This event will also be held at Venable LLP on June 25. Please click here for more information.
The US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and the UK Bribery Act 2010:
In the past few years, the growth in enforcement of the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) has been explosive, including a notable increase in its application to non-US companies and non-US persons. There have been record corporate fines, individual criminal charges and jail sentences under the FCPA in just the last year alone. Companies face strict criminal and civil liability for the actions of their employees or agents that violate the FCPA - read the Venable Q&A about this.
And now the UK has re-energized its international anti-corruption enforcement with the Bribery Act 2010. The Bribery Act, which has been referred to as an international "gold standard," and a "benchmark for other countries," promises new challenges for commercial organizations and individuals working with them.
Notably the Bribery Act includes a new corporate criminal offense of failure to prevent bribery, which applies wherever in the world the act of bribery occurs. This is a strict liability offense for which companies and partnerships face an unlimited fine (and individuals also face a maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment). Similar to the FCPA, an offense will be committed by a commercial organization when a person performing services on its behalf (which includes individuals over which it may have little practical control) bribes another person and intends to obtain or retain business for it. A commercial organization will however not be liable for a bribe paid on its behalf if it can prove that it had "adequate procedures" in place to prevent bribery - read the Field Fisher Waterhouse Q&A about this.
Given the introduction of the Bribery Act, the ever increasing reach and enforcement of the FCPA, as well as the US and UK's growing cooperation on anti-corruption enforcement, the compliance bar has been raised for all companies operating in the international marketplace. In this climate, businesses need to ensure that their anti-corruption procedures and culture are well embedded.
Topics for discussion include:
- the FCPA, and its interaction with the Bribery Act
- the Bribery Act offenses, including the corporate offense
- practical steps to minimize the risk of prosecution
- experiences of corporate compliance from within industry
- trends in global enforcement
Speakers:
Lindsay B. Meyer
Co-chair of FCPA and Anti-Corruption Group, Venable LLP
William Devaney
Co-chair of FCPA and Anti-Corruption Group, Venable LLP
Tony Lewis
Head of Anti-Corruption Group, Field Fisher Waterhouse LLP
London guest speaker:
Penny Tham
Head of Regulatory Risk & Compliance, RBS Global Banking & Markets
Schedule:
08:15 - Registration & breakfast
08:50 - Seminar
09:50 - Panel discussion and Q&A
10:15 - End
Registration:
Please RSVP to Isaiah Burns at ICBurns@Venable.com.