International Bribery & Corruption - Foreign Corrupt Practices Act 1977 & Bribery Act 2010

SRA Competence

B, C

Overview

The UK Bribery Act 2010 and the US FCPA both essentially “deputise” businesses and their agents, tasking them with a duty to self-monitor and bear a major portion of the corruption-related law “enforcement burden”. The legal and regulatory risks posed by these two laws are currently among the greatest for global businesses.

Not only are businesses and their directors, employees and other agents potentially exposed to criminal and civil liability, but the reputational effects of press coverage of alleged corporate corruption can inflict significant damage on relationships with investors, lenders, suppliers and customers. This practical course looks at what these two laws have in common, the key differences between them, similar laws in select emerging jurisdictions and the practical issues global businesses should be thinking about.

Venue may change up to 14-days before the course start date. Enquire for dates.

By the end of this course you will be able to:

• Describe the US FCPA, US authorities’ enforcement approach and how the FCPA intersects with other corporate governance and financial laws (such as Sarbanes Oxley Act 2002 and the Dodd-Frank Act 2010);
• Discuss the major provisions of the UK Bribery Act 2010;
• Identify the key similarities and differences between the FCPA and the Bribery Act, highlighting issues relating to:
  
  • Failure to prevent bribery
  • Facilitating or “grease” payments and hospitality, travel and promotional expenses
  • Leniency policies and cooperation with authorities
  • Scope – jurisdictional reach (in light of the US’ traditionally expansive approach to claiming jurisdiction over foreign businesses for FCPA violations) and to whom offences apply.
• Enumerate the main considerations and “to do” list elements for businesses and their professional advisers to properly deal with the new global integrated enforcement reality, including:
  
  • Building an anti-corruption culture with the proper “tone from the top”
  • Sales agents/distributors/3rd party suppliers/intermediaries
  • Guidance & Global Best Practice (including guidance from the OECD, Transparency International and the ACC)
• Explain several recent anti-corruption enforcement actions by US and UK authorities, as well as the lessons to be learned from such. These include, on the US side, cases like Siemens, Technip et al., Halliburton, Lucent, and, on the British side, the Aon Limited, Massey & Johnson, Johnson & Johnson and BAE cases, to name a few.
• Illustrate anti-bribery/corruption laws and enforcement in several important emerging markets.

This course will benefit you if you manage or advise businesses operating internationally (especially in the US) and you wish to increase your understanding of how these two laws (and those who enforce them) impact global business.