The UK Bribery Act 2010 (Act) came into force on 1 July
2011 and any Australian companies with links to the UK should be
ready for the impact.
There are four bribery offences under the UK Bribery Act
2010 (Act) which are bribing, being bribed, bribing a foreign
official and a new corporate offence which is the failure by a
corporate organisation to prevent bribery.
What is a corporate organisation? An Australian company or
partnership which "carries on a business or part of a
business" in the UK will fall within the definition. But what
does this mean? Well, the guidance to the Act states that a common
sense approach is taken to determine this and a company must have a
demonstrable business presence which apparently means more
than a listing on a stock exchange and more than owning a UK
subsidiary. Yes, ambiguous! But, as cases start rolling in, the
courts will decide what this actually means, so for the time being
any business with operations, links or activities
