Warning over lax laws on bribery

IRISH-BASED companies involved in bribery and corruption are unlikely to be prosecuted because our laws create huge barriers to establishing corporate criminal liability, a key report warns.

The latest report from the OECD Working Group on Bribery said there have been improvements, but the Government must expand corporate liability for acts of foreign bribery and do so urgently.

“Currently the prosecution and conviction of companies for corrupt activities appears unlikely due to the very high barriers required to establish corporate criminal liability”, it said.