Lords to question lawyer on first ‘failure to prevent' Bribery Act conviction
The House of Lords Bribery Act 2010 Committee will hear evidence from Iskander Fernandez, a Partner at the law firm BLM, who represented Skansen Interiors Limited in the first successful prosecution under section 7 of the Bribery Act, on Tuesday 11 December.
This will be the last evidence session the Committee will hold as part of its inquiry which is tasked with examining: the effectiveness of the Bribery Act 2010; whether there has been stricter prosecution of corrupt conduct, a higher conviction rate, and a reduction of such conduct; the impact of the Act on SMEs; and the use of Deferred Prosecution Agreements in relation to bribery offences.
Iskander Fernandez will be asked questions including:
- The Skansen case represented the first conviction for a section 7 offence since the Bribery Act came into force. What does this case tell us about how the Act is operating in practice?
- How should SMEs go about developing or updating their anti-bribery and corruption policies, potentially with limited resources?
- Is the Ministry of Justice guidance on the Bribery Act providing adequate and up-to-date information for SMEs?
- Do you think companies are adequately incentivised to self-report cases of bribery?
The evidence session will start at 10.30am in Committee Room 4 on Tuesday 11 December 2018.
