The UK Bribery Act

On 1 July 2011 the UK Bribery Act, commonly referred to as the "US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act on Steroids", came into force. It does not differentiate between bribery in the public and in the private sector, and it introduces a completely new corporate offence with a very broad extraterritorial reach, forcing companies around the globe to reassess their approach to bribery.

Introduction

It is not long since the UK was sharply criticised by the OECD for its failure to bring its anti-bribery laws into line with its international obligations under the OECD Anti- Bribery Convention. In 2010 the UK government reacted to this criticism by passing an extraordinarily strict anticorruption law, the UK Bribery Act.