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Free Online Anti-Bribery Training Course Launched

rachel.davies@transparency.org.uk (Rachel Davies) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 12:25:28 +0000

London, UK. January 18, 2012 – Transparency International UK, with the support of FTI Consulting, Inc. and Inmarkets, has launched “Doing Business without Bribery,” a free anti-bribery training toolkit that includes a comprehensive online training module.

The course, available to view at www.transparency.org.uk/training, gives organisations free access to best practice training materials. This will help to prevent and resist bribery more effectively and comply with the UK Bribery Act, which came into force in July 2011. The training toolkit, from the world’s leading anti-corruption experts, represents the next generation of anti-bribery training by providing employees with a range of in-depth realistic scenarios that require participants to make decisions in familiar situations.

Employees who complete the course will gain a better understanding of bribery laws and the consequences of violating them and the know-how to avoid bribes when doing business in high-risk countries. The training covers difficult areas of anti-corruption laws; e.g., facilitation payments, and aims to offer clear and practical answers to frequently asked questions such as what is a sensible approach to gift giving and how to undertake due diligence on agents.

Chandu Krishnan, Executive Director of Transparency International UK, said: “Six months from the Bribery Act’s commencement, now is the time for companies to strengthen their anti-corruption strategies and ensure that employees have sufficient knowledge in this area. We believe this course is the most comprehensive of its kind and will equip employees with a thorough understanding of the new law and help them deal with a wide range of typical scenarios.”

Julian Glass, a Managing Director in the Forensic and Litigation Consulting practice at FTI Consulting, said: “FTI Consulting is pleased to support this training module, which provides organisations with a practical tool to help employees in the front line of a business behave in a way that aids corporate compliance. This is an area of real concern to corporates keen to tackle corruption.”

Vivek Dodd, Director, Inmarkets, said: “Unlike awareness-raising programmes, this course uses real-world scenarios to provide in-depth, practical training. The combined input from Transparency International UK, FTI Consulting and Inmarkets has ensured the content is ethically sound, practical, thought provoking and comprehensive while giving learners the flexibility to focus on the issues that are most relevant to the participants.

“Inmarkets is delighted to work with Transparency International UK and FTI Consulting to create this second-generation anti-bribery course that represents the benchmark in good practice in terms of content, design and impact."

The course has received the endorsement of the business community. Mike Cherry, Policy Chairman, Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), said: “The FSB sees this as a really helpful free resource for businesses of any size trying to understand their obligations under the Bribery Act.”

About the “Doing Business without Bribery” training materials

The toolkit offers free access to best practice resources, including a set of PowerPoint presentation slides, a trainer handbook, available for download, and access to an untracked version of the online course, all available at www.transparency.org.uk/training

About Transparency International UK

Transparency International UK is the UK chapter of the world's leading non-governmental anti-corruption organisation, Transparency International (TI). With more than 90 chapters worldwide and an international secretariat in Berlin, TI has unparalleled global understanding and expertise.

About FTI Consulting

FTI Consulting, Inc. is a global business advisory firm dedicated to helping organisations protect and enhance enterprise value in an increasingly complex legal, regulatory and economic environment. With more than 3,800 employees located in 23 countries, FTI Consulting professionals work closely with clients to anticipate, illuminate and overcome complex business challenges in areas such as investigations, litigation, mergers and acquisitions, regulatory issues, reputation management, strategic communications and restructuring. The company generated $1.4 billion in revenues during fiscal year 2010.

More information can be found at www.fticonsulting.co.uk

About Inmarkets

Inmarkets is a leading e-learning innovator with a strong focus on helping clients to tackle governance, risk and compliance issues. Dealing with every stage of the process from needs analysis and content development through to delivery and audit, Inmarkets provides best advice on how to maximise impact and reduce costs at every level. More information can be found about Inmarkets at www.inmarkets.com

Urgent action needed to address cricket corruption

rachel.davies@transparency.org.uk (Rachel Davies) — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 10:15:35 +0000

International anti-corruption organisation Transparency International (TI) has published the submission it has made to the International Cricket Council's Governance Review. The deadline for submissions was December 9th. The TI submission makes 20 recommendations for reform in order to safeguard the game's integrity and reputation.

