Report on Corruption: Legislation, Enforcement & Consequences

This report provides an overview of corruption and related legislation in the UK, focusing on the Bribery Act 2011. It details the Act's provisions, including offenses related to bribery, both domestic and international, and the responsibilities of corporate entities in preventing corruption. The report also identifies key enforcement bodies in the UK, such as the National Crime Agency and the Serious Fraud Office, and their roles in investigating and prosecuting corruption cases. Penalties for contravening the Bribery Act are outlined, including imprisonment for individuals and strict liability for corporate bodies. The report concludes by emphasizing the detrimental effects of corruption on the economy and society, including erosion of trust in governmental institutions and risks to democratic processes. Furthermore, a CPD plan is included which highlights the impact of corruption on business and society and future implementations.

CORRUPTION

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION:...............................................................................................................................3
Legislation or code of conduct:............................................................................................................3
Enforcement bodies:.............................................................................................................................4
Conclusion:...........................................................................................................................................5
REFERENCES:....................................................................................................................................6
PART B CPD PLAN.........................................................................................................................7

INTRODUCTION:
Practice of corruption not only has bearing on social and political structure but also affects
economic prosperity of a nation. It has existed ever since the dawn of humanity in one form or
another. Corrupt practices erodes trust in democratic establishments,causes stagnation in economic
system, and breeds criminal sentimentality into society as a whole. Corrupt practices can have in its
ambit suppressing the justice system, impediments in election process, executives extorting bribes
from citizens.
Code of conduct:
Any criminal activity committed subsequently to enactment of bribery act 2011 is
punishable in accordance with provisions of the above Act. However crimes committed before the
enactment fall within the scope of prevention of corruption Act 1916 and 1906 and common law
crime of bribing. (Sanseverino,2021)Under the new law enacted by parliament of UK. Bribery
connotes providing advantages(by giving money or other benefits) to a person to induce them for
performing their obligations and duties in a manner which is not proper, or rewarding a person for
improper acts done in past. It is crucial to note that monetary or other benefit does not actually need
to exchanged to establish the offence merely promising to conduct duties in a manner which is not
proper can constitute an offence. The bribery Act makes provision for four distinct offences Firstly
the person who gives bribes, secondly the person who is being paid off, thirdly bribes given to
people working for foreign governments and lastly a private entity failing to take reasonable steps
for prevention of bribery.(Cathcart, 2019)
It is not necessary that whether or not the person wilfully not fulfilling obligations is in
public domain or private domain. However it needs to be established that the person working in
private domain worked on something which provides utility to the public. The act not being proper
means that the person has breached code of conduct which needed to be completed in good faith
whilst being impartial. Even though no money or other benefit may have been accrued to the person
involved a mere promise may be constituted as crime. Moreover even though a person may not
directly involve himself in the whole transaction and act through an intermediary, they still are
liable to punished under bribery act.
There are specific provision such as section 6 of bribery Act which deal with providing
bribes to foreign officials as the phenomenon of corruption not only affects UK domestically but
also sours the relationships with foreign countries.
According to section 7 of bribery Act companies are liable if they can't full fill their lawful
duty to take actions to prevent bribery from its members. However they may evade such liability if
they can show that they took reasonably foreseeable steps and established proper procedures

precisely so that corrupt activities are inhibited. It needs to be noted that guilty intention needs to be
established while prosecuting an individual for a crime under the Act however no such guilty
intention needs to be attributed to body corporates, merely showing that the corrupt act has taken
place is enough to prosecute.(Zagaris, 2022)
Liabilities:
Any person who contravenes provisos of Bribery Act is liable to serve up to 10 years in
prison. However for any body corporate the punishment which could given is of strict liability in
nature which connotes no amount is fixed and company contravening has unlimited liability.
Enforcement bodies:
In United Kingdom keeping police aside there exists in excess of sixty particular offices
which supervise and examine corruption cases. The national crime agency came into existence in
2013 to supervise the outlook of national law enforcing offices in tackling corruption.
The serious fraud office is non ministerial body which examines crimes related which are
very complex and prosecutes the offenders. It was established in 1987 to full fill obligation under
criminal justice enactment of 1987.( Kaul, 2019)It contains experts from various departments such
as investigators, accountants, Information technology experts, experts from prosecutor's office etc.
who work together in sync. There is no particular delineation in type of case which fraud office of
national crime agency are supposed to handle. However it could be said that fraud office works
complex cases in which a multidisciplinary team is required. The crime agency supervise cases of
corruption in police domestically together with overseeing international corruption agency which
investigates foreign corruption cases and laundering of money. (Turksen, and Chauhan, 2018)
The anti corruption unit was amalgamated with national crime agency and result was
international corruption unit being born which liaises its operation with international development
department. This new international corruption unit deals in matters contravening to UK bribery
enactment of 2011. Companies to be investigated need to registered in Britain or foreign companies
which have nexus with companies registered in Britain. The agency recovers and reinstitutes the
finances which were embezzled. Further it provides crucial assistance to foreign institutions for
investigation of corruption cases and takes measures for diminution of consequences of such
corruption on the overall economy of Britain. In addition the international unit is also responsible
for reducing Britain's economic vulnerability to embezzled funds.(Rose, and Peiffer, 2019)

