The Phase 3 Report on Switzerland by the OECD Working Group on Bribery evaluates and makes recommendations on Switzerland 's implementation and application of the OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions and related instruments.

Bribery of public officials is harmful to good governance, economic development and competitive conditions. Confiscation and recovery of the proceeds derived from foreign bribery are key elements in the international framework to fight corruption of public officials.

The United Kingdom has significantly boosted its foreign bribery enforcement efforts but needs to be more transparent when resolving cases.

Hungary’s law banning bribery of foreign public officials is relatively good on paper but lacks effective application, according to a new OECD report. Hungary must strengthen detection and prosecution of individuals and companies involved in foreign bribery.

This brochure describes the multiple domains where the OECD is engaged in fighting corruption and boosting integrity. It relates how the CleanGovBiz initiative is drawing together for the first time these anti-corruption tools under a single umbrella.

Colombia and Mexico are a step closer to beneffiting from cross border tax co-operation and information sharing. Colombia has signed, and Mexico has deposited its instrument of ratification for the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters.

Financial crimes, including corruption, tax fraud and money laundering, are a threat to all countries, both developing and developed. The sums are vast. Estimates have put total proceeds from all illicit activities at 3.6% of global GDP.

20/06/2012 - The Slovak Republic must urgently meet its obligations under the Convention it signed 12 years ago and introduce an effective corporate liability regime so that Slovak companies are held accountable for the bribery of foreign public officials in cross-border business deals, says a new OECD report.

More than twelve years after making foreign bribery a crime, Sweden needs to make much greater efforts to actively enforce its anti-bribery legislation, according to a new OECD report.

OECD signed agreement for a peer review with the Comptroller General of Chile

This Working Group on Bribery consultation with the private sector and civil society focused on collective action in the fight against foreign bribery.

France should intensify its efforts to combat the bribery of foreign public officials. Only five convictions – of which one, under appeal, involves a company – have been handed down in twelve years.

Australia’s enforcement of its foreign bribery laws has been extremely low, with just a single case leading to prosecutions out of 28 referrals in 13 years. Cases may have been closed prematurely. Australia must vigorously pursue foreign bribery allegations.

This study focuses on the challenges that arise in providing and obtaining mutual legal assistance (MLA) in foreign bribery cases. Because these cases take place across borders, effective MLA between countries is crucial for the successful investigation, prosecution and sanctioning of this crime.

Colombia will become the 40th Party to the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention on 19 January 2013.

El 19 de enero de 2013 Colombia se convertirá en el 40º estado en formar parte en la Convención para Combatir el Cohecho.

To mark the 15th anniversary of the signature of the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention, Mark Pieth and Huguette Labelle call on Parties to the OECD's Anti-Bribery Convention to step up enforcement of their anti-bribery laws.

Die OECD-Arbeitsgruppe gegen Bestechung bedauert, dass in Österreich bisher noch kein Urteil wegen der Bestechung von ausländischen Amtsträgern ergangen ist, obwohl seit der Ratifizierung des entsprechenden OECD-Übereinkommens vor 13 Jahren eine Reihe von Vorwürfen vorlag.

The OECD Working Group on Bribery regrets that Austria has not had a conviction of bribing foreign public officials despite a number of allegations, 13 years after ratifying the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention. However, enforcement appears to be picking up, with one case being tried, two more cases soon to be tried, and four ongoing investigations.

The Netherlands is failing to vigorously pursue foreign bribery allegations and must do more to enforce its foreign bribery laws. Fourteen out of 22 foreign bribery allegations have not triggered the opening of an investigation, calling into question the Netherlands’ ability and proactivity in investigating and prosecuting this crime.

Spain’s enforcement of its foreign bribery laws has been extremely low, with not a single prosecution out of only seven investigations in 13 years since joining the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention. Spain must vigorously pursue foreign bribery allegations and strengthen its legal framework for fighting bribery by addressing gaps in its Penal Code, says a new OECD report.

Promoting anti-corruption compliance measures, to prevent corrupt acts before they take place and to properly address them when they do, and encouraging collective action and sectoral initiatives to share best practices and expertise should be a priority, said OECD Secretary-General in Moscow.

The OECD has released a study to help all countries understand and address the risks of sales suppression software. It describes some of the most common electronic sales suppression techniques and shows how these methods can be detected by tax auditors. The report also considers the approaches already adopted by countries in combating this risk and highlights a number of best practices.

Denmark’s enforcement of its foreign bribery laws has been weak. Only 13 foreign bribery allegations have surfaced, and sanctions have been imposed in just one case that falls under the Convention. Law enforcement authorities have not been sufficiently proactive, and cases have been prematurely closed without complete investigations. Denmark must take more investigative steps and make greater efforts to gather evidence from abroad.

The Czech government must urgently engage with the private sector to raise awareness, says a new OECD report. The awareness of the Czech foreign bribery offence remains regrettably low among companies, despite the recent adoption of a comprehensive corporate liability regime that holds Czech companies liable for this crime.

