On Valentine’s day this year one of the final elements of Robin Cook’s ‘ethical foreign policy’ came into play with the enforcement of Part 12 of the Anti-Terrorism Crime and Security Act 2001.
It brings into the arena of English ‘white-collar’ crime the payment of bribes to public officials abroad – conduct which in many cultures would not be considered morally or ethically ‘wrong’ but just a fact of business life. It potentially renders vulnerable to prosecution UK companies and their directors arising from the payment of bribes or ‘facilitation fees’ abroad. If the risk of criminal convictions – or even damaging criminal investigations – is to be avoided, businesses should already be implementing compliance programmes.
