THE OECD Working Group on Bribery made up of the 34 OECD Member countries plus Argentina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Russia and South Africa, has just completed a review of Norway’s enforcement of the Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions and related instruments. It observes that Norway has made significant progress in its efforts against the bribery of foreign public officials in recent years, but more could be done to strengthen enforcement, including by focusing on the confiscation from companies of the proceeds of bribery.

While commending Norway for its strong commitment in fighting transnational bribery,the group also made recommendations on ways to further improve enforcement. Apart from confiscation, these are :

· Ensure Økokrim, Norway’s economic crime authority, continues to proactively investigate and prosecute transnational bribery;

· Increase possibilities for the detection of bribery in international business deals, in particular by strengthening auditors’ obligations to report corrupt behaviour; and

· Improve the Norwegian Government’s capacity to debar companies sanctioned for transnational bribery, for example by providing a central point of access for information on these companies.