Bribery Act: Essential legal compliance for property professionals

Abstract

With an increasing appetite for prosecutions, the landscape of anti-corruption and bribery legislation is evolving. All property companies are now strongly advised to devise and implement adequate procedures to prevent bribery. In February 2018, we saw the first corporate conviction for failing to prevent bribery. It is likely that this could prompt further convictions for corporate offenders. The definition of a ‘corporate offence’ is broad and involves an ‘associated person’ from the commercial organisation, which could be an employee, agent, subcontractor or subsidiaries. Property professionals are particularly vulnerable to the risk of exposure to bribery through facilitating transactions, exposure to improper influence on valuations, planning decisions and the buying and selling of criminal property. This paper sets out the legislative framework for property professionals, explaining compliance with the Bribery Act 2010 and the penalties.