Bribery is about as old as business and commerce itself. From the dawn of trade, people have tried to obtain advantage through backhanders – or however pre-historic humans would have referred to the equivalent of bunging someone ‘a pony’.
And there is certainly no shortage of high-profile cases and allegations today – BAe and Saudi Arabia, various international sporting events, not least the football World Cup and the Olympic Games, all spring to mind without taxing the memory too much. Indeed, bribery, graft and corruption are such big business these days that a whole consultancy sector has emerged to deal with it and advise global corporations on how to steer an ethically clear path.
One of those consultancies is Forensic Risk Alliance – with offices in the US, UK, France and Switzerland – and one of its partners, David Lawler, has penned this guide to navigating the increasingly complex maze of domestic anti-bribery legislation and regulations.
The publishers bill this tome as being a ‘practical, easy-to-read exploration of bribery and anti-corruption legislation and cases. It details how to implement controls and procedures that comply with current best practice, and is essential reading for all senior executives working for multinational companies, sporting bodies, and the media’.
Tantamount to saying that no respectable corporate executive should venture out of the office without clutching a copy – especially, as the author points out, that ‘prosecutions could result in them serving time in prison as well as multi-million pound fines for their companies’.