BSI and City of London Police to tackle anti-bribery compliance "apathy" with new training programmes

Writing on his website, thebriberyact.com, Barry Vitou of Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.com, said that the new courses would help UK businesses to implement effective anti-bribery management systems and conduct adequate internal investigations.

"Some have complained that they do not know what might equate to 'adequate procedures' under the Bribery Act," he said.

"With Police Commissioner Adrian Leppard saying that 'the BS 10500 Anti-Bribery Management System sets a benchmark for good business practice both domestically and internationally', businesses that put in place a compliance programme meeting BSI standards will be very well placed to claim the adequate procedures defence," he said.

The Bribery Act, which came into force on 1 July 2011, created a new offence of failing to prevent bribery by people working on or on behalf of a business. This means that companies can now be legally responsible for bribery carried out by their employees or agents. However, companies can escape liability if they are able to show that they have 'adequate procedures' designed to prevent bribery in place.

In a joint statement, BSI and the City of London Police said that the new training programmes would give businesses a "comprehensive understanding of the relevant policies, procedures and controls" needed to provide the 'adequate procedures' defence. These courses, which will begin in September, will be based on the BSI's Anti-Bribery Management standard, BS 10500. The BSI will also begin to offer a certification scheme, providing independent assessment of an organisation's compliance with the standard, later this year, it said.

According to the statement, conflicting legal and commercial advice issued following the introduction of the Bribery Act had created "confusion" amongst small and medium-sized businesses, and had led to some over-compensating for, "or simply ignoring", the Act. In particular, many smaller businesses had chosen to withdraw from trading in high-risk territories overseas "for fear of prosecution", the statement said.

"The ongoing threat of bribery related corruption has undoubtedly triggered concern amongst British business leaders," said Howard Kerr, BSI chief executive. "No organisation is immune from bribery risk, however, organisations can demonstrate that they have adequate procedures in place to prevent bribery and the financial and reputational costs associated with it."

"The development of a specific anti-bribery standard responds to this business concern and helps organisations turn the legal requirements of the Act into practical, cost effective measures and shows them how to implement the right controls across their business and supply chain," he said.

Around 25 individual cases of bribery are currently being investigated by the City of London Police, it said. In addition, 28 suspects and one corporate entity have been charged with an offence since the Overseas Anti-Corruption Unit (OACU) was set up in 2006.