Ethics Newsline®

From Transparency International

“Over half of the world’s major exporting countries are still lacking the political will to prosecute foreign bribery, according to a new report by Transparency International (TI).

“The 2007 TI Progress Report on OECD Convention Enforcement shows that more than half of 34 parties to the OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials are not enforcing the Convention or keeping their commitments. Signatory countries account for about two-thirds of world exports of goods and services. At the same time, there is now significant enforcement in 14 countries compared with 12 in 2006 and 8 in 2005.

” ‘Stronger measures must be applied to ensure compliance by governments that have not shown the political will to prosecute foreign bribery. Inaction by one country undermines enforcement by others, ultimately hurting international competition and business,’ said TI Chair Huguette Labelle.

“Of the eight largest exporters, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and the United States have made important progress in enforcement; however, there have been no significant prosecutions in Canada, Japan, and the United Kingdom….

“The termination by the UK of the investigation into allegations of bribery by BAE Systems on the Al Yamamah arms project in Saudi Arabia represents a major setback for the Convention. The UK’s claim that national security interests override the prohibition of foreign bribery creates an open-ended loophole that other countries could readily use….

“The key problem in non-enforcing countries is lack of political will. Additional obstacles identified in the Report include national legal systems that do not sufficiently comply with the convention’s provisions and a lack of resources which in turn hinders investigations and prosecutions.

“Rigorous company compliance programmes are missing in many countries that are economic powerhouses and the base for major multinationals….”