The OECD Working Group on Bribery has just completed a review of Australia’s enforcement of the OECD Convention on Combating the Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions.
The report is timely, given that BHP Billiton, AWB (formerly Australian Wheat Board) and oil industry supplier Rhine Ruhr Pty Ltd have been implicated as being involved in corruption associated with the UN's oil-for-food program in Iraq.
Last week there were also unsubtantiated reports in French-language media that one or more Australian petroleum companies was involved in corrupt activities with the former Mauritanian energy minister.
The OECD Working Group recommended that Australia increased corporate fines for bribing foreign public officials and broadened corporate penalties to include disqualification from government contracting, such as contracting in relation to official development assistance, public procurement and export credits and credit guarantees.
It also called for improved communication between state and territorial police and the Australian Federal Police, as well as other agencies, to ensure that all allegations and cases of foreign bribery cases were referred to the Federal Police.
In addition, the report said the Australian Taxation Office should take steps to effectively detect foreign bribery transactions in performing its audits.
The working group will also monitor whether prosecutors effectively pursue Australian companies for foreign bribery, given that such liability is fairly recent in Australia (late 2001).
In addition, the Working Group on Bribery expressed concern about laws enabling companies to get tax deductions for so-called "facilitation payments" which enable Australian companies to pay foreign government officials to, for example, speed up routine governmental actions, such as providing permits or licences.
The working group will follow up with law enforcement agencies and tax authorities to ensure that companies fully comply with the law.
The report also includes an overview of recent enforcement actions and specific legal and policy features in Australia for combating the bribery of foreign public officials.
It is available at: http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/57/42/35937659.pdf
The full recommendations are on pages 57-59.
