CORRUPTION SAID TO BE GREATEST OPERATIONAL RISK IN 2011

Control Risks, a consultancy which creates an annual forecast of business risks, says that corruption will be the most pervasive operational risk in 2011. The United Kingdom recently passed the UK Bribery Act which will be one of the toughest enforcement laws in any country. Some say it is even tougher than the recently passed Dodd-Frank Act. What this means for business is that companies operating in any way within the UK will no longer be able to make “facilitation payments” and they will have to create compliance officers to make sure the law is not violated. In the U.S., the Justice Department has vowed to enforce the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act prohibiting bribes to foreign officials or their agents. Whistleblowers reporting such bribes will now be able to recover a bounty of up to 30% of what the government recovers or sanctions under The Dodd Frank Act. In some nations it is difficult to do business without payment of bribes or facilitation fees. The scrutiny on such payments has heightened now.