Combating Bribery and Corruption

OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions

In December 1997 New Zealand signed the OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions.

New Zealand was already largely compliant with the Convention when we signed it. With the enactment of the Crimes (Bribery of Foreign Public Officials) Amendment Act in 2001 we became fully compliant with the Convention and therefore ratified it in 2001.

The Convention criminalises the:

'Intentional offering, promising or giving of a bribe.......

to a foreign public official.......

for them to do something (or not do something)......

so that the briber can get new business, keep their business or so that they get another advantage in the conduct of international business.'

New Zealand's criminal offence of bribing a foreign public official carries a maximum penalty of seven years imprisonment.

The Convention also requires that:

the proceeds of bribery should be able to be seized or confiscated; and

countries consider imposing additional sanctions on a person who engages in bribery such as fines or being barred from entering into contracts.

In order to combat bribery, the Convention requires that countries prohibit:

the establishment of off-the-books accounts

the recording of non-existent expenses

the entry of incorrect debts in accounts for the purpose of bribing foreign public officials or hiding bribes.

Due to the political nature of international business and international relations, the Convention makes it clear that countries should not take into account what affect the investigation or prosecution of bribery might have on their economic interests or the affect it might have on the person involved, for example if they were a Member of Parliament or the Judiciary.

Because the focuses of the offences in the Convention are international in nature, the Convention also requires countries to establish control over bribery offences when they are committed abroad. To assist this, the Convention provides that countries must provide prompt and effective legal assistance to other countries in respect of criminal and non-criminal investigations and proceedings. Bribery offences should also be extraditable offences.

All of these requirements are part of our law in:

The Crimes Act 1961

The Proceeds of Crime Act 1991

which allows conviction based forfeiture of the proceeds of crime

The Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters Act 1992

The Extradition Act 1999