Scotland’s top prosecutors will press the case for stringent business compliance at an anti-bribery seminar in Aberdeen this week (Thursday September 22).
The Deputy Crown Agent, Lindsey Miller, will be joined by Laura Buchan, the Procurator Fiscal Depute for Specialist Casework, at a briefing for north-east businesses on how they can take precautions to avoid falling foul of bribery and corruption legislation.
The seminar at legal firm Pinsent Masons’ Aberdeen headquarters will also feature Subsea 7 Group head of compliance, Andrew Hayward, and Pinsent Masons corporate crime specialists Tom Stocker and Willie Park.
The Crown Office representative will highlight a self-reporting initiative in which companies which discover potential bribery issues may be eligible for an out-of-court financial settlement instead of a criminal prosecution.
Pinsent Masons partner Tom Stocker said: “Since corporates were first given the opportunity to self-report bribery issues directly to the Scottish prosecutor with the aim of securing a non-criminal resolution, five companies - including three Aberdeen headquartered companies - have self-reported and agreed settlements which netted the public purse £8.3 million.
“The UK’s Attorney General recently announced a consultation on new laws to crack down on corporate crime, and in parallel with a bribery enforcement crackdown, the bar that companies are expected to reach in managing bribery risk is set to rise.”
Subsea 7’s Andrew Hayward will speak about a new international anti-bribery standard that looks set to become a global benchmark and its anticipated that companies which export from the UK will be expected to be certified to the standard.
Mr Stocker added: “The proposed international standard is double edged. On the one hand, it provides a checklist of actions for companies to take, to put in place effective anti-bribery management systems. On the other hand, it provides prosecutors with a route map for prosecuting companies that fail to do so.”