Conclusion:
Corrupt practices result in surmountable losses to economy of nation. It is very tough to
know much exposure an economy has to embezzled and illegal funds, Since these activities are
always conducted discreetly. Corrupt practices erode trust in governmental institutions which is
already in short supply. Moreover it poses great risks to working of any democracy as the basis of
democracy which is free and fair election can be marred by such corrupt practices.(Pang, 2022) The
report above brings out various code of conduct and legislations regarding corrupt activities, mainly
the bribery enactment of 2011 and its various provisions. Further various offices which are
established with a view to stop such corrupt practices and their respective ambit is provided. The
various penalties which a person or body corporate could incur if it finds itself contravening bribery
enactment are provided.

REFERENCES:
Books and journals:
Cathcart, B., 2019. The UK national press: reform and corruption. In Corruption in the Global
Era (pp. 95-110). Routledge.
Kaul, T., 2019. Anti Bribery & Anti Corruption Law in the United Kingdom. Ct. Uncourt, 6, p.18.
Pang, J., 2022. DEMOCRACY, AUTHORITARIANISM, CORRUPTION: The UK's democratic
crisis. Renewal (0968252X), 30(2).
Rose, R. and Peiffer, C., 2019. Bad governance and corruption. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan.
Sanseverino, A., 2021. The Impact of Anti-Corruption Laws: Evidence from the UK Bribery Act’s
Extraterritorial Reach. Available at SSRN 3913208.
Turksen, U. and Chauhan, V., 2018. Anti-bribery and corruption: perceptions, risks and practice for
UK banks. In White Collar Crime and Risk (pp. 43-91). Palgrave Macmillan, London.
Zagaris, B., 2022. Money Laundering and Transnational Corruption. IELR, 38, p.135.

PART B CPD PLAN
Area of Learning – The topic which I choose for may report was corruption. It influences the
democratic way functioning immensely and negates healthy competition as companies can use
bribes to gain unfair advantages. It does not merely confine itself to affecting people who were
involved in corruption or their families or the companies they work for rather these corrupt
practices tear apart the very fabric of society. Corruption in public domain results in pathetic
quality of services being provided to public or it may mean infrastructure activities undertaken
are of poor quality liable to get destroyed from element. It also may mean that infrastructure
never gets completed or started. For private sector it connotes financial losses, loss in morale of
workers, erosion of goodwill and reputation and increased scrutiny of its operations. For an
individual corruption means being liable to be sent to prison, loosing livelihood, familial ties
and social standing. For the nation overall it connotes eroding of revenues since tax is not paid
in such activities, moreover the fiduciary relationship established with general populace gets
rusted until the whole system collapses in on itself. Further honest businesses can't survive as
major source of income ie. Government contracts were not allotted to them.
Reflection of Learning – Prior to reading about all the provisions related to corruption I was not
aware that body corporates could be made strictly liable, for not only indulging in corrupt
practices but also failing in their duty under the bribery enactment to prevent corruption. The
guilty intention need not to be established in cases where companies are concerned. I also did
not know that mere promise could be considered an offence under the Act. Only when
companies can show that they had established adequate procedure to prevent corruption can
they escape liability. I was unaware that private entities or people could also be held liable
under the Act in addition to public servants. Moreover the concept of bribery in my head
connoted that person receiving the bribe could only be held responsible. However after reading,
I have come to realize that the person giving the bribe can also be held responsible and is liable
to receive punishment of maximum ten years in prison.
Future Implication – Upon completing my report, I have understood the of corruption however
small or large culminates into very severe negative consequences for economy and society.
When I start my own enterprise I need to establish adequate procedures in place to prevent such
nefarious activities and thereby save my company from being held strictly liable.

Action – I shall uphold highest ethical and moral standards whilst conducting business operation of
my own or working for an enterprise. I shall not tolerate any person indulging in corrupt
practices and report to various agencies in case I come across any corrupt activities. I shall
assess the vulnerability of my company towards corruption and remedy them in additon to
monitoring them for modification. I shall uphold integrity of service if I go to work in public
domain.