Companies corruption defences still inadequate
In the Financial Times on December 8 2014, legal correspondent Caroline Binham wrote:
One in three multinational companies still has inadequate defences against corruption three years after the Bribery Act took effect, research has found.
Under the act, a company can be found criminally liable and face an unlimited fine if it fails to prevent bribery. One legal defence against the charge is being able to prove there were adequate procedures to guard against bribes.
Companies struggle in particular to research third parties they work with, according to a poll by GoodCorporation which assesses anti-corruption controls. More than 60 opera cent of the due diligence procedures it vetted at 40 multinationals were found to be inadequate.