Commenting on the conclusion of the prosecution of Mabey & Johnson Ltd for overseas corruption and breaching UN sanctions yesterday, ChanduKrishnan, Executive Director of TI UK said:

26 September 2008 - “This is the first prosecution of a UK company for foreign bribery since the UK ratified the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention in 1999. While this is welcome news, the UK lags significantly behind other OECD major exporters in the number of cases brought for foreign bribery.

“We hope that this landmark case will encourage other firms to cooperate. However, it remains to be seen whether the penalties imposed will serve as an adequate deterrent to corrupt behaviour by UK companies.”

TI UK hopes that this case will lead to more vigorous enforcement of the OECD Convention. The swift enactment of a new effective Anti-Bribery Bill by parliament will greatly strengthen the hands of UK prosecutors.