{"id":6032,"date":"2020-05-27T10:34:01","date_gmt":"2020-05-27T10:34:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/crigroup.com\/?p=6032"},"modified":"2022-07-13T13:53:25","modified_gmt":"2022-07-13T13:53:25","slug":"emea-anti-bribery-compliance-programs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/crigroup.com\/ar\/emea-anti-bribery-compliance-programs\/","title":{"rendered":"Anti-Bribery Compliance Programs in EMEA Countries"},"content":{"rendered":"

Preventing bribery and corruption is a global effort that crosses international borders…<\/span><\/h3>\n

Preventing bribery and corruption<\/a> is a global effort that crosses international borders. In just the past few years, many governments have enacted more laws and regulations to reflect that reality. European, Middle Eastern and African (EMEA) countries are no exception \u2013 in many ways, they are at the forefront of this new anti-bribery and anti-corruption landscape\u00a0and compliance program development.\u00a0This critical shift from bygone years of sweeping unethical business behaviour under the rug to creating strict enforcement measures is well overdue. The sometimes overlapping nature of these laws and varying rules based upon their jurisdictions can pose challenges to compliance officers, however. Not to mention that the \u201cletter of the law\u201d sometimes lends to different interpretations depending on the local politics of the day.<\/p>\n

When organisations do uncover wrongdoing, their leadership must be careful to understand that the wrong approach to investigation might get them into trouble: employee privacy protections are higher in some European nations, for example, potentially affecting a company\u2019s ability to monitor employee behaviour and investigate wrongdoing.<\/p>\n

The article will discuss some of the new laws and regulations that have been enacted (or are still emerging) in various EMEA countries, and provide a perspective on managing compliance standards across varying jurisdictions. The new wave of anti-bribery and anti-corruption controls is a good thing for the economy and for protecting investments worldwide. Business leaders must just be sure not to get caught by the tide.<\/p>\n

Europe: Leading the Charge<\/strong><\/h2>\n

In most European countries today, it can be very costly to be caught breaking bribery laws. Most laws call for stiff fines. The UK largely ushered in this landscape with the introduction of the UK Bribery Act 2010. Under this groundbreaking law, individuals or businesses may face up to 10 years in prison or unlimited fines. \u201cThe UK Bribery Act imposes more severe penalties and is broader in scope than the FCPA, covering bribes to private parties as well to foreign officials. The UK Bribery Act also prohibits being bribed, not just giving bribes. Because of the close ties between the United States and the United Kingdom, US businesses should pay special attention to all forms of potential bribery abroad, regardless of jurisdictional technicalities.\u201d (Everfi, 2020<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Click\u00a0here<\/a>\u00a0to read the full article.<\/p>\n

Other Anti-Bribery and Compliance resources from our independent certification body ABAC\u00ae:<\/strong><\/p>\n