Carmelite Chambers

This Practice Note explains what is meant by active bribery, passive bribery and bribing foreign public officials under sections 1, 2 and 6 of the Bribery Act 2010 ie the giving or receiving of bribes involving members of foreign governments etc. It explains two types of active bribery offence and four types of passive bribery offence. It also deals with general matters that relate to active and passive bribery including what is meant by the relevant function or activity, improper performance and breach of a relevant expectation. It provides definitions of foreign public official ie someone who holds a legislative, administrative or judicial position of any kind, exercises a public function or is an official or agent of a public international organisation or government etc. It explains influencing in their capacity as an official and how the offences can be committed by individuals, corporates or senior officers of a company. In relation to all of the offences it also covers defences and penalties and who must consent to a prosecution.

This Practice Note covers facilitation payments under the Bribery Act 2010 (BA 2010). It explains the meaning of a facilitation payment, sometimes known as a grease payment. It explains why facilitation payments are caught by the anti-bribery law in the UK and deals with active bribery offences and foreign public official offences under BA 2010. It also explains the prosecution principles on facilitation payments and the SFO policy on facilitation payments.

This Practice Note explains what is meant by a commission or commission payment and how a commission might become a bribe and therefore an offence contrary to the Bribery Act 2010. Specifically it covers payments in relation to the art market, construction, insurance, pharmaceuticals, shipping and legal services. It includes identifying where a commission is a bribe.

This Practice Note deals with offset arrangements (sometimes known as offset agreements) which arise where an additional investment, payment or other industrial, commercial or economic benefit is offered or required as part of an organisation’s tender, normally as a condition of a public procurement contract. It includes the different types of offset arrangements including direct offset and indirect offset. It also covers the position under the Bribery Act 2010.

This Practice Note explains the four offences of bribery contained in the Bribery Act 2010 (BA 2010): bribing another person under BA 2010, s 1; soliciting or accepting a bribe under BA 2010, s 2; bribing a foreign public official under BA 2010, s 6; and failing to prevent bribery under BA 2010, s 7. It also covers the BA 2020 provisions governing jurisdiction, facilitation payments, gifts, hospitality and any exceptions, as well as sentencing for bribery offences. It introduces the concept of having adequate procedures in place to prevent bribery by adopting the use of anti-corruption practices, as well as summarising indicators of corruption and the consequences of corruption if proven.