The submission was made jointly by Transparency International Chapters from 12 countries including Australia, Bangladesh, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Trinidad & Tobago and the UK.

The report concludes that:

• Urgent action is needed to understand and address the changing nature of the corruption risks that face the game of cricket in the 21st century;

• The ICC needs to widen the focus of its response to encompass the larger corruption challenges facing the game such as conflicts of interest and cronyism;

• This will require the ICC to take more responsibility for standard-setting applicable to the cricket boards of member countries;

• The ICC itself needs to be more accountable and transparent;

• The ICC should seek to follow international best practice in the sphere of governance, including transparency and anti-corruption measures.

Chandu Krishnan, Executive Director of Transparency International UK, commented:

“The nature of cricket and corruption have both changed in the past decade. Transparency International welcomes the ICC’s Governance Review, as it is a timely opportunity to review the corruption risks facing the game of cricket, and strengthen the game’s institutional response. There is no doubt that cricket is facing corruption-related challenges, and we hope that the ICC is able to respond in a way that will safeguard the integrity and reputation of the game.”

To download the submission, click here

UK must do more to fight corruption warns NGO group

rachel.davies@transparency.org.uk (Rachel Davies) — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Much more must be done by the Government to tackle the role that UK banks and companies play in fuelling and facilitating corruption overseas, according to a new report launched on International Anti-Corruption Day (9 Dec) by the Bond Anti-Corruption Group, whose members include leading UK-based international development organisations.

Melissa Lawson, Chair of the Bond Anti-Corruption Group and Tearfund policy adviser said: “The failure to act here in the UK when it comes to enforcing bribery laws and tackling dirty money has devastating effects on developing countries, undermining good governance and exacerbating poverty. This report shows why the UK must not remain ambivalent when it comes to addressing the real issues in the fight against corruption.”

The report notes improvements in the UK’s compliance with some of its commitments under the UN Convention against Corruption, but identifies a series of weaknesses:

• The Ministry of Justice guidance on the new UK Bribery Act is unclear, creating potential loopholes and confusion for business.

• The Serious Fraud Office has too few resources to ensure the bribery legislation is a real deterrent to stop companies paying huge bribes to foreign governments in return for lucrative contracts.

• According to the Financial Services Authority, 75% of British banks that were surveyed don’t know the source of the funds of their high-risk customers, leaving the UK wide open to corrupt funds.

• The UK fails to exert pressure on secrecy jurisdictions in Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories to publish company registries.

"The laws are there to tackle corruption but there is complacency in the face of growing corruption threats,” says Eric Gutierrez, Senior Governance Adviser at Christian Aid and one of the report’s authors. “The Government’s International Anti-Corruption Champion must instigate an anti-corruption strategy and ensure that there are sufficient resources to tackle this issue."

The Bond Anti-Corruption Group welcomed the Bribery Act of 2010, but now calls on the Government to:

• Ensure sufficient resources for enforcing the Bribery Act

• Enforce its own anti-money laundering laws to ensure UK banks do not accept corrupt money and facilitate corruption

• Extend the UN Convention against Corruption and UK Bribery Act to all Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories.

• Produce a transparent cross-government anti-corruption strategy under the responsibility of UK Anti-Corruption Champion, Rt Hon Ken Clarke MP.

Welcoming the report, Catherine McKinnell MP, Chair of the newly formed All-Party Parliamentary Group on Anti-Corruption said: “International Anti-Corruption Day provides the UK Government with the perfect opportunity to commit to tackling the obstacles identified if Britain is to play its part in addressing international corruption. We need a coherent, properly-resourced approach to dealing with this issue, which causes suffering to millions of people in the developing world, and threatens to undermine the important investment the UK makes in international development.”

