The Bribery Act's Implications on Sponsorship 17th March, 2011

If you weren’t yet aware, there is a battle in the UK on the draft Bribery Act, currently under review by the coalition government.  Should this act go through, it would have implications on the sponsorship industry.

Some key implications under the Bribery Act:

• Will introduce a corporate offence of failure to prevent bribery by persons working on behalf of a business. A business can avoid conviction if it can show that it has adequate procedures in place to prevent bribery.
• Make it a criminal offence to give, promise or offer a bribe and to request, agree to receive or accept a bribe either at home or abroad. The measures covers bribery of a foreign public official.
• Increase the maximum penalty for bribery from 7 – 10 years imprisonment, with an unlimited fine.

Think!Sponsorship has teamed up with leading sponsorship lawyers Farrer & Co to poll the sponsorship industry regarding the Act and the use of hospitality.

Check out the session on hospitality and the Bribery Act at the upcoming conference on the 12th April 2011.  The session and the results of the poll should give both sponsors and rights holders an accurate idea of how to ensure they are compliant with the proposed Act and to discuss how corporate hospitality might stray into bribery.

Please make sure to participate by taking the survey here.

Results of which will be made available at the end of March 2011.