Bribery Laws

The Ministry of Justice last week published a draft of the Bribery Bill which aims “to reform the criminal law to provide a new, modern and comprehensive scheme of bribery offences that will enable courts and prosecutors to respond more effectively to bribery at home or abroad”. Under this new law commercial or-ganisations will be guilty of an offence if they fail to prevent briberies taking place.

How will this affect the way you operate overseas? Perhaps a good example is to look at the USA and its Foreign Corrupt Prac-tices Act (1977). The FCPA is a US law that criminalises bribery of

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Posted date 07-04-2009


India

India has become a focal point of late; with the Mumbai terrorist attack unprecedented in the country catching global attention, October‟s mission to the moon, and its longstanding nuclear power, India's position as a regional power in South Asia and growing presence as an international player are

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Posted date 14-01-2009


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Pakistan at the crossroads

At no other time in its 62 years has the survival of Pakistan looked so fragile. Events of the last few months have generated media headlines of 'failed state' and 'Pakistan on the brink' with the more alarmist observers pointing to a possible scenario of the 'Balkanisation' of the country. International perception has been badly (some say irretrievably) damaged with the consequent impact on foreign direct and institutional investment. But are things as bad as they appear?

Sudan

The largest country on the African continent is not high on the list of favourites among foreign direct investors. Issues such as Darfur, the regime in Khar-toum, the years of civil war between north and south, and the impact of US sanctions (intriguingly, except for gum Arabic, which is the only item that is exempt sanctions because it is the essential ingredient for Coca Cola) have blighted most opportunities. That is before the recent ruling by the ICC for the arrest and trial of the sitting President of the country.

Offshore Tax Havens

As unravelling fraud and extravagant bonus payments continue to dominate international headlines, there has been an increase in interest in offshore tax havens and the need to better regulate the most secretive tropical islands and mountainous retreats. London, where punitive financial sanctions were discussed as the next step in dealing with these havens.