On 21st June, law firm Clifford Chance released its latest Anti-Bribery and Corruption Review. Among the highlights are that the theme of corporate criminal liability is a focus for governments with new initiatives in Australia, Germany and Poland. Germany has introduced a new law to implement a nationwide central competition register specifically covering corruption-related offences, while China has introduced stricter rules on commercial bribery. A draft Bill in Australia proposes further strengthening of the criminal offence of bribing foreign public officials, while both Russia and Spain have acted to tighten rules on bribery in public procurement. Italy has adopted new legislation to facilitate whistleblowing and, at the same time, the US and France have both introduced new incentives for companies to disclose corruption offences voluntarily and to co-operate with prosecutors during investigations, while Japan is proposing to implement a similar regime.