This report provides a comparative overview of common standards and key features of specialised anti-corruption institutions and comprehensive descriptions of 19 anti-corruption institutions operating in different parts of the world, presented in a comparable framework.

Russians are becoming increasingly active in the country’s social arena. While activists remain a small but growing and visible minority of citizens looking for changes in governance, many more are becoming involved in the day-to-day affairs of their communities. It remains to be seen whether this emerging culture of civic participation will sit comfortably with existing governance structures.

A series of high-level public events and committee meetings addressing the issue of integrity and anti-corruption take place at the OECD during the week of 22-26 April 2013.

The 2013 Forum on Integrity brought together high-level government, business and civil society representatives to exchange and discuss best practices in implementing integrity.

Co-organised by the G20 Russian Presidency and the OECD, with UNODC support, this conference focused on promoting transparency and integrity in organising sport and other major events and cutting-edge measures for governments and business to combat corruption.

Co-organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the OECD in New Delhi, discussions at this seminar focused on corruption challenges facing Indian companies today and what can be done to overcome these challenges.

Portugal’s enforcement of its foreign bribery laws has been extremely low. Not a single prosecution has resulted from 15 allegations of Portuguese companies bribing foreign officials in high-risk countries.

The current Polish framework for fighting foreign bribery is still inadequate to fully meet foreign bribery risks resulting from Poland’s growing economy, says a new OECD report.

The Forum addressed key challenges in designing and implementing a system that ensures compliance in a cost-effective way.

The OECD Working Group on Bribery has designated Slovenian national Drago Kos to serve as the Group’s new Chair.

Russia has yet to address key provisions of the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention, which entered into force in Russia in April 2012. It has not yet fully implemented recommendations for strengthening its framework for combating foreign bribery and should be more proactive in detecting, investigating and prosecuting foreign bribery cases.

Fighting foreign bribery is not a priority in Belgium. Together with the flagrant lack of resources for Belgian law enforcement authorities, this has resulted in very few foreign bribery investigations and prosecutions. In the 14 years since the entry into force of the foreign bribery offence in Belgium, only one case of bribery of foreign public officials has been concluded.

New Zealand must significantly increase its efforts to detect, investigate and prosecute foreign bribery. Since joining the Convention over 12 years ago, New Zealand has not prosecuted any cases of foreign bribery and only four allegations have surfaced to date. Outdated perceptions that New Zealand individuals and companies do not bribe may have also undermined detection efforts.

Costa Rica adhered today to OECD legal instruments on Internet governance and international business conduct, demonstrating its willingness to align its policies to best practices in these areas and work together with the Organisation.

Georgia has achieved significant progress in reducing corruption over the past decade. To build on this progress, the Government should focus on strengthening its professional civil service and ensure independence of the judiciary, according to a new OECD report.

Azerbaijan must do more to enforce recently introduced anti-corruption laws and to ensure law enforcement has the resources to prosecute complex corruption crimes, says a new OECD report.

This report looks at the issue of tax crime in the fisheries sector, including frauds over taxes on profit and earnings, customs duties, VAT and social security, with examples from real cases.

This Forum took stock of the key challenges and trends in regulating money in politics; identify emerging risks and opportunities; shape a common understanding of the policy options ahead and trade-offs in enhancing fairness, integrity and transparency in decision making including in the realm of political finance; and mobilise partners to work together and promote synergies in the future agenda.

Developed by companies, for companies, with assistance from the OECD, UNODC, and World Bank, this Handbook serves as a useful, practical tool for companies seeking compliance advice in one, easy-to-reference publication. It brings together the major business guidance instruments for companies and illustrates them using real-life, anonymised case studies provided by companies.

How can we earn back the trust of young people? Improving openness, transparency, accountability, and access to information is essential. On the occasion of the International Anti-Corruption Day and Transparency International’s 20th Anniversary, the OECD and Transparency International are inviting young people for a discussion about how to push the integrity agenda forward together.

This roundtable focused on the impact the Anti-Bribery Convention has had on the global anti-bribery agenda since its entry into force in 1999, as well as what should be done to ensure the Convention's continued relevance going forward.

The OECD Working Group on Bribery will release a report tomorrow Wednesday 18 December at 12.00 CET/11.00 Dublin time on Ireland’s efforts to fight foreign bribery.

Ireland should increase its resources to detect and investigate foreign bribery more efficiently. Resources have, in recent years, been largely devoted to investigating non-bribery cases in the financial sector. Ireland has not prosecuted a foreign bribery case in the twelve years since its foreign bribery offence came into force, and law enforcement has taken few proactive steps to investigate allegations.

Strengthening OECD firewalls can only do so much to combat a phenomenon which thrives on weak governance. This report highlights that donor agencies can support this goal through their central role in linking OECD and developing countries, and using their aid to support governments willing to tackle these issues.

Global corruption is one of the greatest challenges of our era: it distorts markets, weakens our governments, raises the costs of doing business, promotes inequalities and erodes our sustainable development efforts, said OECD Secretary-General at Chatham House.