Bribery

Bribery

The Bribery Act 2010 (BA 2010) applies to individuals as well as any business that is incorporated or trades in the UK. It covers bribery committed by an organisation, or on its behalf, anywhere in the world. BA 2010, therefore, has extraterritorial effect. It was designed to provide an effective legal framework to tackle corruption in both the public and private sectors.

Offences under BA 2010

BA 2010 criminalises:

•
bribing another person. This is often known as active bribery
•
soliciting or accepting a bribe. This is often known as passive bribery
•
bribing a foreign public official, and
•
for a business or commercial organisation only, failing to prevent bribery

The offences are discussed in more detail below. Practice Note: The Bribery Act 2010—an introductory guide introduces the offences of bribery contained in BA 2010 as well as covering territorial application, facilitation payments, gifts and hospitality, and exceptions, penalties and indicators of corruption.

Who prosecutes bribery?

The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) and Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) are primarily responsible for investigating bribery and corruption offences in the UK. As public prosecutors,

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