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| Alliance Boots cutting 900 jobs Alliance Boots is cutting 900 non-store UK jobs over the next three years as it seeks to reduce costs. bbc.co.uk |
Serious Fraud Office promises crackdown on firms offering bribes abroad Watchdog warns of zero-tolerance approach to even minor kickbacks under Bribery ActThe Serious Fraud Office is to crack down on multinationals that bribe foreign officials or offer lavish hospitality to win lucrative overseas contracts.SFO investigators will adopt "a zero-tolerance approach" towards companies offering inducements or "kickbacks" to foreign governments in return for preferential treatment. Behind the crackdown is Britain's new Bribery Act, which comes into force in April.There could be a rise in prosecutions, SFO officials warn, if firms fail to adhere to the principles of the act, which was drawn up by the former Labour government after the SFO's decision to abandon an inquiry into BAE Systems' £43bn al-Yamamah arms deals with Saudi Arabia. The case was dropped in 2006, despite a long-running corruption investigation, after the then prime minister Tony Blair intervened.The head of the World Bank's anti-corruption unit, Leonard McCarthy, met the SFO's director, Richard Alderman, last month to discuss strengthening co-operation between the two agencies.McCarthy said the Bank wanted to work with the SFO to ensure that funds stolen from developing countries were repatriated. The Bank can bar companies guilty of corruption from securing future work in emerging economies. "We need a few decisions. We need to inject some action," he said on Friday.The Bribery Act replaces Britain's patchwork of late 19th-century statutes and 20th-century common law, which has made it difficult for the authorities to secure successful prosecutions.For the first time, any company with British offices or owning a UK subsidiary will be subject to the act, and for the first time the SFO will not have to prove intent by a board's directors – merely that fraud has been committed. A company whose overseas agents, suppliers or joint venture partners are involved in fraud will be held liable. The only defence for a company is to show that it has rigorous anti-bribery systems in place.London-based multinationals have been urgently consulting law firms to clarify new rules on corporate hospitality and "facilitation" payments to people such as foreign customs officials.Some lawyers believe the act goes too far. Richard de Carle, of Slaughter and May, said: "This is a highly unsatisfactory piece of legislation as it criminalises activity previously regarded as perfectly normal. If a firm takes someone to the Ryder Cup and buys them a drink, is that deemed as improper? What about countries where there is no legal framework to fall back on?"Critics insist that a grey area exists and that, in some jurisdictions, bribing customs officials to ensure goods get from one country to another is par for the course.But Barry Vitou of Winston & Strawn said: "Much of what is required is common sense. If a minister from overseas is put up in a five-star hotel for five days to justify a one-day visit to a factory, and spends most of his time in the swimming pool, or out with his wife shopping ... that sort of thing is going to be very hard to justify. In addition to obvious cases of bribery, facilitation or 'grease' payments – the payment of small sums of money to ensure someone performs their duty – are illegal."The SFO cannot condone such payments but it is open to question how it would police the new system. Corporate hospitality can amount to bribery, for example, if "it is disproportionate or lavish", sayssaid Vitou.Andrew Legg of Mayer Brown said cases were unlikely to be brought if a firm doled out $5 to an overseas contact, but if it became routine, "they could find themselves in trouble".Serious Fraud OfficeGlobal economyWorld BankThe BAE filesArms tradeLarry ElliottRichard Wachmanguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Pink Floyd may re-form for charity Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason says the legendary rock band may get back together to play concerts for charity. bbc.co.uk |
Fund Manager Doesn't Hedge His Bets on Tories As the right-leaning British government prepares to impose some of the deepest spending cuts in a generation, it is doing so with the full throated support of London's financial elite. nytimes.com |
China primes house tax to halt runaway prices China is considering a wealth tax on homeowners as it grasps at new weapons to halt a frantic rise in property prices that many fear poses the biggest threat to the Chinese economy. timesonline.co.uk |