First sentence under the Bribery Act 2010 announced today

A magistrates' court clerk has made legal history by becoming the first person to be convicted and sentenced under the Bribery Act 2010. Munir Patel was an administration clerk at an east London court. In exchange for £500, he arranged for a traffic offence to be omitted from a court database, thereby making it look like no offence had ever occurred.

He was sentenced earlier today to three years imprisonment for one offence of accepting a bribe and six years for another of misconduct in a public office. The sentences are to be served concurrently.

The Bribery Act 2010 came into force on 1 July 2011. Both commercial and public organisations alike are required under the legislation to undertake 'adequate procedures' to prevent employees and individuals associated with the organisation from involvement with bribery and related corruption activities.

The Act does not just affect UK companies and business people, but extends worldwide, provided there is a UK business connection.

The Act creates new criminal offences and extends to bribes occurring anywhere in the world. Companies whose business involves interaction with government authorities in all parts of the world will therefore be at serious risk of criminal liability, if they or someone acting on their behalf give any kind of advantage, however small, to a public official so they act ‘improperly’, or so as to influence a decision for their own business ends.

Hill Dickinson’s team of Bribery Act experts provides pragmatic advice to businesses and organisations in the UK and internationally on all aspects of English anti-bribery legislation. To help you protect your organisation, our service extends from preventative advice to the defence of allegations.

We offer a range of services to suit your organisation’s specific needs in ensuring compliance with the legislation:

• Ethics audit and risk assessment: a comprehensive review of existing policies and procedures with specific recommendations.
• Anti-bribery pack: a fixed-fee service providing an anti-bribery policy and practical guidance on complying with the legislation’s 'adequate procedures' requirement.
• Bespoke training: updating or devising new training programmes for employees of all levels.