The Bribery Bill of the United Kingdom
Just last year, after twelve years of delay and consultations, the government of the United Kingdom passed what it known as the Bribery Bill. This is part of a global attack on not only bribery, but terrorism and corruption as well. The Justice Secretary for the UK is Jack Straw, and it was he who presented the bill to the British Parliament last March, in 2009. This bill makes it a criminal offense for officials and government employees, to either make or take a bribe. The penalties include up to ten years in prison, and the bill extends beyond the shores of the United Kingdom.
The plan is to extend this bill to businesses, corporations, or politicians who although may not be involved in the bribe per se, allow it to happen, deeming them negligent and therefore, willing accomplices. As the bill was being approved, more than twenty cases of bribery were under investigation. And according to Straw, only one company in the UK has been brought to trial and found guilty. Corruption is a form of internal, and external, terrorism.
Corruptive acts not only hurt those who are being directly taken advantage of, but it affects everyone living in the country. This bribery bill is in response to years and years of laws and regulations that have not been reviewed nor updated since 1906. The bill will ensure that there is a framework in place, in order to detect and to prosecute those in violation, in both the public and the private sectors. As to date, the procedures have been a bit fragmented and complex, leaving those doing investigations without much to stand upon.
The crimes will be simplified in designation, as those referring to bribes taken to gain an advantage, or those given to promise an advantage. All corporations will need to have in place, a system of checks and balances, a way to know just who it is they are conducting business with, as they will be held responsible for any acts of corruption, whether they participated in them or not. The March draft of the bill went through much scrutiny and revision before November 19, 2009, the day it was introduced into the House of Lords. This is one of the many ways the countries of world are coming together to make it a safer world for everyone, in every country.
Related posts:
- Political Corruption in Afghanistan Elections
- Several Arrested in a New York Money Laundering Scheme
- The Constant Diligence of the US Patriot Act
