UK Bribery Act Compliance
The United Kingdom Bribery Act of 2010 which entered into force on the 1st of July 2011, criminalizes bribery, the bribery of foreign officials as well as the failure of organizations to prevent bribery. The penalties for non-compliance can range from fines to imprisonment for parties involved.
The UKBA is considered the United Kingdom’s version of the United States Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and although it has its own unique conditions and applications, it requires the same aspects of enhanced due diligence in order to ensure that entities are not held liable for failing to comply with its provisions.
When operating in high-risk countries such as those in sub-Saharan Africa, it is essential to carry out significant due diligence enquiries prior to business engagements. Liability under the UKBA is not only enforced for entities that are actively engaged in violating the Act such as those involved in bribery but also for those who fail to do enough to employ controls and compliance procedures to ensure that third-party agents such as subsidiaries, suppliers, or distributors are not involved in such activities.
Titarios offers enhanced due diligence investigations that can be conducted with the aim of fulfilling requirements of UKBA compliance and providing entities with the information to decide whether or not to proceed with ventures or business relationships based on the results of the investigations.