"FCPA is only aimed at bribery of public officials, and Britain's Anti-Bribery Act also applies to bribery between private or private sectors." Crispin Rapinet, a partner of Hawking Luwei International Law Firm, introduced.
Moreover, the scope of application of the Anti-Bribery Law is very wide, and almost all companies and individuals with close ties with Britain are within the scope of application of the law: companies registered in Britain are naturally included. For companies that are not registered in the UK, as long as they have branches in the UK, or operate in the UK, or are listed on the UK stock exchange, or even employ only British residents, they will be bound by the Act.
"In addition to the above obvious relationship, the bill may also have an effect on some companies that have no obvious connection with the UK: for example, accepting bribes through a UK account; Or sponsor activities (conferences, etc. ) In the UK. " John Rupp believes that these details are easily overlooked by enterprises.
In short, as long as individuals and companies connected with Britain are likely to trigger the implementation of the Anti-Bribery Law, its influence and effectiveness can be seen from the following figures. It is reported that about 150 companies in the Asia-Pacific region have their headquarters listed on the London Stock Exchange, while countless companies in China employ British employees or have commercial projects in the UK, all of which need to be included in the bill. Therefore, a large number of China companies registered in the British Virgin Islands should also be vigilant.
"If these companies are representative companies of British parent companies or brother companies, or if the company has branches in the UK, they may be bound by the Bribery Act." John Rupp said, "Even if the company does not have the above relationship, the Virgin Islands residents it employs are also the object of application of the law, because the latter is undoubtedly a British employee."
However, this is far from showing all the threats of the anti-bribery law. The Anti-Bribery Law has stricter restrictions on some standards than FCPA, which makes it more difficult for enterprises to evade these standards.
"Unlike FCPA, there is no exception to the" convenience fee "in this bill," crispin said. "Usually, in order to speed up administrative procedures, people may pay officials a certain amount, such as a" benefit fee ",to speed up the release of products through customs. FCPA does not excessively pursue "benefits", but these acts may violate the Anti-Bribery Law. "
The punishment of the Anti-Bribery Law is unprecedented. Bribery of public officials, bribery or bribery of individuals, up to 10 years imprisonment and fines; The company will impose an unlimited fine.