Notes to Editors

BOND is the UK membership body for over 360 international development organisations. The Bond Anti-Corruption Group is part of the Bond Governance Group, representing 64 UK-based NGOs who, through their work, witness the devastating effects of corruption on developing countries every day. The central members of the Bond Anti-Corruption Group are: CAFOD, Christian Aid, The Cornerhouse, Corruption Watch, Global Witness, Tearfund, Transparency International UK and TIRI.

For this report the Bond Anti-Corruption Group coordinated research with Public Concern at Work.

www.bond.org.uk

UK falls foul of top 10 in corruption index

rachel.davies@transparency.org.uk (Rachel Davies) — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 00:00:00 +0000

The UK has once again failed to achieve a top ten ranking in Transparency International’s 2011 Corruption Perceptions Index released today.

The index scores 183 countries and territories from 0 (highly corrupt) to 10 (very clean) based on perceived levels of public sector corruption. It uses data from 17 surveys that look at factors such as enforcement of anti-corruption laws, access to information and conflicts of interest.

The UK ranks at position 16, with a score of 7.8. Although the introduction of the UK Bribery Act has no doubt improved the UK’s ranking since last year, recent events such as the phone hacking scandal have shown that there are still too many areas of corruption vulnerability in the UK public sector.

Although there are several changes that must be made to improve public sector corruption, two are imperative:

1. Clean up politics – Recent scandals involving the movement of individuals between government and the private sector – such as the cases of Geoff Hoon and Andy Coulson – have highlighted the corruption vulnerabilities left open by the current system. Political party funding also needs reform, as recently highlighted by the Kelly report.

2. Adequately acknowledge UK corruption problem – There is no individual or institution with the remit to coordinate a robust response to corruption in the UK – although ironically the government has an ‘overseas anti-corruption champion’. This remit must be extended to cover domestic corruption.

Chandu Krishnan, Executive Director of Transparency International UK said “Given the Government’s promise to commit to transparency, the UK should have progressed enough to be achieving a top five ranking. However, practices that have been taken for granted for many years are still awaiting change, such as the willingness of politicians to accept corporate and media hospitality and ‘revolving door’ employment between major media companies, political offices and the police.”

Global results

Two thirds of ranked countries score less than 5.

New Zealand ranks first, followed by Finland and Denmark. Somalia and North Korea (included in the index for the first time), are last. Transparency International has warned that protests around the world, often fuelled by corruption and economic instability, clearly show citizens feel their leaders and public institutions are neither transparent nor accountable enough.

“This year we have seen corruption on protestors’ banners be they rich or poor. Whether in a Europe hit by debt crisis or an Arab world starting a new political era, leaders must heed the demands for better government,” said Huguette Labelle, Chair of Transparency International

Most Arab Spring countries rank in the lower half of the index, scoring below 4. Before the Arab Spring, a Transparency International report on the region warned that nepotism, bribery and patronage were so deeply engrained in daily life that even existing anti-corruption laws had little impact.

Eurozone countries suffering debt crises, partly because of public authorities’ failure to tackle the bribery and tax evasion that are key drivers of debt crisis, are among the lowest-scoring EU countries.

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For the full ranking and regional tables, go to: www.transparency.org/cpi

MPs call on Tanzania to prosecute for bribes

rachel.davies@transparency.org.uk (Rachel Davies) — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Today the UK Parliament’s International Development Committee releases a report, Financial Crimes and Development. The report calls on the Government of Tanzania to bring individuals to court to answer allegations that corrupt payments were made during the sale of an air traffic control system by BAE Systems.

Commenting on today’s report, Chandu Krishnan, Executive Director of Transparency International UK said:

“This report should be welcomed by all those who are concerned about bribes paid overseas by British companies. Bribery is not a victimless crime and it is important that reparations are also made to the countries whose citizens suffer when bribes are paid.

