OECD Working Group on Bribery 2021 Annual Report

Despite differing degrees of implementation amongst its members, the OECD Working Group on Bribery in International Business Transactions (Working Group) made considerable progress in 2021. Recently, the Working Group published the 2021 Annual Report, which serves as an annual update of the Working Group's 2021 activities and achievements.

Four countries underwent Phase 4 monitoring reviews, which assessed the effectiveness of legal and institutional frameworks for combating foreign bribery, and eight countries provided written follow-up reports on progress made in implementing recommendations. The reviews showed that members have made significant headway in key areas like whistle-blower protection, with numerous countries reinforcing their legal frameworks for protecting reporting persons and promoting a whistleblowing culture. Some countries continue to lag behind in areas like corporate liability, and the Working Group made recommendations to help overcome these obstacles. For countries that still have not implemented key recommendations, the Working Group undertook High-Level Missions and released targeted public statements, illustrating its determination for results.

Enforcement data

The Working Group collects data from its members on the number of criminal, administrative and civil foreign bribery cases that have resulted in a final decision, such as a conviction, an acquittal, or a non-trial resolution (e.g. non-prosecution, deferred prosecution, and plea agreements). Working Group members may voluntarily provide additional data on investigations, ongoing proceedings and sanctions imposed. They may also report data on criminal, administrative and civil proceedings for other offences related to foreign bribery, such as false accounting and money laundering. The Working Group has published enforcement data annually since 2010. These publications show that, over time, Working Group members’ law enforcement authorities have significantly increased efforts to investigate, prosecute and sanction foreign bribery. As part of this enforcement, certain members have resolved increasingly complex foreign bribery cases, for instance, involving legal persons or coordinated multijurisdictional resolutions with other countries. Even when resolutions in a particular case are not coordinated, countries typically receive significant co-operation from other Working Group members.

Highlights from the 2020 enforcement data

Concluded cases

From the entry into force of the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention on 15 February 1999 through 31 December 2020: 

• 25 Parties reported having convicted or sanctioned, collectively, at least 684 natural and 245 legal persons for foreign bribery through criminal proceedings. 

• 7 Parties reported having sanctioned, collectively, at least 87 natural and 119 legal persons for foreign bribery through administrative or civil proceedings. 

• 10 Parties reported having convicted or sanctioned, collectively, at least 77 natural and 107 legal persons for related offences (e.g. false accounting, money laundering, embezzlement, tax evasion) through criminal proceedings. 

• 3 Parties reported having sanctioned, collectively, at least 75 natural and 188 legal persons for related offences through administrative or civil proceedings. 

• 3 Parties – Colombia, Latvia and the Russian Federation – reported having imposed sanctions for the first time for foreign bribery (each sanctioning one legal person) either through criminal or noncriminal proceedings.

Pending matters

As of 31 December 2020: 

• 32 Parties reported having had, collectively, 485 ongoing investigations for foreign bribery. 

• 13 Parties reported having had, collectively, ongoing criminal proceedings for foreign bribery against 167 natural and 14 legal persons. 

• 2 Parties reported having had, collectively, ongoing administrative or civil proceedings for foreign bribery against 6 natural and 10 legal persons.

OECD Working Group on Bribery in International Business Transactions

Established in 1994, the OECD Working Group on Bribery in International Business Transactions (Working Group) is responsible for monitoring the implementation and enforcement of the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention, the 2021 Recommendation on Further Combating Bribery of Foreign Bribery in International Business Transactions and related instruments. This peer-review monitoring system is conducted in successive phases and is considered by Transparency International to be the ‘gold standard’ of monitoring.