OECD Report seeks stronger enforcement in fight against corruption By TII News Service
Apr 20, 2011 , Paris
AS per the OECD Report released today, most governments are not meeting
their international commitments to clamp down on bribery and corruption in
international business, with only five signatories to the OECD Anti-Bribery
Convention having sanctioned individuals or companies in the past
year.
OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría will urge ministers and
business leaders attending an OECD/G20 anti-corruption conference at the OECD on
27 and 28 April to step up enforcement and compliance with the landmark
treaty.
Five of the 38 nations that are signatories to the Convention
imposed penalties on individuals or firms last year: the U.S. sanctioned 8
individuals and 11 companies; Germany sanctioned 3 individuals; France and
Switzerland 1 individual; and the UK 2 individuals and 1 company. 260
investigations are currently ongoing in Convention countries.
Since the
Convention came into force into 1999, 199 individuals and 91 companies have been
sanctioned for foreign bribery offenses. But most parties to the Convention have
yet to sanction any individual or company.
G20 countries adopted at their
Seoul Summit in November 2010 an Anti-Corruption Action Plan for “combating
corruption, promoting market integrity and supporting a clean businesss
environment.” The Plan calls on G20 countries not Party to the Anti-Bribery
Convention to more closely with the OECD Working Group on Bribery or join the
Convention. The countries are China, India, Indonesia, Russia and Saudi
Arabia.
Russia asked to join the Convention in February 2009. China
passed laws to criminalise foreign bribery in February 2011. Indonesia prepared
draft legislation in March 2011 and a bill has been presented to the Indian
parliament to prohibit bribes to foreign public officials.