“The long saga of allegations about corruption involving BAE Systems has been a national embarrassment to both the UK and Tanzania, and it is astonishing that no individual has yet been found guilty despite the company having to pay fines and reparations of $450 million for Tanzania and other cases. We are pleased to hear that the Tanzanian government may prosecute individuals, and hope that the UK authorities will cooperate fully if UK nationals are found to have broken Tanzanian law. We particularly endorse the suggestion that the Government’s Anti-Corruption Champion should publish annual reports on his work.”

Bribe Paying Still Prevalent

rachel.davies@transparency.org.uk (Rachel Davies) — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 04:43:40 +0000

Bribing public officials when doing business abroad is a regular occurrence, according to a survey of 3,000 business executives from developed and developing countries.

Transparency International’s 2011 Bribe Payers Index (BPI), released today, ranks 28 leading international and regional exporting countries by the likelihood of their firms to bribe abroad. Companies from Russia and China, who invested US $120 billion overseas in 2010, are seen as most likely to pay bribes abroad. Companies from the Netherlands and Switzerland are seen as least likely to bribe (see annex). The UK is ranked 8^th in the Index.

“With the entry into force of the Bribery Act we would have expected to see the UK higher up in the rankings. UK companies need to make sure they have a rigorous zero tolerance approach towards bribery. At the same time, the UK Government needs to level the playing field for honest UK businesses by working actively through the G20.” said Chandrashekhar Krishnan, Executive Director of Transparency International UK.

A year ago the group of 20 leading economies (G20) committed to tackling foreign bribery by launching an anti-corruption action plan. The progress report of the working group monitoring the action plan, which G20 leaders are expected to approve at tomorrow’s Cannes summit, will recognise steps taken by G20 countries China, Russia, Indonesia and India in criminalising foreign bribery. Transparency International welcomes the report and calls for swift implementation of the further anti-corruption measures that it calls for.

Transparency International Chair, Huguette Labelle, said “In their meeting in Cannes this week, G20 governments must tackle foreign bribery as a matter of urgency. New legislation in G20 countries is an opportunity to provide a fairer, more open global economy that creates the conditions for sustainable recovery and the stability of future growth. Governments can press home the advances made by putting resources behind investigations and prosecutions of foreign bribery, so that there is a very real deterrent to unethical and illegal behaviour.”

The impact of bribery

In the survey, international business leaders reported the widespread practice of companies paying bribes to public officials in order to, for example, win public tenders, avoid regulation, speed up government processes or influence policy.

However, companies are almost as likely to pay bribes to other businesses, according to today’s report, which looks at business-to-business bribery for the first time. This suggests that corruption is not only a concern for the public sector, but for the business sector as well, carrying major reputational and financial risks for the companies involved.

The 2011 Bribe Payers Index also looks at the likelihood of firms in 19 specific sectors to engage in bribery and exert undue influence on governments:

Public works and construction companies scored lowest in the survey. This is a sector where bypassed regulations and poor delivery can have disastrous effects on public safety.
Oil and gas is also a sector seen as especially prone to bribery. The extractives industry has long been prone to corruption risk. Companies operating in oil-rich Nigeria have already been fined upwards of US $3.2 billion in 2010-2011 for bribery of public officials.

To read the full report, click here

Note to editors: the 2011 Corruption Perceptions Index, ranking countries by perceived levels of public sector corruption, will be published on 1 December 2011.

NGOs warn against withholding aid from high-risk countries

kate.zechner@transparency.org.uk (Kate Zechner) — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 15:31:35 +0000

Two leading NGOs are calling for the aid and development community to manage corruption risks, not avoid countries where aid is needed most, as a parliamentary committee warns against DFID’s decision to focus aid on high-risk countries.

Mango and Transparency International UK have responded to a report released by the Public Accounts Committee, which has suggested that DFID’s decision to focus humanitarian aid on high-risk countries will result in more money being lost through corruption.

