, we have created an “8-Point Inspection Guide” that adds objectivity so that you can more clearly assess how prepared your organization truly is.