Corporate hospitality
Under the new Bribery Act companies will need to be careful about how they use and accept corporate hospitality. The Act does not include any specific defence for reasonable corporate hospitality so it will always be at risk of challenge under the Act where it can be shown that the person offering the hospitality intended the recipient to be influenced to act “improperly”.
A government spokesman for the Ministry of Justice has already confirmed the Ministry’s view that “lavish corporate hospitality can be used as a bribe to secure advantages” and that the Act “must therefore be capable of penalising those who use it for such purposes”. Businesses are expected to err on the side of caution and set tight limits on the nature and value of corporate hospitality offered or accepted.
Anna Williams is a senior associate at Osborne Clarke. E-mail her at editorial@themarketer.co.uk
to magazine