Chandrashekhar Krishnan, Executive Director of Transparency International UK, said “The poorest of the poor already suffer disproportionally from the bribery and corruption which is often entrenched in the high-risk countries identified by DFID. To withhold aid altogether would only inflict a double taxation on those who already suffer most from corruption.”

NGOs are often operating in the highest-risk countries for corruption. The work being undertaken by NGOs to prevent bribery has been given increased emphasis with the commencement of the UK Bribery Act, which acted as a spur to a group of leading NGOs developing and publishing Anti-bribery Principles and Guidance for NGOs. The group was led by Mango and Transparency International UK under the auspices of Bond, the UK membership body for NGOs working in international development.

Tim Boyes-Watson, Director of Mango, said “Field experience suggests that it is possible to operate even in high-risk areas without paying bribes, but it requires good local understanding, project design that takes account of bribery risk, training and support for staff – and above all, a clear tone from the top of NGOs that they will not be complicit in corruption. We are calling on the development community to manage the corruption risks well and ensure that aid reaches those who desperately need it.”

For more information please contact Tim Boyes-Watson at Mango on 07976 406682 or Rachel Davies at Transparency International UK on 07411 347754. Chandrashekhar Krishnan and Tim Boyes-Watson are available for comment.

Notes

1. Mango’s mission is to strengthen the financial management and accountability of development and humanitarian NGOs and their partners. www.mango.org.uk
2. Transparency International UK is the UK Chapter of the global movement against corruption www.transparency.org.uk
3. The publication, ‘Anti-Bribery Principles and Guidance for NGOs’, was developed by the Bond Anti-Bribery NGO Working Group. Participating NGOs were Mango and Transparency International UK (co-chairs), Bond, CAFOD, Christian Aid, CFDG, Global Witness, Muslim Aid, Oxfam, Tearfund, Water Aid and WWF. It can be downloaded from http://www.bond.org.uk/pages/anti-bribery-principles-and-guidelines-for-ngos.html.

Grieve must not terminate UK-Saudi bribery investigation

rachel.davies@transparency.org.uk (Rachel Davies) — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 10:55:22 +0000

In the wake of serious bribery allegations involving GPT, the UK subsidiary of European defence company EADS, and the Saudi Royal family, Transparency International UK is calling on the Government to support a full investigation by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO).

The Attorney General is reportedly deliberating over whether the SFO should continue to investigate allegations that GPT made illicit payments to the Saudi Royal family in order to secure a contract worth £2 billion.

The Attorney General’s decision will face a high level of international scrutiny because the UK’s anti-corruption record is currently under review by the United Nations, the Council of Europe and the OECD. Under Article 5 of the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention, to which the UK is a party, a state cannot allow political, economic or diplomatic considerations to interfere with the investigation and prosecution of foreign bribery cases. This echoes the BAE Systems case in 2006, when the Blair government caused an international outcry by forcing the SFO to drop an investigation into allegations of bribery in the Al Yamamah UK-Saudi defence contract.

Chandrashekhar Krishnan, Executive Director of Transparency International UK said “Under no circumstance should the UK allow political, economic or diplomatic considerations to affect the course of justice. If the SFO believe they have a strong case, it is vital that they are allowed to investigate and, if necessary, prosecute without political interference.

“We would expect EADS, as leading members of the international defence industry’s own anti-corruption initiatives such as the Common Industry Standards for Anti-Corruption and IFBEC, to cooperate with the SFO and undertake a thorough internal investigation into these allegations.

“The UK’s anti-corruption performance is currently under international scrutiny and the Government’s decision will be closely watched by any corrupt company and government overseas looking for an excuse to continue business as usual. It is imperative that the Government sticks by the international rules and ensures this investigation goes ahead.”

Notes

1. It has been reported that the Serious Fraud Office opened an investigation into GPT, a British subsidiary of EADS, after a whistleblower alerted them to a payment of £11.5 million made to a Swiss bank account controlled by a member of the Saudi Royal family.

