Tag: Bribery Act

Samsung Heavy Industries Company Limited (SHI) has agreed to pay penalties amounting to more than $75 million in order to resolve a U.S. government’s investigation into violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The Department of Justice stated that SHI paid millions of dollars to a Brazilian intermediary knowing that some of the money would be used to bribe high-level executives at Petrobras to obtain a shipbuilding contract.

Steamship Mutual announced that the Venezuelan Club Correspondents Venepandi have reported a trend where some crew members and even Masters have become subject to criminal investigations because of alleged bribery committed with local officials in terminals or similar in Venezuela.

A minefield for the shipping industry In enacting the UK Bribery Act 2010 ("the Act"), which comes into force today, the UK Government has demonstrated a proactive stance to eradicating corrupt practices, particularly within commercial organisations.The Act is wide-reaching and extra-territorial in effect in that it extends to (i) companies that have links to the UK, even though they may not carry on business in the UK; (ii) offences committed both within and outside the UK by those companies and; (iii) offences committed by persons "associated with" an organisation who enter into corrupt practices on their behalf. An associated person is someone who, in whatever capacity, performs services for and on behalf of the commercial entity, for example agents.The shipping industry is regarded as being at high risk of having to deal with corruption because of its operation in high risk jurisdictions (countries with known corruption risks), its interaction with foreign public officials who may require incentives to perform what is in fact their job and its use of foreign subsidiaries to act as intermediaries.Of particular concern to the shipping industry is the issue of facilitation payments, often known as "grease" payments made to public officials to secure or expedite ...

Adequate procedures to tackle bribery All shipping companies operating from Britain will be legally required to have "adequate procedures" to tackle bribery in place from July 1, maritime lawyers said after Justice Secretary Kenneth Clarke yesterday unveiled guidelines on how the Bribery Act 2010 will apply in practice.No exemption is available for so-called facilitation payments, which in common with many other jurisdictions, will be designated as bribes. Petty graft, including small gifts to port officials, will thus technically be unlawful.However, prosecutions are considered unlikely if these are properly accounted for, and owners can plausibly argue that local culture leave little alternative.But corporate entertainment, including wining and dining, taking potential clients to major sporting events or paying for them to go on site visits, will be acceptable where "reasonable and proportionate".