Michael Bowes QC reviews current progress in anti-corruption enforcement

Michael Bowes QC, a trustee of Transparency International UK, contributes to a new publication, Anti-Corruption Regulation 2016. His contribution is entitled “Current progress in anti-corruption enforcement”.

He analyses global anti-corruption actions and starts with the example of several major corruption cases. One of them is the FIFA case in relation to which Michael shows the way the US approached it, especially through the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, a law which is being continuously enforced. Michael advises that “Major developments in the FIFA corruption investigation may be expected this year”.

In Europe, some positive action has been taken in the UK in relation to the Bribery Act 2010. Transparency International France “has had considerable success in its intervention to recover biens mal acquis (ill-gotten gains)”, in a case “which highlights the importance of the role of civil society in the pursuit of corruption, especially where the state seems unable or unwilling to act” Michael says.

The analysis reveals that US regulators are encouraging other countries to participate in international corruption enforcement and progress has been made on anti-corruption enforcement worldwide in 2015. However, Michael’s view is that the US is still “the world’s anti-corruption policeman”.

Michael outlines that anti-corruption organisations discuss how the provisions in the United Nations Convention against Corruption could be better used. Many anti-corruption events are being held and their focus is to move the global agenda forward, instead of remaining a “talking shop”.

News 18 Apr, 2016