2. The Attorney General has reportedly been briefed and must now decide whether or not to allow a prosecution to proceed.

3. Transparency International UK [registered charity no.1112842] is the UK chapter of the world’s leading non-governmental anti-corruption organisation. With more than 90 chapters worldwide, Transparency International has extensive global expertise and understanding of corruption.

4. Transparency International UK’s Defence and Security Programme helps to build integrity and reduce corruption in defence and security establishments worldwide through supporting counter corruption reform in nations, raising integrity in arms transfers, and influencing policy in defence and security: www.ti-defence.org Transparency International UK is part of the global movement against corruption:

Corruption crisis requires coordinated response

rachel.davies@transparency.org.uk (Rachel Davies) — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 16:31:12 +0000

On the eve of the Home Affairs Committee hearing into the phone hacking scandal, Transparency International UK warns that a lack of coordination will weaken momentum for deep, lasting reform. It draws four key lessons:

- The Government is ill-equipped to respond to a corruption crisis that spans several sectors. There is no individual or institution with the remit to coordinate a robust response to corruption in the UK – although ironically the government has an ‘overseas anti-corruption champion’.

- There is an undercurrent of corruption in several key UK institutions. This scandal alone has shone the spotlight on the media, the police, politicians, regulatory scrutiny and the ethical integrity of a major UK company. Yet several anti-corruption oversight structures are being hastily dismantled or severely cut back under government plans. This should be put on hold until the consequences have been properly examined.

- Practices that have been taken for granted for many years should now come under review, such as the willingness of politicians to accept corporate and media hospitality and ‘revolving door’ employment between major media companies, political offices and the police.

- Overall, the UK is complacent about corruption. This has allowed a culture of impunity to develop, in which corruption is not seriously analysed or investigated, and individuals have behaved unethically in the belief that they would not or should not be held to account. It is notable that with each high profile resignation over the past week, the individuals in question have denied any ethical shortcomings.

Chandrashekhar Krishnan, Executive Director of Transparency International UK, said “This case has shone an awkward spotlight on undercurrents of corruption in key UK institutions. It is clear that there is systemic complacency about corruption in the UK, even if the problem is not endemic. The Government needs the courage to admit that many checks and balances have failed. Instead of a proliferation of inquiries we need urgent action to put in place policies that will prevent such a crisis from happening again and restore public trust in our key institutions."

Last month we published a report which examined the level of corruption across 23 UK sectors and institutions including all those affected by the phone hacking scandal. Our report highlighted a level of complacency – and some cases, denial – over the level of UK corruption. You can view the report by going to http://www.transparency.org.uk/ti-uk-programmes/corruption-in-the-uk

Phone hacking scandal: TI-UK statement

rachel.davies@transparency.org.uk (Rachel Davies) — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 11:07:17 +0000

Transparency International UK is calling for swift action to undo the damage caused by the phone hacking scandal.

Chandrashekhar Krishnan, Executive Director of Transparency International UK, said “The allegations that journalists bribed police officers are both shocking and serious. The Met investigation should be carried out quickly and the perpetrators investigated and convicted if guilty.

“This sad case reveals that the UK is not immune to corruption and that there are risks of corruption within the police and media which must not be ignored. The Government cannot afford to be complacent. There is a need for swift action and thorough investigation. We are calling on the Prime Minister to ensure that the promised public inquiry proceeds without delay.”

Notes to editors

1. TI-UK recently published a report, Corruption in the UK, which revealed that corruption is a much greater problem in the UK than recognised and that there is an inadequate response to its growing threat. Police and press are covered in the report - see Part 2 for more information on police and Part 3 for media.

2. Transparency International UK [registered charity no.1112842] is the UK chapter of the world’s leading non-governmental anti-corruption organisation. With more than 90 chapters worldwide, Transparency International has extensive global expertise and understanding of corruption.