Bribery & Corruption

Outer Temple’s Business Crime and Regulation team are leading specialists in bribery and corruption offences. We are regularly instructed by corporate clients, individuals and specialist prosecution agencies, in both domestic and cross-border corporate corruption investigations and litigation.

Members have extensive expertise in providing strategic advice and representation relating to:

• Bribery offences under the UK Bribery Act and related legislation.
• Corruption probes in other jurisdictions, such as US DOJ and SEC investigations under the FCPA, and the equivalent legislation in Europe, the Caribbean and the Middle East. This gives us a vital cultural understanding of different business practices and the investigatory techniques deployed by multiple agencies.
• Internal investigations into suspicions of bribery, whether at the hands of staff or connected third parties.
• Ancillary proceedings, such as unexplained wealth orders (UWOs), freezing injunctions, property and search orders, UK and US deferred prosecution agreements (DPAs), and market abuse including insider-dealing and sanctions.
• Wider corporate compliance and anti-bribery & corruption policies.

As examples of our experience, we have been instructed in corporate corruption investigations relating to Serco, Hewlett Packard/Autonomy, LIBOR, FOREX, British Solar Renewables, Alstom International, Tata Steel, and Johnson & Johnson. Our experience stretches to SMEs as well, our members having been involved in cases such as Skansen Interiors, the first-ever jury trial of the corporate failure to prevent offence under section 7 of the Bribery Act.

Many of the BCR team are ranked as leading silks and juniors for corporate and financial crime in leading practitioner guides, and the team includes members who are dual-qualified to act in multiple jurisdictions. Members are also contributing authors to leading specialist publications, including Lissack & Horlick on Bribery and Corruption (LexisNexis 3rd ed.2020) and the Practitioner’s Guide to Global Investigations (GIR, 3rd ed.2019) and contribute to articles, training and discussions on bribery, corruption and related issues. Our team includes a trustee of Transparency International UK.

The pressures brought to bear upon businesses by criminal bribery and corruption investigations are considerable and their potential impacts widespread. Our experience as genuine cross-over practitioners, from pre-investigation advice to trial, allows us to develop the best strategic response, whether instructed alone or alongside colleagues, as a vital part in providing a complete corporate service.