Bribery Act relaxation would 'send out wrong message'

The government is considering whether to relax part of the Bribery Act 2010 to soften the impact on SMEs, the Financial Times reported today.

As part of its drive to reduce red tape and responding to pressure from businesses concerned that the new rules are too prescriptive, the government could launch a review of the Act as early as next month, the newspaper said.

The review is to focus on 'facilitation payments' to officials to speed things up or make sure something happens and the procedures that SMEs would need to have in place to make sure they are not unfairly prosecuted under the new law.

Facilitation payments were discussed at a meeting of the red tape 'Star Chamber' in March, according to a summary document seen by the FT.

Mark Surguy (pictured), partner at Eversheds, said relaxing the rules was "likely to send out the wrong message albeit for the right reason."

Surguy said the Act was unusual in that it was accompanied by statutory guidance on its interpretation.

"The legislation was always about the ability of business to operate profitably, but ethically by Western standards, in the global market place," he said.

"There were concerns before the legislation was passed that there would be an adverse impact on business. The economic difficulties in the UK are now so severe, it seems that standards may be relaxed to help smaller businesses.

"There was always a balance to be struck, but that was intended to be achieved through broad drafting and prosecutorial discretion which seemed reasonable to most people."

A government spokesman responded: "The government is clear that the Bribery Act and its associated guidance should not impose unnecessary costs or burdensome procedures on legitimate business.

"The Ministry of Justice and BIS are working together to ensure that small firms understand the requirements and only put in proportionate measures to comply."