Norway has made significant progress in its efforts against the bribery of foreign public officials in recent years, according to a new OECD report. But more could be done to strengthen enforcement, including by focusing on the confiscation from companies of the proceeds of bribery.

Luxembourg must step up its efforts to detect and prosecute cases of bribery of foreign public officials, particularly now that its legal framework has been strengthened, in compliance with the Anti-Bribery Convention

Mexico has improved, but needs to give greater priority to the criminal enforcement of bribery and ensure that its criminal law enforcement authorities have all the resources and expertise they need to seriously investigate all allegations, according to a new OECD report.

Korea has improved its information and intelligence gathering capacity in foreign bribery cases, but should be more proactive in investigating allegations, according to a new OECD report.

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Chile has made positive efforts to implement the Convention, but there has not been a single foreign bribery conviction. Chile did not sufficiently investigate several of the six foreign bribery allegations that have surfaced since 2001. Chile should improve its investigative and detection efforts, says OECD

South Africa must take urgent steps to proactively investigate and prosecute foreign bribery. No foreign bribery cases have been prosecuted since South Africa joined the Convention in 2007. The 4 on-going investigations – out of only 10 allegations that have surfaced to date – are also far from reaching the prosecution stage, according to a new report by the OECD Working Group on Bribery.

Estonia’s framework for combating foreign bribery may be inadequate to efficiently tackle rising foreign bribery risks resulting from its increasingly export-intensive economy.

Serious steps must be taken by Slovenia to ensure that it effectively detects, investigates and prosecutes allegations of transnational bribery.

The OECD Working Group on Bribery supports Spain’s efforts to further reform its Penal Code to bring its anti-bribery law into line with its international obligations under the OECD Convention on Combatting Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions.

Due to serious concerns about the extremely low level of enforcement of Japan’s offence of bribing foreign public officials – just three prosecutions since 1999 – the OECD Working Group on Bribery recommended in December 2013 that Japan establish an Action Plan to organise police and prosecution resources to be able to proactively detect, investigate and prosecute cases of foreign bribery by Japanese companies.

Turkey is a significant and geopolitically critical economy. Its companies, like those from many other countries, operate in corruption-prone sectors and countries. In spite of this, only 10 allegations have come to the attention of Turkish authorities since foreign bribery became an offence in Turkey in 2003.

Brazil must build on the positive momentum started with its new Corporate Liability Law and its first indictments in one foreign bribery case to investigate and prosecute more proactively foreign bribery.

The OECD Foreign Bribery Report was launched by the OECD Secretary-General in Paris on 2 December 2014. This ground breaking report analyses data emerging from all foreign bribery enforcement actions concluded since the entry into force of the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention and for the first time ‘measures’ the crime of corruption.

One of the more startling findings in the OECD Foreign Bribery Report, is that some level of corporate management was involved in over 50% of the cases sanctioned. This paper by Leah Ambler, published in the Journal of Business Compliance (01/2015), examines what went wrong and why from a corporate governance and compliance perspective.

The risk of Greek companies bribing foreign officials is substantial, but Greece has not given the same priority to fighting foreign bribery as it has to domestic corruption.

The OECD Working Group on Bribery has serious concerns about Iceland’s lack of progress in combatting the bribery of foreign public officials, and to implement the OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions.

Israel is not sufficiently proactive in detecting and investigating foreign bribery, with no prosecutions over the past 7 years, despite 14 allegations of foreign bribery involving Israeli individuals or companies. The OECD Working Group on Bribery is, however, encouraged by the recently-opened investigations, and will pay close attention to how these evolve.

Colombia needs to improve its capacity to investigate foreign bribery by establishing an effective corporate liability regime, improving coordination between its numerous agencies and more rigorously training law enforcement, according to a new report by the OECD Working Group on Bribery.

Latvia has improved its laws since acceding to the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention in 2014. Yet serious personnel issues until recently as well as negative government commentary concerning KNAB, Latvia’s anti-corruption law enforcement agency, have cast doubts over its capacity to enforce those laws.

A high-level Working Group mission will visit Buenos Aires on 26-27 April 2016 and meet senior Argentine government officials.

A high-level Working Group mission will visit Tokyo on 29-30 June 2016 and meet senior Japanese government officials.

This stocktaking report first presents a chronology of how systems for the liability of legal persons have evolved among the 41 Parties to the Anti-Bribery Convention. It then presents a “mapping” of the features of these systems for the 41 Parties.

9 December 2016, Paris: Held on International Anti-Corruption Day, this roundtable provided an opportunity for governments, the private sector, civil society, and the media, to reflect on the liability of legal persons following more than 15 years of work by the OECD Working Group on Bribery to promote its application for foreign bribery.

Foreign bribery enforcement in the UK has increased significantly since 2012 notably thanks to the pragmatic and effective approach taken by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) to investigate and resolve foreign bribery cases.

Finland has proactively investigated seven allegations of Finnish individuals or companies paying bribes to foreign public officials since 1999 but needs to address its discouragingly high acquittal rate.

The Czech Republic must strengthen its efforts to detect, investigate and prosecute foreign bribery. Seventeen years after ratifying the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention, the Czech Republic has yet to prosecute a case involving the bribery of foreign public officials.

Effective international co-operation between countries is crucial for the successful investigation, prosecution and sanction of international corruption offences.

Chile must make further progress on key recommendations of the OECD Working Group on Bribery in International Business Transactions, more than three years after its Phase 3 evaluation in March 2014.

The OECD Working Group on Bribery is leading global efforts to fight bribery of foreign public officials in international trade and investment. The fight against foreign bribery is a core shared value that unites all 43 Parties to the Anti-Bribery Convention. This brochure provides a snapshot of 18 years of implementation and enforcement of the Anti-Bribery Convention.

This study looks at common sources of detection in foreign bribery cases, untapped sources which are under or not utilised in foreign bribery investigations, and ways in which these methods of detection may be enhanced.