Bribery is an offence which involves offering someone a reward, monetary or otherwise, in return for a favour which the recipient is not entitled to perform. It may be to influence their behaviour or their opinions on a certain course of action like a vote. The phrase often coined is "money under the table" which explains a payment being given to someone, usually someone in office who has the power to authorise decisions, in return for an unfair business advantage.
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Corruption is a form of bribery but does not necessarily involve the offer of a gift. It is committed where someone in a government setting uses that influence illegally, for example for their own personal gain, or to assist their family or friends. It is an abuse of a position of power. It can be used to avoid compliance with rules and regulations.
Bribery is now defined by the Bribery Act 2010 which came into effect on 1st July 2011. The definition is convoluted:
Bribery is defined in the Act, by reference to how a reasonable person would expect an act by someone in a position of trust (either publicly or privately) to be performed, when done in good faith and impartially. If the act of that person is considered by a reasonable person to be in breach of such an expectation it will be deemed an improper performance of that act. Consequently, anyone who is involved in that activity by offering a benefit to the official, in return for such an advantage, arising from that improper performance, will be guilty of Bribery. Likewise, the official carrying out the improper performance will be guilty of Bribery.
A corporate organisation can commit an offence if a representative of the corporate attempts to gain an unfair advantage for the corporate, by obtaining or retain business for that corporate, or if it done to secure a business advantage for the corporate. The representative does not have to be an employee of the corporate, it can be an agent for, or a subsidiary of the corporate.
It does not matter if the offer, promise or gift is made directly to the official or through a third party.
It is a defence if the corporate can show that it had adequate procedures in place designed to prevent such acts of bribery.
The penalties are severe and far reaching. For an individual, the maximum term of imprisonment is 10 years. For a corporation it is an unlimited fine. The corporate can also be sanctioned from future trading.
Do not delay, time is vital in order for us to properly examine the evidence against you, contact potential witnesses, ensure timelines are consistent with the evidence and investigate many other aspects in order to create your strongest legal defence.
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