Low fines and inconsistent laws mean that many companies are prepared to risk becoming involved in bribery, according to a report from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Penalties for bribery differ significantly across the 41 countries committed to the OECD’s anti-bribery convention. Maximum fines range from $580k to $10m with eight countries setting no upper limit. The report’s findings reveal that maximum fines in 23 countries are insufficiently high to offset the financial benefits of investments connected to bribery. The report calls for tougher imposition of existing sanctions. Of the signatories to the convention, 24 have not taken action against a single company or individual since the agreement was implemented in 1999. In addition to increasing penalties for corruption, governments should also consider introducing new anti-corruption measures such as asset freezes and travel bans on officials suspected of corruption.
Low fines and inconsistent laws mean that many companies are prepared to risk becoming involved in bribery, according to a report from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Penalties for bribery differ significantly across the 41 countries committed to the OECD’s anti-bribery convention. Maximum fines range from $580k to $10m with eight countries setting no upper limit. The report’s findings reveal that maximum fines in 23 countries are insufficiently high to offset the financial benefits of investments connected to bribery. The report calls for tougher imposition of existing sanctions. Of the signatories to the convention, 24 have not taken action against a single company or individual since the agreement was implemented in 1999. Germany and the US were identified as the countries most likely to enforce sanctions.