On 20th July 2010 the Ministry of Justice issued a press release on the Bribery Act 2010 (the "Bribery Act") stating that the Bribery Act would come into force in April 2011. The Bribery Act is aimed at reinforcing the reputation of the United Kingdom as one of the least corrupt countries in the world and seeks to pave the way for fairer practice by encouraging companies to adopt anti-bribery safeguards.
The most significant change for all companies is that the corporate offence is now one of strict liability. Therefore, under the Bribery Act, an organisation will automatically be guilty of a criminal offence where a bribe is paid on its behalf, subject to the defence of "adequate procedures".
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