When the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention was drafted in 1997 and entered into force in 1999, it was a significant step forward, to say the least, for efforts to combat bribery in international business transactions. Yet, more needs to be done, says a new report released by the Center for Global Development. The reason? Companies still find ways to engage in corruption – mainly through complex business schemes – while avoiding paying direct bribes. One example of how it can be done is on page 5 of the report. Recommendations presented in the report build on the fact that corruption entails a lot more than direct bribes.
The revision of the OECD anti-bribery guidelines has been in the works for some time now. On a related note, a story in the BBC News highlights objections by Germany and Japan to what they call “bureaucratic burdens” of the new anti-bribery rules for export credit agencies. There is another story in the Financial Times that explores the issue in a lot more detail.
Although the OECD guidelines are an important tool in fighting corruption they address only one side of the problem. What about private sector initiatives? Transparency International’s Business Principles for Countering Bribery is one of such initiatives aimed at building strong safeguards against corruption within companies. The Business Principles take a tough stance on facilitation payments – the grey area of corruption. Also, check out Transparent Agents and Contracting Entities (TRACE) – an organization that works with multinational companies to help them avoid engaging in corruption, whether its direct bribes or facilitation payments. These voluntary anti-corruption initiatives are a testament to the private sector’s commitment to doing business fairly and in a transparent manner. Private sector safeguards, of course, will not get the job done if the enabling environment issues are not addressed as well. For more on this, you can check out CIPE’s paper on institutional reform approaches to combating corruption or this CIPE blog post on tools to combat corruption.
Published Date: February 15, 2006