Ministry of Justice
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Government plans to fight foreign bribery

The fight against foreign bribery stepped up a level yesterday as Justice Secretary Jack Straw announces new plans to combat global corruption.

The Foreign bribery strategy builds on the government's anti-corruption work over the past three years and will help the UK to further cement its reputation as a global leader in the fight against bribery and corruption.

Justice Secretary and anti-corruption champion Jack Straw said:

'The fight against bribery is not an optional extra or a luxury to be dispensed with in these testing economic times. International corruption remains a world-wide problem that comes at both a human and economic price.

'Both globalisation and new technology make bribery easier to commit and harder to detect. The new Foreign bribery strategy will help us keep pace with this evolving challenge'.

The Foreign bribery strategy aims to:

  • strengthen the law through the new Bribery Bill
  • encourage and support ethical business
  • enforce the law against foreign bribery
  • reduce the demand for bribes through international cooperation and capacity building.

The UK is committed to clamping down on global corruption. Earlier investment in a dedicated foreign bribery police unit and new powers for the Serious Fraud Office has led to increased investigations, multi-million pound fines and criminal prosecutions. Last year the Serious Fraud Office obtained the first conviction of a UK company for foreign bribery, with the company agreeing to pay £6.6 million.

The Foreign bribery strategy will ensure the new Bribery Bill, introduced to Parliament in November, builds on these early successes and supports a wider culture change in international business conduct. 

Notes to editors

  1. The new Foreign bribery strategy complements existing international corruption strategies on anti-money laundering and asset-recovery. The government is committed to tackle both the supply and demand-sides of this global problem.
  2. The UK is recognised as one of the least corrupt countries in the world - 17th in the world and 3rd of G8 countries according to Transparency International's Corruption Perception Index.
  3. The government's Bribery Bill builds on a solid foundation of international anti-corruption work established through annual Anti-Corruption action plans in 2006/7 and 2007/8. This includes the establishment of the City of London Police's dedicated Overseas Anti-Corruption Unit which led to the first UK conviction for foreign bribery last September. The Serious Fraud Office was also granted new civil asset recovery powers in April 2008, leading to a multi-million pound fine of a UK construction firm last October for inaccurate accounting of payments by one of their overseas subsidiaries.

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